The meeting began with a Holy Mass presided over by the President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco.
Budapest – Hungary (07/09/2021 08:00, Gaudium Press) Following the theme “All my sources are in You”, the 52nd edition of the International Eucharistic Congress began last Sunday 5 September in Budapest, Hungary. The opening Mass was presided by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences.
The Cardinal began his homily affirming that the voice of the Shepherd wishes to beat, humbly and joyfully, in the hearts of the peoples of Europe, and to go beyond, to the ends of the earth. A voice that is “weak, but echoes that of the centuries and is marked by the blood of the martyrs,” from which it draws strength to proclaim Jesus and to remember that “in spite of the limitations and shadows of his children, the light of Christ shines in the Church.
We are not alone, God looks on us with love
This same voice calls the Church not to be silent, not to be reduced to silence, but to “give to the face of every human being the splendour of the risen Christ. Stressing that this voice reminds man that he is not alone, Cardinal Bagnasco emphasized that wherever we are, we are never invisible to God, who looks at us with love, and that God is also our father.
Speaking about the children of First Communion and Confirmation, Cardinal Bagnasco underlined the simplicity of their hearts that welcome Jesus. To the young people of Catholic schools he stressed that Faith and reason go together and that “God is not a competitor of their freedom, and Faith is not a series of prohibitions, but a great yes to joy, even when it is demanding, because love is a serious thing.
The Catholic Church and youth
Then he affirmed that the Catholic Church needs the enthusiasm of youth and youth needs Jesus, because everything ages quickly, but only God is always young, and the Church is the true youth of the world because it preserves the sacrament of the Body of Christ. We are worth “the blood of Jesus, Redeemer of the world and Bread of eternal life. Do not be afraid: God is not dead, the Eucharist surpasses every solitude, every distance, every indifference. May the Eucharist be the centre of your days. Of every day!
Addressing priests as sentinels of the dawn and living presence of the Mother and Teacher Church, the Cardinal said that the Catholic Church thanks them for being “heralds of God’s love, prophets of the Spirit in a market of matter, heirs of a living Tradition and announcers of the future in a lost world. And he warned that “the Church does not guarantee you tranquility, but repeats to you with Christ: ‘Do not be afraid'”. (EPC)
