While tonight's reflection was spiritual and, at turns, even poetic, it also reflects a key leadership priority for Benedict XVI: promoting a deeper sense of Catholic identity in order to protect believers against the secular ethos of the West. Faith in the real presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine at Mass is a cornerstone of that identity.

Garbed in white liturgical vestments, Benedict said that the Eucharist makes Jesus present "past, present and future."

"The Eucharist is also Jesus Christ, future, Jesus Christ to come," the pope said.

"When we contemplate the sacred host, his glorious transfigured and risen Body, we contemplate what we shall contemplate in eternity, where we shall discover that the whole world has been carried by its Creator during every second of its history. Each time we consume him, but also each time we contemplate him, we proclaim him until he comes again, donec veniat. That is why we receive him with infinite respect."

Benedict closed by suggesting that the Eucharist carries within itself an inherently missionary dimension. The pope invited the crowd at Lourdes to "remain silent" for a period of adoration of the Eucharist after his remarks, but then to "tell the world" what they believe.