THE EUCHARIST is a source of needed strength and hope to those in the midst of war, conflict or personal difficulties, said several participants in the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist.
Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad, Iraq, said Jesus “is our strength and our consolation” during times of “difficulty and persecution”.
Jesus in the Eucharist “is the light that illuminates the path that leads us to eternal life” and “the living manna that gives us life and sustains us”, he said to applause.
Bishop Nestor Ngoy Katahwa of Kolwezi, Congo, said his people were in great need of God’s saving grace found in the Gospel and the Eucharist. The central African nation, rich in natural resources, has been troubled by decades of war, resource-plundering and corruption.
The bishop told Synod participants that in his country the Catholic faithful must be prompted “to bring to the altar their sufferings which are of all the people”. He said his nation was ravaged by “frustration over injustices and social inequalities, rancour because one lives in extreme poverty” in a land that was “extremely rich but scandalously exploited for the comfort of other..” He urged the Congolese to find “the necessary comfort and strength” in the Eucharist and to “fight evil” in public and private life as they rebuild the country.