The National Eucharistic Congress, concluding the Year of the Eucharist, was held in Budapest, in the square and cathedral of St. Stephen, on 17 September. Some 4000 faithful arrived from 14 dioceses to participate in an event rich in stimuli, prayer, adoration and cultural programmes. Families, religious, priests and lay communities bore witness to the role of the Eucharist in their personal and professional life. Reports, testimonies and musical interludes succeeded each other in St. Stephen’s basilica; they could also be followed in the square outside, thanks to mega-screens. Father László Varga spoke of the liturgy of life and how to link life and liturgy. “The liturgy can be a source of healing, but only if we are capable of offering our life”: “Let us turn our days into a sacrifice of love”, urged Father Varga. World Youth Day in Cologne was remembered in the afternoon, through a video and testimonies of those who participated in it. In the tents set up in the square, dioceses, movements and communities had the opportunity to get to know each other and exchange experiences. Eight tents, in particular, described important aspects of the Eucharist and its symbols. In the tent of the “Bread of life”, eucharistic hosts were prepared in the traditional way, while in that of the “Drink of the spirit” the traditional regions of viticulture and the liturgical rules regarding the eucharistic signs were presented. The “Emanuel” Community had prepared the tent of “Thanksgiving”, the Camillians, an order of service to the sick and the suffering, that of “Sacrifice”. The tent of “Solidarity”, in turn, presented three communities: the Pain de la Vie, the Alpha movement that campaigns against abortion, and the “Foi et Lumière” community founded by Jean Vanier. The culminating moment of the programme was the adoration and the final mass, presided over by Cardinal Péter Erdõ, archbishop of Budapest. He emphasized “that the Hungarians, although they bear scars in their heart, must link themselves with all their sacrifices, all their anxieties and all their destinies to the sacrifice of Christ who did not call us to resignation. Only if man is able to convert himself from his own guilt and generously forgive others, can he enter into a real communion with the all-merciful God. This only happens by choice, by our own collaboration. For further information: www.magyarkurir.hu/?m_id=11&m_op=view&gid=30.
