CHAPTER 8: POSITIONING OF THE EUCHARIST 233 peacefully together, and with that... blessed bread offered to everyone, and then, then go on....513 Sharing the Eucharist should not be at the forefront, especially not when it causes more problems than it solves. This, again, corresponds with the intention and practice of both monasteries to focus on living together and the dynamic between common life and common Eucharist described in sections 5.1 and 5.2. Brother TA takes it a step further, contemplating the place of the Eucharist in ecumenical dialogue. He argues that the Eucharist as an ecumenical topic needs to be decentralized in the sense that a narrow focus on the sacrament frustrates the process. At the same time, he resists an ecumenism of the lowest common denominator, in which hot topics like the Eucharist are avoided altogether. How shall I put this… I feel somewhat schizophrenic {laughs}, but that is not the right word, but I’m so, so ambivalent in that, um… because on the one hand I think… … … … that… … … the Eucharist has a central role in ecumenism… in the ecumenical process, right. We cannot say, well, hang on, that’s out of the question up until the time that we agree on everything and to celebrate that we’ll do it….514 On the other hand, however, TA notices that many ecumenically minded people focus on the Eucharist, losing sight of other aspects of faith and ecclesial practice: But at the same time, and that’s why I said that I’m, that I’m almost schizophrenic, that I think that we need to decentralize the Eucharist in the… theological debate. Because it starts to become an um… … … as if that is the only thing, you know. And that’s why I understand people, right, some people who say, well, hang on, let’s do it straight away, but then, to say, but, as if it is the only thing in which we can be one, as if that’s the only thing going on, the only way um… And that’s difficult, at times.515 The monastics have learned through the practices of their communities to acknowledge and appreciate the Eucharist as the center of their liturgical life 513 TB-2,28. 514 TA-1,46a. 515 TA-1,46b. Coming from the same Dutch context, I recognize the eagerness of some ecumenically motivated Christians, especially those from Protestant backgrounds. Indeed, hardly any ecumenical meeting goes by without somebody asking the Roman Catholic representative why the Roman Catholic Church does not allow Protestants to receive communion.
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