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The Mysteries of Light The Institution of the Eucharist
Pat Collins CM, a popular writer and retreat giver from All Hallows College in Dublin, explores the significance of the fifth Mystery of Light from the new mysteries of the Rosary inaugurated by the Pope for the marian year.
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There are many narratives, such as Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25; Lk 22:15-20; and 1 Cor 11:23-26, which recount the institution of the Eucharist. Although St John's gospel contains no such account, it does include a chapter which contains his profound reflections on this great mystery. However, I have opted to look at the story of the disciples meeting with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35). As Pope John Paul observes in Ecclesia de Eucharistia: "The Eucharist is both a mystery of faith and a mystery of light. Whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist, the faithful can in some way relive the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: "Their eyes were opened and they recognized him" Lk 24:31." How do those of us who live in the post-resurrection era come to know the Lord? Although he was an evangelist, Luke was never an apostle. He hadn't met the Lord in person. So he had to answer the question, "how do those of us who live in the post-resurrection era come to know the Lord?" His account of the meeting of Jesus with the disciples on the road, is his answer. What Luke is saying is that believers meet the risen Jesus in and through the Eucharistic community. When one examines the text closely it becomes apparent that it has a liturgical structure. Firstly, there is the gathering of the faithful, represented by the two disciples, who share common life experiences. They are clearly, troubled, disillusioned, and walking away from Jerusalem the city of their broken dreams. Then they are joined by a mysterious stranger. In reality it was Jesus, but they didn't recognize him. While this encounter probably had an historical basis, it certainly has a symbolic significance because Jesus had promised: "Where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them" (Mt 18:20). Secondly, the two disciples share their feelings with the stranger. They tell him about the tragic death of the Messiah, the one on whom they had pinned all their hopes. Then they listened to the liturgy of the word, when relevant scripture texts were recalled and explained by the stranger. Luke tells us that: "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Lk 24:27). Hearing the inspired readings and homily had a profound effect upon the two men. As Paul pointed out in Rm 10:17, "Faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ." They later remarked: "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" Lk 24:32. Thirdly, the story reaches its climax when the two disciples reach their destination. They invite their travelling companion to join them. The evangelist tells us what happened: "When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight" (Lk 24:30-31). Christ is really and truly present in the eucharistic community where grateful thanks is offered through the Lord for the loving and redemptive sacrifice he has offered on its behalf. The Eucharist unites heaven and earth There is a prayer in the Divine Office which encapsulates the foregoing points. "Stay with us, Lord Jesus, as evening falls; be our companion on our way. In your mercy inflame our hearts and raise our hope, so that, in union with our companions, we may recognize you in the scriptures and in the breaking of Bread." Finally, Pope John Paul has drawn attention to another dimension of the Eucharist in Ecclesia de Eucharistia. "The Eucharist has given me a powerful experience of its universal and, so to speak, cosmic character. Yes cosmic! Because even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. The Son of God became man in order to restore all creation, in one supreme act of praise, to the One who made it from nothing."
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The
first four of the mysteries of light reach their high point in the
accounts of the institution of the Eucharist which is "the source
and summit of the Christian life." They commemorate the saving
death and resurrection of Jesus; mysteries which were foreshadowed
in his baptism and transfiguration. The marriage feast of Cana also
pointed to the Eucharist. Instead of water being changed into wine,
God's glory is manifested each time bread and wine are changed into
the body, blood of Christ. When Jesus proclaimed the coming of the
kingdom, he had God's definitive victory in mind. It will be celebrated
in a definitive way at the great eucharistic banquet of heaven. Meantime
we anticipate the heavenly liturgy every time we celebrate the Eucharist
here on earth. 
