Christ the Cornerstone

We are called to spread Christ’s eucharistic love and mercy

“A Eucharistic Missionary is any Catholic who—inspired by an encounter with Christ in the Eucharist and fueled by the Bread of Life—allows God to use them as an instrument of his grace ‘for the life of the world.’ These missionaries embrace their deepest identity as a member of the Body of Christ and commit to living a Eucharistic life with a heart for those who are most in need, those who are lost, and those who are the ‘least.’ ” (National Eucharistic Revival, Pillar #4, “Eucharistic Mission”)

One of the pillars of the three-year National Eucharistic Revival is a robust deepening of our appreciation for the holy Eucharist through formation in the great mystery of faith that we celebrate each time we receive the body and blood of Christ at Mass or recognize the real presence of our Lord in eucharistic adoration. No matter how much we know intellectually about the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist, true understanding can only come from experience.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “the principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus” (#1391). The Eucharist preserves, increases and renews the life of grace that we received at baptism. In the end, the Eucharist, which is not a “thing” but a person, Jesus Christ, unites all the faithful in one body—the Church.

Jesus is truly with us when we receive holy Communion and when we adore him in the Blessed Sacrament. But he is not only with us in church. He walks with us as we leave and go about our daily lives. He stands with us as we recall past moments of sorrow or grief. He celebrates with us during festive moments of joy. He offers us his healing love and mercy when we are ill, and he challenges us to remain faithful and to follow in his footsteps—even to the point of suffering and death for the sake of his Gospel.

Above all, Jesus accompanies us when we go forth at the end of Mass and assume our baptismal responsibility as missionary disciples.

Jesus has invited us—individually and as a community of faith—to encounter him in a profoundly personal way in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. He invites us to renew our relationship with him and with one another, to listen to God’s holy word, and to receive his precious body and blood as the spiritual food and drink we desperately need to keep us strong on our journey of faith.

Of course, we know that our reception of the holy Eucharist is not an end in itself. The Eucharist exists for the sake of the mission that Christ entrusted to us, his disciples, before he returned to his Father in heaven: “Go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news” (Mk 16:15). We )are first gathered around the eucharistic table, the altar of Christ’s sacrifice, and then we are sent out to be eucharistic missionaries who share the bread of life with all whose hearts are hungry.

By receiving the Eucharist, God’s grace fills us to overflowing. As stewards of this grace, we are compelled to share it generously with all God’s people. This is what “eucharistic mission” means. The Eucharist makes it possible for us to receive our Lord with a clean heart and to accept his invitation to be missionary disciples in service to others. Allowing Jesus to transform us to be more like himself, and to give ourselves back to him and to others, is at the heart of missionary discipleship.

In his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”), Pope Francis writes, “An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first [1 Jn 4:19], and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast” (#24).

This is the eucharistic mission we have been given—to “go out” and boldly spread the good news of Christ’s eucharistic love and mercy in word and deed to everyone we meet, especially those on the margins of society.

Jesus in the Eucharist is the answer to every restless longing of the human heart. If we truly believe this, then that living faith will compel us to share this joy with our brothers and sisters! That’s what the third year of the National Eucharistic Revival—the Year of Mission—is all about.

Remember, we aren’t doing this alone. The whole Church is walking on mission together, and the revival exists to support us with resources, inspiration and encouragement as we continue on this exciting journey. †