Pope invites Brazil to rediscover the Eucharist

(May 10, 2010) Pope Benedict has urged Brazilians to rediscover the Eucharist saying it is their heart. The Pope made the exhortation after the Sunday’s midday ‘Regina Coeli’ prayer, ahead of the 16th National Eucharistic Congress, to be held from Thursday through Sunday in the capital, Brasilia. The Holy Father expressed his spiritual closeness with the Brazilian people for the spiritual event to which he has delegated Cardinal Cláudio Hummes at his special envoy. "May you all, pastors and faithful people, rediscover that the heart of Brazil is the Eucharist," he said, speaking in Portuguese. The theme of the May 13-16 National Eucharistic Congress is 'Stay with us, Lord' - the words of the disciples of Emmaus. The Pope said it is the “expression of the desire that beats in the heart of every human being." "It is in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar where Jesus shows his will to be with us, to live with us, to give himself to us," the Pontiff added. Pope Benedict also recalled the closing of the Year for Priests, next month, and invited all priests to "cultivate a profoundly Eucharistic spirituality,” in the footsteps of the Curé d’Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, who while seeking to unite his personal sacrifice with that of Christ on the altar, marvelled at the great good a priest accomplishes by sacrificing himself to God every morning.