Even though with the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost we have the beginning of public life for the Church; a decisive moment in that process was the institution of the Holy Eucharist in the Cenacle at the Last Supper.
The Eucharist, the Mystery of our Faith, is the Mystery of light because every time a priest celebrates the Mass, we have the chance to relive the experience of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus: “With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him” (Lk 14, 31).
The Eucharist is the saving presence of Jesus in the community of the faithful and it is spiritual food. It is the most precious thing the church possesses on the journey of history. When The Church celebrates this Sacrament, the memorial of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, we make present THE SAME WORK OF OUR SALVATION. This sacrifice is so crucial for the salvation of human beings.
Jesus Christ left us only after He left us THE MEAN above ALL MEANS, His Body so that we, participating in Him, may return to Him every time we celebrate the Mass. In This Sacrament He “will be shed (His Blood) on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26: 28). “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” (Jn 6:57). The Unity that He asks of His Father at the last supper is now possible because of Him in the Eucharist. It is not possible to understand His words as a metaphor: “Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you” (Jn 6:53); “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” (Jn 6: 55)
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