Emmanuel
healing power and love as Nakamura died in his arms.
A final dimension of the Eucharist and social justice can be found in an
address Arrupe gave in Philadelphia in 1976. In this presentation, Arrupe
connects the problem of world hunger with the Eucharist. He begins
the address asking those present to imagine the hungry of the world
who would die that day, the day of the Hunger Symposium. “There
would be thousands of them, probably more than all of us who are
gathered in this hall,”7 Arrupe noted. And for this injustice, all people
must take responsibility, especially those who take the Eucharist, a form
of nourishment. Recalling Mathew 25, Arrupe states as Christ did, “I was
hungry, did you give me to eat? I was thirsty, did you give me to drink? I
tell you solemnly, insofar as you neglected to do this to one of the least
of these my brothers, you neglected to do it for me.”8
Christ is present in those who die from hunger, and those who refuse to
share food with the hungry are refusing to share it with Christ. But within
the Eucharist, “Jesus becomes the voice of those who have no voice.”9
Applying the idea of solidarity, Arrupe states, “Yes, we are all responsible,
all involved!”10 Arrupe’s challenge is to realize the Eucharist calls out to
those who have food to become Christ by feeding those in need. It is
both a physical and spiritual hunger as the Eucharist should transform
recipients into people who will live for others as Christ did.
Pope Francis:
Eucharistic Devotion from Communion with Poverty
While the extent of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s awareness of Arrupe’s
experiences of the Eucharist is not common knowledge, many of the
comments Pope Francis has made concerning the Eucharist draw upon
similar themes as Arrupe’s.
From his experience at Lourdes, Arrupe came to understand the power of
the Eucharist to heal the sick. During a pastoral visit to Assisi on October
4, 2013, Pope Francis met with sick and disabled children and echoed
similar sentiments about the power of the Eucharist. When speaking to
these children, he stated, “And here is Jesus hidden in these boys and girls
. . . in people we find the wounds of Jesus. Jesus hidden in the Eucharist
and Jesus hidden in these wounds.”11
The pope implores people to see the wounds of the suffering children,
rather than turn a blind eye to their pain. Uniting the wounds of the children
to the wounds of Christ, he challenges people to see the hope that the
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