For Card Toppo, the Eucharist transforms the world, Indian families are the engine of change
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, opened this morning the National Eucharistic Congress in Mumbai whose theme is ‘Nourished by Christ to nourish others’.
For the prelate, who is of tribal origin, the Holy Eucharist is the only factor that can revolutionise the world and man. The focus must remain on Christ’s “self-oblation on the cross,” on approaching his table, and becoming “promoters of peace”.
In his address, the prelate underlined the importance of the Catholic family – "Nourished by the Body that is broken and the blood that is poured out, we are agents of integration” – and remembered the Eucharistic devotion of Mother Teresa. Here is his full address.
"I hunger for the bread of God, the flesh of Jesus Christ ...; I long to drink of his blood, the gift of unending love." These words of St. Ignatius of Antioch, in the early years of the Church, expressed the believer’s deepest aspirations for and relationship with the Holy Eucharist.
Your Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Holy Father’s Special Envoy to the National Eucharistic Congress, Your Eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Your Eminence Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Your Eminence Cardinal George Alencherry, Excellencies, Fathers, Sisters, delegates to the Congress and my dear brothers and sisters.
Fifty years have passed since the 38th International Eucharistic Congress at Mumbai in 1964, presided over by Blessed Pope Paul VI. It was the first time that any Pope had actually taken part in an International Eucharistic Congress. Commemorating the conclusion of its Golden Jubilee, we are filled with joyful nostalgia. The Indian Church in the mean time has been bearing fruits in abundance. We thank God for His sustained presence over these years in and through the Holy Eucharist.
The Holy Eucharist, indeed, is the HEART, the very centre of our faith. As described in Lumen Gentium (11), “It is the sum and summit of Christian life.” Pope Francis recently observed, “The Holy Eucharist is at the heart of Christian initiation, together with Baptism and Confirmation. It constitutes the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission". From this Sacrament of love, in fact, flows every authentic journey of faith, of communion, and of witness. Holy Eucharist is the spiritual anchor to Christian living. It catalyzes the everyday integration of life and faith. ‘Grace upon grace’ (Jn. 1:16) flows from this timeless spring into the heart of every believer. ‘Fullness of life’ (Jn 1:10) is shared with everyone through this sacrament of love. It is the living bread, the joy of our daily living and the pledge of eternal life. Our Lord himself assures us that whoever eats this bread will live forever (1 Cor. 11:27). It is not the manna that our forefathers ate and died (Jn. 6:31), but the body of Christ broken for all of us so that we may die no more (Jn. 6:58). It is the living memory of supreme love of Jesus for every human person; the entire creation manifested by his self-oblation on the cross. Holy Eucharist is the most sublime nourishment for ‘being’ and daily ‘becoming’ a better Christian. It moulds us for living as Eucharistic persons filled with genuine love and compassion for all. Isn’t it then a matter of great joy that we from various parts of the country have gathered here for the National Eucharistic Congress? Though coming from various cultural, social and economic backgrounds and speaking different languages, through our communion in the Holy Eucharist, we are in Communion with each other. We are brothers and sisters in Him. Let us rejoice and be glad! May our celebration be a wellspring of love that quenches the thirst of all! The theme chosen for the Eucharistic Congress is, “Nourished by Christ to nourish others.” Let this other-centeredness in the Holy Eucharist inflame our hearts to be always at the service of others.
God Himself becomes our food
“I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35) The incarnate Word of the Father becomes "bread" to nourish humanity. Jesus announces himself as the bread to be given to the people. During the last meal with His disciples before entering into the passion and death on the Cross, Jesus establishes not only a memorial but also nourishment for them. His self-gift on the Cross, is the final profound offering of Himself. Each one of us believing in him may partake of his flesh and blood in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus is the food that has come down from heaven that nourishes, transforms and strengthens us. Empowered by His redemptive love, we are asked: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)
Transformed to transform
Transformation or transubstantiation is core to the Holy Eucharist. The bread and wine become the true body and blood of the Lord in the Holy Eucharistic celebration, signifying our transformation into the Body of Christ, the Church. Additionally, we — as individuals and as community — become instruments for transforming humanity and the whole creation. We participate in the greatest act of self-giving and life sharing, a living reminder of our act of love for others. We are called to be other-centred to be always at the service of others — especially those who are on the margins, the sick and the needy. Only then can we speak of genuine transformation effected by Eucharistic nourishment and profess the sustaining Presence of the Eucharistic Lord among us. From Scriptures and Church traditions, we know that Jesus became nourishment to the excluded, the marginalised, the exploited, the last, the least and the sinners by his unfailing compassion, mercy, forgiveness and all embracing love. He also called and chose his disciples from different backgrounds of life not to be seated at his right or left (Mk. 10:40) or to lord over others (Mt. 20:25; Lk. 22:25; 1 Peter 5:3), but to do what He did and thus become the nourishment for others. Lord Jesus showed it by example, as He bent down, washed and kissed their feet (Jn. 13:1-17). Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, the Holy Eucharist is a constant and continuous reminder of this service. The newness and riches generated in us by our faith in the Holy Eucharist belong to entire humanity and creation. We have received freely and we must give freely. Pope Francis says: “The Holy Eucharist is Jesus who gives himself entirely to us. Feeding on Him and abiding in Him through Eucharistic communion — if we do so in faith — transforms our lives into a gift to God and to our brothers and sisters.”
Fragmentation to Integration
The body is broken and shared. Partaking in this divine act of sharing brings to birth a Eucharistic gathering — the holy Church that nurtures integration, the unity of hearts. Nourished by His body and blood and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, we become one body and one spirit in Christ. This is the perennial source of ecclesial communion illustrated by Jesus, with an analogy of the vine and the branches (Jn.15:5). St. Paul exhorts likewise with the image of the body (1 Cor. 10:17; 12:27) and emphatically says that in Christ, all things are drawn together (cf. Eph 1:10; Col 1:15-20). The Holy Eucharist beckons all to assemble around the holy altar and “providentially unites them to himself and to one another.” (S. Maximi Confessoris, Mystagogia, 1: PG 91, 664). The Holy Eucharist brings us together as the beloved ones of the Father. St. John Paul II wrote in his Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine that "the Holy Eucharist is an epiphany of communion. It is a fraternal communion, cultivated by a ‘spirituality of communion’, which fosters reciprocal openness, affection, understanding and forgiveness" (#21). Those who are nourished by the spiritual strength of the Holy Eucharist, become bridges in a world fragmented in manifold ways.
Today, fragmentation is clearly visible at various levels of life everywhere. The distance between hearts relentlessly increases. The individual and collective egos serve greed, corruption, arson, atrocity, war, violence, destruction and suffering. Can we be mute onlookers to frequent dissensions in our nation almost every day? Can we be deaf to the cry of the poor, the victims? This context proposes a mission to us which constitutes a gentle weaving of the fragments into an integrated whole. This seemingly impossible mission can be performed with the unifying power and grace of the Holy Eucharist.
My brothers and sisters, the process must begin with you and me. Nourished by the Body that is broken and the blood that is poured out, we are agents of integration. Let us pay heed to Apostle Paul who from the prison entreated his disciples “to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Eph. 4:1-3)
Unity is at the heart of the Holy Eucharist which in turn is the very heart of the holy Assembly of God. Lord Jesus is the vine and we are the branches (Jn 15:5). Pope Francis in Laudato Si speaks of integral ecology (137), the sacred interconnectedness, a communion with the Holy Eucharist as its centre. I strongly believe that in and through the Holy Eucharist — lived out in reality as much as celebrated on the altar — we can become agents of communion, the instruments of peace among all regardless of caste, creed, colour and status. The body of Our Lord is broken and the blood is poured out for all. Therefore inclusive thinking, inclusive behaviour and inclusive living will make us the body of Christ, Eucharistic persons.
For a Christian, as Pope Francis exhorts us, receiving Holy Communion in a state of grace, with faith and love therefore means, “entering into harmony with the heart of Christ, assimilating his choices, his thoughts, his behaviour. It means entering into the dynamism of love and becoming people of peace, people of forgiveness and reconciliation,” St. John Paul II also wrote in his Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine, that ‘the Christian who takes part in the Holy Eucharist learns to become a promotor of communion, peace and solidarity in every situation (27). This attitude of living in solidarity with others and for others has to begin deep within us and in our Christian families nourished by the Holy Eucharist.
Family, the living Eucharist & the best medium of Evangelization
Now let us reflect on the Family, the ‘domestic Church’ (LG 11) which can be called the living Eucharist, the joyful communion, the home of the Triune Presence. St. John Paul II taught us, “The Holy Eucharist is the very source of Christian marriage. The Eucharistic sacrifice in fact represents Christ's covenant of love with the church, sealed with his blood on the cross ... In the Eucharistic gift of charity the Christian family finds the foundation and soul of its "communion" and its "mission" (Familiaris Consortio, no. 57). In the numerous possibilities for interaction that the family offers at various levels, the Eucharistic grace would make each member become nourishment to each other thus erecting the house on the rock.
Today, more than ever, the families are challenged with brokenness, unfaithfulness, individualism, loneliness, communication issues, and deepening rifts. Without the Holy Eucharist at the root of their hearts, they waver in their faith and eventually become groundless. During this celebration of the National Eucharistic Congress, the Church in India must reflect on the urgent need to accord centrality to family, nourished by the Holy Eucharist, in all its pastoral endeavours. The pastoral workers too should be imbued with the Eucharistic heart by partaking in the body and blood of Christ. Having been nourished and engaged in the divine act of nourishing, families will become living Eucharist ready to be broken and shared. Each family should realize its vocation and mission of witnessing to the Lord by evangelizing the neighbourhood with compassion, forgiveness and love. What a difference it would make when the families would come together in Small Christian Communities, constitute the parish community and be part of ecclesiastical bodies in the parish! Every effort should be made to transform each family into a fortress of communion, the home of God’s presence, a space to live the Paschal Mystery of Love. In order to evangelize the neighbourhood, pastoral care should nurture individual families by tapping the cultural resources. I strongly feel that this National Eucharistic Congress should think in this direction.
The Holy Eucharist a Fount of Mercy
The Holy Father will shortly inaugurate the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. He has asked the Church in this Jubilee Year to rediscover the richness encompassed by the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. In his words, "The experience of mercy, indeed, becomes visible in the witness of concrete signs as Jesus himself taught us." He adds, "It is important that this moment be linked, first and foremost, to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a reflection on mercy." The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is indeed the miracle of mercy, compassion, and love in which Jesus Christ provides us with spiritual nourishment and accompaniment. It is about God, who reaches out to us, wanting to fill our lives with his divine graces and to touch our human hearts so that we may realize his unbeatable, incomparable, and overwhelming love for all of us — sinners and saints!
Mary the Mother of the Holy Eucharist
St. John Paul II in ecclesia de Eucharistia §53 reminds us, "If we wish to rediscover in all its richness the profound relationship between the Church and the Holy Eucharist, we cannot neglect Mary, Mother and model of the Church." Our Lady and the Holy Eucharist are by the nature of things united inseparably "even to the end of the world" (Mt. 28:20). For Mary with her body and soul is the heavenly "tabernacle of God" (Apoc. 21:3). As St. Augustine tells us, "The Word is the Food of the Angels. Men have not the strength to feed it to themselves, nor need to do so. What is needed is a mother who may eat this supersubstantial Bread, transform it into her milk, and in this way feed her poor children. This mother is Mary. She nourishes herself with the Word and transforms It into the Sacred Humanity. She transforms It into Flesh and Blood, i.e., into this sweetest of milk which is called the Holy Eucharist." May Mary Mother of the Holy Eucharist intercede for us with her Son.
Conclusion
As I conclude, let me illustrate the significance of the Holy Eucharist through an example that involves Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta whom many of us have seen, met and known while she was alive.
One day, as a young Bishop I had the privilege to take Mother Teresa and three of the MC Sisters in my car. I was informed that Mother Teresa had been working beyond midnight to reorganize the Community. I was sitting timidly next to her in the front seat. She, like a true Mother, asked me to feel comfortable. This gave me courage to ask, “Mother, I am told that you worked the whole night. You are no longer young. From where do you get the strength to work so hard?” Her reply was prompt and precise, “JESUS in the Holy Eucharist!” Her instruction to the Sisters of Charity is clear. “We must be very proud of our vocation because it gives us the opportunity to serve Christ in the poor ... We must go to them as the priest presents himself at the altar, with joy.” (Mother’s Instructions, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, 1:80)
I believe this has been and is the secret of the success of Mother Teresa and of the Missionaries of Charity. Starting a new Community, according to her, would mean a new Tabernacle.
The Holy Eucharist is an inexhaustible treasure which contains the Kingdom of God in its totality. We focus on the objectives of this National Eucharistic Congress. Bound in the Eucharistic communion and nourished by Jesus, we become the nourishment for others; transformed by the Eucharistic presence, our life should transform our fellow humans, indeed the whole of creation; having been nourished by the body and blood of Christ, we stand in unity and solidarity with all, especially the needy, the marginalised, the least, the excluded and the entire creation anxiously waiting to be renewed (cfr. 2 Cor 5:17). We, indeed, should be the bread of life, broken for others. The nurturing of this ‘becoming’ has to begin already in Christian families, the joy of the Eucharistic dwelling. Various difficulties can be addressed, if the family is nourished by the Eucharistic grace. The act of nourishing the other will enable us to behold the other as the epiphany of God’s real presence. The human community needs to see and experience in us the Eucharistic presence. It expects us to be the leaven of love and compassion. We are called to show tenderness that brings healing, to be the bearers of joy, to be promoters of peace and harmony and to become signs of unity. Nourished by Christ, we embark on the mission of nourishing others. A bold example of such a process is the bread given to Elijah. “Then, strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.” (1Kings 19: 8) May the Eucharistic presence enkindle us to become agents of peace, justice and harmony. May we share God’s love, forgiveness and joy and may God bless us and all our families!
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