In an age of gender and body dysphoria, the Eucharistic sacrifice is a reminder of “the great redemption of our bodies, and of Christ who gives all that he is through his body”, The Catholic Weekly reports British Dominican Fr Timothy Radcliffe saying in Sydney this week.

Fr Radcliffe delivered a lecture at St Mary’s Cathedral’s Chapter Hall on Tuesday on the topic, “Eucharist as our Sacrament of Hope”.

*Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP. PHOTO: Vatican News, file photo.*

“We live in a society in a society that is afraid of the body and thinks of it as an object we are trapped in,” Fr Radcliffe said.

“Many people suffer a great anxiety over this, but we are deeply bodily beings. All Christian teaching is a sanctification and based on the goodness of the body.

“It’s wonderful that at the root of everything is that goodness of our bodies blessed by the body of Jesus when he says, ‘I give myself to you.’

“This is an enormously encouraging message at a time when we are seeing people struggle with their bodily being.”

Fr Radcliffe, who served as the master of the Order of Preachers from 1992-2001 and in 2023 was appointed by Pope Francis as spiritual advisor to the Synod on Synodality, told the audience that in his lifetime the need for hope has never been so urgent.

“We see the outbreak of violence in Ukraine, the explosion of war in the Middle East, the retreat from democracy, the loss of love, of truth, the threat of climate catastrophe and the threat of nuclear war,” he said.

“In these times, Christianity has something extraordinary to offer – the Eucharist – which is our hope.”

Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor Hayden Ramsay, who introduced Fr Radcliffe, said he had a way of describing very serious aspects of faith “in the most beautiful and effective way.”

“For me and a number of us tonight, his particular reminder about the thing that matters most – the Eucharist – moved me deeply.”

This is a slightly abridged version of an article by George Al-Akiki in The Catholic Weekly.