Pope Francis: The Eucharist renews our relationship with Jesus and with our brothers

(CNA/EWTN News) During his general audience on February 5, Pope Francis spoke on the significance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

This sacrament “is the heart of Christian initiation and the Church's fountain of life,” the Pope explained, which “accompanies every step of our pilgrimage of faith, fellowship and witness.”

Shifting attention to the familiar layout of Catholic churches, the Pope observed that in the “center... we find the altar,” which is “a table that has been prepared and that makes us think of a banquet,” and “on the table, there is a cross to indicate that Christ's sacrifice is offered on that altar.”

“He is the food we receive under the species of bread and wine.”

We can say that we “receive communion,” in Jesus' “passion, death and resurrection,” the Pope stated, and “thus, the Eucharist configures us in a unique and profound way with Jesus.”

It renews “our heart, our existence, and our relationship with Him and with our brothers, and gives us a foretaste of communion with the Father in the banquet of the King of heaven.”

Read full text: The Eucharist gives us a taste of heaven, Pope reflects