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Conclusion
Nothing more clearly and wonderfully defines who we are as Catholics as does the celebration of the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Mass. We are the Eucharistic Church historically, and the Eucharist has been at the very heart and center of our beliefs and practices. The Eucharist has sustained persecuted Catholic Communities down through the centuries, even in our own time. Heroic efforts have been taken to celebrate the Eucharist clandestinely in areas of persecution and opposition, thus sustaining the life of the Catholic Church.
It is my prayer and hope that the full celebration of the Eucharist at each Sunday Mass across the Archdiocese of Los Angeles will inspire all of our Catholic people to understand ever more fully the precious gift that is ours in this mystery of faith. The full and proper celebration of the Eucharist becomes a powerful teacher for all of us, and the reverence, joy, participation, and silence of our celebrations deepens all of us in the life of Jesus Christ.
It was surely above all on “the first day of the week,” Sunday, the day of Jesus' Resurrection, that the early Christians met “to break bread" (Acts 20:7). From those early days down to our own time in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the celebration of the Eucharist has been continued, so that today we encounter it everywhere in the Church with the same fundamental structure. It remains the very center of the Church's life.
Thus, from Eucharistic celebration to Eucharistic celebration, as they proclaim the Paschal Mystery of Jesus “until he comes," the pilgrim People of God advances, “following the narrow way of the cross" (I Corinthians 11:26), toward the heavenly banquet when all the elect will be seated at the table of the Kingdom forever!
Cardinal Roger Mahony
Archbishop of Los Angeles
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