Excerpts from the Basic Text of the 2016 International Eucharistic Congress
himself a minister of the Gospel of hope that is meant to be preached
to every creature under heaven in order to bring to completion
the word of God, the mystery which used to be hidden but is now
manifested (cf. Col 1:23, 25-26).
Pastoral concerns have increasingly influenced recent eucharistic congresses,
underscoring the relationship between the church and the Eucharist.
“The Gospel was to be preached, however, not only by word, but
also by means of sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire
liturgical life evolves. Hence, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
men and women are plunged into Christ’s paschal mystery. By
gathering together regularly to listen to the apostles’ teaching and to
eat the supper of the Lord, they proclaim the death of the Lord until
he comes. . . .
“For the church to accomplish such a great work,‘Christ is always present
in his church, especially in her liturgical celebrations’ (Sacrosanctum
Concilium, 7). In the Eucharist, he is present to continually bring people
to communion with himself and to fellowship with one another. In the
person of the minister, in their gathering together, in the proclamation
of the word, and in the eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ
continues to unite, to forgive, to teach, to reconcile, to offer himself for
our redemption, and therefore, to give life. It is precisely for this that
he instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of his body and blood to be the
embodiment and realization of the plan of salvation that culminated
in the sacrifice of the cross, to be a living memorial of his saving death
and resurrection.”