.- The founder of the Sodalite Family and other ecclesial movements, Mr. Luis Fernando Figari, addressing the bishops this week gathered in Rome for the Synod on the Eucharist, said the faith demands an honest anthropological and cultural perspective, as well as vigilance so that the nostalgia for the infinite and the reconciliation of man are not overshadowed the substitutes offered by the world. During his remarks, Figari described some of the fundamental issues related to the Eucharist, such as the need to deepen “the appreciation of the loving and freely offered sacrifice of the Son of Mary, the awareness of what the miracle of the Real Presence means, of how the aspect of the Sacramental Sacrifice is lived out, the participation in Sunday Mass, the relationship between Penance and Communion, the Adoration of the Lord Jesus who remains present in the Most Holy Sacrament as Emmanuel, the ars celebrandi and spiritual communion as some thing valuable in itself and the response to painful pastoral situations.”
Likewise, describing the current state of the word, the Peruvian lay founder said that the impact “of functional agnosticism, secularization and many other negative currents that characterize the ‘culture of death’ spur us on to a growing and more fervent new evangelization ad intra Ecclesiae in the face of evident difficulties.”
“The faith,” he continued, “is the foundation that allows us to draw close to the Eucharist and thus it deserves special attention. It demands an honest anthropological and cultural perspective, as well as attentive vigilance of the process by which the nostalgia for the infinite and the fourfold reconciliation of the human person are not overshadowed by the various substitutes proposed by the ideologies and usages of our times.”
Later on, Figari stated that faith in the gift of the Eucharist “should lead us to constant wonder and to exclaim, ‘My Lord and My God!”
Lastly, the founder of the Sodalite Family said that just as in previous ages, our age has its own challenges to the Christian life and to evangelization. “But with the help that comes from God, they are not insurmountable. We must be aware of our frailties, and from there we must open ourselves to the light and strength that comes to our aid, and thus live and witness our hope to the world.”
