Precisely because it is Christ who, in Eucharistic communion changes us into him, our individuality, in this encounter, is opened, liberated from its egocentrism and inserted into the Person of Jesus who in his turn is immersed in Trinitarian communion. The Eucharist, therefore, while it unites us to Christ, also opens us to others, makes us members of one another: we are no longer divided but one in him. Eucharistic communion not only unites me to the person I have beside me and with whom I may not even be on good terms, but also to our distant brethren in every part of the world.
This transformation is possible thanks to a communion stronger than division, the communion of God himself. The word “communion,” which we also use to designate the Eucharist, in itself sums up the vertical and horizontal dimensions of Christ’s gift.
In being brought closer to Jesus in the Eucharist, we are then brought closer to other people. This why it is called, "Holy Communion."
--Pope Benedict, Corpus Christi, 2011
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