CHAPTER 7: LIVING IN COMMUNION 217 He then speaks of one or more occasions during Taizé’s European Meetings (events at which Taizé brothers gather with tens of thousands of young people in amajor European city between Christmas and NewYear’s Eve), when BE participated in Mass celebrated by the hosting city’s Roman Catholic bishop. BE recalls how he deliberately choose the Communion row of the presiding bishop, intending to receive Communion from his hands: BE: And I remember twice, I think in Paris and then in Munich, um, I went both times to the cathedral for the Christmas Mass, Eucharist {laughs} and tried to be in the row where I could receive the Communion from the bishop. So, I remember it now. It was not something {laughs}, I’mnot going proud of it, it’s just, I remember this idea of being in communion with this person, or with representative of the authority of… FW: So, you deliberately chose the line of the bishop? BE: Chose the row, the line, in order to receive Communion. FW: And so, what happened? BE: In Paris, I received it from, from Lustiger at that time. Um, in Munich I must admit, I can’t remember what happened, but anyway, I was {laughs} … FW: So, but they didn’t know you were? BE: No, of course not. FW: But why did you, why do you, why did you try it, do you remember? BE: No. So, the idea that… one had to go to the top, or to the represen~ to the chief representative {laughs} so to say, [of this other church]. In a very naive way, I think, it was the idea to say… where the bishop is, the true church, or the, when you go to the… to the, what should I say, to the… uh… to the, yes, the wellspring, the… Quelle of uh, of this other church, but it was very…… not very rational, so to say. Anyway, it just, it came to my mind now.486 Brother BE appeared quite hesitant to recount this episode from the start. After this dialogue, he dismissed it altogether as “not so important actually.”487 But from the content and the fact that he had brought it up, however hesitantly, I 486 BE-1,14b-22. 487 BE-1,15-24.
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