The sign of the Bread ignites the desire for fraternity in the people of God: Pope Francis
In a festive atmosphere, thousands of faithful Catholics participated in the solemn inaugural Mass of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress, which began with a presbyteral procession and all the concelebrating ministers. After the opening rites, a video message sent by Pope Francis was shared, in which he expressed his joy at “being able to participate, even from a distance, in this great ecclesial meeting under the beautiful theme “Fraternity to heal the World.”
In his message, the Holy Father stressed that the theme of fraternity was chosen for the Congress, which – he said – is “an essential condition for a new world, a more just world, a more humane world.”
He explained that “the sign of the Bread ignites in the people of God the desire for brotherhood; for just as Bread cannot be made from only one grain, we too must walk together, for being many, we are one body, one Bread,” as the early Fathers of the Church have expressed.
For the Bishop of Rome, “fraternity must also be proactive” and after recalling a thought of the German nun Angela Autsch, who died in the Auschwitz concentration camp, who “invited her little nephews, who were approaching Holy Communion for the first time, she invited her relatives who were somewhat distant. She also invited those who remained devout to rebel against this evil, with simple gestures and, in certain dangerous environments, to come as close as possible to the Sacrament of the Altar, to reveal themselves by receiving Communion.”
According to him, “These simple gestures are what make us more aware that if one member suffers, the whole body suffers with it. They are what help us to become Cyrenians of Christ, who took upon himself the weight of the world’s pain to heal the world.”
In the final part of his video message, Pope Francis invited us to learn “this lesson” and to recover “this radical fraternity with God and among men. We are one, in the one Lord of our life. We are one, in a way that we are not able to fully understand, but what we do understand is that only in this unity can we serve the world and heal it.”