Following John Paul's advice

When Pope John Paul II declared a Year of the Eucharist from October 2004 to October 2005, he had some specific ideas of what such a year might entail and mentioned them in his apostolic letter, "Mane Nobiscum Domine" ("Stay with Us, Lord").

Although the year has passed, we can continue to learn from his words and to make a reality of the hopes he had.

Our late Pope noted that "it is important that no dimension of this sacrament be neglected. We are constantly tempted to reduce the Eucharist to our own dimensions, while in reality it is we who must open ourselves up to the dimensions of the mystery."

The mystery includes the Real Presence, which, he said, must be well celebrated. "Holy Mass needs to be at the center of the Christian life," he wrote.

He also wrote of the need for Eucharistic adoration outside Mass "in order to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and neglect, and even the insults which our Savior must endure in many parts of the world."

Such sentiments are not new to those of us who attend church regularly. However, Pope John Paul II also stressed aspects of the Eucharist that may not be as familiar to us: "The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church's life; it is also a project of solidarity for all humanity....The Christian who takes part in the Eucharist learns to become a promoter of communion, peace and solidarity in every situation."

Specifically, the Holy Father noted that "at each Holy Mass, we are called to measure ourselves against the ideal of communion which the Acts of the Apostles paints as a model for the Church in every age. It is the Church gathered around the apostles, called by the word of God, capable of sharing in spiritual goods but in material goods as well."

To make sure we get the point, John Paul cited specific sections of the Acts, 2:42-47 and 4:32-35, in which "all who believed were together and had all things in common," and "There was no needy person among them, for those who owned property or houses would sell them, bring the proceeds of the sale and put them at the feet of the apostles, and they were distributed to each according to need."

Perhaps none of us feel called to make that kind of sacrifice right now. Still, there are things we can do to further the Pope's belief that the Eucharist "expresses the fellowship which God wishes to establish with us and which we ourselves must build with one another."

We can reach out to those less fortunate than ourselves, making sure they have the necessities of life. One way of doing that is to contribute to Catholic Charities, which has a fund for assisting people whose utilities have been or are about to be shut off after they ran into financial problems as the result of low wages, a medical emergency or some other unforeseen circumstance.

These are not people who refuse to work. Rather, they are people who work hard but who find themselves unable to pay all their bills. By donating money to this fund, you can help people stay in their homes, pay their heating bills and still have some money left to pay for their food and rent.

Donations can be sent to Emergency Assistance Fund, Catholic Charities, 40 N. Main Ave., Albany, NY 12203-1481. Please make checks out to Catholic Charities with "Emergency Assistance" in the memo line.

(Mr. Ayres is chair of the Albany Diocese's Commission on Peace and Justice.)

(12/22/05) [[In-content Ad]]