Pope Francis reflects with wonder on ‘the miracle of the Eucharist’ 

Vatican City, Aug 18, 2024 / 10:20 am (CNA).

Pope Francis said Sunday that the Eucharist is a “miracle” in which Jesus nourishes us with his life and satisfies the hunger in our hearts.

“All of us need the Eucharist,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address on Aug. 18.

“The heavenly bread, which comes from the Father, is the Son made flesh for us. This food is more than necessary because it satisfies the hunger for hope, the hunger for truth, and the hunger for salvation that we all feel not in our stomachs, but in our hearts.”

Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope encouraged people to reflect with “wonder and gratitude” on the “miracle of the Eucharist” in which Jesus “makes  Himself present for us and with us.”

“The bread from heaven is a gift that exceeds all expectations,” the pope said.

“Jesus takes care of the greatest need: He saves us, nourishing our lives with His, forever.  Thanks to Him, we can live in communion with God and among ourselves.”

The pope’s reflection centered on Jesus’ words recorded in chapter six of the Gospel of John, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”

Pope Francis said, “Let us ask ourselves … When I receive the Eucharist, which is the miracle of mercy, do I stand in awe before the Body of the Lord, who died and rose again for us?”

After leading the crowd in the Angelus prayer in Latin, the pope urged people to continue to pray for “pathways to peace” to open in the Middle East, in Palestine and Israel, as well as in Ukraine, Myanmar, and every place affected by war.

The pope also expressed joy that four 20th-century martyrs were beatified on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thousands attended the beatification Mass of Father Luigi Carrara, Father Giovanni Didonè, and Father Vittorio Faccin — all Xaverian missionary priests from Italy serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo who were martyred by anti-religious guerrillas in the Kwilu Rebellion in 1964. Father Albert Joubert, a martyred diocesan priest born to a French father and African mother, was also beatified with them.

“Their martyrdom was the crowning achievement of a life spent for the Lord and for their brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis said.

“May their example and intercession foster paths of reconciliation and peace for the good of the Congolese people.”