The Eucharist in the Life and Mission of Secular Franciscans

Introduction

“They Set Out Immediately” (cf. Lk. 24:33)

Introduction

In response to the call of Pope John Paul II to dedicate a year of reflection on the Eucharist, the Conference of General Spiritual Assistants decided to devote all the issues of Koinonia for 2005 to this important theme. With this in mind, we took the four main sections of the Holy Father’s Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine as the as framework for our own reflections. [1]

Ivan Matić, OFM, focused on the first section of the letter, “In the Wake of the Council and the Great Jubilee,” and highlighted the reality that Franciscan fraternity draws its life from the Eucharist. In doing so it shows itself to be intimately connected to the Church which itself is nourished by - and finds its identity and purpose in - the Eucharist. He states that,

In this Year of the Eucharist we are called to make every meeting, all our activities and all that we are and have done a thanksgiving to God the Father; to live every moment of our life as a privileged moment in which to manifest the presence of Him who is in the midst of us. We are called to create a climate in our Fraternities where the mercy and love of God can be experienced. [2]

He also points out that the “Eucharist must be placed at the center of the personal and fraternity life project because it is the source and end of our communion and unity - and all our activities and mission flow from it.” [3]

After reflecting on the transition of the papacy from John Paul II to Benedict XVI, Martin Bitzer, OFM Conv., continued by offering some reflections on the second section of Mane Nobiscum Domine: “The Eucharist, A Mystery of Light.” He observes that the “Eucharist is, above all, light because at every Mass the liturgy of the Word of God precedes the liturgy of the Eucharist in the unity of the two ‘tables,’ the table of the Word and the table of the Bread.” [4] He also points out that the triple reality of the Eucharist as meal, sacrifice, and eschatological impulse towards the future challenges all of us to be light-bearers - that is, to be willing to carry the light of Christ to the world.

In his contribution, Irudaya Samy, OFM Cap., examined some of the important implications involved in an understanding of “The Eucharist: Source and Manifestation of Communion,” the third section of the Apostolic Letter. He points out that,

St. Paul reminds us that, in virtue of the Eucharist, the Christian enters into direct communion with Christ (I Cor. 10: 17). The “breaking of bread” underlines the social and community nature of the Eucharist. The communion of the disciples with Christ becomes communion between them. From this union with Christ, the Eucharist is the perfect sacrament. It follows that the Church and each authentic Christian community draws life from the Eucharist, which is, at the same time, sacrifice - sacrament, sacrament - communion, and sacrament - presence. The body of Christ, which is the Church, is constituted by participation in His Eucharistic body and is animated by the life of the Spirit. [5]

He concludes by observing that “fraternity and unity have their source in the Eucharist, the participation in the total gift of Christ.” [6]

I would like to conclude our reflection on Mane Nobiscum Domine by taking a Franciscan look at some of the main points that John Paul II highlights in the fourth and last section of the Apostolic Letter - “The Eucharist, Principle and Plan of ‘Mission’.” The Holy Father divides his remarks on the Eucharist and mission in this part of his Apostolic Letter into four areas (1) “They set out immediately, ” (2) giving thanks, (3) the way of solidarity, and (4) at the service of the least.

“They set out immediately” (cf. Lk. 24:33)

John Paul II uses the response of the two disciples to the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus as a paradigm for Christian mission. He points out that when they finally recognized the Lord at the breaking of the bread the disciples “set out immediately” (Lk. 24:33) for Jerusalem so that they could share their joy with others. The Holy Father invites all of us to have a similar reaction to the presence of Christ in our lives. He states that,

once we have truly met the Risen One by partaking of his body and blood, we cannot keep to ourselves the joy we have experienced. The encounter with Christ, constantly intensified and deepened in the Eucharist, issues in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and evangelization. [7]

The Pope clearly points out that the call to be witnesses to the reality of Christ is an essential aspect of our Christian identity. He states that the “Eucharist is a mode of being, which passes from Jesus into each Christian, through whose testimony it is meant to spread throughout society and culture.” [8] Therefore, every Christian “must assimilate, through personal and communal meditation, the values which the Eucharist expresses, the attitudes it inspires, the resolutions to which it gives rise.” [9] When the assimilation the true meaning of the depth and reality of the presence of the Lord becomes a reality in the life of a Christian a desire to share this treasure with others is a natural response.

Much of what John Paul II relates about the action of the disciples on the road to Emmaus can be easily applied to the experience that St. Francis had during his conversion experience. Like the disciples, who were depressed and saddened after the death of the Lord, St. Francis went through a period of depression and confusion in his own life. He even went so far as to beg God to “clear up the darkness” of his heart as he poured out his soul before the crucifix at San Damiano. Like the disciples who “set out immediately” after they encountered the Risen Lord, when Francis felt the touch of Christ he spent the rest of his life to the service of Lord. For the next twenty years the Saint from Assisi dedicated himself to rebuilding the house of God through a life of penance, itinerant preaching, prayer, fraternity, and through a loving and merciful outreach to the poor and needy. In this he showed himself to be a Eucharistic man in the true sense of the word.

Both the example of St. Francis and the words of the Holy Father encourage us to have a personal relationship with the Crucified and Risen Christ. Empowered by this relationship - and nourished by the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist - we too are challenged to dedicate ourselves to the spreading of the Gospel. As the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order puts it so well, the Franciscan mandate is to go “from gospel to life and life to the gospel.” [10] This is a tremendously demanding and difficult way to follow the Lord. It requires that we truly “assimilate the values which the Eucharist expresses” as the Holy Father so well puts it. It is only when we are strengthened in this way that we can give of ourselves in mission.

The bottom line is this: the effectiveness of the life and mission of Secular Franciscans (of any Franciscan for that matter) is dependent on the on the quality of their personal relationship with the Risen Lord - and on their willingness to allow themselves to be used by the Lord in bearing witness to the Gospel.

Following the examples of the disciples in Emmaus and of St. Francis, let us recognize and celebrate the presence of the Lord in our lives and lovingly dedicate ourselves to rebuilding His house, His presence, in the world. The Eucharist is both the source and nourishment for our life and mission.