Christ is truly present everywhere

And the Eucharist is an invitation to Jesus to stay with us

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

The Eucharist is the centre and heart of Christian life and Catholics believe Christ is truly present in this sacrament.

But as catechist Bonnie Kirk points out, Christ is not just present in the bread and the wine. "Christ is truly present in the assembly, in the presider, in the word as well as in the Communion elements of bread and wine."

And she said the celebration and reception of the Eucharist must transform people so they live their faith and spread it through contact with others. "That's the challenge," she said. "We are called to come together within community but we are also sent out (to leave out our faith in the world)."

Born of the Spirit

Kirk, responsible for catechetics in the Edmonton Archdiocese, led a two-and-a-half hour reflection on the Eucharist for catechists at St. John the Evangelist Parish Oct. 29.

She also briefly reflected on the Born of the Spirit catechetical resource for school children.

Only four people attended the workshop, reason enough to cancel it, but the thought never seem to have crossed Kirk's mind.

After taking a last peek through the window to see if anyone else would show up, she began the session saying all efforts had been made to ensure a good attendance. "You never know," she said. "In one place we had three (people attend); the next time we did it, we had close to 40."

This is the sixth time the workshop, Nourished in the Eucharist, Nourishing the Faith, has been offered in the archdiocese since the opening of the Year of the Eucharist in November 2004. Close to 40 attended it in Rocky Mountain House last spring.

Led by Kirk, the small group prayed, sang, broke bread and drank from the cup. They also watched and then debriefed the video With Burning Hearts, which presents the Eucharist as a story of loss, presence, invitation, communion and mission. The late Father Henry Nouwen produced and released the video in 1995.

By reflecting upon the Emmaus story from the Gospel of Luke, Nouwen leads viewers to new insights into the Eucharist. The Emmaus story reveals the human condition. The disciples experience loss, grief and incomprehension over the events of Jesus' death in Jerusalem.

Jesus comes to them and walks along with them as they tell him about the recent events. Using the Scriptures to explain these events, Jesus invites the disciples into a deeper reality.

The disciples invite Jesus to stay and eat with them. Jesus breaks bread with them and then disappears from their sight. The disciples in community are able to share in Jesus' life through the Eucharist in a deeper way than just his bodily presence.

They are now filled with his life. This empowers them to go forth and tell others the Good News.

In his video, Nouwen reminds viewers that we do not receive the Eucharist for our own sake, but for the sake of mission. He also says Eucharist is an invitation to Jesus to stay with us.

Kirk said the video describes the five movements of the Eucharist and shows Christ is "equally present" in the presider, the community, the Bible as well as in the bread and the wine.

"The idea that he is present only in the bread and wine is before the Second Vatican Council," she explained later.

When she asked participants if there was a challenge or thought that they would be leaving with after watching the video, most agreed it is the idea that Jesus lives in everybody and that Christians are called to love and live as he did, reaching out to others and evangelizing.

Even the street person

They all agreed that includes treating with kindness the man who usually asks for spare change outside the church following Mass,.

"I'll leave with the thought that I have to let Jesus in today," said Dawn Megic, a children's catechist at St. John the Evangelist.

"I have to remember that he is there in all of us, not just in the gifts."

"Evangelization is putting into practice what Jesus says," commented Gerry Pinson, director of church services for the St. John Bosco Council of the Knights of Columbus.

"If I say 'I love you' to someone I better show that with action; otherwise, it has no meaning."

Mercy DeCastro, a St. John the Evangelist parishioner, said the video and the workshop made her more aware that she carries Jesus everywhere with her. "My intention now is to be more like Christ in the way I live my life and in how I relate to others."

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