Jéssica Marçal
from the newsroom
Francis greets the faithful in St. Peter’s Square. Photo: CTV
Pope described the scene of the mass: the altar, the altar cloth, the Cross that indicates the sacrifice offered by Christ on the altar. He treated the moment in which the Bread and Word become one in the Last Supper, when all the words of Jesus are concentrated in His gesture of sharing the bread and offering the chalice. “The gesture of Jesus in the last supper is the ultimate gratitude to the Father for His live and for His mercy.”
The Holy Father stressed that the celebration of the Eucharist is more than a simple banquet, it constitutes the memorial of the sacrifice of Christ. And the memorial is more than a simple recollection. “I want to say that each time we celebrate this sacrament, we participate in the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ. The Eucharist constitutes the zenith of the action of the salvation of God.
In this way, the Pope added, it is possible to experience, already on the Earth, communion with the Father. He stressed the greatness of the sacrament of the Eucharist, which ratifies the importance of going to Mass on Sundays.
“Never can we thank the Lord enough for the gift that he makes to us with the Eucharist. It is a great gift and therefore it is most important to go to Mass Sundays, not only to pray, but to receive communion, this Bread that is the body of Christ and that saves us, forgives, unites us to the Father. It is beautiful to do this.”
And all this road of faith begins in First Communion. Therefore, Francis defends the importance of a good preparation of the children to receive this sacrament, that is the first step of belonging to Christ joined to Baptism and to Confirmation.