TITLE:             POPE DECLARES ‘YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST’

                        October 2004 - October 2005

AUTHOR:       Fr. John P. Grigus, OFM Conv

SOURCE:        Immaculata Magazine, Marytown – October - December 2004 issue.

            In a homily delivered on June 10, 2004, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Pope John Paul II declared his intention to proclaim October 2004 - October 2005 to be the “Year of the Eucharist.” As he later went on to explain in the Angelus address of June 13, he did so because the “Year of the Eucharist” fits into the context of the pastoral project that he pointed out in the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, in which he invited the faithful to “start afresh from Christ” (cf. NMI, 29ff). “By contemplating with greater perseverance the Face of the Incarnate Word, truly present in the Sacrament,” said the Holy Father, “[the faithful] will train themselves in the art of prayer (NMI, 32) and undertake that high standard of Christian living (NMI, 31) which is the indispensable condition to develop in an effective manner the new evangelization” for the third millennium.

            The “Year of the Eucharist” began with the International Eucharistic Congress held in Guadalajara, Mexico October 10-17 and will end with the extraordinary synod of bishops convened in the Vatican from October 2-29, 2005. The theme of the synod will be, “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.”

            The topic which the Vatican chose for the synod really expresses in a nutshell the entire Catholic doctrine on the Eucharist. The Eucharist is SOURCE of life because in it is fully present the whole of Christ – body and blood, soul and divinity, etc. – who alone is “the way, the truth and the life” (cf. John 14:6). Consequently, through the Eucharist  we become recipients of the promise made by Christ in John 6:54, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.” It is a SUMMIT of life becomes eating of his body and drinking his blood with faith and proper disposition of heart and mind will eventually lead us to the Heavenly Banquet where “there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain” (Rev. 21:14). Finally, the Eucharist is the source and summit not only of the Church’s  Life but its MISSION as well because it provides the faithful and the Church as a whole with the grace needed to fulfill their mission effectively. And so through the Eucharist, priests and religious receive the grace to be better priests and religious, mom’s and dad’s to be better parents, and so on, through the Christ who now lives in them and works through them.

            If the whole life of the Church is so centered on the Eucharist, the Church cannot experience a profound spiritual renewal identified by the Holy Father as the “Springtime of Grace” without the faithful coming to a deeper awareness and experience of that Gift given through the Mass and through time spent in adoration of his sacred presence outside of Mass. To bring the baptized into such a deeper awareness and experience is one of the intended purposes of the Holy Father in declaring this to be the “Year of the Eucharist.”  The other purpose, no doubt, is to correct some of the abuses in Eucharistic prayer and praxis witnessed to in many parts of the Church today, or what the Holy Father identifies to be “shadows” in his encyclical on the Eucharist, Ecclesia De Eucharistia. Among these is the fact  that “in some places the practice of Eucharistic adoration has been almost completely abandoned” (cf. EDE, 10). Hopefully, this topic will especially be treated at length in the synod of bishops that will conclude the “Year of the Eucharist,” resulting in some definite measures to clarify and correct these abuses.

            But for the “Year of the Eucharist” to have its intended effect, it is essential that each of us hears the call of the Holy Father and seeks to do what he and she can to deepen our faith in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. We must begin by first understanding clearly what the Church teaches us about this profound mystery of our faith. To this end I have compiled the following list of essential and supplemental readings on the Eucharist and the web addresses through which they can be attained. The essential readings are the ones that should be read by every Catholic. I then invite the reader to set as goal for him or herself to spend at least one-half hour each day of this year to reflectively read a portion of a given document. Most of us will find the opportunity to do so simply by curbing the amount of time spent on watching TV and surfing the internet, oftentimes to our demise.

            In addition to understanding the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, it is also essential to deepen one’s experience of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. To this end, if you have not had a habit of attending Sunday Mass on a regular basis, make a decision to do so today. If you have been faithful to attending Sunday Mass, think about coming to an additional weekday mass. In addition to Mass, sign up for an hour of prayer a week adoring Christ’s presence outside of Mass. If you have been faithful to an hour, sigh up for an additional hour. And of course, we can always grow more in sharing our faith and love for our Eucharistic Lord with others so that they too may experience his saving presence in their lives.

            In summary, all of us can and should do something to deepen our experience of Christ’s saving presence in the Eucharist during this the “Year of the Eucharist.” If we do, then the Good Lord will surely usher in the promised “Springtime of Grace,” first into our own lives, families and parish communities to eventually renew the Church and world.  May your Kingdom come on earth, Lord, as it is in Heaven ....

Essential Readings on the Eucharist:

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1322 - 1419

            web: http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a3.htm

2. Mysterium Fidei, Paul VI

            web: http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_pa06mf.htm

3. Dominicae Cenae, John Paul II

            web: http://www.adoremus.org/dominicaecenae.html

4. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, John Paul II

            web: http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/JP2EUCHA.HTM

5. Questions & Answers on the Real Presence, US Conference of Catholic Bishops

            web: http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2001/01-127.htm

6. Mane Vobiscum Domine, John Paul II web:

web: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20041008_mane-nobiscum-domine_en.html

Supplementary Readings on the Eucharist:

1.  Eucharistiae Sacramentum, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship

            web: http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWSACRA.HTM

2. Dies Domini, John Paul II

            web: http://www.usccb.org/pope/letters/53198.htm

3. General Instructions for the Roman Missal (GIRM), US Conference of Bishops

            web: http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/current/revmissalisromanien.htm

4. Redemptionis Sacramentum, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship

            web: http://www.adoremus.org/RedemptionisSacramentum.html

5. Book: In the Presence of Our Lord: The History, Theology, and Psychology of Eucharistic     Devotion, Our Sunday Visitor, 1997 by Fr. Benedict Groeschel & James Monti.