THE EUCHARIST

John Paul Speaks

Notable quotations from Pope John Paul II and official
teachings of the Roman Catholic Church

JOYFUL EXPERIENCE

The Church draws her life from the Eucharist ... In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfillment of the promise: "Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist ... she rejoices in this presence with unique intensity. (1)

"CONFIDENT HOPE"

Ever since Pentecost, when the Church ... began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling them with confident hope. (1)

LIFE AND ENLIGHTENMENT

The Church draws her life from Christ in the Eucharist; by Him she is fed and by Him she is enlightened. (6)

"MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION"

The Eucharist, as Christ's saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history.

"PRICELESS TREASURE"

The Eucharist is a priceless treasure: by not only celebrating it but also by praying it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very wellspring of grace. (25)

URGENT APPEAL

I consider it my duty ... to appeal urgently that the liturgical norms for the celebration of the Eucharist be observed with great fidelity. (52)

STRENGTH FROM THE EUCHARIST

Every commitment to holiness, every activity aimed at carrying out the Church’s mission, every work of pastoral planning, must draw the strength it needs from the Eucharistic mystery and in turn be directed to that mystery as its culmination. (60)

"WITNESSES OF HOPE"

In the humble signs of bread and wine, changed into His body and blood, Christ walks beside us as our strength and our food for the journey, and He enables us to become, for everyone, witnesses of hope. (62)

"ADORATION AND UNBOUNDED LOVE"

If, in the presence of this mystery, reason experiences its limits, the heart, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, clearly sees the response that is demanded, and bows low in adoration and unbounded love. (62)

(Source: Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, issued April 17, 2003)