The Eucharist is a “family meal” where we are communing with God. It is here where our spirits are enlivened by God’s Spirit.
We are also eating with one another. To eat any meal together is to meet at the level of our most basic need and humanness, which involves not just our need for food but for each other and the healing presence of our love and prayers through Christ.
Healing at this point, at our “family meal,” emphasizes the corporate, communal nature of the sacrament and the continuing support of the faith community in times of distress, sickness and worries.
When someone comes forth for healing prayers, it is done for ourselves or for those we might have on our minds and hearts. The touch of Christ comes through the person praying for healing and empowered by the prayers of the people gathered together at our common table.