28 As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. 29 But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. [Luke 24:28-31, NRSV]
And He Disappeared out of Their Sight, by Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1898.
In the year 2005, Pope John Paul II led the Church in celebrating a Year of the Eucharist. Where was the Holy Father coming from in this matter?
At the threshold of the third millennium, Pope John Paul II believed fervently the year 2000 represented an opportunity to make the world a better, safer and more just place. He was full of hope and urged the Church and the world to move forward confidently in peace and reconciliation. In particular, he saw the need and called for the conscious creation of a new culture of international solidarity and co-operation, where all – particularly the wealthy nations and the private sector – accept responsibility for an economic model which serves everyone. “There should be no more postponement of the time when the poor Lazarus can sit beside the rich man to share the same banquet and be forced no more to feed on the scraps that fall from the table (cf. Luke 16:19-31). Extreme poverty is a source of violence, bitterness and scandal; and to eradicate it is to do the work of justice and therefore the work of peace.”
By the Year 2005, however, although the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 was celebrated, the Holy Father felt, in its “greatness of grace”, the new millennium has turned out to be a sort of “crude continuation” of the worst events of the past. Nazism, Communism (as he knew it, but which has since changed considerably in steps with remarkable economic growth in the former East Germany, Russia and China), inter-ethnic wars, hunger, social inequality, persecutions have all seeped into the 21st century. These have outlined “dark shadows of violence and blood that endlessly sadden us”. Beginning with the Church, the Holy Father called the world back to the Spirit of Jesus Christ, by celebrating a Year of the Eucharist. He issued an Apostolic Letter for the year, Mane Nobiscom Domine (Stay with us, Lord).
In the Letter the Pope exhorted all Christians to rediscover the Eucharist in everyday life, without doing anything out of the ordinary (§29), but placing the emphasis on the “Eucharistic dimension” which characterizes Christian community life (§5). Above all, the Pope urged young people to rediscover the Eucharist. Making a heartfelt plea to rediscover the wealth of the Eucharist in the life of the Church and of the world, the Pope pointed to the “image of the disciples on the way to Emmaus” as a fitting guide. The Lord has promised to be with us always, “to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). True enough, he walks with us “amid our questions and difficulties, and even bitter disappointments, opening to us the Scriptures and leading us to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of God.” Encountering him fully, we shall be led from the light of the Word to the light of the Bread of life.
- Stay with Us, Lord
The standard bearer in the Holy Father’s thoughts is Mane Nobiscom Domine which takes its cue from the Emmaus story – “Stay with us, Lord”. In this Letter, he points to the Holy Eucharist as the Lord’s response to the request of the two disciples from Emmaus. In the Eucharist, we have Jesus in our midst, ever present not only with us but to us as well. While Christmas is Jesus coming to us, the Eucharist is Jesus staying with us.
With the Emmaus story as the underlying theme of the Letter, the Pope speaks of the Eucharist with a profoundly personal tone: the “broken Bread” is what “remains” of Jesus, even when it seems that his face has disappeared. His mysterious presence is like a light that reawakens hope over the “shadows of the declining day” and “darkness” blanketing the soul.
- “Stay with us, Lord, for it is almost evening” (cf. Lk 24:29). This was the insistent invitation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the evening of the day of the resurrection addressed to the Wayfarer who had accompanied them on their journey. Weighed down with sadness, they never imagined that this stranger was none other than their Master, risen from the dead. Yet they felt their hearts burning within them (cf. v. 32) as he spoke to them and “explained” the Scriptures. The light of the Word unlocked the hardness of their hearts and “opened their eyes” (cf. v. 31). Amid the shadows of the passing day and the darkness that clouded their spirit, the Wayfarer brought a ray of light which rekindled their hope and led their hearts to yearn for the fullness of light. “Stay with us”, they pleaded. And he agreed. Soon afterwards, Jesus’ face would disappear, yet the Master would “stay” with them, hidden in the “breaking of the bread” which had opened their eyes to recognize him. (§1).
- Rediscover the Eucharist
To rediscover the Eucharist as mystery of light, and be “amazed”, we seek to draw close once again to the Word of God in the Scripture readings and the homily, and the Mass as a “banquet” and a “memorial” of the sacrifice Jesus made once and for all on Golgotha (§15). Above all, we need to rediscover the “real presence” of Jesus in the Eucharist, through well celebrated liturgies, silence, adoration, the Rosary, processions, all of which contribute as signs that educate us in the certainty that Jesus has remained with us “to the close of the age” (§16).
Eucharistic celebrations, the Pope made clear, ought not be deployed for making self-serving and triumphant messages, for these would demean the sense of this sacrament to a symbolic (and trivial) level.
- “The temptation is always present in man to reduce the Eucharist to his own dimension, while it is he who must open himself to the dimension of this Mystery. The Eucharist is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity and depreciation.” (§16).
The Eucharist is also the “source and epiphany of communion”. The intimacy created by the Lord works towards satisfying “the hunger for God in this world” (§19). As the Pope, he naturally goes on to safeguard the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic Church and suggests at the same breath that this also creates intimacy and unity among Christians gathered around their bishop. The bishop, in official Catholic theology, is the legal and spiritual head of the local diocese, which is a legal unit. What the Pope naturally wishes to see is that Sunday Masses will increasingly become a “manifestation” of the Church unity between bishop and faithful, clergy and laity, groups, movements, associations.
Another element of the Eucharist is that it is the “principle and foundation of the Church’s mission”. We do not gather just to experience an encounter with the Lord and be blessed. Such an encounter, the Emmaus episode has made abundantly clear, carries with it an inner dynamic of obligation to share the good news. In the faith community, therefore, the encounter with Christ in the Sunday or Daily Eucharist ought to give rise to the “urgent need to witness and evangelize”, and to the commitment to “spread the Gospel message and to imbue society with Christianity” (§24).
- Bear witness to “Christian roots”
Then, the Holy Father insists that the Eucharist is above all a witness of “gratitude” before all humanity. The Pope questions a secularized culture anywhere “which breathes the oblivion of God and cultivates the vain self-sufficiency of man”. Nothing is more objectionable to him than a culture that seeks to marginalize the religious dimension of civic life. Human reality, he insists, “cannot justify itself without reference to the Creator”. Christians have no reason to be afraid “to speak of God in the world and to display signs of the faith proudly” (§26). In all this, it is clear that the Pope is taking issues with civil governments anywhere which created controversies: banning crucifixes in public places and religious symbols in schools (as in France), accusations of proselytism in missionary countries, and the elimination of references to God in many American institutions.
In obvious reference to the Christian roots of Europe, the Pope reminds us that Eucharistic culture is a culture of dialogue and not of intolerance. He insists that Christians are not rooted in the violence that may have been committed through the course of history, but were betrayed by it. He gives the correct view: “Anyone who learns to give thanks in the manner of Christ Crucified can become a martyr, but never a tormentor” (§26). Rather, the Eucharist is an instrument for the “promotion of communion, peace, solidarity”. This “great school of peace”, a place for educating political and cultural figures, not only helps Christians to face “the spectre of terrorism and the tragedy of war”, but also encourages commitment to “brotherly activity” towards “the numerous forms of poverty in our world” (§28). Suggesting practical avenues for action, the Pope encourages specific action to relief the plight of the needy in:
- the tragedy of hunger which plagues hundreds of millions of human beings,
- the diseases which afflict developing countries,
- the loneliness of the elderly,
- the hardships faced by the unemployed,
- the struggles of immigrants.
Even in areas of immense wealth, these “evils” are present. As Christians, we must not delude ourselves. It is only by love and concern for those in need that we may be recognized as the followers of Christ (cf. Jn 13:35; Mt 25:31-46). Such activity is the “criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged” (§28).
The Pope concludes with an invitation to every member of the Church to find “new enthusiasm” in their mission, recognizing “in the Eucharistic source and summit” of all life (§31).
Prayer:
Walk with us, Lord, as you know where we are going better than we do. And stay with us, Lord, as we continue to struggle with the trials in our lives, the hardships that we encounter, and the problems that will come our way. Be with us and help us to feel your presence in every situation in our lives. Grant that we may have an open mind and a heart to understand and fulfill your will in your terms and not in ours. Amen.
Copyright © Dr. Jeffrey & Angie Goh, October 2021. All rights reserved.
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