Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes' Letter on the
Year of the Eucharist
 My Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is with great joy that I join our Holy Father
in proclaiming this "The Year of the Eucharist" (from Oct. '04- Oct.
'05) for our Archdiocese of New Orleans. In his apostolic letter, Mane
Nobiscum Domine (Remain with us Lord, Oct. 7, 2004), Pope John Paul II
reminds us that "Jesus Christ stands at the centre not just of the
history of the Church, but also the history of humanity. In him, all
things are drawn together." (cf. Eph 1:10; Col 1:15-20)
If Christ stands at the center of humanity, then
by our Church's teaching we know that Jesus' Real Presence in the
Eucharist also stands there at the center of history and humanity. The
questions that remain are these: Do we allow Jesus Christ in the
Eucharist to stand and reign in the center of our individual lives? Do
we invite Jesus to remain with us in the Eucharist, echoing in our
hearts and actions the disciples' invitation to our Lord on the Road to
Emmaus, "Stay with us, Lord, for it is almost evening"? (cf. Lk 24:29)
On this side of heaven, one cannot experience a
more substantial or intense communion with Christ's presence than in
the Eucharist. It is this substantial presence of Christ that we call
The Real Presence. We were made for communion with the Divine; we were
made for heaven. The Eucharist is a divine and heavenly gift in which
we come to Jesus and Jesus comes to us. Vatican II duly proclaimed the
Eucharist as the "source and summit of the Christian life," but
understanding this phraseology is more than an intellectual task - it
is a spiritual one. In this phrase we can see the link to the exit that
St. Thomas wrote about, and we can apply this to the Eucharist as our
"source" of life.
In our Archdiocese, there are 18 perpetual
adoration chapels and 100 parishes that offer scheduled times of
Eucharistic Adoration. In this "Year of the Eucharist" I encourage you
to take advantage of this great blessing and visit Christ in the
Blessed Sacrament. Christ granted the request of his disciples on the
road to Emmaus, and under the forms of bread and wine, his Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity really do "remain with us." Of course, the disciples
were only echoing the similar request that Jesus had made in Garden of
Gethsemane to Peter, James and John when he asked them to remain with
him -- to stay and pray with him for one hour. (Mt 26:37-40) Now, in
this special year focused on the true reality of Christ in the
Eucharist, we have the opportunity to do what the apostles failed to do
that night -- to remain with Him in Eucharistic Adoration, and to
receive Christ in Holy Communion.
The Eucharist is not only the beginning and the
end of our Christian life, but it is our way and sustenance by which we
return to God. He remains with us as the center of history, the Church,
and the Christian life not only in a spiritual way, but also in a real
and substantial way in the gift of the Eucharist. Can we afford not to
visit Him in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament? Can we afford not to
commune with Our Lord in reception of the Holy Eucharist at Mass? This
"Year of the Eucharist" offers us an opportunity to truly contemplate,
recognize and adore Our Lord in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.
Let us trust that if we remain with Christ and
allow Him to remain in us through the Eucharist, He will "open our
eyes" to the reality of His love and His plan for our lives, as he did
for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. May we respond to his personal
invitation, for the first time, or once again, to allow Christ to reign
in the center of our hearts, remaining with us there as we journey to
remain with Him forever in heaven.
Sincerely in the Lord,
Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes
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