Cardinal Luis Tagle's homily at the Clossing Mass of the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress
Summary
TLDRIn this inspiring homily, the speaker emphasizes the importance of Eucharistic conversion and its connection to missionary zeal. Drawing from the Gospel of John, the message encourages believers to view themselves and others as gifts, reflecting on Jesus's mission to give his flesh for the life of the world. The speech challenges the congregation to embrace gratitude, self-giving, and to actively share the gift of Jesus's presence with others, fostering a community of faith that is both evangelizing and mission-driven.
Takeaways
- 🙏 The Pope sends blessings and hopes for the renewal of the church and society.
- 🌐 The theme of the National Eucharistic Congress is based on the Gospel of St. John, emphasizing Jesus as a life-giving gift sent by the Father.
- 🎁 Jesus's mission is to be a gift to others, which is fulfilled through his self-giving in the Eucharist.
- 🤔 A lack of missionary zeal may be due to a weakening appreciation of gifts and self-giving.
- 👨👩👧👦 We should view ourselves and others as gifts, not just as objects or problems.
- 🍞 To receive Jesus means to believe in him and partake in his flesh and blood, as described in John 6.
- 🚶♂️ Many disciples left Jesus because they found his teachings difficult, questioning his mission and divine origin.
- 🗣️ Jesus asks if we too want to leave like the others, challenging us to stay committed to his presence.
- 💖 Those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent on mission, embodying his presence and love for others.
- 🌟 A Eucharistic people are called to be missionary and evangelizing, sharing the gifts they have received from the Heavenly food.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the National Eucharistic Congress mentioned in the transcript?
-The main theme of the National Eucharistic Congress is 'Conversion to the Eucharist', which is derived from the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St. John.
What does Pope Francis wish for the Congress?
-Pope Francis wishes that the Congress may bear much fruit for the renewal of the church and society in the United States of America.
How is the Eucharist described in relation to Jesus' mission according to the transcript?
-The Eucharist is described as a gift and the fulfillment of Jesus' mission, where Jesus gives his flesh and presence to others as the father wills.
What is the connection between Eucharistic conversion and missionary conversion as discussed in the script?
-Eucharistic conversion and missionary conversion are linked through the idea of being sent and being a gift. Jesus is sent to be given by the father to others, and this self-giving is experienced in the Eucharist.
What does the speaker suggest might be causing a lack of missionary zeal?
-The speaker suggests that a lack of missionary zeal might be partly due to a weakening in the appreciation of gifts and giftedness, where people focus only on achievement, success, and profit.
How does the speaker relate the concept of 'gift' to our perception of others and our mission?
-The speaker relates the concept of 'gift' by asking if we see ourselves, others, our work, and society within the horizon of gift. If we do not see gifts in ourselves and others, we will not go on a mission.
What does the speaker mean when he asks if we see our spouses as gifts or problems?
-The speaker is emphasizing the importance of viewing our spouses as gifts from God, which aligns with the theme of the Eucharist as a gift. If we do not see them as gifts, it implies a lack of mission and self-giving in the relationship.
According to the transcript, what is the significance of Jesus' invitation to 'eat his flesh and drink his blood'?
-Jesus' invitation to 'eat his flesh and drink his blood' signifies the acceptance of him and the belief in his mission. It represents the ultimate gift of self and is a test of faith for his disciples.
What does the speaker suggest as a reason for people leaving Jesus?
-The speaker suggests that people might leave Jesus due to a lack of understanding or acceptance of his most precious gift of eternal life, which is symbolized by the Eucharist.
How does the speaker encourage the congregation to respond to Jesus' question, 'Do you also want to leave me?'
-The speaker encourages the congregation to respond like Peter, affirming their belief and conviction that Jesus has the words of eternal life, and expressing their desire to stay with Jesus and not live far from his presence.
What is the final message the speaker conveys about sharing the gift of Jesus?
-The final message is that those who choose to stay with Jesus will be sent by him to share the gift of his presence and love with others. It emphasizes that we should not keep Jesus to ourselves but share the gift we have received.
Outlines
🙏 Opening Blessings and Eucharistic Congress Theme
The paragraph begins with a greeting in multiple languages, followed by an acknowledgment of the audience's understanding. The speaker expresses gratitude to God for the gathering at the closing mass of the national Eucharistic Congress. He conveys Pope Francis's paternal blessings and emphasizes the Pope's message of 'conversion to the Eucharist.' The speaker then introduces the theme of the Congress, drawing from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6, which discusses Jesus as a life-giving gift sent by the Father. The paragraph concludes with a call for reflection on the link between Eucharistic conversion and missionary conversion.
🌟 The Connection Between Mission and Gift
This paragraph delves into the concept of Jesus being sent by the Father and the significance of his flesh as a gift. It highlights Jesus's consciousness of his mission and the importance of self-giving. The speaker suggests that a lack of missionary zeal might stem from not viewing life through the lens of gifts. The paragraph challenges the audience to see themselves, their work, and their relationships as gifts, not just achievements or transactions. It warns against a horizon limited to success and profit, which could lead to self-absorption and pessimism, and encourages seeing and giving gifts in all aspects of life.
👪 The Importance of Seeing Others as Gifts
The speaker poses questions about how people perceive their relationships, particularly spouses, children, and religious leaders, as either gifts or problems. He reflects on the use of artificial intelligence in relationships and the lack of real human connection. The paragraph emphasizes the need to see and give gifts in our interactions, such as attending church with a presence that offers more than just physical attendance. It calls for a deeper appreciation of the Eucharist as a gift and a fulfillment of Jesus's mission.
🍞 The Challenge of Accepting Jesus as a Gift
This paragraph discusses the difficulty some of Jesus's disciples had in accepting his teachings, particularly the idea of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. It recounts how many disciples left Jesus because they found his words hard. The speaker invites the audience to reflect on why people might reject Jesus's gift and whether the Church's teachings and celebrations effectively convey Jesus's presence. The paragraph also considers the impact of cultural mindsets on faith and the importance of ensuring that all feel welcomed and valued in the community.
🛐 The Choice to Stay with Jesus
The paragraph focuses on Jesus asking the apostles if they too wish to leave, with Peter's response expressing faith and commitment. It encourages the audience to reflect on their own commitment to Jesus and to consider whether they contribute to others' departure from him. The speaker emphasizes the importance of Eucharistic celebration in manifesting Jesus's presence and the role of the community in providing an experience of his closeness. The paragraph concludes with a call to stay with Jesus and to be sent on mission, sharing the gifts received from the Heavenly food.
🌎 Sharing the Gift of Jesus with Others
In this paragraph, the speaker shares a personal experience of a woman devoted to the church to illustrate the point that true devotion should not be an escape from family but an expression of love and service. The paragraph concludes with a call to action, urging the audience to share what they have received from Jesus with others. It emphasizes the need to go beyond the church walls and actively proclaim Jesus's love and message in the world.
🏠 The Urgency to Share the Gospel
The final paragraph is a call to action, urging the congregation not to linger in the church but to go out and share the peace and love they have experienced. It emphasizes the importance of not keeping Jesus to oneself but instead sharing the gift of his presence and love with others. The speaker encapsulates the message that a Eucharistic people are naturally missionary and evangelizing, and should actively participate in spreading the faith.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Eucharist
💡Missionary Conversion
💡Gift
💡Presence
💡Zeal
💡Belief
💡Self-Giving
💡Faith
💡Renewal
💡Family of Faith
💡Gratitude
Highlights
The Pope's paternal blessings for the renewal of the church and society in the United States.
The theme of the national Eucharistic Congress is based on the Gospel of St. John, emphasizing the gift of Jesus's flesh for the life of the world.
Jesus's mission is to be given by the father to others, emphasizing self-giving and presence.
The Eucharist as a privileged moment to experience Jesus's mission as a gift of himself.
The importance of recognizing oneself and others as gifts, not just achievements or objects.
The absence of gratitude and self-giving in a society focused on achievement, success, and profit.
The challenge to see gifts in persons and events, and the consequences of not doing so.
The question of whether people see their spouses as gifts or problems, and its impact on their mission.
The role of children in recognizing their parents as gifts or burdens.
The importance of clergy seeing their roles as gifts in service to others.
The challenge of recognizing the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and its impact on missionary zeal.
The need for Biblical, catechetical, and liturgical formation to allow Jesus's presence to shine.
The question of whether parish communities provide an experience of Jesus's closeness and caring.
The importance of families as primary teachers and transmitters of the faith.
The challenge of cultural mindsets that may hinder the faith in Jesus's word and gift of self.
The invitation to stay with Jesus and the importance of not living far from his presence.
The call to share Jesus's tender love with the weary, hungry, and suffering.
The Pope's hope that participants of the Congress will share the gifts they receive from the Heavenly food with others.
The story of a woman devoted to the church as a means to avoid her family, highlighting the need for genuine presence and mission.
The closing call to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.
Transcripts
good morning to all of you good
[Music]
morning oh
[Applause]
Jen do
wasin
now that's Chinese
Chia
boang wow they understood
me that's
Vietnamese
katam nobody
understood it's supposed to be Malay
quili my dear brothers and
sisters we thank our god father Son and
Holy
Spirit The God Who is love for Gathering
us as a family of Faith at this closing
mass of the national Eucharistic
Congress I bring to you the fatherly the
paternal blessings of his Holiness Pope
[Applause]
Francis the Holy Father praise and as we
all do that the Congress May bear fruit
much fruit for the renewal of the church
and of society in the United States of
America before coming here I asked the
Holy Father if he had a message for
you he
said conversion to the
Eucharist conversion to the
Eucharist then he turned to me and said
behave well
since the Eucharistic Congress will be
followed by a sending of Eucharistic
missionaries I would like to offer some
points for
reflection on the connection the link
between Eucharistic conversion and
missionary
conversion the first point
the theme of our national Eucharistic
Congress is taken from the sixth chapter
of the Gospel of St
John in the fullness of time the father
sent his Eternal
Word who became
flesh through the Holy
Spirit he was present Among Us human
beings as one like Like Us in the
flesh except in
sin the son sent by the father came as a
lifegiving gift a gift in the human
flesh of
Jesus My Flesh for the life of the world
Jesus himself
declares we should note that Jesus's
description of his being sent by the
father is always connected to the gift
of his flesh for
others being sent and being a
gift in the Gospel of John chapter 6
verse
38 Jesus
says for I came down from from Heaven
not to do my will but the will of the
one who sent
me Jesus has a profound
consciousness of having been
sent on being on a
mission he also says in John
6:32 my father gives you the true bread
from heaven
but what is this
bread he says in verse
35 I am the bread of
life Jesus is sent to be given by the
father to others sent to be a gift he is
not
sent just to wander around and to enjoy
himself
he is sent to be
given the
missioner is a
gift mission is not just about
work but also about the gift of
oneself Jesus fulfills his mission by
giving himself his flesh his presence to
others as the father wills
it the presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist is a gift and the Fulfillment
of his
mission this is my body for
you my blood for you always for you for
all never for me for you for all
in Jesus mission and gift of self
meet the Eucharist is a privileged
moment to experience Jesus's mission as
a gift of
himself dear
friends it occurred to me that where
there is a lack or a weak in of
missionary
Zeal maybe it is partly due to a
weakening in the
appreciation of gifts and
giftedness do we still look at
ourselves at persons at objects at our
work at
Society at the events of daily life and
that
creation within the
Horizon of
gift or is this
Horizon
disappearing if our
Horizon is only that of
achievement
success and
profit there is no room to see and
receive gratuitous gifts
there is no place for
gratitude and
self-giving there will only be a
Relentless search for
self-affirmation that eventually becomes
oppressive and
tiring leading to more self-absorption
or
individualism and when pessimism takes
over we see only
Darkness
failures
problems things to complain
about we do not see gifts in persons and
events and those who do not see gifts in
themselves and in others will not give
gifts they will will not go on a
mission in
fact I heard that some people prefer to
relate with so-called friends or
dates generated by artificial
intelligence because they do not see
gifts in real Flesh and Blood persons
husbands and wives who are here may I
know who are married here husbands and
wives
wow husbands and
wives what do you see in each other a
gift or a
[Music]
problem the answer is not
clear then no wonder there is no Mission
between husband and wife if you don't
see them as gifts then wow wow
children are there children
here yeah I think all of us are
children children what do you see in
your parents a gift or an ATM car
hard parents parents what do you see in
your children a gift or a
burden priests and
deacons what do you see in your
[Applause]
Bishops I'm sorry h
religious men and
women what do you see in your religious
superiors
Bishops what do you see in your priests
and
deacons oh W they say
problem gifts gifts
gifts
friends what do you see in a poor
person in a homeless person in a sick
person what do you see in a person in
someone who differs from
you like
Jesus let us give let us give a gift of
presence to each
other go to
church go to Mass
with the gift of your
flesh your singing voice your sweat your
tears your
smiles Jesus gives his flesh why can we
not give him in the community the gift
of our fleshly presence
my second
point is Jesus a gift or a
problem a
gift well Jesus told his listeners in
the Gospel of John chapter
6 that to receive him to accept him
means first to believe in him and
secondly to eat his flesh and drink his
blood the disciples who were initially
eager to listen to him started
doubting they said this saying is hard
it's hard it's difficult difficult who
can accept
it they also questioned whether Jesus
had been sent by
God since they knew him as the son of
Joseph and
Mary as a result of this many of his
disciples left
him meaning and I quote they returned to
their former way of of life and no
longer accompanied him they returned to
their former way of life and no longer
accompanied
him they returned to a way of
life without
Jesus they chose his
absence rather than his presence
in their
lives instead of accompanying him they
walked
alone their rejection of the gift of
Jesus's word body and blood
meant they would not walk with
him and neither could he send them on
[Music]
Mission I invite you dear de brothers
and
sisters to pause and ask rather painful
questions about this mysterious
rejection of Jesus by his
disciples by his
disciples is it
possible that we his
disciples contribute also to the
departure of others
from
[Music]
Jesus why do some people leave Jesus
when he is giving the most precious gift
of eternal
life why do some bad ties turn away from
the gift of Jesus in the
Eucharist thus our Biblical catechetical
and lurgical
formation allows the gift of Jesus's
person to shine forth
clearly does
our Eucharistic
celebration manifest Jesus's
presence or does it
obscure the presence of
Jesus do Mass goers manifest the
presence of
Christ through their WI goodness of Life
charity and
Mission do our Parish communities
provide an experience of Jesus's
closeness and
caring are our families still the
primary teachers and transmitters of the
faith do the youth feel listened to and
heard about their search for
Jesus what cultural mindsets challenge
the faith in Jesus's word and gift of
self now I shift my line of questioning
maybe there are people who desire to be
present with the Lord but they hesitate
to come
like the
poor the
homeless the
migrants the
refugees the indigenous
people the hearing
impaired the
elderly and many other hidden people who
might feel they do not
belong but let us not lose heart Jesus
will not get tired of coming to us with
the gift of himself even when he is
wounded this leads me to the third and
final
point you can be
happy after after after the departure of
of some
disciples Jesus asked the 12
apostles do you also want to
leave Simon Peter answered
him Master to whom shall we
go you have the words of eternal life we
have come to believe and are
convinced that you are the Holy One Of
God Jesus is asking each one of us do
you also want to leave me like the
others I hope we can answer like
Peter we will stay with you
Lord we refuse to live far from your
presence
but let these not be empty
words like Peter we should believe with
conviction Jesus does not impose himself
on anyone he appeals to our interior
Freedom faith and
conviction are our gifts to
Jesus who gives himself to to us so I
ask you dear brothers and sisters will
you stay with
Jesus okay I'm not
finished those who choose to stay with
Jesus
will be sent by
Jesus the gift of his presence and love
for us will be our gift to people we
should not keep Jesus to
ourselves that is not discipleship
that is
selfishness the gift we have received we
should give as a
gift have you
experienced the tenderness of Jesus
towards his tired
disciples offering them time to rest and
to eat as recounted in the gospel
today go and share share Jesus's tender
love to the weary the hungry and the
suffering have you experienced Jesus's
compassion and
guidance when you were like sheep
without a
Shepherd go and share Jesus's Shepherd's
caress to the Lost confused and weak
have you experienced Jesus's Wounded
Heart uniting those who are separated
from each
other as St Paul States in his letter to
the
Ephesians now go and share Jesus's gift
of reconciliation and peace to those who
are
divided in his letter to me Pope Francis
expressed The Hope and I
quote that the participants of the
Congress fully aware of the universal
gifts they receive from Heavenly food
May impart them to
others end of
quote fully aware of the gifts they have
received from the Heavenly food may they
impart them to
others so a Eucharistic people is a
missionary and
evangelizing
people now I'm really closing this
now let me close by sharing an
experience when I was a parish
priest I noticed a woman a woman
who was
extraordinarily devoted to the
church on
Sundays she arrived early early in the
morning to help in all the masses and
other
activities and went home only when the
church had been cleaned up and the doors
closed one day I thanked her for her
dedication
and I also thanked her family for
allowing her to
serve her
answer surprised me she
said
father do not worry about my
family I stay here in church and attend
all
masses because I do not want to see my
husband and children
I wish every day were a
Sunday so I could avoid my
family dear friends when the priest or
Deacon says the mass is ended go in the
Peace of Christ please go
[Applause]
go do not spend the whole day drinking
coffee with
monor with father go go
go and what you have heard touched and
tasted you must share with
others we have received the gift of
Jesus let us go to Proclaim Jesus
zealously and joyfully for the life of
the world
[Applause]
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