The Truly Christian Life

by Fr. Roger J. Landry - October 7, 2005

Forty years ago, as the Second Vatican Council was coming to a close, Pope Paul VI established the Synod of Bishops as a regular organ for the successors of the apostles to continue the work of the Council, examining the signs of the times and responding to them with the proclamation of the Gospel.

Earlier this week, one of the most famous and influential of the theological experts at Vatican II inaugurated the 11th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Pope Benedict XVI, with 256 bishops and various experts from around the world, began three solid weeks of study, prayer and discussion on the theme, "The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church."

The Second Vatican Council taught that the Eucharist is "the source and the summit of the Christian life" (Lumen Gentium 11): the source, because it the reality from which everything in the Christian life should flow; the summit, because it is the reality toward which everything in the Christian life should go. The Eucharist is the beginning and the goal of the Christian life because the Eucharist is Jesus Christ, who must be the "alpha and the omega," of any life that is authentically Christian.

What is true for the Christian is true for the Church as a whole. Pope John Paul II began the last encyclical of his pontificate with the statement "Ecclesia de Eucaristia vivit," the Church draws her life from the Eucharist. In his Angelus message to inaugurate the Synod, Pope Benedict confirmed and elaborated upon his predecessor's declaration, saying "the Eucharist is the motor of the whole of the Church's evangelizing action, as the heart is in the human body."

Without the Eucharist as the "motor" and "heart" of everything the Church does and is, particular churches or parishes lose their identity. "Without the Eucharistic celebration where they are nourished at the dual table of the Word and body of Christ," Benedict stressed, "Christian communities would lose their authentic nature: Only in the measure that they are 'Eucharistic' can they transmit Christ to men, and not just ideas or values regardless of how noble or important they are."

For the Church to transmit Christ and not just "Catholic values" to others, the members of the Church must find in the Eucharistic Lord their root and center. The Synod seeks to draw the attention of the whole Church to this fundamental truth. Parishes and faithful disciples, like Martha, are often busy doing many good things for the Lord. This Eucharistic Year has been the time during which the Lord, through two of his earthly vicars, has reminded us that really "only one thing is necessary." Christ, present for us under a Eucharistic disguise, is that uniquely indispensable reality.

The Synod draws to a close the Year of the Eucharist, which was announced by Pope John Paul II as a means by which every Catholic disciple and parish could grow in a "Eucharistic amazement" that would show itself in deeds. While there was room for many different types of initiatives, he stated he was not asking for anything extraordinary. "If the only result of this Year were the revival in all Christian communities of the celebration of Sunday Mass and an increase in Eucharistic worship outside of Mass, this year of grace would be abundantly successful."

Those are the two areas on which Catholic disciples and parishes within our diocese can examine whether it's been a fruitful or wasted year: greater participation in quality and quantity in the "little Easter" of each Sunday; and such a practical recognition of the Lord's Eucharistic presence that disciples make the effort to come spent time with him in adoring love.

These would be two concrete ways, Pope John Paul stated, that disciples and parishes could determine whether they are marked by genuine Eucharistic amazement. They would be two indicators by which they could evaluate whether Jesus in the Eucharist is truly the source and summit of their life and mission. These would be the two signs by which they could verify if they're living a truly Christian life.

The Synod's goal is to lead the Church — both us and our parishes — from a Eucharistic year to a Eucharistic lifetime.

Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.