inner nature as a temple of the Holy Spirit and is united with the Lord Jesus, who himself took a body
for theworld’s salvation”.
165
236. It is in the Eucharist that all that has been created finds its greatest exaltation. Grace, which
tends to manifest itself tangibly, found unsurpassable expression when God himself became man and
gave himself as food for his creatures. The Lord, in the culmination of themystery of the Incarnation,
chose to reach our intimate depths through a fragment ofmatter. He comes not from above, but from
within, he comes that we might find him in this world of ours. In the Eucharist, fullness is already
achieved; it is the living centre of the universe, the overflowing core of love and of inexhaustible life.
Joined to the incarnate Son, present in the Eucharist, the whole cosmos gives thanks to God. Indeed
the Eucharist is itself an act of cosmic love: “Yes, cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the
humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the
world”.
166
The Eucharist joins heaven and earth; it embraces and penetrates all creation. The world
which came forth fromGod’s hands returns to him in blessed and undivided adoration: in the bread of
the Eucharist, “creation is projected towards divinization, towards the holy wedding feast, towards
unificationwith theCreator himself”.
167
Thus, theEucharist is also a source of light andmotivation for
our concerns for the environment, directingus to be stewards of all creation.
237. On Sunday, our participation in the Eucharist has special importance. Sunday, like the Jewish
Sabbath, is meant to be a daywhich heals our relationships with God, with ourselves, with others and
with the world. Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, the “first day” of the new creation, whose first
fruits are the Lord’s risen humanity, the pledge of the final transfiguration of all created reality. It also
proclaims “man’s eternal rest in God”.
168
In this way, Christian spirituality incorporates the value of
relaxation and festivity. We tend to demean contemplative rest as something unproductive and
unnecessary, but this is to do away with the very thing which is most important about work: its
meaning. We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite
different from mere inactivity. Rather, it is another way of working, which forms part of our very
essence. It protects human action frombecoming empty activism; it also prevents that unfettered greed
165
Ibid
.
166
ID., Encyclical Letter
Ecclesia deEucharistia
(17April 2003), 8:AAS 95 (2003), 438.
167
BENEDICTXVI,
Homily for theMass of CorpusDomini
(15 June2006):AAS 98 (2006), 513.
168
Catechismof theCatholicChurch
, 2175.
