Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Part III

​After a hiatus, we return to our document study of Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical: Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Read parts I,  and II. 

Our first post reviewed the Introduction and first chapter of this document, rekindling our
amazement in the gift of the Eucharist by emphasizing the presence of the entire Paschal
Mystery of Jesus Christ in every Eucharistic consecration. Our second installment considered the Holy Father’s reflections on how the Eucharist “Builds the Church” by conforming each faithful recipient to Christ. This gift of the Eucharist is “Apostolic” in three ways: 1) it was entrusted to the apostles, 2) it is celebrated in conformity with the faith of the apostles, and 3) we would not have the Eucharist without apostolic succession. This final part will review the last three chapters and the conclusion of the encyclical.

Chapter Four is titled “The Eucharist and Ecclesial Communion.” This beautiful chapter
follows upon the progression of the previous three. It is a loving reminder that the Eucharist is “the culmination of all the sacraments”, for by it our communion with the Triune God is perfected. In the other six sacraments – Baptism, Confession, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick – we receive Sanctifying Grace for our state in life. But in receiving the Holy Eucharist, the well-disposed soul receives God Himself. Because of this intimate union with the Divine, the Holy Father reminds us that participation in this Communion means we ought also to be living in charity with our neighbor. If any of us is conscious of a grave sin against God or our neighbor, we should refrain from the sacrilege of receiving unworthily the Most Holy Eucharist.

Anointing by William Hole

The next chapter begins with a meditation on the Anointing at Bethany (cf. Mt. 26:8; Mk 14:4; Jn. 12:4). Before the Last Supper and Passion of Jesus, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, anoints His head with a costly ointment. The response of Judas is that this is a “waste”, but our Lord commends Mary’s generosity and love. This meditation continues as the Holy Father reflects on our Lord’s directions to His disciples before the Last Supper, that they carefully prepare the Upper Room in which the Passover meal is to be celebrated according to the prescribed rites. Inspired by these Gospel passages, St. John Paul II exhorts us to observe the dignity and solemnity of the Eucharistic mystery with great fidelity. We cannot neglect the poor who are always with us, but our ministry to the least among us need not limit our ability to be generous and extravagant in our observance of the Eucharistic Liturgy the Church has preserved for us.

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Comunione Della Vergine by Alonso Cano

Chapter Six is very dear to the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa, for it contains the three pillars of our Spirituality: Ecclesial, Eucharistic, and Marian. In this last chapter on Mary, “Woman of the Eucharist”, St. John Paul II shows that, though she was likely nearby at the time of the Institution of the Eucharist and certainly was present at the Eucharist celebrations of the early Church, the Blessed Mother was the perfect Eucharistic disciple throughout her whole life. We see this clearly at the Annunciation, when she conceived Jesus – true God and true Man – by the power of the Holy Spirit. She must have recalled this moment in salvation history every time she received Jesus in the Eucharist at Mass! Surely she would have recalled the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist as well, recalling the moment at the Foot of the Cross when her Son offered His Life to redeem men from their sins and made her the Mother of the Church.

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In his Conclusion, St. John Paul II gives a summary of all the dimensions of the Eucharist
he has considered in this encyclical, which was to be his last. His great personal love for the
Eucharist shines forth. He exhorts us to follow the example of Mary and of the saints, who let themselves be transformed by our Lord’s True Presence in the Eucharist.
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May we, like them, grow in union with the Trinity and each other by the infinite grace of
Jesus, meek and humble, truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist!