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**INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS (2005) - SYNOD OF BISHOPSThe Eucharist and Peace
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Before distributing Holy Communion, the bishop or priest addresses his prayer to the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, who said to his disciples “peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (*Jn* 14:27). The celebrant calls upon the Lord Jesus to give to his Church “peace and unity...for ever and ever.”[115](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20050707_instrlabor-xi-assembly_en.html#_ftn115) The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Peace, realized after our celebration of the Sacrament of Penance which reconciles us to God and our neighbour. This Sacrament makes real the grace conveyed in the Risen Lord’s greeting, “Peace be with you!” (*Jn* 20:19). The Sacrament of the Eucharist also provides believers with the grace needed to put the spirit of the Beatitudes into practice, particularly the beatitude proclaimed by Jesus Christ: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (*Mt* 5:9). Through the sacrifice of the Cross Christ has conquered sin, death and every kind of division and hatred. Risen from the dead, Our Lord spreads his peace to those near and far. (cf. * Eph* 2:17). For families, communities and the entire Church, peace of heart is the gift of the Risen Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Whoever approaches the Sacrament ought already to possess God’s peace, which sin impairs. Venial sins are pardoned in the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass; but mortal sins require absolution in the Sacrament of Penance. The Eucharist fortifies the gift of peace and provides to all those who receive it the grace of becoming themselves peacemakers wherever they are.