[Editor's Note: This article is the third in a series of six articles celebrating the Year of the Eucharist. Click here to read the first article, second article, and third article.]
“Stay with us, Lord, for it is almost evening” (Luke 24:29)
This was the insistent invitation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the evening of the day of the Resurrection addressed to the Wayfarer who had accompanied them on their journey. Weighed down with sadness, they never imagined that this stranger was none other than their Master, risen from the dead. Yet they felt their hearts burning within them as he spoke to them and “explained” the Scriptures. The light of the Word unlocked the hardness of their hearts and “opened their eyes” (24:31). Amid the shadows of the passing day and the darkness that clouded their spirit, the Wayfarer brought a ray of light which rekindled their hope and led their hearts to yearn for the fullness of light.
“Stay with us,” they pleaded. And He agreed. Soon afterwards, Jesus’ face would disappear, yet the Master would “stay” with them, hidden in the “breaking of the bread” which had opened their eyes to recognize Him.
The image of the disciples on the way to Emmaus can serve as a fitting guide for a year when the Church will be particularly engaged in living out the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Amid our questions and difficulties, and even our bitter disappointments, the divine Wayfarer continues to walk at our side, opening to us the Scriptures and leading us to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of God. When we meet him fully, we will pass from the light of the Word to the light streaming from the “Bread of life,” the supreme fulfillment of his promise to “be with us always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Enlighten Our Hearts, Lord
Jesus described Himself as the “light of the world” (John 8:12), and this quality clearly appears at those moments in His life, like the Transfiguration and the Resurrection, in which His divine glory shines forth brightly. Yet in the Eucharist the glory of Christ remains veiled. Through the mystery of His complete hiddenness, Christ becomes a mystery of light, thanks to which believers are led into the depths of the divine life.
In the account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ Himself intervenes to show, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets,” how “all the Scriptures” point to the mystery of His person (Luke 24:27). His words make the hearts of the disciples “burn” within them, drawing them out of the darkness of sorrow and despair, and awakening in them a desire to remain with Him: “Stay with us, Lord.”
It is significant that the two disciples recognized Him at table through the simple gesture of the “breaking of bread.” When minds are enlightened and hearts are enkindled, signs begin to “speak.” The Eucharist unfolds in a dynamic context of signs containing a rich and luminous message. Through these signs the mystery in some way opens up before the eyes of the believer.
The Gift of Communion
When the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay “with” them, He responded by giving them a much greater gift: Through the Sacrament of the Eucharist, He found a way to stay “in” them. Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual “abiding” enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth.
Is this not the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when He brought about in history His plan of salvation? God has placed in human hearts a hunger for His word, a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with Him. Eucharistic communion was given so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfillment in heaven.
This special closeness, which comes about in Eucharistic “communion,” cannot be adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial communion. The Church is the Body of Christ: We walk “with Christ” to the extent that we are in relationship “with his body.” Christ provided for the creation and growth of this unity by the outpouring of His Holy Spirit. And He Himself constantly builds it up by His Eucharistic presence.
It is the one Eucharistic bread which makes us one body. As the Apostle Paul states: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). In the mystery of the Eucharist, Jesus builds up the Church as a communion, in accordance with the supreme model evoked in his priestly prayer: “Even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).
At each Mass we are called to measure ourselves against the ideal of communion which the Acts of the Apostles paints as a model for the Church in every age. It is the Church gathered around the Apostles, called by the word of God, capable of sharing in spiritual goods but in material goods as well (Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47; 4:32-35). In this Year of the Eucharist, the Lord invites us to draw as closely as possible to this ideal.
A School of Peace and Justice
The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church’s life; it is also a project of solidarity for all of humanity. In the celebration of the Eucharist, the Church constantly renews her awareness of being a “sign and instrument” not only of intimate union with God but also of the unity of the whole human race. Each Mass, even when celebrated in obscurity or in isolation, always has a universal character. The Christian who takes part in the Eucharist learns to become a promoter of communion, peace, and solidarity in every situation.
More than ever our troubled world, which began the new millennium with the specter of terrorism and the tragedy of war, demands that Christians learn to experience the Eucharist as a great school of peace, forming men and women who, at various levels of responsibility in social, cultural, and political life, can become promoters of dialogue and communion. In the Eucharist our God has shown love in the extreme, overturning all those criteria of power which too often govern human relations and radically affirming the criterion of service: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).
It is not by chance that the Gospel of John contains no account of the institution of the Eucharist, but instead relates the “washing of feet” (John 13:1-20). By bending down to wash the feet of his disciples, Jesus explains the meaning of the Eucharist unequivocally. Can we not make this Year of the Eucharist an occasion for diocesan and parish communities to commit themselves in a particular way to responding with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in our world? I think, for example, of the tragedy of hunger which plagues hundreds of millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants. These are evils which are present — albeit to a different degree — even in areas of immense wealth.
We cannot delude ourselves: by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ (John 13:35; Matthew 25:31-46). This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.
Delighting in His Presence
The Year of the Eucharist has its source in the amazement with which the Church contemplates this great Mystery. It is an amazement which I myself constantly experience. I consider it a great grace to be able to call the whole Church to contemplate, praise, and adore in a special way this indescribable Sacrament.
May the Year of the Eucharist be for everyone a precious opportunity to grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ has entrusted to his Church. May it encourage a more lively and fervent celebration of the Eucharist, leading to a Christian life transformed by love.
May all of you, the Christian faithful, rediscover the gift of the Eucharist as light and strength for your daily lives in the world, in the exercise of your respective professions amid so many different situations.
In this year of grace, sustained by Mary, may the Church discover new enthusiasm for her mission and come to acknowledge ever more fully that the Eucharist is the source and summit of her entire life.
(This article comes from the May 2005 issue of The Word Among Us devotional magazine, and was adapted from Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine, for the Year of the Eucharist: October 2004–October 2005. Used with permission. It is part of the sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel by the National Fellowship of Catholic Men. You may e-mail the NFCM at info@nfcmusa.org or visit the NFCM website.)
Special Note: In honor of “The Year of the Eucharist,” the National Fellowship of Catholic Men is pleased to offer two books on the Eucharist that can be used in small Catholic men’s groups: Worthy is the Lamb, the Biblical Roots of the Mass by Thomas J. Nash (with discussion questions at the end of each chapter) and God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). These books can be ordered directly from the NFCM on its website.
Reflection Questions on Page 2
Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. In the story of the appearance of Jesus to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, notice that even though their hearts were burning as Jesus spoke to them and opened the Scriptures they did not recognize him until, “he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized him” (Luke 24:30-31). What do you believe is the significance of this to us as Catholics? How would you explain this significance to a Protestant?
2. In the article, John Paul II writes that “Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus.” Is this your experience at Mass? What steps can you take to deepen this experience?
3. John Paul II goes on to write that “This special closeness, which comes about in Eucharistic ‘communion,’ cannot be adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial communion. The Church is the Body of Christ: We walk ‘with Christ’ to the extent that we are in relationship ‘with his body.’” Why is your relationship “with his body” so important to your relationship with Christ? What can you do to strengthen this relationship in your own life?
4. Jesus calls us to be one “Even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). Why will our unity as Christians be a clear sign to the world that Jesus was sent by his Father to save the world?
5. In the article, we read that our response to the poor and needy is related to receiving Jesus, the bread of life, in the Eucharist? What are some ways you can go further in helping the poor and needy in your area?
6. What can you do, as this Year of the Eucharist comes to an end, to “grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ has entrusted to his Church?”
