With the canonization of five priests, Pope Benedict XVI concluded the year of the Eucharist and brought to a close the 11th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. About 250 bishops from around the world gathered to deepen the church’s understanding of “the Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the church.”

    A synod is a very valuable meeting for the church. Since the Second Vatican Council, popes have invited bishops to meet in Rome to reflect on a topic of importance for the life of the church.
    At the conclusion of the sessions, the synod fathers deliver a series of propositions to the Holy Father. The pope, after evaluating and considering them, usually addresses the Catholic world in a document called “Apostolic Exhortation.”
    In this way, synods have brought about documents that help Catholics understand more fully important matters of faith and how to apply them in the world in which we live.

    Surely this last synod, which marked the end of the “Year of the Eucharist” and was called by the late John Paul II, has been the most important of all because there is nothing more important in the church than the gift of the Eucharist.
    We believe that Jesus, the Son of God made man, is truly present in the bread and wine that are consecrated in each Mass celebrated anywhere in the world. We believe that the consecrated bread and wine contain the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ and that it is Jesus’ desire that we, the church, do this in memory of him, throughout history.
    The church, besides being an institution, is a community of believers, gathered around the Eucharist. The synod fathers reaffirm it in the 50 propositions presented to Pope Benedict XVI. For the first time, these proposals have been made public.

     Among these propositions, one in particular calls our attention to the fact that Catholics are losing the sense of mystery and value of the Eucharist.
    It seems that amidst a world full of technological wonders, of abundant entertainment and of a quick-paced lifestyle, Catholics have lost the sense of mystery before the great miracle, the overwhelming gift that the Eucharist is for our lives.
    Many times, we are amazed to hear of miracles obtained through the intercession of the saints, or of miraculous healings which took place at shrines such as Guadalupe, Lourdes or Fatima. These are certainly amazing miracles; but we have forgotten that the greatest miracle is the one that occurs in the hands of the priest, when, pronouncing the words of Consecration during Mass, a simple piece of unleavened bread becomes the real Body of Christ.

    Catholics cannot let this reality become routine. We need to “rebuild” our faith upon the Eucharist: we need to recover the sense that Sunday is “the Day of the Lord,” to recover reverence and dignity in the celebration of Mass, to insist on adequate spiritual preparation, especially through the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation.
    St. Thomas Aquinas said that, to receive the Eucharist, we would need three eternities: one to prepare for it, one to receive it and one to give thanks for it.
    We simple mortals, however, only have the one life the Lord has given us to come to the Eucharist in faith and let it nourish our immortal souls.

    As we eagerly await the Apostolic Exhortation about the Eucharist from the pontiff, let us examine our life so that we may restore the central value that this holy miracle has for the whole church and for each Catholic. As our faith in the Eucharist is deeply renewed, we will reflect that reality in our personal lives, in our family, our community and our parish.
    The synod fathers conclude their proposals calling Mary “the Woman of the Eucharist par excellence.”
    To her, who carried in her womb the Living Bread come down from heaven, I entrust all the efforts of each Catholic of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, so that the Eucharist may be celebrated, received and adored as the Lord expects it to be.

For more information on the propositions adopted by the Synod of Bishops, visit the Web sites www.catholicnews.org or www.zenit.org. In searching each site type in “Synod of Bishops.”