ENCYCLICAL LETTER
OF HIS HOLINESS
POPE JOHN PAUL II
TO THE BISHOPS
PRIESTS AND DEACONS
MEN AND WOMEN
IN THE CONSECRATED LIFE
AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON THE EUCHARIST
IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHURCH

On the 17th April 2003, Holy Thursday of that year, Pope John Paul issued his encyclical on the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church. Addressed to 'the Bishops, Priests and Deacons, Men and Women in the Consecrated Life and all the Lay Faithful,' it opens up discussion on the nature and place of the Eucharist in Christian life. One could say that it marks the beginning of a eucharistic drive within the Church, led by the Pope. Since the publication of the Encyclical a set of norms and regulations on the proper celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist has been promulgated, the Year of the Eucharist has begun and will finish next October with the gathering of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, when the topic will be further exploration of the Eucharist.

As part of our celebration of the Year of the Eucharist we will take a look at the Encyclical, reflect on its contents and try to tease out its implications for us.

The Encyclical is addressed to all the Church. This is highlighted from the very beginning. The importance of the topic is thus brought out immediately. The Eucharist is crucial for all.

The Encyclical is divided into an Introduction and Six Chapters. The six chapters have the following titles:

Chapter One The Mystery of Faith
Chapter Two The Eucharist Builds the Church
Chapter Three The Apostolicity of the Eucharist and of the Church
Chapter Four The Eucharist and Ecclesial Communion
Chapter Five The Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration
Chapter Six At the School of Mary, "Woman of the Eucharist".

The document is also divided into paragraphs (62 in total) and the approach we will take is to print the text of one or two paragraphs every week and comment on it.

The Introduction consists of ten paragraphs and provides a foundation for the further development of our understanding of the sacrament of the Eucharist and its ramifications for the life of the Church.

Paragraph 1. The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfilment of the promise: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28: 20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this presence with unique intensity. 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.
The Second Vatican Council rightly proclaimed that the Eucharistic sacrifice is "the source and summit of the Christian life". [Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, 11] "For the Most Holy Eucharist contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself, our passover and living bread. Through his own flesh, now made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he offers life to men". [Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5] Consequently the gaze of the Church is constantly turned to her Lord, present in the Sacrament of the Altar, in which she discovers the full manifestation of his boundless love.

In this opening paragraph we are presented with a synthesis of the most fundamental points regarding the Eucharist. The Real Presence of Christ is central. The Eucharist is Jesus Christ. It is not merely a symbol and its celebration is not merely a commemoration. Central to our understanding is that Christ becomes presence on the altar and he is not passive but active - he is made living and life-giving. The place of the Eucharist in Christian life is stated clearly and without reserve - it is the source and summit of the Christian life; the Church draws her life from the Eucharist; it contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth, Christ himself.
We are left in no doubt that our whole spirituality is Christ-centred - or Christocentric. Without the presence of Jesus Christ we are poor, empty and floundering. Hope in the person of Christ is nourished in his constant presence with us in the sacrament. Everything we are, and all that we have, spiritually is seen as rooted in him. He is the centre. We gather around him, especially in the celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy - when we gather round the altar to welcome him and to receive him.

The ideas presented in this paragraph form the cornerstone of all reflection on the Eucharist and its place in our lives. The fact that it is seen as the source and summit of Christian life in itself shows why the community gathering on the Lord's Day is seen as so important. Coming together to praise him, to join in his passion, death and resurrection, and to receive his flesh, the Bread of Life to eat, inspires us and we are called to bring all that we are and have to the celebration, recognizing in it the most valuable person and possession of the Church..

As we begin our exploration let us pose some questions: Do I see the Eucharist as the most valuable and important reality in my life? Does our community celebration show this truth? What can I do to make it central in my own life and how can we as a community express that it is from the Eucharist we draw life?