COVID AND THE EUCHARIST

This week In Budapest, Hungary, a Eucharistic Congress is taking place.  We have known such an emphasis on the Eucharist in our own country, since the beginning of the pandemic. It is gratifying to know that this theme continues on a wider scale.

There are more than 60 speakers from nearly 40 countries on five continents participating, with the congress closing with a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on Sunday Sept. 12. The congress, which is held every four years and was postponed from 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, aims to deepen knowledge and respect for the Eucharist. The theme is “All my springs are in you,” and each day includes Mass and cultural and spiritual events around the Hungarian capital.

 At the Congress’ opening Mass Sept. 5, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, said the Eucharist “goes beyond all loneliness, all distance and all indifference...faith is not a series of prohibitions, but rather a great ‘yes’ to joy, even when it is demanding, because love is a serious thing.”

Celebrating Mass Sept. 7, Archbishop José Palma of Cebu, Philippines, spoke about the experience of being family each time the Eucharist is celebrated.

“Right at the start of the Holy Mass, we let go of our social status and the many things that divide us, for we become one family of believers. It is also in every Eucharist where we let go of our titles and call each one as brothers and sisters, and we ask the Lord to make ‘my sacrifice and yours be acceptable to the almighty Father.'”

The congress is important “because it deals with all aspects of life,” Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix of Quebectold Vatican Radio.The congress is “a place where we come to the Source, where we come to the Lord as humanity, as church and allow Him to renew us, give us more strength so we can continue living in the midst of this very troubled world and find hope."

On the feast of the Birth of Our Lady, Sept. 8, Burma’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo spoke of the importance of imitating Jesus’ patience amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Look at our world and our lives. The modern man lives in a feverish pitch. He is in a tearing hurry. He is rushing all the time. He is restless. He wants to acquire more, consume more. He is not content. He abhors silence. He cannot wait. Speed, speed is the number one value today. Being slow is considered a vice, a waste of time. But Jesus waits. He came to us because he loves us.  Time is not a commodity; it is a communion of hearts. Jesus waits patiently in the Eucharist.”

“Life is not a fast-food restaurant; it is a patient pilgrimage. Fast internet may connect smartphones; only patience connects hearts,” The 72-year-old Salesian cardinal called the COVID-19 pandemic the “irritating teacher of patience.

 "COVID has taught us this virtue in the most painful way.  COVID robbed us of our Sunday Communion, Eucharist, the source and summit of our spiritual life. It did bring spiritual and emotional challenges. But through this darkness, the Lord has worked to rebuild us to have patience amidst this existential threat.”

Pope Francis has designated Quito, Ecuador, as the venue for the 2024 International Eucharistic Congress.