262 PART THREE: CONCLUSIONS with the creative tension between the principles of expression of unity and channel of grace in similarly fruitful ways as Taizé and Bose. 10.3 EUCHARISTIC HOSPITALITY AS A MEANS FOR THE RESTORATION OF CHRISTIAN UNITY Implication Having established that sharing the Eucharist in ecumenical contexts does not necessarily reduce commitment to visible unity (to the contrary, it can help foster such commitment), and considering the particular role that Eucharistic hospitality can play in the ecumenical process, communicatio in sacris can indeed be perceived as a “means (…) for the restoration of Christian unity.”552 In Taizé and Bose, sharing the Eucharist represents both principles mentioned by the Second Vatican Council (expression of unity andmeans for grace) in such a way that “each side relates intimately to the other in creative tension,”553 as advocated by George Tavard. In the communities, the Eucharist, as a means of grace, transcends the spiritual well-being of individual monastics and includes ecumenical reconciliation on an ecclesiological level, a dynamic which the current regulations fail to accommodate. It seems valid and valuable to complement current regulations concerning Eucharistic sharing so that they can enable Eucharistic hospitality on the basis of ecumenical reasons, too. Observations Although the monastics have indicated that their primary motivation for joining the communities was the desire to engage in monastic communal life rather than the ecumenical nature and mission of Taizé and Bose, they also give witness to a growing ecumenical commitment. Sharing the Eucharist has been both a prerequisite for and a result of this commitment. Even though the practice of Eucharistic hospitality comforts the wounds of division, it does not take away the pain stimulus that enhances their commitment to the promotion of Christian unity. On the contrary, this medicinal aspect of the Eucharist enables their efforts, which have been acknowledged by their many visitors as well as by high level church officials from different traditions. Most notably, they mention the Eucharist as both the raison d’être of their monastic common life and as the logical consequence or culmination of that common life. 552 UR, sec. 8. 553 Wijlens, Sharing the Eucharist, 176. Cf. section 1.4.
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