Plan for Christian Mission

"One fundamental element of this plan is found in the very meaning of the word 'Eucharist:' thanksgiving.

"In Jesus, in his sacrifice, in his unconditional 'yes' to the will of the Father, is contained the 'yes”, the 'thank you' and the 'amen' of all humanity.

"The Church is called to remind men and women of this great truth. This is especially urgent in the context of our secularized culture, characterized as it is by a forgetfulness of God and a vain pursuit of human self-sufficiency.

"Incarnating the Eucharistic 'plan' in daily life, wherever people live and work—in families, schools, the workplace, in all of life's settings—means bearing witness that human reality cannot be justified without reference to the Creator: 'Without the Creator the creature would disappear.'

"This transcendent point of reference, which commits us constantly to give thanks for all that we have and are—in other words, to a 'Eucharistic' attitude—in no way detracts from the legitimate autonomy of earthly realities, but grounds that autonomy more firmly by setting it within its proper limits.

"In this Year of the Eucharist Christians ought to be committed to bearing more forceful witness to God's presence in the world. We should not be afraid to speak about God and to bear proud witness to our faith. The 'culture of the Eucharist' promotes a culture of dialogue, which here finds strength and nourishment.

"It is a mistake to think that any public reference to faith will somehow undermine the rightful autonomy of the State and civil institutions, or that it can even encourage attitudes of intolerance.

"If history demonstrates that mistakes have also been made in this area by believers, as I acknowledged on the occasion of the Jubilee, this must be attributed not to 'Christian roots,' but to the failure of Christians to be faithful to those roots.

"One who learns to say 'thank you' in the manner of the crucified Christ might end up as a martyr, but never as a persecutor."

John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine, 26