The 2nd Vatican Council teaches that the Eucharist is both “the Source and the Summit of our Christian lives”. This means that everything derives from and is directed towards the Eucharist.

But what does that mean in my everyday life?

In short, it means that I bring all the experiences of my life to Mass. I express my joys, my needs, my sorrows, my challenges, my successes and my gratitude when I celebrate the Eucharist. I gather with my brothers and my sisters to re-member, to do this in memory. But, I also come as a participant, not just an on-looker.This is the wonderful thing about the Eucharist for me: I am entering into the offering that Jesus made of Himself. As a baptised person, I too can offer the Mass – allowing ‘others’ their space. When I reflect on this point, for a moment, it changes how I approach the celebration of the Eucharist. Without this approach and a genuine sense of gratitude, there is no real Eucharist, no lived Eucharist.

The theme for the Eucharist Congress is “Communion with Christ and one another”. Jesus left it as a memorial of His life, a memorial of His Passion and Death. I hope that the events of the Eucharist Congress, will enrich our understanding of this great celebration of Thanksgiving. And, that as we strive to be Eucharistic people in our ordinary daily lives, we will remember that if we have made our peace with the Lord, we can advance the peace and salvation of the world.

Remember the boy with some loves and fish. The blessing prayer of Jesus, made a little, feed so many. As I strive to lead a Eucharistic life, I find it helpful to reflect on the words: He took, He blessed, He broke, He gave. These words parallel for me, that boy today, how God chose me and blessed me, a broken human being to serve others. In Glendalough, surrounded as I am, by its beauty and energy, it is difficult not to have many Eucharistic moments.

Let me try to make every day my Daily Bread, wherever I am.

“This day is my daily bread, take it, bless it, break it, give it to all I meet today” (Cathy Sherman)