From his message on Corpus Christi:
Pope Francis said Sunday that we need to “enlarge our hearts” to truly appreciate the gift of the Eucharist.
Celebrating Corpus Christi Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica June 6, the pope noted that Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the large Upper Room in Jerusalem.
He said: “We need to enlarge our hearts. We need to break out of the small room of our ego and enter the vast expanse of wonder and adoration.”
The pope lamented that this attitude of adoration was missing in “so many movements” in the Church.
“But if this is missing, if amazement and adoration are missing, there is no road that leads to the Lord. There will be no synod, nothing,” he said.
“This is the attitude before the Eucharist, this is what we need: adoration. The Church too must be a large room. Not a small and closed circle, but a community with arms wide open, welcoming to all.”
He continued: “Let us ask ourselves this when someone approaches who is hurting, who has made a mistake, who has gone astray in life: is the Church, this Church, a large room to welcome this person and lead him or her to the joy of the encounter with Christ?”
“The Eucharist wants to nourish those who are tired and hungry along the way, let us not forget that! A Church of the pure and perfect is a room with no place for anyone; the Church with open doors, which gathers and celebrates around Christ, is instead a great hall where everyone — all, righteous and sinners — can enter.”
