At opening Mass, pope says Eucharist is way to just society, peace

Published: 2005-10-03

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At an opening Mass for the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, Pope Benedict XVI said the Eucharist was the true way to build justice in society and to create peace in human hearts. He encouraged the synod not only to pronounce "beautiful things" about the Eucharist, but also to experience its power and communicate it to the world. About 250 synod participants and thousands of others joined the pope in St. Peter's Basilica Oct. 2 for the inaugural Mass, a liturgy marked by a solemn tone and few multicultural flourishes. Dressed in pale green vestments, the pope read a sermon that explained the Eucharist in simple terms, as the place where "God comes to meet us." "God is waiting for us. He wants to be loved by us. Shouldn't this appeal touch our hearts?" he said. But this very encounter, he said, is often hindered by people's indifference. He said today's faithful need to recall the prophet Isaiah's parable of the vineyard and ask themselves: "Is not our Christian life perhaps more vinegar than wine?"

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