Mary and the Eucharist

The memory of Mary in the Eucharistic prayer: the universal tradition of the Church and the theological meaning of the memorialAccording to the ancient and universal tradition of the Church, the memory of Mary is part of the celebration of the Eucharist. No one should consider the remembrance of Mary in the Eucharistic prayer to be merely of a devotional nature: it is a sign that we cannot omit the memory of Mary in the memorial of Christ’s mysteries. Indeed, the explicit remembrance of the Mother of God arises from a deep need: the Eucharist, being the full celebration of the salvific mysteries carried out by God through Christ in the Spirit, cannot fail to remember the holy Mother of the Savior, who is inextricably linked to these mysteries (cf. Ecclesia de Eucharistia, nn. 53-58).

The Connection Between Incarnation and Eucharist, and Within It, Communion with Her from Whom Historically the Body and Blood of Christ Were Given, Unites Marian Devotion to the Eucharist Celebration. Thus reads the Preface II/A of the Advent in the Roman Missal: “From the virgin womb of the Daughter of Zion sprang He who feeds us with the bread of angels.” Pope Saint John Paul II writes:«In a certain way, Mary exercised her Eucharistic faith even before the Eucharist was instituted, simply by offering her virgin womb for the Incarnation of the Word of God. The Eucharist, while referring to the Passion and Resurrection, at the same time enters into continuity with the Incarnation. Mary conceived the Divine Son in the Annunciation, truly in the physical body and blood, anticipating in herself what is in some way accomplished sacramentally in every faithful who receives, in the sign of bread and wine, the body and blood of the Lord.»(From *Ecclesia de Eucharistia*, n. 55)The Incarnation as the Beginning of the Eucharistic Sacrifice: Mary as the Temple of the Redeemer and the New Covenant in Christ JesusIn Mary, consecrated by the Holy Spirit, the new and eternal covenant, which is Christ Jesus, was established. In her most holy womb, as in a temple, the Redeemer began to offer to the Father the sacrifice that reconciles all humanity. From her, as from a ripe ear of wheat bathed in the rays of the divine Sun, is offered to the world “the bread of life.” From her, the pure grape life cultivated by the celestial Farmer, flowed “the blood shed for all” that fills the chalice of our Eucharist.The mystery we celebrate at the altar refers, in fact, to the hour of the Annunciation (cf. Lk 1:26-38). This is emphasized by a liturgical text that prays: “Accept, O God, the gifts we offer on the altar and sanctify them by the power of Your Spirit, who has sanctified the womb of the Virgin Mary.” (The Prayer over the Offerings, Fourth Sunday of Advent). Indeed, the singular event of the Incarnation in the Virgin is perpetuated “sacramentally” in the Church through the celebration of the Eucharist. The “signs” may change, but the reality remains the same: as Saint Justin explained in the 2nd century, the sacrifice offered in bread and wine is not a “sacrifice of bread and wine,” because we Christians “learned that, by the power of Christ’s prayerful words, that bread and wine become the flesh and blood of that same Jesus who became incarnate” (Apology I, 66).Therefore, since historically the flesh and blood of the Redeemer were handed over to us through Mary, it is fitting to affirm that her maternal presence revives, in some way, in the mysteries that are the memorial of that flesh and blood. Mary cannot be separated from the Eucharistic table: this was artistically expressed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, who, when depicting the Communion of the Apostles at the Last Supper, placed the Virgin Mary on her knees in prayer and enveloped in the Mystery.In the light of Nazareth, the event of God’s Word becoming flesh and blood in Mary, due to her faith and the Holy Spirit, deeply illuminates the mystery of the Word becoming flesh and blood in the Church celebrating, to form with her, by the same Spirit, “one body and one spirit” (cf. Eucharistic Prayer III).Following the example of the Announced Virgin, who forms “one body” with the Son of the Most High, the Church, through Eucharistic communion, becomes a relative of God’s Son. The expression in which the Apostle Paul seals his experience of communion with the Lord: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), applies in a very special way to the faithful Virgin, as well as to the Church that communicates in the holy mysteries of the body and blood of the Lord.The Marian mark of the Eucharist: John 19:25-27 and Mary’s presence in the sacramental memorial of Christ’s sacrificeThe communion between Christ, Mary, and the disciples, established at the foot of the Cross (cf. John 19:25-27), finds new life in the memorial of Jesus’ sacrifice: the sacramental hour of the Cross coincides with the hour of the Eucharistic celebration. And thus, in the sacramental implementation of this sacrifice, Mary’s presence also takes place: she collaborates to form in the hearts of the faithful who participate in the holy mysteries the image of her Son, Jesus. The Eucharist is, in fact, the moment when all the wonderful gifts that Christ has made to us “in sacrament” are revived, including the gift of the Mother to us and ours to her. The Eucharist strengthens the perpetual bond of love between “sons and Mother“, in Christ. Since antiquity, see the “Apostolic Tradition” attributed to Hippolytus (3rd century) and the “Roman Canon” (4th-5th centuries), the Blessed Virgin Mary is remembered and invoked in the Prayer that lies at the heart of the Eucharistic celebration.This is not due to contingent circumstances, but an inner necessity: as the Eucharist is the celebration of the salvific mysteries carried out by God through Christ in the Spirit, it cannot fail to remember the Virgin, who was inextricably linked to these mysteries as the Mother of the Redeemer and of the redeemed. As Saint John Paul II tells us:«”This motherhood is particularly felt and lived by the Christian people in the sacred banquet, the liturgical celebration of the mystery of redemption, in which Christ, his true Body born of the Virgin Mary, is present. Reasonably, Christian devotion has always recognized a deep connection between devotion to the holy Virgin and the worship of the Eucharist: this is a fact observable in both Western and Eastern liturgy, in the traditions of religious families, in the spirituality of contemporary movements, including the younger ones, in the pastoral of Marian shrines. Mary guides the faithful to the Eucharist“».(From “Redemptoris Mater“, 44)The “Woman” who, by the Holy Spirit, became the temple of the eternal Priest, ever-living to intercede for us with the Father (cf. Heb 7:25), is the mirror of the Church celebrating the holy mysteries. In Mary, the dwelling place of the living God, the eternal Covenant sacrifice was established, which is Christ, the Redeemer; from her womb, the perfect praise of the incarnate Word was raised to heaven. From her, the bread from heaven that gives life to the world took form; from her, the blood shed for all flowed. Therefore, when celebrating the Eucharist, the Church looks to Mary, experiencing communion in prayer with her and her exemplary life in living in Christ, with Him, and for Him.The Eucharistic dimension of Mary is magistrally presented in the encyclical “Redemptoris Mater” by John Paul II, which describes Mary’s “fiat” as the first Eucharistic act in the history of salvation.Deepen your studies: explore Mariology, Marian theology, Marian apparitions and the Graduate Program in Mariology.

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