I had never been in the chapel before. A tall hedge outside the floor to ceiling plate glass window that faced the busy Washington street did not muffle the sound of traffic. As Mass began, I looked around at the strangers and acquaintances who had gathered during that lunch hour to celebrate Eucharist.

I tried to focus on what was happening: the readings, the homily, but my eyes kept going back to the window and the street, and I began to appreciate the connection between those of us gathered for Eucharist inside the chapel and the world continuing at a quick pace just outside. Distractions aside, this was a powerful image of the church at work in the world. A prayer for the people of God as being in and of the world surfaced in my heart, and I stayed with it for a few moments before returning my concentration to the liturgy.

We formed the usual line to receive communion, but it was not until I returned to my seat that I was taken aback by the completeness of the image. As the Eucharist was taken to the back of the altar, I noticed the tabernacle for the first time. The doors closed silently, revealing in their highly polished state, the faces of the assembly gathered for the eucharistic celebration.

In this chapel at the offices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, I was given an experience of the real presence of the Christ in a profound way. As the elements of the Eucharist were reserved, as the body of Christ was placed in the tabernacle, the body of Christ gathered as church was reflected in the doors of that same tabernacle. The tabernacle and the assembly were one, both in clear sight of the everyday business of the Washington street just outside the window.

During this Year of the Eucharist, we are asked to pray with Jesus and focus on Jesus in the Eucharist. We are asked to give special attention to the awesome mystery of the Eucharist. We are reminded of the real presence in the elements of consecrated bread and wine, and are called to act as the body of Christ, the church, as leaven in the world.

The image of that daily Mass will always be with me. The challenge that accompanied that image will not go away. We are all expected to recognize ourselves as the church, the body of Christ.