Benedict XVI is underlining the importance of the Eucharist, noting that the faithful who feed on the Body and Blood of Christ are gathered into one people of God. The Pope stated this today at a Mass at the Eleftheria Sports Centre in Nicosia, in which he presented the “instrumentum laboris” (working document) for the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in Rome next October 10-24. Various patriarchs and bishops of the Middle East participated in the Mass along with representatives of their communities. Among them was the Cypriot Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos II. The sports center, which holds 7,000, was packed full. Many of the faithful followed the ceremony from outside, where chairs were placed to accommodate those who could not enter the building.
“Let me also say how glad I am to have this opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist in the company of so many of the faithful of Cyprus, a land blessed by the apostolic labors of St. Paul and St. Barnabas,” the Pontiff said in his homily. He extended “a particular greeting to the Filipino, Sri Lankan and other immigrant communities who form such a significant grouping within the Catholic population of this island. I pray that your presence here will enrich the life and worship of the parishes to which you belong, and that you in turn will draw much spiritual sustenance from the ancient Christian heritage of the land that you have made your home,” the Holy Father said.
He spoke about today’s solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, known as the feast of Corpus Christi, noting that in the reflection on the Eucharist, “we come to a deeper understanding of the mystery of communion which binds together those who belong to the Church. All who feed on the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist are brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit to form God’s one holy people,” Benedict XVI affirmed. “Each of us who belong to the Church needs to leave the closed world of his individuality and accept the ‘companionship’ of others who break bread with us,” he said. “We must think not in terms of ‘me’ but ‘we.'”
NICOSIA, Cyprus, JUNE 6, 2010 (Zenit.org)