Selected quotes of Pope Benedict XVI offered daily for prayer and reflection….

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The Eucharist
 


Fidelity to the encounter with the Christ in the Eucharist in Holy Mass on Sunday is essential for the journey of faith, but let us also seek to pay frequent visits to the Lord present in the Tabernacle. In gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of God's love, we discover Jesus' Passion and Cross and likewise his Resurrection. It is precisely through our gazing in adoration that the Lord draws us towards him into his mystery in order to transform us as he transforms the bread and the wine.

 
General Audience
St. Peter's Square
17 November 2010

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


At the Last Supper Jesus’ acts were moved by that 'eternal spirit' with which He would subsequently give Himself up to the cross. Giving thanks and blessing, Jesus transformed the bread and wine. It is divine love that transforms: the love with which Jesus accepted in advance to give Himself for us. This love is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, which consecrates the bread and wine and alters their substance into the Body and Blood of the Lord, making present in the Sacrament the sacrifice which would be cruelly realised on the cross.

 
Homily
Solemnity of Corpus Christi
St. John Lateran
3 June 2010

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


Now, their palms in their hands, the people raise this cry before Jesus, in whom they see the One who comes in the name of the Lord. The phrase: "He who comes in the name of the Lord", in fact, had long before become the designation of the Messiah. In Jesus, they recognize the One who truly comes in the name of the Lord and brings God's presence among them. In the Church, this cry of hope of Israel, this acclamation of Jesus during his entry into Jerusalem, has with good reason, become the acclamation of the One who comes in the Eucharist to meet us in a new way. We greet with the cry of "Hosanna!", the One who brought God's glory to the earth in flesh and blood.

 
Homily
Palm Sunday
St Peter's Square
9 April 2006

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


Let us all nourish ourselves with the Eucharist; let us all prostrate ourselves to adore it, because in it our Master and Lord is present, the true Body of Jesus is present in it, the Victim and the Priest, the salvation of the world. Come let us exult with joyful songs! Come, let us adore him!

 
Homily
Solemnity of Corpus Christi
Basilica of St John Lateran
3 June 2010

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


Man, in order to live, needs bread, the fruit of the earth and of his labor. But he does not live by bread alone. He needs nourishment for his soul: he needs meaning that can fill his life. Thus, for the Fathers, the manger of the animals became the symbol of the altar, on which lies the Bread which is Christ himself: the true food for our hearts. Once again we see how he became small: in the humble appearance of the host, in a small piece of bread, he gives us himself.

 
Homily
The Nativity of the Lord
St Peter's Basilica
24 December 2006

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


Through the Eucharist, the Lord not only gives himself to his own but also gives them the reality of a new communion among themselves which is extended in time, "until he comes" (cf. I Cor 11:26).
Through the Eucharist, the disciples become his living dwelling place which, as history unfolds, grows like the new and living temple of God in this world. Thus, immediately after the Institution of the Sacrament, Jesus speaks of what being disciples, of what the "ministry", means in the new community: he says that it is a commitment of service, just as he himself is among them as One who serves.

 
Homily
Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul
St Peter's Basilica
29 June 2006

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


During this event of the Eucharist, let us allow ourselves to experience above all gratitude for the fact that God exists, that He is like He is, that He is as Jesus Christ is, that He -- regardless of that we have nothing to give him and we are full of faults -- invites us to his table and wants to be at table with us.

 
Relfection before Mass
Castel Gandolfo
10 August 2010

 
 
 
The Eucharist
 


Christ is truly present among us in the Eucharist. His presence is not static. It is a dynamic presence that grasps us, to make us his own, to make us assimilate him. Christ draws us to him, he makes us come out of ourselves to make us all one with him. In this way he also integrates us in the communities of brothers and sisters, and communion with the Lord is always also communion with our brothers and sisters. And we see the beauty of this communion that the Blessed Eucharist gives us.

 
Homily
Eucharistic Congress
Bari, Italy
29 May 2005

 

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