In preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress, a round table discussion entitled Eucharist - Church - God's Kingdom was organized by Saint II. The "Church of Christ in History" research group of the Pope János Pál Research Center on June 2. Attila Puskás, András Fejérdy and Máté Gárdonyi took part in the online discourse. The conversation was led by László Gájer.
János Frivaldszky, Saint II. In his greeting, the head of the Pope János Pál Research Center recalled the story of the Emmaus disciples. According to the testimony of the Scriptures, the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of bread. We, as Catholics today, must also see that without the presence of Jesus, i.e. the Eucharist, we cannot understand divine truths well.
"Eucharist, Church, Kingdom of God - these three concepts and the realities they denote are as closely related as possible, inseparable from each other. As St. II. Pope John Paul II stated in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia: the Eucharist is the life-giving source of the Church's life. When we celebrate the Eucharist and take Jesus Christ to ourselves in the sign of bread and wine, the Church is also constantly being built - Attila Puskás, dean of the Faculty of Theology of Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE HTK), began his contribution.
The Eucharist is the sacrament of Jesus' love, his love that goes to the end. The Church includes all its spiritual wealth and all its treasures.
The Eucharist is also the source of the Church's mission and evangelization activity. In the life of the Church, we experience two fundamental orientations: one is the continuous gathering around the Eucharist in the Holy Mass, and the other direction is the outward dynamic, because when we leave the church and step out into the world of everyday life, we take this experience with us.
As St. II. Pope János Pál says: the Church exists for the Eucharist. He understands this to mean that Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist leads people to communion with Jesus. But the Eucharist and the Church also point towards the kingdom of God, towards the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, towards the blissful presence of His love. The Eucharist continuously nourishes the growth of God's kingdom among us and in us.
After that, László Gájer, head of the PPKE HTK department, asked the historical experts to share some thoughts about the history of the Eucharistic celebration, as well as the 1938 Eucharistic Congress.
Source and featured image: magyarkurir.hu
