I. Introduction
Light and Shadows
We have a famous adage “we are afraid of our own shadows”. The shadow that we see in front of us is ever present wherever we move and go. We clearly recognized our own shadows because we are away from or we turn back to the light. We cannot see our shadows when we are illuminated by the presence of light. And only the light will eliminates the threats of darkness that troubling our life. Today, we are facing in many threatening realities and even alarming situations that divide us because of pride, material interest and power. This is dilemma that the world is facing and will experience in the course of time. Christian life faces various “shadows” that results of the loss of sense of God and moral principles. We live in tough times; with the economic and spiritual forces that we felt through our choices. We need light to be enlightened by the shadow of a culture that denies respect to life in all its stages; the shadow of indifference that condemns countless people to a life of hunger and underdevelopment, of injustices and racism, of separation and division; the shadow of science whose research is too often at the service of the selfish mighty". We need the light that will illumine our life and lead us to the paths of fully Christian life. John Paul II said,
…the Eucharist is light "for the heart of man oppressed by sin, disoriented and tired", the light for a world that is "in a difficult search for a seemingly distant peace in a new millennium distressed and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war". For the Pope, the "light" of the Eucharist is also a mystery as a way to relate to the problems of our times.[1]
II. The Challenge to Cast the Light
Here is the threatening question of the modern man. Does the world still need God; does it need such a clear sign of his presence as is the Eucharist? Does the world need faith?
Our world today is not so much in danger of losing God but substituting him. Urbanization and the loss of tradition had led to secularized society. Perhaps modern man is blinded by the shadow that confronts him. He is actually hiding in fear with his own shadow and stiff necked in looking back to see the light, with his fully tanked intellect, he don’t considers the need of God in his life. Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia names crucial issues that threateningly "darken the horizon of our time."[2] Among those threats, there is the pressing need to secure peace, to solidify the relationships between nations and peoples on the foundations of justice and solidarity, and for the defense of human life from conception to natural death. Pope John Paul II then focused attention on the dehumanizing fallout in "a 'globalized' world where the weakest, the most powerless and the poorest appear to have so little hope!" Christian hope must penetrate the darkness that shrouds the lives of so many millions of men and women subsisting in radical poverty. The Eucharistic presence of Christ in meal and sacrifice portrayed in the Last Supper narrative in the Gospel according to St. John becomes "the promise of a humanity renewed by his love."[3] And he added that Christians as citizens in the world are called to "the task of contributing with the light of the Gospel to the building of a more human world, a world fully in harmony with God's plan."
Yes, today we are facing a Western agnostic materialism, which seems to go in prosperity, but inside is unhappy and desperate. This agnosticism definitely needs the Eucharist that supplements and nourishes the soul: this is what is needed by this society without life and without faith. The Eucharist give a new social environment: it creates and transforms life, gives a sense of plenitude, give a sense of existence and therefore will not go after suicides, drugs, artificial paradises. The Eucharist can give so much to the world. The Eucharist rebalances man, who needs to change. The Eucharist is the presence of light and that casts light in the midst of the seemingly frightening shadows.
Mystery of light and of faith! The human heart, oppressed by sin, often disoriented, tired and burdened by all sorts of suffering, needs light in order that the seed of faith grows. It is like the plants need the sun to grow and bear fruits. The world, too, needs light in its difficult search for a seemingly distant peace, of distressed and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war. We need to recognize that the presence of Christ is a personal presence and that his primary appeal is to the human heart where faith should start. The Eucharist is light! In the Word of God constantly proclaimed, bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. It is He, the resurrected Lord, who opens minds and hearts. When the bread is broken, He lets Himself be recognized as did the two disciples in Emmaus. It is in this welcoming gesture that we relive the sacrifice on the Cross, experience God's infinite love and are called upon to spread the light of Christ among the men and women of our times".[4] Christ offers himself for us to the Father, letting us participate in his own sacrifice, and gives himself to us as the bread of life for our journey through the world.[5] (cfr Enc. Ecclesia de Eucaristia, 53-58).
It is a Communion. The Eucharist means brotherhood. For John Paul II compels us to feel "the needs of our brothers. We cannot lock our heart away and hide from their calls for help. And yet we cannot forget that Man does not live of bread alone for we also need the bread that comes from the heavens. Jesus is that bread. Feeding from Him means accepting God's life and opening ourselves to love and sharing."[6] In his Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine (2004), Pope John Paul II spoke of the Eucharist as “a project of solidarity”.[7] It is therefore the light that will remove the problem of injustices that will rise to new social order. In the Eucharist there will be no distinction on race, color, ethnicity and social status. It will be a celebration of equality, love and brotherhood.
“As a sacrament, the Eucharist affects what it signifies: covenant; communion with God through Christ and with one another; and Christ’s real and transforming presence that transfigures us into the body of Christ, making us God’s temple and children of God’s Holy Spirit.”[8]
It is a celebration and sacrament of love. The Eucharist and its celebration is an expression of thanksgiving and love. It is where charity and life intermingled together. The Holy Spirit is the immeasurable strength of love which makes it possible for us to be renewed and revitalized and continues to make it effective even we are not in the context of the celebration. Our celebration of the Eucharist cannot be divorced from the injustices around us. “The Eucharist commits us to the poor”[9] (Catechism, 1397).
…..in each celebration of the Eucharist, the transformation of worship into “a great school of charity, justice and peace” remains an ongoing challenge to translate “the banquet of the Lord” into “the banquet of life.” The scope of the Eucharist is global and inclusive. The Eucharist challenges us to reach out to the entire human family and to all God’s creation; to examine, for example, the negative aspects of globalization and its impact on people’s lives.[10]
The Mass is therefore not a game, nor a mere theatrical representation, the launch of social activity, but the re-presentation of the salvific drama of Calvary, re-presentation as biblical and mystical memory. But mystical does not indicate solely something symbolic, something almost fake, far from truth. The Sacrament expresses a living reality. John Paul II calls for the dignity of the celebration.[11] In the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, John Paul II called on the faithful to "start afresh from Christ" (nn. 29 ss.) and that is through the celebration of the Eucharist. To start afresh means to turn back and look the light again. To cast the shadows of life is to be illumined by the Light, and to set the world in true light is to recognize the true presence of Light in our life.
Light and Shadows
We have a famous adage “we are afraid of our own shadows”. The shadow that we see in front of us is ever present wherever we move and go. We clearly recognized our own shadows because we are away from or we turn back to the light. We cannot see our shadows when we are illuminated by the presence of light. And only the light will eliminates the threats of darkness that troubling our life. Today, we are facing in many threatening realities and even alarming situations that divide us because of pride, material interest and power. This is dilemma that the world is facing and will experience in the course of time. Christian life faces various “shadows” that results of the loss of sense of God and moral principles. We live in tough times; with the economic and spiritual forces that we felt through our choices. We need light to be enlightened by the shadow of a culture that denies respect to life in all its stages; the shadow of indifference that condemns countless people to a life of hunger and underdevelopment, of injustices and racism, of separation and division; the shadow of science whose research is too often at the service of the selfish mighty". We need the light that will illumine our life and lead us to the paths of fully Christian life. John Paul II said,
…the Eucharist is light "for the heart of man oppressed by sin, disoriented and tired", the light for a world that is "in a difficult search for a seemingly distant peace in a new millennium distressed and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war". For the Pope, the "light" of the Eucharist is also a mystery as a way to relate to the problems of our times.[1]
II. The Challenge to Cast the Light
Here is the threatening question of the modern man. Does the world still need God; does it need such a clear sign of his presence as is the Eucharist? Does the world need faith?
Our world today is not so much in danger of losing God but substituting him. Urbanization and the loss of tradition had led to secularized society. Perhaps modern man is blinded by the shadow that confronts him. He is actually hiding in fear with his own shadow and stiff necked in looking back to see the light, with his fully tanked intellect, he don’t considers the need of God in his life. Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia names crucial issues that threateningly "darken the horizon of our time."[2] Among those threats, there is the pressing need to secure peace, to solidify the relationships between nations and peoples on the foundations of justice and solidarity, and for the defense of human life from conception to natural death. Pope John Paul II then focused attention on the dehumanizing fallout in "a 'globalized' world where the weakest, the most powerless and the poorest appear to have so little hope!" Christian hope must penetrate the darkness that shrouds the lives of so many millions of men and women subsisting in radical poverty. The Eucharistic presence of Christ in meal and sacrifice portrayed in the Last Supper narrative in the Gospel according to St. John becomes "the promise of a humanity renewed by his love."[3] And he added that Christians as citizens in the world are called to "the task of contributing with the light of the Gospel to the building of a more human world, a world fully in harmony with God's plan."
Yes, today we are facing a Western agnostic materialism, which seems to go in prosperity, but inside is unhappy and desperate. This agnosticism definitely needs the Eucharist that supplements and nourishes the soul: this is what is needed by this society without life and without faith. The Eucharist give a new social environment: it creates and transforms life, gives a sense of plenitude, give a sense of existence and therefore will not go after suicides, drugs, artificial paradises. The Eucharist can give so much to the world. The Eucharist rebalances man, who needs to change. The Eucharist is the presence of light and that casts light in the midst of the seemingly frightening shadows.
Mystery of light and of faith! The human heart, oppressed by sin, often disoriented, tired and burdened by all sorts of suffering, needs light in order that the seed of faith grows. It is like the plants need the sun to grow and bear fruits. The world, too, needs light in its difficult search for a seemingly distant peace, of distressed and humiliated by violence, terrorism and war. We need to recognize that the presence of Christ is a personal presence and that his primary appeal is to the human heart where faith should start. The Eucharist is light! In the Word of God constantly proclaimed, bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. It is He, the resurrected Lord, who opens minds and hearts. When the bread is broken, He lets Himself be recognized as did the two disciples in Emmaus. It is in this welcoming gesture that we relive the sacrifice on the Cross, experience God's infinite love and are called upon to spread the light of Christ among the men and women of our times".[4] Christ offers himself for us to the Father, letting us participate in his own sacrifice, and gives himself to us as the bread of life for our journey through the world.[5] (cfr Enc. Ecclesia de Eucaristia, 53-58).
It is a Communion. The Eucharist means brotherhood. For John Paul II compels us to feel "the needs of our brothers. We cannot lock our heart away and hide from their calls for help. And yet we cannot forget that Man does not live of bread alone for we also need the bread that comes from the heavens. Jesus is that bread. Feeding from Him means accepting God's life and opening ourselves to love and sharing."[6] In his Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine (2004), Pope John Paul II spoke of the Eucharist as “a project of solidarity”.[7] It is therefore the light that will remove the problem of injustices that will rise to new social order. In the Eucharist there will be no distinction on race, color, ethnicity and social status. It will be a celebration of equality, love and brotherhood.
“As a sacrament, the Eucharist affects what it signifies: covenant; communion with God through Christ and with one another; and Christ’s real and transforming presence that transfigures us into the body of Christ, making us God’s temple and children of God’s Holy Spirit.”[8]
It is a celebration and sacrament of love. The Eucharist and its celebration is an expression of thanksgiving and love. It is where charity and life intermingled together. The Holy Spirit is the immeasurable strength of love which makes it possible for us to be renewed and revitalized and continues to make it effective even we are not in the context of the celebration. Our celebration of the Eucharist cannot be divorced from the injustices around us. “The Eucharist commits us to the poor”[9] (Catechism, 1397).
…..in each celebration of the Eucharist, the transformation of worship into “a great school of charity, justice and peace” remains an ongoing challenge to translate “the banquet of the Lord” into “the banquet of life.” The scope of the Eucharist is global and inclusive. The Eucharist challenges us to reach out to the entire human family and to all God’s creation; to examine, for example, the negative aspects of globalization and its impact on people’s lives.[10]
The Mass is therefore not a game, nor a mere theatrical representation, the launch of social activity, but the re-presentation of the salvific drama of Calvary, re-presentation as biblical and mystical memory. But mystical does not indicate solely something symbolic, something almost fake, far from truth. The Sacrament expresses a living reality. John Paul II calls for the dignity of the celebration.[11] In the Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, John Paul II called on the faithful to "start afresh from Christ" (nn. 29 ss.) and that is through the celebration of the Eucharist. To start afresh means to turn back and look the light again. To cast the shadows of life is to be illumined by the Light, and to set the world in true light is to recognize the true presence of Light in our life.
III. The Actions to Move Toward the Light
As I reflected the different dimensions and aspects of the Eucharist, it had made me realized that the Eucharist is such an immense mystery and its dimensions are wholly enormous. As a seminarian, especially a bearer of the name Blessed Sacrament is a challenge to me as a future priest to become a Eucharist for others, to be bread, broken and ready to be shared for all. I believe that we must provide the connection of the theology of Eucharist as a source of solidarity for all humanity and our sacramental practice which is often disconnected from reality. Solidarity requires us to be concerned not only about local issues but also global issues such as war, drugs, guns, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, crime and violence, abortion, euthanasia etc.
We can say then that the Eucharist changes bread and wine; it changes us also. It has a transformative power and the potential for personal and global transformation. The Eucharist is essentially active, enabling us to “do this”, all of it, “in memory of me”.[12] Therefore the Eucharist must engage the genuine transformation of the world. To keep from being false or trivialized, our Eucharistic worship should embody justice at its very core. The Eucharist provides spiritual food which empowers us in our Christian lives. Therefore, though the Eucharist calls us to ACTION, it nourishes us and strengthens us in virtue so that we can carry out the Church’s mission in the world. It assists us with the discernment process that is necessary for the work in hand. We pray “that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ.”[13]
[1] Cf. Asia News
[2] Ecclesia Eucharistia #49
[3] Eucharist and Social Justice, A. Ketteler Catholic Conference of G. Britain, April 20, 2005
[4] Cf. Asia News, year of the Eucharist
[5] Ecclesia de Eucaristia, 53-58).
[6] Mane Noviscum Domine# 19
[7] Mane Noviscum Domine# 21
[8] Cf. Mane Noviscum Domine # 19
[9] Catechism of Catholic Church #1397
[10] Cf. Eucharist and Social Justice, A. Ketteler Catholic Conference of G. Britain, April 20, 2005
[11] Mane Noviscum Domine#12
[12] Regnum Christi, Documents on Eucharist And Social Justice. May 9, 2005
[13] Cf. Regnum Christi, Documents on Eucharist And Social Justice. May 9, 2005
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