Dublin, Ireland, Jun 11, 2012 / 15:16 pm
The Church has nothing greater to offer than Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, Cardinal Marc Ouellet said as he celebrated the June 10 opening Mass of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin.
"Our gathering is an act of faith in the Holy Eucharist, the treasure of the Church, which is essential to her life and to our communion as brothers and sisters in Christ," said the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, who is representing Pope Benedict as Papal Legate at the celebration in Ireland.
The Church, he told pilgrims gathered at the Royal Dublin Society Arena, "draws her life from the Eucharist," and "receives her own identity from the gift of Christ's own body."
"In communion with his body, the Church becomes what she receives: she becomes one body with him in the Spirit of the new and eternal covenant," the cardinal reflected. "What a great and marvelous mystery!"