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The Eucharist, a Privileged Place for Encounter with
the Lord
26. Giving a priority place to spirituality means
starting afresh from the rediscovered
centrality of the Eucharistic celebration, a privileged place of encounter
with the Lord. There he once again makes himself present in the midst of the
disciples, he explains the Scriptures, he warms the heart and enlightens the
mind, he opens eyes and allows himself to be recognized (cf. Lk. 24:13-35). John Paul II's invitation
extended to consecrated persons is particularly vibrant: “My dearest ones,
encounter him and contemplate him in a very special way in the Eucharist,
celebrated and adored every day as source and summit of existence and apostolic
action”.79 In the Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata he called for
participation in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and assiduous and prolonged
Eucharistic adoration daily.80 The Eucharist, the memorial
of the Lord's sacrifice, the heart of the life of the Church and of every
community, fashions from within the renewed offering of one's very existence,
the project of community life and the apostolic mission. We all need the daily viaticum of encounter with the Lord in
order to bring every day life into sacred time which is made present in
celebration of the Lord's Memorial.
Here the fulness of intimacy with Christ is realized, becoming one with him, total conformity to him to whom
consecrated persons are called by vocation.81 In fact, in
the Eucharist, Jesus joins us to himself in his very paschal
offering to the Father. We offer and are offered. Religious consecration itself
assumes a Eucharistic structure, it is the total offering of self closely
joined to the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
In the Eucharist all forms of prayer
come together, the Word of God is proclaimed and received, relationships with
God, with brothers and sisters, with all men and women are challenged. It is
the Sacrament of filiation, of communion and of mission. The Eucharist, the
Sacrament of unity with Christ, is at the same time the Sacrament of Church
unity and community unity for the consecrated person. Clearly it is “The source
of spirituality both for individuals and for communities”.82
In order to fully produce the
expected fruits of communion and renewal, the essential conditions must be
present, especially mutual forgiveness and the commitment to love one another
in accord with the Lord's teaching; full reconciliation is necessary before
presenting ones's offering at the altar (cf. Mt 5:23). The Sacrament of unity cannot be celebrated while
remaining indifferent to others. On the other hand, it must be remembered that
these essential conditions are also the fruit and sign of a well-celebrated
Eucharist because it is especially in communion with the Eucharistic Jesus that
we are enabled to love and to forgive. Moreover, every celebration should
become the occasion to renew the commitment of giving one's life for others in
acceptance and in service. Thus, Christ's promise, “Where two or three are
gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” (Mt 18:20), would hold true, in the fullest sense, for the
Eucharistic celebration, and gathered around the Eucharist, the community will
be renewed daily.
Meeting these conditions the
community of consecrated persons which lives the Paschal Mystery, renewed daily
in the Eucharist, becomes a witness of communion and a prophetic sign of
solidarity for a divided and wounded society. In fact, the spirituality of
communion, so necessary to establish the dialogue of charity needed in today's
world, is born in the Eucharist.83
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