The sacraments nourish personal life, with the Eucharist at the heart of it. Many are aware of the care we take in celebrating the liturgy in general, and the rigorous approach to the Eucharist in particular. At Évron, we celebrate the Paul VI liturgy entirely in Latin, without confusion. It’s normal, even more than normal, for priests and future priests to have a great Eucharistic cult. The heart of a priest’s life is Christ, who dwells in the Eucharist. The Church is necessarily all about the sacrament of Christ’s essential sacrifice, of his life and mission. ‘The Church is Jesus Christ spread and shared,’ writes Bossuet. ‘About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing’ said Joan of Arc. We are but the continuity of Christ’s life and word. The Christian is an extension of his life and mission.

Devotion to the Eucharist is also the essential path to recovering vocations to a priesthood rooted in the celebration of the Holy Mass. Priests must first concern themselves with their own personal sanctification, in order to lead others to holiness. If we do not want to sanctify ourselves, why should we ask Christ for priests? The need for priests will always lie in our desire to sanctify ourselves, with a view to eternal life.

Conference given by Monsignor Jean-François Guérin, founder of the Community of Saint Martin, on Saturday, November 10th, 2001, for the Community’s twenty-fifth anniversary ceremony at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre in Paris, France.