These two volumes are well-matched in their complementarity and readability. In Christ Now Meet Both East and West, O’Loughlin presents an insightful look at the Eucharist as the celebratory action that not only draws us together in thanksgiving, but also models for us how to go forth and live eucharistic lives in the ordinariness of everyday activities and moments.  Pope Francis on Eucharist, meanwhile, provides one hundred daily meditations which move the reader toward eucharistic living so as to augment the “coherence between liturgy and life” (100).

In the first half of In Christ Now Meet East and West, O’Loughlin provides a nuanced understanding of the Eucharist as a communal meal of thanksgiving.  He does this by introducing his notion of a “religion of the kitchen”—so that the Eucharist is, first and foremost, the place where Christian thanksgiving happens (12).  Then, in Chapter 1, “The Basic Dynamics of Faith,” he underscores the central aspect of Christian life as one of thanksgiving itself: gratitude both for our creation and for our renewal in the gift of Christ.  In Chapter 2, O’Loughlin looks at the quality of meal sharing that is constitutive of being Christian.  In this, he expands upon conventional theology to look at the ways in which food is connected to power, justice, trust, inclusion, and thankfulness. In doing so, O’Loughlin presents a dynamic interpretation of the eucharistic meal as one that empowers the believer to act in the mission of Christ. 

Chapters 3-4 shift to the actual celebration of the Eucharist.  In chapter 3, he looks at the ways in which the actions, words, and tradition of the celebration can be held in tension for an authentic experience of eucharistic liturgy.  For him, authenticity is another way of speaking of liturgical participation—but a participation that goes beyond either simple mental exercise or performative cooperation.  O’Loughlin notes that “eating together supposes a specific level of participation” (47), one that includes engagement, understanding, and intention.  Chapter 4 looks primarily at the eucharistic celebration as it unfolds in time and space—the setup of the church space, various positions and actions of the faithful, and the communal nature of the action.  In this section, O’Loughlin also presents a unique interpretation of the significance of sharing in the cup—to drink from a shared cup should be somewhat shocking.  O’Loughlin insists that, for the early Church and for us in the present, this shared cup is a “boundary ritual that expressed commitment to discipleship” (85).  He links the drinking of the cup to Jesus’ plea in Gethsemane: “Take this cup away from me, but not what I will, but what you will” (Mk 14: 36).  In this sense, the willingness of the believer to drink from the cup today is also a commitment to live out the will of God. 

Chapter 5 departs into a conglomeration of ancient texts meant to encourage the reader to judge the reform of the liturgy by its similarity with the celebrations described by these early Church writings. The ending is left somewhat anticlimactic and almost pithy as O’Loughlin concludes with a “tweet” about the Eucharist.  Such a move is less than satisfying and the reader is left wondering if the fifth chapter was necessary.

In Pope Francis on Eucharist, the compilation of statements by Pope Francis on the Eucharist serves as a dynamic meditative tool that could be used in conjunction with O’Loughlin’s text.  Repeatedly, Pope Francis reminds the reader of the Eucharist as action, of its meal-like quality to draw people together, and of our need to approach the Eucharist ever anew.  While there is no described intentionality behind the 100 meditations (the compiler, John Kyler, offers no explanation), they do point the reader collectively in a specific direction.  As Cardinal Cupich notes in his “Foreword,” the meditations, he hopes, will lead the reader “to claim your Eucharistic responsibility”—namely, that “the Eucharist propels us into mission, that is, to take responsibility for carrying the Lord into the world” (vii).  They are successful in that regard.  Repeatedly, Pope Francis invites the reader beyond a personal experience of the Eucharist to a way of living that is eucharistic. “The Eucharist,’ he argues, “is translated into life when we pass beyond ourselves to those all around us” (54). 

Taken together, these two texts encourage believers to live out the eucharistic action in their daily lives. Filled with gratitude and enlivened by the celebration of the Eucharist, we are called to a communal way of living that gathers all people, both east and west, to the Table of the Lord.