Mary Leads us to Eucharist - Message of Bl. Pope John Paul II in Czestochowa, Poland on 15th August 1996

Part 2.

Every Holy Mass makes present in an unbloody manner that unique and perfect sacrifice, offered by Christ on the Cross, in which Mary participated, joined in spirit with her suffering Son, lovingly consenting to his sacrifice and offering her own sorrow to the Father (cf. Lumen gentium, n. 58). Therefore when we celebrate the Eucharist, the memorial of Christ's passover, the memory of his Mother's suffering is also made alive and present, this Mother who, as an unsurpassable model, teaches the faithful to unite themselves more intimately to the sacrifice of her Son, the one Redeemer. Through spiritual communion with the sorrowful Mother of God, believers share in a special way in the paschal mystery and are opened to this extraordinary action of the Holy Spirit which produces a supernatural joy because of communion with the glorious Christ, on the example of the joy granted to Mary in the glory of heaven, as the first person to share in the fruits of the Redemption.

2. Mary and the Eucharist. The organizers of the 19th International Marian Congress in Jasna Gora proposed this as a theme for study and prayer. And it is a correct choice, especially in view of the International Eucharistic Congress that will be held next year in Krakow. In this way, just as Mary is present at the beginning of the mission of the Incarnate Word, and thereby at the origins of the Eucharist as well, the Marian Congress this year marks the start of the Church's spiritual preparation to make the Eucharistic Congress a fruitful experience. May these days bring you all close to her who—throughout her life in communion with her Son, not only by ties of blood but especially by love—is the most perfect Teacher of that love which enables us to be united in the deepest way with Christ in the mystery of his Eucharistic presence. Let Mary lead us to the Eucharist!

I ask all of you who are gathered in Jasna Gora for the Marian Congress to pray for the intentions of the Church and the world. As we give thanks for 20 centuries of Mary's protection of the Church, let us together ask her to lead believers towards an ever more perfect knowledge of the saving power of the Sacrifice of Christ, who is present in the Eucharist. Let us pray that the living experience of communion with Christ may bear fruits of zeal in the hearts of all Christians as they build up a communion of love among men. May the Mother of God lead us into the third millennium, united around the Word of God who was made flesh in her. I cordially bless you all.

Castel Gandolfo, 15 August 1996.

Encyclical Letter on the Holy Eucharist - Part 58

58. In the Eucharist the Church is completely united to Christ and his sacrifice, and makes her own the spirit of Mary. This truth can be understood more deeply by re-reading the Magnificat in a Eucharistic key. The Eucharist, like the Canticle of Mary, is first and foremost praise and thanksgiving. When Mary exclaims: “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”, she already bears Jesus in her womb. She praises God “through” Jesus, but she also praises him “in” Jesus and “with” Jesus. This is itself the true “Eucharistic attitude”.

At the same time Mary recalls the wonders worked by God in salvation history in fulfilment of the promise once made to the fathers (cf. Lk 1:55), and proclaims the wonder that surpasses them all, the redemptive incarnation. Lastly, the Magnificat reflects the eschatological tension of the Eucharist. Every time the Son of God comes again to us in the “poverty” of the sacramental signs of bread and wine, the seeds of that new history wherein the mighty are “put down from their thrones” and “those of low degree are exalted” (cf. Lk 1:52), take root in the world. Mary sings of the “new heavens” and the “new earth” which find in the Eucharist their anticipation and in some sense their programme and plan. The Magnificat expresses Mary's spirituality, and there is nothing greater than this spirituality for helping us to experience the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, may become completely a Magnificat!