We are called to be a fraternity that is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord to heal the world: Mons. Spengler
With the celebration of the Holy Mass, presided over by the Archbishop of Porto Alegre and President of CELAM, Mons. Jaime Spengler, the activities of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress began. During his homily, the Brazilian prelate emphasized the organization of this ecclesial event as an opportunity to experience the profoundest Eucharistic encounter. “We are called to be a fraternity that is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord to heal the world,” he said.
“We live in a wounded world. Along with the wound of poverty and hunger for many, the ecological crisis is perhaps the other great wound of the world. A wound that we are called to heal because we are the bridge between God and the world, we are also responsible for the destiny of creation,” he emphasized.
For Monsignor Spengler, we must not forget that “the beginning of the unity of followers of Jesus found its strength in Jesus’ call to friendship, to intimacy.
He said that the future of humanity depends on “our choices and decisions” and recalled that “the ecological crisis we are experiencing is related to the loss of sacredness of the elements of nature in our culture.”
He explained that “the fundamental character of the Eucharist is that it is a meeting and an action in which the whole mystery of Christ is contemplated and lived, that is, the salvation of the world, promoting universal brotherhood! The Eucharist does not distance us from the world. On the contrary, it introduces us into the world. The Church has always recognized a strong link between the Eucharist, community life, society and creation,” he stressed.
The president of CELAM also pointed out that next year the COP30 or Climate Summit will be held in the city of Belém, Brazil, which will be “a privileged opportunity for the disciples of Jesus to express what they are: priests of creation! Priests of creation in a wounded world, determined to offer the Father the gifts of creation; eager to cooperate in healing the wounds of the world; ready to bear witness to the power of love that gives life to all things,” he stressed.
