The Eucharist as our nourishment of love

Pope Francis also reminds us of this important truth
 
The year was 1911. A special event was scheduled for the city of Madrid, Spain. The event was the XXII International Eucharistic Congress and a special hymn was needed for the solemn event. The hymn that was produced was so exquisite that it, and its theology of the Eucharist, has influenced all of the Spanish-speaking world and beyond. The hymn has been translated into dozens of languages and continues in ignite love for Christ present in the Eucharist.
 
The hymn is known by various names: “A Cristo Jesús: Himno oficial del XXII Congreso Eucarístico Internacional” (To Christ Jesus: Official Hymn of the XXII International Eucharistic Congress), “Himno de los Adoradores” (Hymn of the Adorers), and the more popular title of “Cantemos al Amor de los Amores.” This hymn was translated by Mary Louise Bringle more than 50 years later, “Come sing to God, the love beyond all others.”
 
The original lyrics were written by the Rev. Father Restituto del Valle, O.S.A., and the music was composed by Ignacio Busca de Sagastizábal, then organist of the now Basilica of San Francisco el Grande in Madrid. Here are the first words of that great eucharistic hymn:
 
Come sing to God, the love beyond all others.
Sing praises in the heights!
God is with us here!
Draw near all sisters, brothers.
To acclaim our Redeemer Jesus Christ.
 
The eucharistic theology, which is repeated throughout the history of the Church, is simple and profound. It can be summarized as follows: God is love. God is truly present in the Eucharist. When you are nourished with the Eucharist you are being nourished with our God who is love. We are being fed divine love, God himself, who brings us together in one body, one community, through his grace, through his love, he makes us holy. Our summit and fount is the Eucharist. Our summit and fount is God. Our summit and fount is love! Pope Benedict XVI spoke of this truth in “Sacramentum Caritatis” and Pope Francis has spoken about it too.
 
Pope Francis has been surrounded with this eucharistic theology all his life and it clearly manifested itself on Sunday, June 23, of this past year. That Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ at the church of Santa Maria Consolatrice, in the Roman quarter of Casal Bertone. He ended his homily with these words that clearly reflect this aspect of the Eucharist as love…
 
“Whatever we have can bear fruit if we give it away – that is what Jesus wants to tell us – and it does not matter whether it is great or small. The Lord does great things with our littleness, as he did with the five loaves. He does not work spectacular miracles or wave a magic wand; he works with simple things. God’s omnipotence is lowly, made up of love alone. And, love can accomplish great things with little. The Eucharist teaches us this: for there we find God himself contained in a piece of bread. Simple, essential, bread broken and shared, the Eucharist we receive allows us to see things as God does. It inspires us to give ourselves to others. It is the antidote to the mindset that says: ‘Sorry, that is not my problem,’ or ‘I have no time, I can’t help you, it’s none of my business.’ Or that looks the other way.”
 
“In our city that hungers for love and care, that suffers from decay and neglect, that contains so many elderly people living alone, families in difficulty, young people struggling to earn their bread and to realize their dreams, the Lord says to each one of you: ‘You yourself give them something to eat.’ You may answer: ‘But I have so little; I am not up to such things.’ That is not true; your ‘little’ has great value in the eyes of Jesus, provided that you don’t keep it to yourself, but put it in play. Put yourself in play! You are not alone, for you have the Eucharist, bread for the journey, the bread of Jesus. Tonight too, we will be nourished by his body given up for us. If we receive it into our hearts, this bread will release in us the power of love. We will feel blessed and loved, and we will want to bless and love in turn, beginning here, in our city, in the streets where we will process this evening. The Lord comes to our streets in order to speak a blessing for us and to give us courage. And, he asks that we too be blessing and gift for others.”
 
I end this column once again inviting my readers to approach the tabernacle with reverence and say to Jesus, “Thank you Lord for feeding me with your life and love. Help me to be a eucharistic disciple that preaches to the world your Real Presence by my proclaiming through my life my love of you and others. This is why you feed me and millions more with your love. Amen.”