Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Homilies and Addresses of Cardinal Mahony

The Centrality of the Eucharist as the Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church

Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles

Saint Madeleine Sophie Parish Bellevue, Washington
Thursday, May 26, 2005

Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett for his kind invitation to address you this morning. And let me also thank everyone involved in the planning and preparation of this day on which we gather to mark in a very special way the Year of the Eucharist, begun during the pontificate of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, and now continuing to be celebrated with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI as the Chief Shepherd of the Church. Your coming together this morning—clergy, Religious and laity—is a “Sign of Unity, Bond of Love” spoken of by your Archbishop when he describes the Eucharistic Mystery in his Pastoral Letter promulgated on the occasion of this year’s Chrism Mass.

In my remarks this morning, I will focus on Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine (“Stay With Us, Lord”), with which he opened the Year of the Eucharist. The title of the Apostolic Letter comes from one of the accounts of the Easter faith (Luke 24: 13-35) in which Jesus meets disciples on their way. When the two disciples walking to Emmaus encounter Jesus on the road, they “were kept from recognizing him.” “They were looking sad.” Perhaps they were disillusioned, disheartened, or afraid. After recounting to one whom they considered to be a stranger, all that had happened in Jerusalem in recent days, the disciples invite their fellow traveler to join them near day’s end: “Stay with us” (Luke 24: 29).

Jesus remains with them. He joins them at table. There he “took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight” (Luke 24: 31). They recognized his presence not only in the breaking of the bread, but also in breaking open the word of the Scriptures.

I. Eucharist, Communion and Mission

To deepen our understanding of the Church as a Eucharistic Body, Pope John Paul II invited us to ponder the Eucharist through two lenses: 1) as source and manifestation of communion, and 2) as the principle and plan of mission. The Eucharist is both source of our unity and its greatest manifestation. It also impels us to the mission of evangelization—proclaiming the Good news in word and in deed. While we are inclined to think of Eucharist in terms of communion, I wonder if we give enough attention to the Eucharist as the source of our strength for mission. [The story of asking the assembly at the Cathedral on Ascension Day: How many of you are Evangelizers?]

Pope John Paul’s understanding of the Eucharist as source and manifestation of communion and mission was clearly emphasized by Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his first message delivered at the end of Mass with the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on April 20, 2005 the day after his election as Chief Shepherd. There, he reminded us:

“The Eucharist is the heart of Christian life and the source of the evangelizing mission of the Church.” Further: “The Eucharist makes the Risen Christ constantly present, Christ Who continues to give Himself to us, calling us to participate in the banquet of His Body and Blood. From this full communion with Him comes every other element in the life of the Church, in the first place the communion among the faithful, the commitment to proclaim and give witness to the Gospel, and the ardor of charity towards all, especially towards the poor and the smallest.”

The encounter with Christ in our Eucharistic Communion, constantly intensified and deepened with each Eucharistic celebration “issues in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and evangelization” (MND 24). This mission of testimony—testifying in word and deed, in ways both great and small, to the love of God known in the sending of the Father’s only Son and in the gift of the Spirit poured out in our hearts—and the mission of evangelization are given direction by what is said and done in the celebration of the Eucharist.

[Holy Spirit does not take up “temporary residence” in our lives!!]

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles we are now in the process of fully implementing the Pastoral Initiatives of our Archdiocesan Synod. Two of these Initiatives, one of them on the centrality of Sacramental Celebration and the other on the New Evangelization, clearly echo this twofold dimension of Eucharist as source of communion and of mission.

In my capacity as president of the Synod, I observed one quite remarkable development during our Synod Process, which lasted more than two years. There was a gradual movement, which I believe was a movement of the Holy Spirit, from concerns about the internal life of the Church to a much clearer sense of the Church’s mission. [Concerns about “institutional issues” such as altar servers; dress in Church; lack of collaboration between ordained and lay ministers; gripes about the pastor and, yes, even about the Archbishop.] So strong was this awareness of mission in our Synod process, that our final Synod Documents convey this conviction: It is not so much that the Church has a mission; it is rather more that the Mission has a Church. What is this mission, this mission that is rooted in the Eucharist? It is none other than the mission of Jesus Christ the Word, and of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God’s love dwelling in our hearts.

Jesus’ mission is to announce the time of God’s favor, the coming of the Reign of God. Jesus proclaimed the Reign of God as the fulfillment of God’s hope, desire, and intention for the world now and to come. In God’s Reign, truth, holiness, justice, love and peace will hold sway forever. Jesus established the Church to continue and further this mission. He entrusted this mission to the Church: to proclaim in word and deed the Good News of God’s coming among us in Jesus Christ through the gift of the Spirit. This mission is so central to the word and work of Jesus that the Second Vatican Council affirmed and emphasized that “mission” defines the Church. The Church in every dimension of its life and practice exists for mission: to proclaim in word and deed the Reign of God to people in every culture, time and place.

II. Mission Rooted in Eucharist

If “mission” defines the Church in every dimension of its life, how might mission help us understand the Eucharist? We can say this much, at least: The Eucharist, too, is for mission—our mission is rooted in the Eucharist! And it is by being true to our mission that the Church best glorifies God. Further, if we follow the insight of one of the great theologians of the twentieth century, Cardinal Henri de Lubac, S.J., that the Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church, then the Church that is made in the celebration of the Eucharist is a Church-in-the-making for mission.

In our celebration of the Eucharist and in our ongoing mission of witness and evangelization, the Incarnation continues in our own time and place. The light, life, and love of God who has come to the world in fragile flesh continues to come among us in the simple earthen realities of bread and wine. There God is hidden, seen only by those who look in faith, hope and love for the pouring out of God’s gift in the Eucharist. Receiving this gift helps us to be a Holy People who pour forth the life, light and love of God in a world so broken, in a Church with plenty of tensions and struggles.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, comes into the world (John 1: 9). Pope John Paul II calls us to remember that the Eucharist is a “Mystery of Light” (MND 11- 13). The Holy Father reminded us that the Eucharist is celebrated not at one table, but two: The Table of the Word and the Table of the Sacrament. We can see the glory of the Lord at the Eucharistic Table because our eyes and our ears are opened by the proclamation of the Good News in the Liturgy of the Word. And the News is this: God explains who God is as Love. Love radiates from God and instills the light of love in our hearts.

When we celebrate the Eucharist in a way that allows the light of love in our hearts to radiate well beyond our own kin and concerns, then the Eucharist truly becomes an “epiphany of communion” which strengthens us to live our call to “reciprocal openness, affection, understanding and forgiveness.” (MND 21) And in doing so, the Incarnation continues, not only in the Eucharistic celebration, but also in the lives of those who make the love of God seen, touched, and heard in the Church and the world – our mission.

Pope John Paul II reminds us that “more than ever, our troubled world, which began the new Millennium with the specter of terrorism and the tragedy of war, demands that Christians learn to experience the Eucharist as a great school of peace.. .”(MND 27). Urging us to more frequent celebration of the Eucharist, and to a deeper appreciation of the practice of Eucharistic Adoration so that we might be strengthened in our testimony to the light, the Holy Father writes: “May all of you, the Christian faithful, rediscover the gift of the Eucharist as light and strength for your daily lives in the world, in the exercise of your respective professions amid so many different situations.” (MND 30)

When the Letter to the Hebrews (12: 1-3) speaks of a cloud of witnesses surrounding us and strengthening us in faith, we are also reminded that they we have not yet persevered like Jesus to the shedding of our blood. It is in the midst of turmoil, suffering, and death that believers are to give witness to Christ as Light, moving forward on our journey to the fullness of paschal communion.

It is crucial to face the fact that the Church has not always been a light in the darkness. Pope John Paul II repeatedly called us to a “purification of memories,” a call echoed by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict. Our late Holy Father understood the need for purification not just on the part of individuals, but on the part of the whole Church, because the whole Body must be purified, not just this or that part. Why? Because all too often so many of us are motivated by worldly ambition rather than by the pure desire to shed our blood for love; because we have not spoken out clearly and forcefully enough against war, against the Holocaust of the Jews and six million others, against the Rwanda Massacres, against the bitter yoke of Apartheid, the tragic genocide and sufferings in Southern Sudan, and the many other tragic events on the contemporary scene to which Pope John Paul has repeatedly drawn our attention, and to which he called our attention again in opening this Year of the Eucharist (MND 6). And then there are the seemingly countless ways that we continue to betray the gift of God’s love in our relationships with members of our family, with co-workers, with neighbors and in the larger communities where we live.

Our practices of penance and renewal are necessary—not merely desirable and not only limited to the liturgical Season of Lent—so that the Church as a whole might be a better light.

The celebration of the Eucharist and our practice of Eucharistic Adoration are to bring us more deeply into the way of solidarity, especially with those who are wounded and weak, those who are the poor of the earth, with all those who suffer injustice. Consider once more these words of John Paul II:

“The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church’s life; it is also a project of solidarity for all humanity. . . the Christian who takes part in the Eucharist learns to become a promoter of communion, peace, and solidarity in every situation.” (MND no. 27).

In every situation we are to testify to Christ as the Light. This we do in the turmoil of our daily and often quite humdrum lives, as we struggle to find ways to confront the suffering of nations, races, and classes, as we face the many faces of death in our own time and place. The testimony is this: The power of love prevails over all evil. So that we might become a purer light to pierce the dark of night, a more credible witness to the Eucharist as a “Sign of Unity, Bond of Love,” which gives shape to our plan for mission, proclaiming in word and deed the Good News of Jesus Christ.

III. A Eucharistic Mission: Thanksgiving, Solidarity and Service

Pondering the Eucharist as the principle and plan of mission, we see these three crucial elements of a plan for mission: thanksgiving, solidarity, and service. Pope John Paul wrote: “each member of the faithful must assimilate, through personal and communal meditation, the values which the Eucharist expresses, the attitudes it inspires, the resolutions to which it gives rise.” (MND 25) It is by assimilating these Eucharistic values and attitudes, and making the resolutions to which the Eucharist invites us, that we are configured to Christ – that we “put on the mind of Christ” (Phil2:5-11).

What are these values, attitudes, resolutions? Pope John Paul II draws our attention to thanksgiving, solidarity, and service. We are to live from a grateful heart for the gift of God’s love in Christ through the gift of the Spirit. Our call is to live in constant thanksgiving—a Eucharistic life—giving witness to the magnitude, the grandeur, of God’s love for the world. John Paul II has reminded us that this calls us to promote dialogue (MND 26), to recognize the gifts being offered even by those who are different from ourselves. The second element of the plan is solidarity (MND 27). And the third is service of the least—“building a more just and fraternal society.” (MND 28)

Celebrating the Eucharist is to bring us more deeply into the way of solidarity, especially with those who are wounded and weak, those who are the poor of the earth, those who suffer injustice. Consider again the words of Pope John Paul II: “The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church’s life; it is also a project of solidarity for all humanity.” (MND 27)

How, concretely, are we to live the way of thanksgiving, solidarity and service here and now? Especially during these trying times, when the Church continues to struggle with the effects of the sexual abuse scandal in many parts of our country, we do this by giving testimony to the kenosis—the self-emptying of Christ of which we hear in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians—“though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not deem equality with God, but EMPTIED HIMSELF and took the form of a slave” (Phil 2:6-7). Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we enter more deeply into the mystery of the Christ who came among us as a slave, a servant, indeed an outcast, recognizing in his abasement the manifestation of God’s love for our wounded humanity.

There is a manifestation—a revelation—of God’s deep love for the Church at this time, even as it is tested and tried. The Christ we proclaim—and to whom we testify—is the one who emptied himself, entering the human scene in all its brokenness and vulnerability. And it is when WE are broken and vulnerable, weak and wounded, that Christ’s presence is most manifest in our midst, inviting us into the deepest paschal communion. The extraordinary witness to weakness and vulnerability that marked the last years and months of the pontificate of John Paul II is a vivid example. He was never more powerful in his witness than in his utter frailty. By giving witness, bearing testimony to the love of God which overcomes all evil and surpasses all understanding, we too become a “Sign of Unity, Bond of Love,” a sure sign of Christ’s resurrection in our midst.

Our communion is with the One who emptied himself and took the form of a slave, a servant, an outcast. He did so through the kenosis, the emptying of himself in and for love, by which we have some glimpse of the very mind and heart of God whose Love descends and embraces us, all of us, especially the poor of the earth, those who are last and lowest.

Our mission is to put on the mind of Christ by standing in solidarity with the poor, and by giving ourselves to their service. But above all, our mission is to live from a grateful heart, a heart steeped in thanksgiving, professing our faith in Christ’s love even in our weakness and powerlessness, our darkness and anguish—testifying to this love unto death. This we do in the sure hope that the Anointed of God who came to us in the way of “downward mobility” has been exalted and lives in glory at the right hand of the Father. Our communion is with him; and our mission is his. It is our communion with him through the gift of the Spirit to the glory of the Father that the “Sign of Unity, Bond of Love.”

IV. Conclusion

It seems to me that the final Blessing and Dismissal in our Eucharistic Liturgy are ending with a whimper, not an enthusiastic mandate to go forth to share actively in the mission of Jesus Christ. Ite, Missa est has been mistranslated as “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” But the Latin root word for “Missa” is missio. As an aside, our Spanish translations capture the deeper meaning better than our English translation: Pod�is ir en paz, anunciad a todos la alegr�a del Se�or resucitado.

Are we not training our Catholic people to respond “Thanks be to God” to the fact that the Mass is ended? Rather than the reality that they are being sent forth in the power of the Eucharist to continue to the saving work of Jesus Christ?

For many years I have used the following dismissal: “Strengthened and nourished through our Eucharist, let us go forth to proclaim the Lord Jesus!” The “strengthened and nourished” refer to both the Word and the Sacrament of Jesus.

In the homily delivered during his installation as Supreme Pontiff, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, spoke of our bonds of unity and love with all humanity, with all the living, as well as with the dead. He reminded us:

The communion of saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself.

We are most like him when we become the “Sign of Unity, Bond of Love” which we celebrate in the Eucharist, a holy communion, a communion of saints, who, like the one whose name we bear by our baptism, are called to empty ourselves in self-giving love in lives that are truly Eucharistic—lives of thanksgiving, solidarity, and service of the least.

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