"“Worship” itself, eucharistic communion, includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn. A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented." Source: Pope Benedict XVI, God is Love: Deus Caritas Est, Ignatius Press, 2006.
"But the broken minds and tortured hearts testify to the fact that nothing can satisfy the soul hunger of man, except a nourishment suited to his soul and its aspirations for the perfect… Man's soul being spiritual demands a spiritual food. In the order of grace, this divine food is the Eucharist, or the communion [...]
Before so great a sacrament, the faithful can only echo humbly and with ardent faith the words of the Centurion: ""Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea"" (""Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and [...]
"The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of the sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the [...]
"The personal relationship which the individual believer establishes with Jesus present in the Eucharist constantly points beyond itself to the whole communion of the Church and nourishes a fuller sense of membership in the Body of Christ." Source: Pope Benedict XVI, SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS (Sacrament of Charity), 2/22/2007
"The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood. But the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion. To [...]
"In the Eucharist Christ gives us his body and blood as food and drink, under the appearance of bread and wine, just as during the paschal meal at the Last Supper. Only through the Spirit, the giver of life, can the Eucharistic food and drink produce in us 'communion,' that is to say, the salvific [...]
"O Sacrament of Love, Thou who, whether Thou givest Thyself in the Communion, or dwellest on the altar, knowest, by the tender attractions of Thy love, how to draw so many hearts to Thyself, who, enamored of Thee, and filled with amazement at the sight of such love, burn with joy, and think always of [...]
"Communion, union, communication, intimacy: Word, bread, love." Source: St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way: The Essential Classic of Opus Dei's Founder, Image, 2006
"By means of the Eucharistic Sacrifice Christ our Lord willed to give the faithful a striking manifestation of our union among ourselves and with our divine Head, wonderful as it is and beyond all praise." Source: Pope Pius XII, MYSTICI CORPORIS CHRISTI, 6/29/1943. ENCYCLICAL OF POPE PIUS XII ON THE MISTICAL BODY OF CHRIST [...]