For when we eat this bread and drink this cup, what Jesus shares with us is the life that He Himself receives from the father. And now he comes to live that life within us, so that we may be one with Him, as he is one with God. And this gift that we receive is a gift that we are meant to share with others. The Eucharist not only makes us one with God in Christ, it also makes us one with each other. Because the loaf of bread is one, we, through many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
Human families eat at a common table.
The love and labor of the parents provides and prepares the food for the children. And every meal is a kind of family Eucharist, bringing everyone together not simply to feed their physical hunger, but to share their life and love with one another and to feed their hearts, to feed their souls, to grow in closeness with each other. And so it is that God's children, too, are gathered at a common table to share a common meal that makes us into one family sharing our life and love with one another. The gift that Jesus gives us of Himself is the food and drink that empower us to love each other as we have all been loved by God. Love one another.