I was thrilled to have the theme for the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028 officially announced last year: “This is My Body, Given for You.
It was extremely difficult not to crack like a Jordan Almond last year, subjected as I was to intense interrogation by those who wished to have the proposed theme of the Congress revealed ahead of time.
Now that Pope Leo XIV has approved the theme and everybody knows what it is, I am free to sing like a songbird and shall do so.
There will be an elaborate Theological Symposium held in the days preceding the Congress, focussing on the theme, and I do not wish to anticipate what will be discussed there.
Similarly, there is an extended reflection text on the theme being composed as we speak, and I do not wish to pre-empt the many thousands of beautiful words that will be published in that work next year.
I do, however, want to luxuriate for just a moment on how brilliant the Eucharist28 theme is.
It uses the very words of Christ himself on the night he was betrayed, instituting the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
It unites the personal and communal aspects of the Eucharist – “given for you”.
Christ sacrificed himself for each of us personally (in the singular), but also for all of us as members of his mystical body, the Church (in the plural), drawing us out of darkness into his own marvellous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
The Closeness of Christ
The theme also emphasises the incredible proximity of Jesus.
He is not a theory, he is not remote: he is here, right now, present with us and for us in the Eucharist.
His real presence, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, should strike us; the intimacy of communion at Mass should transform us.
As Pope Francis noted in his prayer intention message for July of 2023, “If you are same at the end of Mass as you were at the beginning, something is wrong.”
The emphasis of the Eucharist28 theme on the “body” is perhaps the aspect that will resonate most profoundly with our contemporary society, which has so many obvious difficulties with the innate dignity of the human person, the inviolability of human life, and the notion of the fundamental unity of body and soul.
Sacrifice and Love
Finally, and significantly, the theme highlights the sacrificial love of Christ.
In emphasising this fact, it is hoped that Eucharist28 will result in new followers, new Christians, who will be drawn to believe what the Church faithfully professes: “that Christ shed his blood for each of us and that no one is beyond the scope of his universal love” (Fratelli Tutti, 85).
Moreover, when we are each reminded of the Jesus’ redeeming love on the cross, we should all feel moved to respond.
Just as he gave his life for us, we too are called to offer our lives to God and to others.
In 1964 the Second Vatican Council reemphasised the ancient theology of the Church in stating, “what the soul is in the body, Christians must be in the world.” (Lumen Gentium, 38)
As Christians, we are called to be a leaven: we receive the Body of Christ and become the Body of Christ – we are exhorted to draw the world and those around us up to heaven. (Luke 13:20)
Just as the candles which we burn at Mass give light by being consumed and “giving of themselves,” we too are called to emulate Christ in illumining the world by giving our lives for others.
Our Response
In summary, the theme for Eucharist28 is a stellar encapsulation of all that Christ has done for us and all that we are called to do in response.
With that in mind, and with the Congress just around the corner in 2028, let us the “fix our eyes on Jesus” and “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.” (Hebrews 12:2, Ephesians 5:2)
The eyes of the global Catholic community are turning toward the Southern Hemisphere as preparations begin for the 54th International Eucharistic Congress, scheduled to take place in Sydney in 2028. This landmark event marks exactly 100 years since Sydney first hosted the Congress in 1928, promising a season of profound spiritual renewal and international fellowship.
Sebastian Condon is the Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Eucharist28.