Pope
Francis was greeted by a sea of people taking cover under umbrellas as
he made his way into St Peter’s Square on Wednesday for his weekly
General Audience. Making reference to the rainy weather the Pope said
“it’s not a nice day is it”.
In his continuing Catechesis on the
Sacraments, the Holy Father focused his attention on the Eucharist
saying that it accompanies us every step of the way on our pilgrimage of
faith.
Reflecting on the Mass, Pope Francis said it was a banquet
that nourishes us not only with the bread of life but also with the
proclamation of God’s word in the Scriptures.
The Pope went on to say
that at the Last Supper, Christ gave us this sacrament when he broke
bread and offered the cup as the foreshadowing of his sacrifice on the
Cross. In this Eucharistic sacrifice, he added, Jesus gave us the
supreme prayer of thanksgiving to God our merciful Father.
The Holy
Father underlined that the celebration of the Eucharist is more than
simply a banquet; it is he said a memorial of the Lord’s passion, death
and resurrection, and makes present the paschal mystery in all its
saving power.
Departing from his prepared remarks Pope Francis
stressed that we can never thank the Lord enough for the gift of the
Eucharist adding, "that is why it is so important to go to Mass on
Sundays, to go to Mass, not only to pray, but to receive Communion, the
bread which is the Body of Jesus Christ, that saves us, forgives us, and
unites us with the Father."