Cardinal Vincent Nichols, president of the Bishops’ Conference, gave a homily at Adoremus this Saturday (14 September), saying the “Eucharist, then, is the fount and source of all our efforts”.
The day before Evangelii Gaudium Sunday (15 September), a day to renew all missionary efforts in England and Wales, Cardinal Nichols said “every act of evangelisation” is inspired by the Eucharist and our love of Christ.
The full homily is below.
Many years ago now, I was waiting in the office of the Prefect of the Papal Household, Archbishop Harvey, when a fine porcelain vase on display there caught my eye. It was clearly English: Spode or Royal Worcester, I thought. On the front of the vase was a painting of the façade of this College, St Mary’s Oscott. Filled with curiosity, I turned it around. On the reverse was a painting of Pugin’s vision of a procession of the Blessed Sacrament across the front of the College. The vase was dated 1838. Later we concluded that it had been presented to Pope Gregory XVI by Cardinal Wiseman to mark the opening of the College.
So our Eucharistic celebration and procession today have deep roots in the history of this very place. Here we gladly join with the Church throughout the world in celebrating the 53rd World Eucharistic Congress, taking place at this time in Quito, Ecuador.
With people all over the world, we place ourselves in the presence of the Lord in this most Blessed Sacrament, carried in procession and we celebrate again the Sacrifice of the Mass through which this Sacrament flows.
In this afternoon’s procession, the Blessed Sacrament is held before us in a Monstrance. In the College exhibition, for viewing today, there is another Monstrance worthy of note. Made in the 16th century, this Monstrance was lost to the Church. But in the nineteenth century, it was spotted in a jeweller’s shop in Chelsea and bought by a James Joseph Wheble, brother of a priest from this College. The place in the Monstrance for the Blessed Sacrament had been filled with a clock. James Wheble had it restored and, in 1860 gave it to Oscott where it is now treasured. May all things be so restored in Christ!
Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the Readings from Scripture given to us for this Feast shape this reflection.
During the Mass, the Lord is raised again before us. This enacts the moment and manner in which Jesus is raised before us, and before the whole world, embracing the Cross, ‘mounting’ its wood, giving himself entirely in his selfless, timeless, redeeming sacrifice.
How strongly this is expressed in the Gospel: ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’
How wondrously this is prefigured and promised in the reading from the Book of Numbers: ‘Moses fashioned a bronze serpent and put it on a standard and if anyone was bitten by the fiery serpents, he looked on the bronze serpent and lived.’
How powerfully this takes place again, in each and every celebration of the Mass, when the Lord is held before us with the proclamation: ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’
At that moment the eye of faith beholds Jesus, whole and entire in his great act of sacrifice. Here we behold the entire mystery of faith, by which our human reality, in all its brokenness and poverty, is taken up to the Creator and the flow of saving grace is opened up, ever anew.
‘Behold the Lamb of God’. Here every act of loving kindness, of sacrificial giving, whether that of a tired parent, a dear friend, a harassed nurse, an emergency worker, school teacher to name but a few – finds its utter fulfilment. Here every personal, loving sacrifice becomes enfolded into the work of our salvation.
‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ Here is our salvation, for he is the only one ‘who takes away the sins of the world’. Like water into a sponge, every act of cruelty, of vindictiveness, of exploitation, every sin that disfigures our humanity is absorbed by Jesus on the cross. Its weight, its awful burden, compresses him utterly, in the garden forcing out from his body both sweat and blood until, on the cross, ‘it is accomplished’ and Jesus ‘gives up his spirit’.
This is all here, before our eyes. We can only bow in humble adoration and murmur ‘How great thou art, how great thou art!’
Yet there is more. Not only do we hear the great proclamation, ‘Behold the Lamb’, but there is also an invitation. Here, in the Mass, we are given this Lamb. He puts himself into our hands, into our hearts. He not only says ‘Behold the Lamb’, but also ‘Hold the Lamb of God’. ‘Hold me’ he says to us, ‘in your love, in your heart, with all the tenderness and devotion you can find’. ‘Hold me, take me, receive me, so that I may live in you, so that your every word and deed may be filled with my presence.’ You see, we too are called to be part of his mission: to take away the sins of the world. We are to do so by our love, our courage, our service in his name with his Holy Spirit.
The Eucharist, then, is the fount and source of all our efforts, of every act of evangelisation. As we seek renewal in our mission let’s take to heart that every act of dialogue and proclamation, of service and compassion, flows from our love of Christ. And every action is an invitation, implicit or explicit, to those whom we serve to come to know and love the Lord.
Behold the Lamb of God! Hold the Lamb of God! And one more step still to be taken: Hold onto the Lamb of God!
Using the imagery of the Book of Numbers, we know there are many fiery serpents in our midst, in our world today. They may look innocuous, coming with charming words. They may fill us with fear, imprisoning our best, creative spirit. They can use every means of communication, ancient and contemporary. But when we face them, whether in loneliness or in the dead of night, in times of seeming helplessness and despair – which we all know – we are to hold on to him, gaze on him, cling to him, stay safe in the shelter of his wings.
This is the pathway of our discipleship, enacted in this Mass and in the procession this afternoon. We are summoned, by the loving plan of the Father, to render all praise to God and to sing constantly of the beauty of his creation. In our pilgrimage, we are constantly guided by the Holy Spirit, in discernment and decision, in the company of the Church. And, at every step of the way Jesus accompanies us, never leaving us alone, always within our reach, always there before us, most especially in the Eucharist, in this most Blessed Sacrament.
‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ ‘Take hold of the Lamb of God!’ ‘Hold onto the Lamb of God’, cling to him with all your might!
This is our honour and joy. This is our Eucharistic heart. This is the faith of the Church and we are proud to profess it.
Amen.
✠ Cardinal Vincent Nichols
