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"Stay with us, Lord, it is almost evening" (cf. Lk 24:29). This was the insistent invitation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the evening of the day of the resurrection addressed to the Wayfarer who had accompanied them on their journey. Weighed down with sadness, they never imagined that this stranger was their Master, risen from the dead. Yet they felt their hearts burning within them (cf. v. 32), as he spoke to them and "explained" the Scriptures. The light of the Word unlocked the hardness of their hearts and "opened their eyes" (cf. v. 31). In the shadow of the day and the darkness that clouded their spirit, the Wayfarer brought a ray of light which rekindled their hope and led their hearts to yearn for the fullness of light. "Stay with us," they pleaded. And he agreed. Soon afterwards, Jesus' face would disappear, but the Master would "stay" under the veil of the "broken bread", before which their eyes were open.2. The image of the disciples of Emmaus can serve as a guide for a Year when the Church will be particularly engaged in living the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. On the road of our questions and our concerns, and even our bitter disappointments, the divine Wayfarer continues to walk at our side, opening the interpretation of Scripture, the understanding of the mysteries of God When we meet him full in the light will pass the word that comes from the "Bread of Life," with which Christ fulfills his promise in a sublime way of "being with us every day until the end of the world" (cf. Mt 28:20).3. The "breaking of bread" - as in the beginning it was called the Eucharist - is always at the center of Church life.
Through it Christ makes present within time, the mystery of his death and resurrection. In it he is received in person as a 'living bread come down from heaven "(Jn 6:51), and with him we receive the pledge of eternal life and a foretaste of the eternal banquet of the heavenly Jerusalem. Several times, and recently in Ecclesia de Eucharistia, asking in the wake of the Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils and my own predecessors, I invited the Church to reflect on the Eucharist. I do not intend in this paper, to revive the teaching already given, which I trust will be more deeply studied and understood. I felt however, that precisely for that purpose, could be of great help dedicate an entire Year to this wonderful sacrament.4. As you know, the Year of the Eucharist will be celebrated from October 2004 to October 2005. The opportunity for this initiative was offered to me by two events that mark its beginning and end: the International Eucharistic Congress, scheduled for 10 to 17 October 2004 in Guadalajara (Mexico), and the Ordinary the Synod of Bishops, to be held in the Vatican from 2 to 29ottobre 2005 on the theme "The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church." To orient in this step is missed, then another consideration: in this year's World Youth Day to be held in Cologne, 16 to 21 August 2005. The Eucharist is the vital center around which I would like the young people to gather food for their faith and their enthusiasm.
The thought of such an initiative had long been the Eucharist in my mind: it is a natural development of the pastoral that I wanted to give to the Church, especially since the years of preparation for the Jubilee, and I then picked up in those have followed.5. In this Apostolic Letter, I propose to point out that continuity of direction, because all it easier to grasp its spiritual significance. As for the concrete realization of the Eucharist, counting on the personal involvement of the Pastors of particular Churches, whose devotion to this great Mystery will suggest appropriate action. To my Brother Bishops, however, is not difficult to perceive how the initiative, which was closely followed by the Year of the Rosary, is raised to a spiritual level as profound as not to hinder in any way come to the pastoral programs of the individual Churches. Indeed, it can shed light upon them, anchoring them, so to speak, to the Mystery that is the root and the secret of the spiritual life of the faithful as well as the initiatives of each local Church. Do not ask you to stop the "walk" pastoral individual churches are being made, but to emphasize them in the Eucharistic dimension which is the whole Christian life. For my part, through this letter I want to offer some basic guidelines in the hope that the people of God, in its various components, will welcome my proposal with enthusiasm and fervent love.
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