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| Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church |
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 This year marks a great opportunity for Catholics all over the world to deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ as we celebrate, reflect on and enter into the sacred mystery of the sacrament of his body and blood. The late John Paul II demonstrating his own personal dedication to the sacrament to which he had given his life inaugurated the Year of the Eucharist. In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharista, 2004 he reminded the faithful that "The Church draws her life from the Eucharist…Ever since Pentecost, when the Church, the People of the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling them with confident hope." (Ecclesia de Eucharista § 1)The foundation and cornerstone for our engagement with the Eucharist is the celebration of Mass. "The Mass makes present the sacrifice of the Cross; which makes Christ's one, definitive redemptive sacrifice always present in time…The Eucharist is a sacrifice in the strict sense, a gift given for our sake, yet it is first and foremost a gift to the Father" (Ecclesia de Eucharista § 12&13). Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church by Maureen Gallagher and Jean Marie Hiesberger is a carefully thought out programme that is published in the US as a resource for the Year of the Eucharist. This comprehensive six-week programme, which takes its name from Lumen Gentium § 11, is a resource for adults and youth to deepen their understanding of the Eucharist. The course comes with all the materials necessary to run the it in a parish context including a CD Rom programme planner complete with all that is needed to run the course from bulletin announcements to registration material. The primary resource is a 44-page discussion booklet containing the course material, which was commissioned and officially approved by Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee. Week one of the programme gives a brief overview of the history of the Eucharist. At the beginning of the session Gallagher and Hiesberger write "At baptism, in addition to receiving the forgiveness of all our sins, we become members of the Body of Christ. As members of Christ's body, we are invited to celebrate and be nurtured by the Eucharist. The way the Eucharist has been celebrated has evolved over the centuries. This session will highlight some of the major developments in the celebration of the Eucharist" (cf. Eucharist: Source and Summit… pg. 8) The main focus of the programme is the celebration of Mass, which accounts for four weeks of the programme, a session for each of the parts of the Mass. Each of the parts of the Mass serve to draw us deeper into relationship with the mystery of Christ's Body and Blood. The introductory rites gather individual believers to create one common assembly who together remember God's love and mercy and so give glory to God who is Father, Son and Spirit. This prepares us for the next stage of our journey into relationship, the proclamation of God's living word in the Liturgy of the Word. Nourished and nurtured by the Word we process to the table of the Lord for the Liturgy of the Eucharist offering to our God what has been freely given to us in abundance. The Eucharistic action is at one and the same time thanksgiving, remembering and entreating. The priest unites the assembly with Christ's prayer of praise in offering sacrifice to God in Jesus' name through the Holy Spirit and the gifts of bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, who suffered, died and rose again for the salvation and redemption of all. In giving us his Body and Blood, Christ makes always present the sacrifice of the cross. We are strengthened and fed as we make communion with each other, the church universal and with our God (Ecclesia de Eucharista § 12 & 39ff). The challenge of the Mass is to use our renewed strength in Christ to bring his presence to others. The old Latin dismissal from which the name of our celebration (Mass) comes says "Ite, missa est" meaning "Go, you are sent". These simple words point to a profound truth – what we celebrate at Mass is to have an effect in the world. The final week of the programme looks at eucharistic devotions, their history, the purpose behind reserving the sacrament for the sick and aged, and the re-emergence of these practises since Vatican II as a way to participate in the Eucharist at times and places outside of Mass. Each week the course follows the same format, giving it a regularity that promotes community. The sessions begin and end with prayer with the first prayer including proclamation and reflection on the Word. The middle section is divided in two with inputs and faith sharing in small groups. The faith sharing questions supplied in the booklet directly relate to the preceding question and encourage engagement with the group and the material. A reservation that I would have would be the input material. It may be of a depth that parishioners may find difficult. However, this may be overcome by ensuring the presence of a person with competence in matters liturgical and theological to help them should difficulties arise. This one reservation aside, the course does offer an invaluable opportunity for parishes to deepen their faith in and experience of the Eucharist. In the humble signs of bread and wine, changed into his body and blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and he enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope. If, in the presence of this mystery, reason experiences its limits, the heart, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, clearly sees the response that is demanded, and bows low in adoration and unbounded love. (Ecclesia de Eucharista § 62). Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church by Maureen Gallagher and Jean Marie Hiesberger, (New Berlin, WI; Liturgical Pubs Inc) 2004. |
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