The Mass of the Lord’s Supper was celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the King. The liturgy, at which Fr Padraig McMahon presided, included the reenactment of the ‘washing of the feet’ and the Eucharistic procession to the altar of repose.
During the Mass, David Quinn gave a reflection, entitled “The Eucharist and Family Life”. David spoke on the Eucharist as the centre of faith because it draws us into the death and resurrection of Jesus.
“Why do we reverence the Eucharist? It’s because we believe it is the Body and Blood of Christ. We believe it is Christ Himself who is with us. So actually when we say that the Eucharist is the centre of faith, we are declaring that Jesus is at the centre of our faith.”
In his reflection, David urged parents and grandparents not to assume that children have a proper understanding of the Eucharist. While the children learn a great deal about the Eucharist at school, we cannot rely on this alone. He gave the analogy of learning the Irish language – whereas it too is taught at school, this learning does not flourish unless it is practiced at home and in the community. David invited parents and grandparents to make serious efforts to help children understand and take part in the Mass, using children’s Bibles and other means.
“A family that is centred on the Eucharist is really centred on Jesus. Imagine families in which we all have the presence of Jesus and the best interested of others, not just ourselves, at heart? This is an ideal but with Jesus front and centre of our lives we are more likely to get there and to bring the ideal and the reality closer together. We know that the Kingdom of God is close at hand when there is peace in our lives and in our families. Jesus and the Eucharist bring peace.”
