Eucharistic congress in Poland.

Raymond de Souza, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Kingston, attended the Eucharistic Congress held in Wroclaw, Poland, from May 25 to June 1 of this year. The theme chosen for the Congress was one particularly appropriate to its setting: the Eucharist and Freedom. In Poland as in other countries newly released from oppression, there is a temptation to regard freedom as the absence of any constraints. In his last discourse at the Congress, the Holy Father pointed out that "Christ in the Eucharist teaches what true freedom is and how to use it." As de Souza points out, the Congress produced scenes of extraordinary devotion, illustrating the fact that the Catholic faith is alive and well in the Pope's native land.

Catholic piety is an exercise not just of the head but also of the heart. At the centre of the Catholic faith is not a set of propositions requiring assent, but a real Person to know. And because we are men, not angels, the practice of our faith involves movements of our body, not just our intellect.

It is for these reasons that Catholic traditions have instituted and handed on pilgrimages, processions and festivals to celebrate in a human way the truths of faith. Devotions to the Blessed Sacrament best exemplify this aspect of the fabric of faith, for Eucharistic worship is of mind and heart, confessing belief in the bodily presence of God Himself.

The international Eucharistic Congresses are great pilgrimages centred on the Eucharistic mystery. At the most recent Congress in Wroclaw, Poland (25 May - 1 June, 1997), the following verse was sung at nearly every event throughout the busy week: "Witaj, Jezu, Synu Maryi...". The refrain from a popular Polish Eucharistic hymn, it professes faith in the mystery of the incarnate God in the Eucharist: "Welcome Jesus, Son of Mary; You are the true God in this sacred Host".

Indeed, Christ in the Blessed Sacrament was welcomed and honoured by the Polish people and pilgrims from all parts of the world who had come to Wroclaw (sometimes referred to by its former German name, Breslau). The devotion of the Polish faithful to the Blessed Sacrament was perhaps the most important lesson for the foreign pilgrims, especially those from countries where Eucharistic devotion is not vibrant.

Nature of Congresses

The Eucharistic Congresses began in 1881 in Lille, France, and have been held regularly since then. Attracting tens of thousands, they are a time for the whole Church to "pause in adoration" before the Eucharist, to increase her devotion and to reflect theologically on some aspect of the Eucharistic mystery. They are a sign of the Church's faith in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and also a visible manifestation of the unity of the Church - drawn from all parts of the globe - around the Eucharistic Lord.

Previous Congresses have been held in Philadelphia to mark the American bicentenary in 1976, and most recently in Seville, Spain, in 1993, on the theme of "Eucharist and Evangelization" to mark the fifth centenary of the discovery of the Americas. Pope John Paul II chose the theme "Eucharist and Freedom" for the Congress in Wroclaw, the first to be held in Poland, as an opportunity to give thanks for the liberation of Eastern Europe from communism and also to address the challenge of living according to the Gospel in a free society.

For the estimated 20,000 pilgrims from Poland and over 80 other countries, this week-long Congress was equal parts prayer and theological reflection. Each day would begin with a Mass in the arena-like Hala Ludowa (Hall of the People), celebrated by several cardinals and well over a hundred concelebrating bishops and priests. Canada was represented by Archbishop Francis J. Spence of Kingston, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and also Bishop Matthew Ustrzycki, auxiliary of Hamilton. The homily during Mass as well as a more formal lecture afterwards - each usually given by one of the cardinals - would explore some aspect of the Congress theme.

In the afternoon, the Congress would divide into various language groups in the city's many large churches for another lecture and discussion that applied the Congress theme to a specific issue; e.g., the Church's social doctrine, the vocation of the laity, or relations with other Christians. After dinner, a meditation on the Eucharist would be preached by one of the visiting cardinals, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction and then adoration until midnight.

Special events

The week was punctuated by special events. A Mass was celebrated at which 6000 young people received the sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Ustrzycki, who speaks Polish, was one of the more than twenty-five bishops on hand to accommodate the large numbers. The Mass of confirmation was celebrated by Kazimierz Cardinal Swiatek, a Pole appointed to the see of Minsk, Byelorussia. Himself a prisoner in communist camps, he told the newly-confirmed young people of the sacrifices that priests had made to celebrate Mass in the camps, using matchboxes for ciboria and small mugs for chalices. Urging the young people to be courageous in their fidelity to Christ, he reminded them of the great sacrifices made in Poland and throughout East-Central Europe in order to make Christ present in the Eucharist.

The Congress was scheduled so that the Feast of Corpus Christi could be celebrated as one of the week's highlights. In addition to the Mass of Corpus Christi in the Hala Ludowa, the day was marked by an extraordinary procession. Following a route of nearly three kilometres lined with people standing four and five deep, it took nearly an hour to pass a single point. Amongst the tens of thousands lining the route were many boys and girls who had recently made their First Holy Communion; they turned out for the occasion in their First Communion tuxedos and pretty white dresses. The procession contained masses of bishops, priests and seminarians and, in a sight strange to Canadian eyes, over 1000 nuns in full habit, of all ages, smiling and singing in a moving witness to the joy of religious life.

Religion and culture

More impressive though was the incorporation of all aspects of civil society into the procession, indicating that religion is not to be confined only to the parish church because it informs all aspects of the life of a Christian. Scout troops, firefighters, policemen, fraternal associations and even the mayor joined with parish youth groups, women's groups and Marian groups, marching under banners devoted to their patron saints, or more commonly, to Mary, Queen of Poland. In a complete reversal of what would have been strictly forbidden only a decade ago, the feast day included a military band which played a regal trumpet fanfare at the elevation of the Sacred Species during Mass, and at each of the four altars when the Blessed Sacrament was raised in the monstrance.

The procession was both a religious and a cultural event. It was the natural expression of a society in which faith has not been ruptured from culture and relegated to some wholly private sphere. Such an expression makes clear the harmony of faith and culture that the Holy Father so often speaks about on his travels. He said on his visit to Canada in 1984: "[In] culture, which is always the soul of a nation, faith plays a great part. Faith will illuminate culture, it will give it savour, it will enhance it... Faith will ask culture what values it promotes [and] what destiny it offers to life."

The Real Presence

The sight of thousands kneeling on the roadside as Christ passed by in the Blessed Sacrament was testimony to the Eucharistic devotion of Poles. While we were waiting for the Pope to arrive at the end of the Congress, instead of the cathedral being filled with quiet chatter, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for nearly 90 minutes, so that the Vicar of Christ would be welcomed in the presence of Christ Himself. And when the Holy Father did arrive, there was no applause, but rather reverential silence out of respect for the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance. Similarly, the Holy Father refused to take the chair prepared for him, but rather preached a 30-minute homily whilst remaining standing to show his reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.

In so many details of the Congress, the Polish hosts illustrated by their example a true faith in the Real Presence. For example, despite the large number of bishops and priests concelebrating the Masses, each one would genuflect before approaching the altar to receive Holy Communion.

The theme of true freedom

The Wroclaw theme was Eucharist and Freedom,.taking as its inspiration the text of St Paul: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1). Reflecting on that text, the Holy Father said, "Christ present in the Eucharist teaches what true freedom is and how to use it."

Throughout the course of the Congress there were many homilies, lectures and seminars given on various aspects of the theme, by lay people as well as clergy, in different languages. Many began with the truth that because Jesus in the Eucharist is the same Jesus who was conceived in the womb of Mary, who lived in Nazareth, preached in Galilee, died on the cross and rose again on the third day, insofar as the Eucharist teaches about freedom it points us to the life of Jesus as the model of human freedom. Therefore human freedom is not firstly about a licence to do whatever one pleases, but rather about doing those things which ought to be done for God and neighbour, after the One who came to do the "will of the Father."

Obedience

Most specifically, the Eucharist points us toward Calvary, and the complete sacrificial offering of Christ to the Father. On the night of the institution of the Eucharist, Christ prays in the garden that not His will, but the Father's will be done. The next day, Christ accomplishes the redemption of the world through total obedience to the Father in love. Our liberation from sin - the most important liberation of all - is accomplished by the completely free act of Christ who offers Himself for all in obedience.

Obedience, sacrifice and love are not words commonly associated with freedom in today's world. Cardinal Neves of San Salvador, Brazil, underscored that the "highest degree of freedom possible in this world" is through union with Christ in Holy Communion. This a freedom not measured by the possibility of doing various activities, but a freedom measured by liberation from sin and the reception of God's own life within us.

Radical challenge

By presenting such a conception of freedom - first from sin, and then for service to God and others - the Church is proposing a radical challenge to a world that is enthralled by freedom, but of a different kind. In contrast to the hedonism of the free societies, Poles know from bitter experience that freedom is achieved at the price of suffering, as was pointed out by Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, papal nuncio in Poland.

This link between authentic freedom and suffering is demonstrated most clearly on the Cross of Christ. Yet today in Poland and elsewhere, the temptation to forget about obedience, sacrifice, suffering and love in favour of a freedom without any constraints whatsoever is powerful. Hence the theme for this Eucharistic Congress.

Not mincing his words, Pope John Paul II made clear that a free Poland is betraying its freedom if it adopts such an approach: "True freedom demands order. We are talking first of all about the moral order, order in the sphere of values, the order of truth and goodness. When there is a void in the area of values--when chaos and confusion reign in the moral sphere--freedom dies, man is reduced from freedom to slavery, becoming a slave to instincts, passions and pseudo-values."

No freedom without God

Stressing that it is impossible to build freedom without Christ, without God, the Holy Father remarked that such a reminder is especially relevant to those countries "permeated by ideas of democracy inspired by a liberal ideology"--a characterization that would fit contemporary Canada and the Poland that many are trying to build.

Church champions freedom

Confronting head-on those who argue that "God is an obstacle on the path to full freedom" or "that the Church is the enemy of freedom, that she does not understand it, that she is afraid of it," the Holy Father rejected that argument as an "unprecedented falsehood". Speaking frankly to his countrymen, he continued, "this is particularly absurd here, in this country, in this land, among this people, where the Church has often demonstrated that she is the true champion of freedom! Not only in the last century, but in this century and in the last 50 years. She is the champion of freedom because she believes that Christ has freed us for freedom."

A Marian dimension was emphasized by the Polish setting. Polish Eucharistic hymns often sing that the Body that first took flesh in Mary is now present in the Eucharist. The freedom of the Eucharist is reflected in Mary, who first received the true Body, as a result of her fiat. The strong Marian dimension to the Congress reinforced the focus on Christ. Christ as the model of freedom is no better imitated than by His Blessed Mother, totally obedient to the will of the Father. Poles were reminded by several speakers that, in seeking to rebuild their country in freedom, they have no need to look any further than Mary, Queen of Poland, for their model.