Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Saints Philip and James, Apostles (Feast
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration.htm#3#ixzz1LKzBhUVx, 2011
Saints Philip and James, Apostles (Feast)
| First Reading: Psalm: Gospel: | 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Psalm 19:2-5 John 14:6-14 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return. -- Genesis iii, 19 |
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/inspiration.htm#3#ixzz1LKyv3jiP
The Eucharist and Evangelization uar
The
The Eucharist as Object of Evangelization
The Eucharist is at the center of the Gospel that Christ has revealed and which the Church has never ceased to teach as a synthesis of the Mystery of Christ who lives and works in the Church (Roman Ritual, De Sacra Communione, n. III). The doctrine of the Eucharist has been proclaimed with clarity in many declarations of the Magisterium throughout the centuries. The Credo of Paul VI expressed this doctrine without leaving room for either doubt or error:
We believe that the Mass, which is celebrated by the priest representing the Person of Christ, in virtue of the power received in the Sacrament of Orders, and which is offered by him in the name of Christ and of the members of His Mystical Body, is really the Sacrifice of Calvary, which becomes present sacramentally on our altars. We believe that, as the bread and wine consecrated by the Lord at the Last Supper were changed into His Body and Blood which were offered for us on the Cross, so likewise are the bread and wine consecrated by the priest changed into the Body and Blood of Christ now enthroned in glory in heaven. We believe that the mysterious presence of the Lord under the appearance of those things which, as far as our senses are concerned, remain unchanged, is a true, real, and substantial presence. (cf. S.C., no. 4).
Recent statistics from regions where, officially, there is relatively widespread religious instruction, reveal that comparatively few Catholics appreciate the gift which the Lord gives to us in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Sunday attendance at Mass continues to diminish. "In a recent survey in a large diocese, seventy-nine percent of the answers agreed in considering private prayer and participation in the Mass as practically equivalent" (Tena, 1992).
It would only be fair to ask ourselves if we have given enough attention to expounding and explaining the doctrine of the Eucharist, at least in its essential elements; if we have helped catechists to situate this doctrine within a serious Christology; and if, on our part-I speak now of bishops and others who hold positions of responsibility-we have watched over the faith of the "poor ones of the Lord," exercising our authority or at least fraternal correction, with regard to those who sow doubt and confusion.
When I was a bishop in Canada, a religious community had invited one of the "Periti" of the Council to direct their spiritual exercises. This man
crossed the chapel, observed by five hundred religious, sat down with his back to the tabernacle, and said, "You will have noted that I did not genuflect or
make any other sign of adoration: this is because I do not believe in the presence of Christ in the Host outside the celebration of the Mass." The Superior General stood up in her place at the back of the chapel and said in a loud voice: "Father, if that is so, the retreat is over."
The doctrine of the Eucharist must be presented in all its parts. As the Pope said before the Congress of Lourdes: "We may not neglect any aspect of the participation in the Eucharist" (1980).
By insisting exclusively on the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and giving more solemnity to other forms of devotion than to the Mass itself, we might have failed to relate such presence with the act which renders Christ present, an act in which His painful death and His saving resurrection are renewed.
By emphasizing the Eucharist as the moment of fraternal community, we might have sometimes deserved the accusation of leaving in the dark the Sacrifice itself, with its propitiation and reparation meaning.
In the words of the consecration, we bishops and priests say with Jesus that His Body and His Blood are offered for the forgiveness of sins and re-establishment of the covenant between God and the world. However, in our pastoral efforts we are not always coherent. In various audiences with the bishops, both Paul VI and John Paul II insisted that the practice of not admitting children to confession before First Communion should be corrected. They prefer to listen to their specialists who say that a whole year is necessary for catechesis for the Eucharist, and another year for catechesis for the Sacrament of Penance. But how can you speak of the Eucharist for a whole year without explaining the words of the Consecration, with their reference to the forgiveness of sins, and without saying that in our Lord's plan the forgiveness of sins comes through the Sacrament of Penance? And is not the object of our catechesis the Person of Christ, whom we cannot divide in two-the Lord who gives Himself as nourishment and the God who pardons? And then we are surprised that people receive Communion without having asked pardon for their sins and without the dispositions of contrition and good intention.
We also reduce the meaning of the Eucharistic mystery when we follow the Protestants in not giving due importance to adoration during Mass and to the worship of the Consecrated Species. The teaching of the Church has never changed regarding the effect of the words of Consecration, i.e., the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, and the Real Presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, both during the holy Mass and after it.
There would be too many texts here to cite, both ancient and modern. It is the tradition of the Church to offer the worship of adoration to the Sacrament of the Eucharist, "guarding the Consecrated Hosts with the greatest care, offering them to adoration of the faithful, carrying them in procession amidst the jubilation of the whole people" (M.F., no. 56). Let us hope we will never again witness the scandal which has occurred in certain large congregations of the faithful, when the Hosts left over after the distribution of Communion were thrown into the trash. Many of the laity in all parts of the world have asked their priests to re-establish Holy Hours, the Forty Hours devotion, First Friday adoration, and perpetual or night adoration. The faithful would like to see their priests in silent (and, I would say, willing) adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, for the priest who spends time in adoration celebrates Mass with more piety and with more edification of the faith of the people. This is seen in the impression made by John Paul II on all who have seen him before Mass, during the celebration of the Mass, and in the long hours he spends at the foot of the Tabernacle, even during his most demanding pilgrimages. As Mysterium Fidei said: "Visits to the Blessed Sacrament are a proof of gratitude, a pledge of love, and an expression of the adoration due to the Lord." (M.F., no. 19).
It is not true that the Council has invited priests to abandon the daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament. It invites them, rather, to "prize daily conversation with Christ the Lord in visits of personal devotion to the most Holy Eucharist" (P.O., no. 18). Bishop J. P. Motte says: "the piety which leads the faithful to the practice of adoration brings them to a deeper participation in the Paschal Mystery" (Acts of the Congress of Lourdes, vol. 4, 11, p. 10, quoted by Poupard, pp. 44-45 and p. 69, citing St. Augustine).
Eucharist and Evangelization
By Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.
.
in its relation to evangelization. It can be done by following an outline-the Eucharist as truth that has to be announced, the Eucharistic worship as the privileged moment for evangelization, and the influence of the Eucharist in the life of Christians.
No comments:
Post a Comment