Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - “The Eucharist is the food reserved for those who in Baptism have been set free from slavery and have become children; it is the food which sustains them on the long exodus across the desert of human life. “Like the manna for the people of Israel, for every Christian generation the Eucharist is the indispensable nourishment which sustains it as it crosses the desert of this world, rendered arid by ideological and economic systems which mortify life rather than promote it; a world dominated by the logic of power and possession rather than that of service and love; a world where not rarely the culture of violence and death triumph”. These words are part of the homily given by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI at the open air evening Mass in front of the Basilica of St John Lateran yesterday 7 June, the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ followed by the traditional procession with the Blessed Sacrament to the major Basilica of St Mary.
Citing his post-synodal apostolic exhortation Sacramentum caritatis, the Pope recalled that Corpus Christi “is a singular feast, an important appointment of faith and praise for every Christian community … it was instituted precisely to reaffirm openly the faith of the People of God in Jesus Christ living and truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. The feast was instituted to adore, praise and thank the Lord publicly ”. The feast refers to the mystery of Holy Thursday: “The gift of the Eucharist Apostles was given to the Apostles in the intimate gathering at the Last Supper, but it is destined for everyone, for the whole world. This is why it must be openly proclaimed and exposed, so that everyone may encounter "Jesus as he walks by" as it happened on the roads of Galilee, Samaria and Judea; so that every person who receives him may be healed and renewed by the power of his love”.
The Holy Father underlined “precisely because it is a mysterious reality beyond our comprehension, we must not be surprised that today many find it difficult to accept the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It could not be otherwise... as then so too today the Eucharist is still a ‘sign of contradiction’ and it must be, because a God who assumes human flesh and sacrifices himself for the life of the world puts human wisdom in crisis. But with humble trust the Church makes her own the faith of Peter and the other Apostles... Let us too this evening renew our profession of faith in Christ living and present in the Eucharist”.
The Gospel of the day narrated the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and the Pope underlined certain aspects: “the Lord desires every human person to be nourished by the Eucharist, because the Eucharist is for everyone… Christ immolated himself for the whole of humanity. His passing through the streets among the homes of our city will be for the inhabitants an offering of joy, of immortal life, peace and love … The miracle worked by the Lord contains an explicit invitation to each person to make a contribution. The five loaves and two fish stand for our contribution, small but necessary, which He transforms in a gift of love for all.” The Pope concluded: “The feast of Corpus Christi intends to render perceptible, despite our hardness of inner hearing, the Lord's knocking. Jesus knocks at the door of our heart and asks us to let him in not only for a day but for always. We welcome him with joy, lifting up to him the choral prayer of the Liturgy: "Good Shepherd, true bread, / O Jesus, have mercy on us (…) you all wise and all powerful, / nourish us here on earth, / lead your brothers / to the heavenly table / in the joy of your saints". Amen!” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 8/6/2007 - righe 44, parole 651)
