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Church of the Eucharist - New Evangelization

Chapter 4: The Pope's Call to the Youth

Rev. Fr. Vincent Martin Lucia

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Ch 4

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Dear young people...
God says, 'Before I formed you in the womb
I knew you.'¹²²

He knows you because He has loved you
from all eternity.

God has chosen you,
and He lets you hear His voice.
It is not through the senses
that we perceive Him and are close to Him.
It is through faith and love
that we recognize the Lord
under the appearance of Bread
in the Holy Eucharist.

The Lord repeats for us today
what He did for the disciples at Emmaus,
opening the eyes of those who seek Him.

'Their eyes were opened,
and they recognized Him.'
¹²³
'They had come to know Him
in the Breaking of the Bread.'¹²⁴

As with the disciples at Emmaus,
so also with us, as the Spirit testifies
to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

This is why Jesus said, at the first Eucharist,
that the Spirit 'will bear witness on my behalf.'¹²⁵

God gives us the Spirit
to know and to love Jesus in the Eucharist,
'the love of God
poured out into our hearts
has been given to us.'¹²⁶

The Spirit gives us the light of faith.
We must open our hearts and be humble
to encounter, in faith, the Mystery of Christ's Presence.
'I tell you the truth, unless you change
and become like little children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'¹²⁷

One can never really reach Jesus,
except by the path of faith.
'We walk by faith, not sight.'¹²⁸

'Mary stood weeping beside the tomb,'¹²⁹
when Jesus asked her,
'Why are you weeping?
Who is it you are looking for?'¹³⁰

Jesus was standing right there,
yet Mary Magdalene did not recognize Him,
as Jesus is right here
in the Blessed Sacrament,
yet so many do not know He is here.

Jesus was speaking of the Eucharist
when He said:
'An hour is coming
when authentic worshipers
will worship in Spirit and truth.
Indeed, it is just such worshipers
the Father seeks.'¹³¹

Christ said to Thomas,
'Because you have seen Me
you have believed.
Blessed are they who have not seen
and yet believe.'¹³²

The Lord gives us His Spirit
to help us say, 'I believe.'
At the Last Supper, Jesus said,
'Have faith in God and faith in Me.'¹³³

'Faith is confident assurance
concerning what we hope for,
and conviction about things
we do not see.'¹³⁴

Through the Eucharist,
Christ makes Himself Present among us
as He did with His Apostles
gathered together in the Upper Room.
Jesus Himself stood in their midst
and said, 'It is really I.'¹³⁵

Today Jesus Himself is again in our midst
in the Blessed Sacrament
where again His words are truly realized,
'It is really I.'

Like His disciples, we ask the Lord:
'Increase our faith.'¹³⁶

May the most luminous sign of our faith
be a love and adoration
of Jesus in the Eucharist,
where the Risen Savior
enters the Upper Room of our lives
allowing each of us to experience His Presence
and declare, 'My Lord and My God.'¹³⁷

Dear young people,
to believe in Jesus today,
to follow Jesus today,
is to follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
'He calls His own by name,
and they hear His voice.'¹³⁸

It is He Who is speaking to us.
'Who do you say that I am?'¹³⁹
In the words of the Gospel,
we proclaim, 'It is the Lord'¹⁴⁰
truly Present in the Eucharist.

This is the stupendous Truth,
the sweet Mystery of life,
the Mystery of boundless love...
the Eucharist is the Sacrament
of the Presence of Christ
Who gives Himself to us
in this Mystery of Faith
because He loves us,
each one of us,
individually.

Don't ever think you are just a number
in an anonymous crowd.
Jesus has reserved a special place
in His Heart just for you.
You are irreplaceable and irrepeatable,
and this is why He loves you
in a unique and personal way.
'The Son of God loved me
and gave Himself for me.'¹⁴¹

Christ loves you, and He loves you forever.
He loves you even when you disappoint Him.
Do not ever feel that you are alone,
as He never fails to embrace you in His Mercy.

You have gone in search of Christ,
but Christ has first gone in search of you.
He comes into the world
and desires to establish with each one of us
a relationship of intimate union.

Jesus, Who let Himself be nailed to the Cross
to redeem the world, is so very close to you.
The Eucharist is Christ in Person
filled with tenderness for you.

Only in Him can we find true meaning in life.
For it is in Him that we discover
how much we are loved and valued.

You were made in His image and likeness.
You represent a special attribute of His
never before created
and never to be reproduced again.
In this unique attribute you possess,
God sees Himself in you.

In the Presence of Jesus,
we find our true identity,
our security and our dignity,
for it is there that we discover
who we truly are:
the beloved of God.

In the Blessed Eucharist,
Jesus has lost His Heart to you in love.
You are most precious to Him.
He loves you tenderly.
He knows you personally.
He says, 'I call you friends.'¹⁴²

Because Christ chooses us as His friends,
we are called to a greater intimacy with Him.
Prayer makes us His intimate friends.
So fix your gaze on the Eucharist.

Dear young people, do not allow
the time the Lord gives you go by.
'Store up your treasure in Heaven.'¹⁴³
Look for times of silence and prayer.

To pray means to give time to Christ,
to entrust yourself to Him,
to listen in silence to His Word:

'Where I am, there will My servant be,'¹⁴⁴
for 'where your treasure is,
there also will your heart be.'¹⁴⁵

Today Christ is asking you
the same question He asked Peter:
'Do you love Me?'¹⁴⁶

Jesus is not asking you whether you can
direct an organization or manage an estate.
He is asking you to love Him.
Do not close yourselves to His love.

This means staying with Him.
'Lord teach us to pray.'¹⁴⁷
Love the Eucharist. Adore the Eucharist.
Go to meet Jesus the Savior.

Let us go forth to meet Him.
This is precisely what it means
to develop a personal relationship
with Jesus our Savior...
to come to where He is in Person.
This is what faith is all about.
It is a personal encounter
with the Living Christ.

Jesus is really there,
and if you only knew
how much He loves you,
you would be the happiest person
in the whole world.

It is Jesus, in fact, Whom you seek
when you dream of happiness.
He only wants you to be happy and holy,
and these two go together.

The men in the gospel who said,
'we wish to see Jesus'¹⁴⁸
are the spokesmen for all humanity.
The Lord is the goal of human history,
the joy of every human heart,
and the answer to all its yearning.

He is the sole and definitive
completion of every person,
Who stirs within us a thirst for eternity
and a desire for the infinite.

Jesus does not ask us
to give up living, but rather,
to welcome a fullness of life
that only He can give.

Is not Christ the secret of true freedom?
The choice is between an empty existence
and the fulness of life.

'I have come
that you may have life
and have it in abundance.'¹⁴⁹
How can we not be grateful
to this God Who is so good?

He is waiting for you
when nothing else satisfies.
He is the beauty
to which you are attracted.

How can we refuse the God
Who has come to be at our side
and to stay with us always
in the Most Blessed Sacrament?
'Could you not watch one hour with Me?'¹⁵⁰

Say 'Yes' to Jesus!
This hour He wants you to spend with Him
is spent anyway you like...
with a prayer book, a Rosary, a Bible,
or you may be so tired or troubled
that you may want to do nothing
but just sit and relax
and enjoy the peace
of His Presence.

'Cast all your anxieties
upon the Lord Who cares for you.'¹⁵¹
'Do not let your hearts be troubled.'¹⁵²

Jesus takes away every kind of fear and anguish
as He did with the disciples at Emmaus
when He filled their hearts with hope,
as every holy hour is like
an Emmaus walk with the Lord.¹⁵³

What Jesus wants everyone to know
is that He is the easiest Person in the world to be with,
and absolutely the easiest Person to please.

What incomparable consolation!
We can feel the infinite Love of His Heart.
'I bore you up on eagle's wings
and brought you here to Myself.'¹⁵⁴

Fears, worries, and nightmares fade away
because in the Person of Christ,
'the Reign of God is in our midst.'¹⁵⁵

It is one of Satan's most destructive lies
that sitting alone in a Church adoring Christ
is irrelevant, impractical, and a withdrawal
from vital, contemporary needs.

Closeness to Christ in silence and contemplation
does not distance us from others,
but, on the contrary, unites us with all humanity.

Adoration touches everything and everyone
because it touches the Creator
Who touches everything and everyone.

St. Faustina saw coming
from the Blessed Sacrament
two rays of Divine Love and Mercy,

which encircled the world
and touched the hearts of all humanity,
whereby every man, woman, and child,
on the face of the earth
experience a new effect
of God's goodness and grace
during every holy hour of prayer.

A holy hour is like the offering of the youth
who had only a few loaves and a few fish.
'But what good is that for so many?'¹⁵⁶
the disciples asked.

Jesus blessing the offering
and multiplied it
into such an abundance
that it fed five thousand
with twelve baskets left over.

So too it is with your holy hour.

Jesus blesses the time you offer Him
and multiplies it
into such an abundance of grace
that it spiritually nourishes countless people
who are in most need of His Love and Mercy.

This is the mission of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament.
He has come 'to heal the brokenhearted.'¹⁵⁷
Adoration will heal our Church,
and thus our nation, and thus our world.

Dear young people, from the depth of my heart
I thank God for the gift you are to the Church.
Even though you are young
the time for action is now!

You are ready for what Christ wants of you now.
It is Jesus who gives you the desire
to do something great with your life.
Take a stand for Jesus.

Be missionaries to your contemporaries
without being discouraged
in the face of difficulties.
Seek ways of evangelizing
the world of youth.
You, yourselves, must be
fervent witnesses
to Christ's Presence in the Eucharist.

'Faith comes through hearing.'¹⁵⁸
'How are they to hear
unless there is someone to tell them:'¹⁵⁹
Go tell it on the mountains:
Jesus Christ is here!

Christ is the Light to all nations.
When we expose the Light in Eucharistic adoration,
He will cast out all the darkness of the world.

Dear young people,
become 'morning watchmen,'¹⁶⁰
until 'in the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.'¹⁶¹

Then everyone will see
the Divine Rays of Love and Mercy
radiating from Jesus in the Eucharist,
'when He will appear a second time
to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.'¹⁶²

Glorious is your future,
for through adoration
you make Jesus the Heart of your world,
and, thus, you will set the whole world ablaze
with His Divine Love.

Scripture References

¹²² Jer 1:5
¹²³ Lk 24:31
¹²⁴ Lk 24:35
¹²⁵ Jn 15:26
¹²⁶ Rom 5:5
¹²⁷ Mt 18:3
¹²⁸ 2 Cor 5:7
¹²⁹ Jn 20:11
¹³⁰ Jn 20:15
¹³¹ Jn 4:23
¹³² Jn 20:29
¹³³ Jn 14:1
¹³⁴ Heb 11:1
¹³⁵ Lk 24:39
¹³⁶ Lk 17:5
¹³⁷ Jn 20:28
¹³⁸ Jn 10:3-4
¹³⁹ Mt 16:15
¹⁴⁰ Jn 21:7
¹⁴¹ Gal 2:20
¹⁴² Jn 15:15
¹⁴³ Mt 6:20
¹⁴⁴ Jn 12:26
¹⁴⁵ Mt 6:21
¹⁴⁶ Jn 21:15
¹⁴⁷ Lk 11:1
¹⁴⁸ Jn 12:21
¹⁴⁹ Jn 10:10
¹⁵⁰ Mt 26:40
¹⁵¹ 1 Pt 5:7
¹⁵² Jn 14:1
¹⁵³ Lk 24:13-35
¹⁵⁴ Ex 19:4
¹⁵⁵ Lk 10:11
¹⁵⁶ Jn 6:9
¹⁵⁷ Is 61:1
¹⁵⁸ Rom 10:17
¹⁵⁹ Rom 10:14
¹⁶⁰ Ps 130:6
¹⁶¹ Lk 1:78
¹⁶² Hb 9:28