Pope Francis: The Eucharist helps us to see the face of Christ in others

(CNA/EWTN News) During his general audience on February 12, Pope Francis reflected on how we live the Eucharist in our daily lives, explaining that it helps us to truly encounter others as a community, and opens us to God's mercy.

The Pope wished to explore “how we live the Eucharist in our daily lives, as a Church and individual Christians.”

“There are some specific indicators that help us in this sense,” he explained, noting that “the first is the way of relating with others.”

He said: "The Eucharist brings us together with others – young and old, poor and affluent, neighbors and visitors."

Because of this, “the Eucharist calls us to see all of them as our brothers and sisters, and to see in them the face of Christ.”

Secondly, the pontiff expressed that we are able to live the Eucharist in our daily lives because “we experience the forgiveness of God and the call to forgive”.

Finally, he said, “in the Eucharistic celebration, we are nourished as the Christian community by Christ's Word and Life,” stressing that there is “coherence between the liturgy and the life of our communities.”

“It is from the Eucharist that the Church receives continually her identity and mission,” continued the pontiff, adding that through our celebration of the sacrament “Christ fills us with his grace, so that our lives may be consonant with our worship of God in the Liturgy.”

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