II
THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY OF LIGHT
“He interpreted to them in all the
Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk 24:27)
11. The
account of the Risen Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus
helps us to focus on a primary aspect of the Eucharistic mystery, one which
should always be present in the devotion of the People of God: The Eucharist
is a mystery of light! What does this mean, and what are its implications
for Christian life and spirituality?
Jesus described himself as
the “light of the world” (Jn 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. The Eucharist is pre-eminently a mysterium fidei.
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. By
a happy intuition, Rublëv's celebrated icon of the Trinity clearly places the
Eucharist at the centre of the life of the Trinity.
12. The
Eucharist is light above all because at every Mass the liturgy of the Word of
God precedes the liturgy of the Eucharist in the unity of the two “tables”, the
table of the Word and the table of the Bread. This continuity is expressed in
the Eucharistic discourse of Saint John's Gospel, where Jesus begins his
teaching by speaking of the mystery of his person and then goes on to draw out
its Eucharistic dimension: “My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed” (Jn 6:55). We know that this was troubling for most of his
listeners, which led Peter to express the faith of the other Apostles and of
the Church throughout history: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of
eternal life” (Jn 6:68). 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 (cf.
Lk 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” (cf. v. 29).
13. The
Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium,
sought to make “the table of the word” offer the treasures of Scripture more
fully to the faithful.9 Consequently they allowed the biblical readings
of the liturgy to be proclaimed in a language understood by all. It is Christ
himself who speaks when the Holy Scriptures are read in the Church.10
The Council Fathers also urged the celebrant to treat the homily as part of the
liturgy, aimed at explaining the word of God and drawing out its meaning for
the Christian life.11 Forty years after the Council, the Year of the
Eucharist can serve as an important opportunity for Christian communities to
evaluate their progress in this area. It is not enough that the biblical
passages are read in the vernacular, if they are not also proclaimed with the
care, preparation, devout attention and meditative silence that enable the word
of God to touch people's minds and hearts.
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