Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On Sunday, June 22, the Holy Father Benedict XVI gave the homily via satellite connection, at the Plains of Abraham in Quebec (Canada), during the concluding Mass for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, presided by the Pope’s Special Envoy, Cardinal Jozef Tomko.
“The Eucharist is our most beautiful treasure,” the Pope said during his homily. “It is the sacrament par excellence; it introduces us early into eternal life; it contains the whole mystery of our salvation; it is the source and summit of the action and of the life of the Church, as the Second Vatican Council recalls. It is, therefore, particularly important that pastors and faithful dedicate themselves permanently to furthering their knowledge of this great sacrament.”
The Pope later reflected on the participation in the Eucharist that does not distance us from our contemporaries; “on the contrary, because it is the expression par excellence of the love of God, it calls us to be involved with all our brothers to address the present challenges and to make the planet a place where it is good to live. To accomplish this, it is necessary to struggle ceaselessly so that every person may be respected from his conception until his natural death; that our rich societies welcome the poorest and allow them their dignity; that all persons be able to find nourishment and enable their families to live; that peace and justice may shine in all continents. These are some of the challenges that must mobilize all our contemporaries and for which Christians must draw their strength in the Eucharistic mystery.”
Continuing his homily, Benedict XVI expressed his desire for “everyone to make a commitment to study this great mystery,” especially by revisiting the Council's text on the Liturgy, "Sacrosanctum Concilium," to make a similar commitment to a renewal of Eucharistic catechesis, “so that they themselves will gain a genuine Eucharistic awareness and will in turn teach children and young people to recognize the central mystery of faith and build their lives around it.” To the priests, the Pope made especially urged them “to give due honor to the Eucharistic rite,” and asked all the faithful “to respect the role of each individual, both priest and lay, in the Eucharistic action. The liturgy does not belong to us: it is the Church's treasure.”
In speaking of the Eucharist as “the sacrament of the Church's unity,” the Holy Father mentioned that “In the Eucharist, Christ's sacrifice is constantly renewed, Pentecost is constantly renewed” and expressed his hope that all people may become “ever more deeply aware of the importance of the Sunday Eucharist, because Sunday, the first day of the week, is the day when we honor Christ, the day when we receive the strength to live each day the gift of God!”
Another aspect that the Pope highlighted was the attention of the Pastors and faithful in preparing to receive the Eucharist: “Despite our weakness and our sin, Christ wills to make his dwelling in us, asking him for healing. To bring this about, we must do everything that is in our power to receive him with a pure heart, ceaselessly rediscovering, through the sacrament of penance... In fact, sin, especially grave sin, is opposed to the action of Eucharistic grace in us. However, those who cannot go to communion because of their situation, will find nevertheless in a communion of desire and in participation in the Mass saving strength and efficacy.”
Benedict XVI later mentioned that “the Eucharist had an altogether special place in the lives of saints” and invited all to give thanks to God “for the history of holiness of Quebec and Canada, which contributed to the missionary life of the Church.” After speaking of the Canadian martyrs and those who founded the Church in Canada and helped it to grow, the Pope encouraged those present to learn from their example: “make of each day an offering to the glory of God the Father and take your part in the building of the world, remembering with pride your religious heritage and its social and cultural brilliance, and taking care to spread around you the moral and spiritual values that come to us from the Lord.”
At the end of his homily, the Holy Father said that “The Eucharist is not a meal among friends. It is a mystery of covenant.... We are called to enter into this mystery of covenant by conforming our life increasingly every day to the gift received in the Eucharist. It has a sacred character, as Vatican Council II recalls,” and in a certain way, it is an anticipation of the banquet in the eternal Kingdom.
Benedict concluded the homily by inviting all to pray for priestly vocations, “in order that the People of God never lack ministers to give them the Body of Christ.” He also announced that the next International Eucharistic Congress will take place in Dublin, Ireland, in 2012. “I ask the Lord to make each one of you discover the depth and grandeur of the mystery of faith. May Christ, present in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit, invoked over the bread and wine, accompany you on your daily way and in your mission!” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 24/6/2008)
