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1. In this
Year of the Eucharist, I
particularly welcome our annual spiritual
encounter for Holy Thursday, the day when Christ's love was manifested "to the
end" (cf. Jn 13:1), the day of the Eucharist, the day of our priesthood.
My thoughts turn to you, dear priests, as I spend this time recuperating in
hospital, a patient alongside other patients, uniting in the Eucharist my own
sufferings with those of Christ. In this spirit I want to reflect with you on
some aspects of our priestly spirituality.
I will take as my inspiration the words of Eucharistic consecration, which we
say every day in persona Christi in order to make present on our altars
the sacrifice made once and for all on Calvary. These words provide us with
illuminating insights for priestly spirituality: if the whole Church draws life
from the Eucharist, all the more then must the life of a priest be "shaped" by
the Eucharist. So for us, the words of institution must be more than a formula
of consecration: they must be a "formula of life".
A life of profound "gratitude''
2. "Tibi gratias agens benedixit". At every
Mass we remember and
relive the first sentiment
expressed by Jesus as he broke the bread: that of thanksgiving. Gratitude
is the disposition which lies at the root of the very word "Eucharist". This
expression of thanksgiving contains the whole Biblical spirituality of praise
for the mirabilia Dei. God loves us, he goes before us in his
Providence, he accompanies us with his continuous saving acts.
In the Eucharist Jesus thanks the Father with us and for us. How could this
thanksgiving of Jesus fail to shape the life of a priest? He knows that he must
cultivate a constant sense of gratitude for the many gifts he has
received in the course of his life: in particular, for the gift of faith, which
it is his task to proclaim, and for the gift of the priesthood, which
consecrates him totally to the service of the Kingdom of God. We have our
crosses to bear — and we are certainly not the only ones! — but the gifts we
have received are so great that we cannot fail to sing from the depths of our
hearts our own Magnificat.
A life that is "given''
3. "Accipite et manducate. Accipite et bibite".
Christ's self-giving, which has its origin in the Trinitarian life of the God
who is Love, reaches its culmination in the sacrifice of the Cross,
sacramentally anticipated in the Last Supper. It is impossible to repeat the
words of consecration without feeling oneself caught up in this spiritual
movement. In a certain sense, when he says the words: "take and eat", the
priest must learn to apply them also to himself, and to speak them with truth
and generosity. If he is able to offer himself as a gift, placing himself at the
disposal of the community and at the service of anyone in need, his life takes
on its true meaning.
This is exactly what Jesus expected of his apostles,
as the Evangelist John emphasizes in his account of the washing of the feet. It is also what the People
of God expect of a priest. If we think about it more fully, the priest's promise
of obedience, which he made on the day of Ordination and is asked to
renew at the Chrism Mass, is illuminated by this relationship with the Eucharist.
Obeying out of love, sacrificing even a certain legitimate freedom when
the authoritative discernment of the Bishop so requires, the priest lives out in
his own flesh that "take and eat" with which Christ, in the Last Supper, gave
himself to the Church.
A life that is "saved'' in order to save
4. "Hoc est enim corpus meum quod pro vobis tradetur."
The body and the
blood of Christ are given for the salvation of man, of the whole man and
of all men. This salvation is integral and at the same time
universal, because no one, unless he freely chooses, is excluded from the
saving power of Christ's blood: "qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur".
It is a sacrifice offered for "many'', as the Biblical text says (Mk
14:24; Mt 26:28; cf. Is 53:11-12); this typical Semitic expression
refers to the multitude who are saved by Christ, the one Redeemer, yet at the
same time it implies the totality of human beings to whom salvation is
offered: the Lord's blood is "shed for you and for all", as some
translations legitimately make explicit. Christ's flesh is truly given "for the
life of the world" (Jn 6:51; cf. 1 Jn 2:2).
Repeating Christ's venerable words in the recollected
silence of the liturgical
assembly, we priests become privileged heralds of this mystery of
salvation. Yet unless we sense that we ourselves are saved, how can we be
convincing heralds? We are the first to be touched inwardly by the grace which
raises us from our frailty and makes us cry "Abba, Father" with the confidence
of God's children (cf. Gal 4:6; Rom 8:15). This in turn commits us
to advance along the path of perfection. Holiness, in fact, is the full
expression of salvation. Only if our lives manifest the fact that we are
saved do we become credible heralds of salvation. Moreover, a constant awareness
of Christ's will to offer salvation to all cannot fail to inspire us with
fresh missionary fervour, spurring each of us on to become "all things
to all men, in order to save at least some of them" (1 Cor 9:22).
A life that "remembers''
5. "Hoc facite in meam commemorationem."
These words of Jesus have been
preserved for us not only by Luke (22:19) but also by Paul (1 Cor 11:24).
We should keep in mind that they were spoken in the context of the Paschal meal,
which for the Jews was indeed a "memorial" (in Hebrew, zikkarôn). On
that occasion the Israelites relived the Exodus first and foremost, but also the
other important events of their history: the call of Abraham, the sacrifice of
Isaac, the Covenant of Sinai, the many acts of God in defence of his people. For
Christians too, the Eucharist is a "memorial", but of a unique kind: it not
only commemorates, but sacramentally makes present the death and resurrection of
the Lord.
Jesus said: "Do this in memory of me".
The Eucharist does not simply
commemorate a fact; it commemorates Him! Through his daily repetition in
persona Christi of the words of the "memorial", the priest is invited to
develop a "spirituality of remembrance". At a time when rapid social and
cultural changes are weakening the sense of tradition and leading the younger
generation especially to risk losing touch with their roots, the priest is
called to be, within the community entrusted to him, the man who faithfully
remembers the entire mystery of Christ: prefigured in the Old Testament,
fulfilled in the New, and understood ever more deeply, under the guidance of the
Spirit, as Jesus explicitly promised: "He will teach you all things and
bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (Jn 14:26).
A "consecrated'' life
6. "Mysterium fidei!"
Every time he proclaims these words after
consecrating the bread and wine, the priest expresses his ever-renewed
amazement at the extraordinary miracle worked at his hands. It is a miracle
which only the eyes of faith can perceive. The natural elements do not lose
their external characteristics, since the "species" remain those of bread and
wine; but their "substance", through the power of Christ's word and the action
of the Holy Spirit, is changed into the substance of the body and blood of
Christ. On the altar, then, Christ crucified and risen is "truly, really and
substantially" present in the fullness of his humanity and divinity. What an
eminently sacred reality! That is why the Church treats this mystery with
such great reverence, and takes such care
to ensure the observance of the liturgical norms intended to safeguard the
sanctity of so great a sacrament.
We priests are the celebrants,
but also the guardians of this most
sacred mystery. It is our relationship to the Eucharist that most clearly
challenges us to lead a "sacred'' life. This must shine forth from our whole
way of being, but above all from the way we celebrate. Let us sit at the school
of the saints! The
Year of the Eucharist
invites us to rediscover those saints
who were vigorous proponents of Eucharistic devotion (cf.
Mane Nobiscum
Domine, 31). Many beatified and canonized priests have given exemplary
testimony in this regard, enkindling fervour among the faithful present at their
celebrations of Mass. Many of them were known for their prolonged Eucharistic
adoration. To place ourselves before Jesus in the Eucharist, to take advantage
of our ``moments of solitude'' and to fill them with this Presence, is to
enliven our consecration by our personal relationship with Christ, from whom our
life derives its joy and its meaning.
A life centred on Christ
7. “Mortem tuam annuntiamus, Domine, et tuam
resurrectionem confitemur,
donec venias.'' Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, the remembrance of
Christ in his Paschal Mystery leads to the desire for a full and definitive
encounter with Him. We live in expectation of his coming! In priestly
spirituality, this expectation must be lived out through pastoral charity,
which impels us to live in the midst of God's People, so as to direct their path
and to nourish their hope. This task requires from the priest an interior
attitude similar to that of the Apostle Paul: "Forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal'' (Phil
3:13-14). The priest is someone who, despite the passing of years, continues
to radiate youthfulness, spreading it almost "contagiously" among those he
meets along the way. His secret lies in his ``passion'' for Christ. As Saint
Paul said: "For me, to live is Christ" (Phil 1:21).
Particularly in the context of the new evangelization,
the people have a right
to turn to priests in the hope of "seeing'' Christ in them (cf. Jn
12:21). The young feel the need for this especially; Christ continues to call
them, to make them his friends and to challenge some to
give themselves completely for the sake of the Kingdom. Vocations will certainly
not be lacking if our manner of life is truly priestly, if we become more holy,
more joyful, more impassioned in the exercise of our ministry. A priest "won''
by Christ (cf. Phil 3:12) more easily "wins" others,
so that they too decide to set out on the same adventure.
A "Eucharistic'' life at the school of Mary
8. The relationship between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Eucharist is a very
close one, as I pointed out in the Encyclical
Ecclesia de Eucharistia
(cf. Nos. 53-58). In its own sober liturgical language, every Eucharistic Prayer
brings this out. Thus in the Roman Canon we say: "In union with the whole
Church we honour Mary, the ever-virgin Mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and
God". In the other Eucharistic Prayers, honour leads to petition, as for
example in Prayer II: "Make us worthy to share eternal life with Mary, the
virgin Mother of God."
In recent years, I have warmly recommended the contemplation of the face of
Christ, especially in my Letters
Novo Millennio Ineunte (cf. Nos. 23ff.)
and in
Rosarium Virginis Mariae
(cf. Nos. 9ff.), and I have pointed to Mary as our great teacher. In the
Encyclical on the Eucharist I then spoke of her as the
"Woman of the
Eucharist" (cf. No. 53). Who more than Mary can help us taste the greatness of
the Eucharistic mystery? She more than anyone can teach us how to celebrate the
sacred mysteries with due fervour and to commune with her Son, hidden in the
Eucharist. I pray to her, then, for all of you, and I entrust to her especially
the elderly, the sick, and those in difficulty. This Easter, in the
Year of the Eucharist, I gladly repeat to each of you the gentle and consoling words of
Jesus: "Behold your Mother" (Jn 19:27).
With these sentiments, I send you my heartfelt blessing, and I wish you the
profound joy of Easter.
From Gemelli Hospital in Rome, on 13 March, the Fifth Sunday of Lent, in the
year 2005, the twenty-seventh of my Pontificate.
JOHN PAUL II
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