A Pastoral Letter on the Eucharist as the Sacrament of Unity
Most Reverend Robert G. Casey
Archbishop of Cincinnati
A Pastoral Letter on the Eucharist as the Sacrament of Unity
Most Reverend Robert G. Casey
Archbishop of Cincinnati
September 17, 2026
Memorial of Saint Robert Bellarmine
God created humanity for communion, and throughout salvation history has worked to restore that unity first experienced at the dawn of creation. Through Baptism, and other sacraments, especially the Eucharist, believers are drawn into deeper communion with God and one another.
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What do we mean when we speak of “communion”? Communion is a dynamic state of unity or oneness, in our case between God and humanity. When we speak of humanity, we do not simply mean all persons as a group, but each individual made uniquely in God’s image. All of us, therefore, both collectively and individually, are invited into a dynamic relationship with God. We experience the fullness of communion when all are brought into that relationship. True communion is experienced when all are made one through a sharing in the Body and Blood of Christ offered for our salvation. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 Jn 4:20).
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The story of our salvation is rooted in the fact that we have been created and redeemed for the purpose of living in communion with God. From the beginning, “in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gn 1:27). The story of Adam and Eve reveals a Creator who not only molded us from the dust of the earth but breathed divine life into us. And from humanity’s first fall from grace, God has sought to redeem us and restore our original communion. Throughout salvation history, we see the hand of God reaching out to us, seeking to set us free from the snares of sin and death. With the Incarnation, we see God’s most profound act of communion—God becoming human—so that through the Paschal Mystery (the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus), humanity could share in an eternal communion with our Creator. Now, in our own age, God continues to seek us out and, through the gift of faith and the work of sacraments, draw us into that eternal embrace won for us by Christ our Savior.
“Gradually, we come to discover that communion with God IS communion with neighbor.”
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Love is the heart of communion. First, God’s love for us, epitomized in the Father’s gift of the Son (Jn 3:16) and the Son’s gift of his life (Jn 15:13). Second, our love for God and neighbor. Beginning at our Baptism, when we die to sin and rise to new life, we commit ourselves to living out the Great Commandment to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We strive each day to grow in communion with God and others by living in Christ and loving as Christ loves. Through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, we deepen our love of God and neighbor as we grow in the virtues of faith, hope, and love and express those virtues through acts of charity. Gradually, we come to discover that communion with God IS communion with neighbor. Living in communion with our neighbor can be challenging; charity and love seem to struggle sometimes to prevail, whether with our family, at work, at school, on a sports team, or in a club. Our communion with Christ can assist us with our communion with others, as we learn to reflect his self-giving love in our daily life and follow his example of making incarnate (part of our flesh and bone) God’s unconditional love for all.
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Love, therefore, becomes our mandate. The mission given to every Christian in Baptism is to bring faith and love to the world, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Washed clean in the waters of Baptism, clothed in Christ, walking in Christ’s light, and anointed for mission, we go into the world to share the gift we have been given with others. This is not simply the work of some random missionaries; every baptized person is called to missionary discipleship. Whether at home or away, in our family, parish, or neighborhood, we take up the mission and ministry of Christ, who comes to save and not condemn (Jn 3:17). The command of love and the mission to manifest God’s saving presence are the foundation of our conscience. In living out the commandments in the spirit of love, we grow in communion with God and one another.
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The way we know we truly are in communion is when we obey God’s commandments (1 Jn 5:3). St. Paul offers us sound advice concerning how we might grow in obedience to those commandments: “Have … the same attitude that is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). If we can develop the attitude of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet, seeking to serve and not be served, the Golden Rule becomes less of a burden and more of a gift. That gift of love, required for communion with God and neighbor, when given freely returns to us with grace in abundance. Jesus makes clear that the gift of love is not reserved to those with whom we have an affinity (e.g. family, friends, fellow citizens, and those who may think like us, act like us, and agree with us), but also with the stranger in our midst, our enemies, and anyone in need (1 Cor 12:12-13).
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The Church—the Body of Christ—is the community in which we live out our communion with Christ and with each other, with Christ as the Head. This unity is not of a passive nature, that is, measured by a feeling of fellowship or by the lack of division, but by active concern for the spiritual and physical well-being of all in our human family. St. Paul never simply tells Christians, “Don’t fight; don’t live in disunity,” but encourages them to actively “preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit” (Eph 4:3). In a world so severely divided and broken, we recognize the challenge this presents. For that reason, we offer our thanksgiving in the Eucharist for God who nourishes us and strengthens us through the Body and Blood of Christ that we may never grow weary in the active pursuit of a world where all may be one.