Take and eat, all of you: rethinking the Eucharist in the third millennium

Rethinking and valuing the Eucharist’s polyvalence of meanings that we can find in Tradition (as sacrament of healing, nourishment, and perfection), the article shows that there are no biblical-theological reasons to deny the access to Eucharistic communion in the liturgical celebration to a baptized person, in whatever irregular situation he or she may be. In the light of the theology of mercy and Jesus’ ways of action, such doctrinal updating allows for a more harmonious and inclusive resolution of some pastoral issues, while safeguarding the systematic reason for the sacrament in relation to penance.