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|
APOSTOLIC
LETTER
MANE
NOBISCUM DOMINE
OF THE
HOLY FATHER
JOHN
PAUL II
TO THE
BISHOPS, CLERGY
AND
FAITHFUL
FOR THE
YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST
OCTOBER
2004–OCTOBER 2005
LIBRERIA
EDITRICE VATICANA
VATICAN
CITY
VATICAN
PRESS
INTRODUCTION
1. “Stay
with us, Lord, for it is almost evening” (cf. Lk 24:29). This was
the
insistent invitation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the
evening of the day of the resurrection addressed to the Wayfarer who had
accompanied them on their journey. Weighed down with sadness, they never
imagined that this stranger was none other than their Master, risen from
the dead. Yet they felt their hearts burning within them (cf. v. 32) as he
spoke to them and “explained” the Scriptures. The light of the Word
unlocked the hardness of their hearts and “opened their eyes” (cf. v. 31).
Amid the shadows of the passing day and the darkness that clouded their
spirit, the Wayfarer brought a ray of light which rekindled their hope and
led their hearts to yearn for the fullness of light. “Stay with us”, they
pleaded. And he agreed. Soon afterwards, Jesus' face would disappear, yet
the Master would “stay” with them, hidden in the “breaking of the bread”
which had opened their eyes to recognize him.
2. The
image of the disciples on the way to Emmaus can serve as a fitting
guide for a Year when the Church will be particularly engaged in living
out the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Amid our questions and
difficulties, and even our bitter disappointments, the divine Wayfarer
continues to walk at our side, opening to us the Scriptures and leading us
to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of God. When we meet him fully,
we will pass from the light of the Word to the light streaming from the
“Bread of life”, the supreme fulfilment of his promise to “be with us
always, to the end of the age” (cf. Mt 28:20).
3. The
“breaking of bread”—as the Eucharist was called in earliest times—has
always been at the centre of the Church's life. Through it Christ makes
present within time the mystery of his death and resurrection. In it he is
received in person as the “living bread come down from heaven” (Jn
6:51), and with him we receive the pledge of eternal life and a foretaste
of the eternal banquet of the heavenly Jerusalem. Following the teaching
of the Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils and my own Predecessors, I have
frequently urged the Church to reflect upon the Eucharist, most recently
in the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Here I do not intend to
repeat this teaching, which I trust will be more deeply stud- ied and
understood. At the same time I thought it helpful for this purpose to
dedicate an entire Year to this wonderful sacrament.
4. As is
known, the Year of the Eucharist will be celebrated from October
2004 to October 2005. The idea for this celebration came from two events
which will serve to mark its beginning and end: the International
Eucharistic Congress, which will take place from 10-17 October 2004 in
Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops,
which will be held in the Vatican from 2-29 October 2005 on the theme:
“The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church”.
I was also guided by another consideration: this year's World Youth Day
will take place in Cologne from 16-21 August 2005. I would like the young
people to gather around the Eucharist as the vital source which nourishes
their faith and enthusiasm. A Eucharistic initiative of this kind had been
on my mind for some time: it is a natural development of the pastoral
impulse which I wanted to give to the Church, particularly during the
years of preparation for the Jubilee and in the years that followed it.
5. In
the present Apostolic Letter, I wish to reaffirm this pastoral continuity
and to help everyone to grasp its spiritual significance. As for the
particular form which the Year of the Eucharist will take, I am
counting on the personal involvement of the Pastors of the particular
Churches, whose devotion to this great Mystery will not fail to suggest
suitable approaches. My Brother Bishops will certainly understand that
this initiative, coming as it does so soon after the celebration of the
Year of the Rosary, is meant to take place on a deeply spiritual
level, so that it will in no way interfere with the pastoral programmes of
the individual Churches. Rather, it can shed light upon those programmes,
anchoring them, so to speak, in the very Mystery which nourishes the
spiritual life of the faithful and the initiatives of each local Church. I
am not asking the individual Churches to alter their pastoral programmes,
but to emphasize the Eucharistic dimension which is part of the whole
Christian life. For my part, I would like in this Letter to offer some
basic guidelines; and I am confident that the People of God, at every
level, will welcome my proposal with enthusiasm and fervent love.
I
IN THE
WAKE OF THE COUNCIL
AND THE GREAT JUBILEE
Looking
towards Christ
6. Ten
years ago, in Tertio Millennio Adveniente (10 November 1994), I had
the joy of proposing to the Church a programme of preparation for the
Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. It seemed to me that this historic
moment presented itself as a great grace. I realized, of course, that a
simple chronological event, however evocative, could not by itself bring
about great changes. Unfortunately the Millennium began with events which
were in tragic continuity with the past, and often with its worst aspects.
A scenario emerged which, despite certain positive elements, is marred by
acts of violence and bloodshed which cause continued concern. Even so, in
inviting the Church to celebrate the Jubilee of the two-thousandth
anniversary of the Incarnation, I was convinced—and I still am, more than
ever!—that this celebration would be of benefit to humanity in the “long
term”.
Jesus
Christ stands at the centre not just of the history of the Church, but
also the history of humanity. In him, all things are drawn together (cf.
Eph 1:10; Col 1:15-20). How could we forget the enthusiasm
with which the Second Vatican Council, quoting Pope Paul VI, proclaimed
that Christ is “the goal of human history, the focal point of the desires
of history and civilization, the centre of mankind, the joy of all hearts,
and the fulfilment of all aspirations”?1 The Council's teaching
gave added depth to our understanding of the nature of the Church, and
gave believers a clearer insight not only into the mysteries of faith but
also into earthly realities, seen in the light of Christ. In the Incarnate
Word, both the mystery of God and the mystery of man are revealed.2
In him, humanity finds redemption and fulfilment.
7. In
the Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, at the beginning of my
Pontificate, I developed this idea, and I have frequently returned to it
on other occasions. The Jubilee was a fitting time to invite believers
once again to consider this fundamental truth. The preparation for the
great event was fully Trinitarian and Christocentric. Within this plan,
there clearly had to be a place for the Eucharist. At the start of this
Year of the Eucharist, I repeat the words which I wrote in Tertio
Millennio Adveniente: “The Year 2000 will be intensely Eucharistic; in
the Sacrament of the Eucharist the Saviour, who took flesh in
Mary's womb twenty centuries ago, continues to offer himself to humanity
as the source of divine life”.3 The International Eucharistic
Congress, held that year in Rome, also helped to focus attention on this
aspect of the Great Jubilee. It is also worth recalling that my Apostolic
Letter Dies Domini, written in preparation for the Jubilee, invited
believers to meditate on Sunday as the day of the Risen Lord and the
special day of the Church. At that time I urged everyone to rediscover the
celebration of the Eucharist as the heart of Sunday.4
Contemplating with Mary the face of Christ
8. The
fruits of the Great Jubilee were collected in the Apostolic Letter Novo
Millennio Ineunte. In this programmatic document, I suggested an ever
greater pastoral engagement based on the contemplation of the face of
Christ, as part of an ecclesial pedagogy aimed at “the high standard” of
holiness and carried out especially through the art of prayer.5
How could such a programme be complete without a commitment to the liturgy
and in particular to the cultivation of Eucharistic life? As I said
at the time: “In the twentieth century, especially since the Council,
there has been a great development in the way the Christian community
celebrates the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. It is necessary to
continue in this direction, and to stress partic- ularly the Sunday
Eucharistand Sunday itself, experienced as a special day of
faith, the day of the Risen Lord and of the gift of the Spirit, the true
weekly Easter”.6 In this context of a training in prayer, I
recommended the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, by which
the Church sanctifies the different hours of the day and the passage of
time through the liturgical year.
9.
Subsequently, with the proclamation of the Year of the Rosary and the
publication of the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I
returned to the theme of contemplating the face of Christ, now from a
Marian perspective, by encouraging once more the recitation of the
Rosary. This traditional prayer, so highly recommended by the Magisterium
and so dear to the People of God, has a markedly biblical and evangelical
character, focused on the name and the face of Jesus as contemplated in
the mysteries and by the repetition of the “Hail Mary”. In its flow of
repetitions, it represents a kind of pedagogy of love, aimed at
evoking within our hearts the same love that Mary bore for her Son. For
this reason, developing a centuries-old tradition by the addition of the
mysteries of light, I sought to make this privileged form of contemplation
an even more complete “compendium of the Gospel”.7 And how
could the mysteries of light not culminate in the Holy Eucharist?
From the
Year of the Rosary to the Year of the Eucharist
10. In
the midst of the Year of the Rosary, I issued the Encyclical Letter
Ecclesia de Eucharistia, with the intention of shedding light on the
mystery of the Eucharist in its inseparable and vital relation to the
Church. I urged all the faithful to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice
with due reverence, offering to Jesus present in the Eucharist, both
within and outside Mass, the worship demanded by so great a Mystery. Above
all, I suggested once again the need for a Eucharistic spirituality and
pointed to Mary, “woman of the Eucharist”,8 as its model.
The
Year of the Eucharist takes place against a background which has
been enriched by the passage of the years, while remaining ever rooted
in the theme of Christ and the contemplation of his face. In a certain
sense, it is meant to be a year of synthesis, the high-point of a
journey in progress. Much could be said about how to celebrate this
year. I would simply offer some reflections intended to help us all to
experience it in a deeper and more fruitful way.
II
THE
EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY OF LIGHT
“He
interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself”
(Lk 24:27)
11. The
account of the Risen Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to
Emmaus helps us to focus on a primary aspect of the Eucharistic mystery,
one which should always be present in the devotion of the People of God:
The Eucharist is a mystery of light! What does this mean, and what are
its implications for Christian life and spirituality?
Jesus
described himself as the “light of the world” (Jn 8:12), and this
quality clearly appears at those moments in his life, like the
Transfiguration and the Resurrection, in which his divine glory shines
forth brightly. Yet in the Eucharist the glory of Christ remains veiled.
The Eucharist is pre-eminently a mysterium fidei. Through the
mystery of his complete hiddenness, Christ becomes a mystery of light,
thanks to which believers are led into the depths of the divine life. By a
happy intuition, Rublëv's celebrated icon of the Trinity clearly places
the Eucharist at the centre of the life of the Trinity.
12. The
Eucharist is light above all because at every Mass the liturgy of the Word
of God precedes the liturgy of the Eucharist in the unity of the two
“tables”, the table of the Word and the table of the Bread. This
continuity is expressed in the Eucharistic discourse of Saint John's
Gospel, where Jesus begins his teaching by speaking of the mystery of his
person and then goes on to draw out its Eucharistic dimension: “My flesh
is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:55). We know
that this was troubling for most of his listeners, which led Peter to
express the faith of the other Apostles and of the Church throughout
history: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn
6:68). In the account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Christ
himself intervenes to show, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets”,
how “all the Scriptures” point to the mystery of his person (cf. Lk
24:27). His words make the hearts of the disciples “burn” within them,
drawing them out of the darkness of sorrow and despair, and awakening in
them a desire to remain with him: “Stay with us, Lord” (cf. v. 29).
13. The
Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution Sacrosanctum
Concilium, sought to make “the table of the word” offer the treasures
of Scripture more fully to the faithful.9 Consequently they
allowed the biblical readings of the liturgy to be proclaimed in a
language understood by all. It is Christ himself who speaks when the Holy
Scriptures are read in the Church.10 The Council Fathers also
urged the celebrant to treat the homily as part of the lit- urgy, aimed at
explaining the word of God and drawing out its meaning for the Christian
life.11 Forty years after the Council, the Year of the
Eucharist can serve as an important opportunity for Christian
communities to evaluate their progress in this area. It is not
enough that the biblical passages are read in the vernacular, if they are
not also proclaimed with the care, preparation, devout attention and
meditative silence that enable the word of God to touch people's minds and
hearts.
“They
recognized him in the breaking of bread”
(cf. Lk 24:35)
14. It
is significant that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, duly prepared
by our Lord's words, recognized him at table through the simple gesture of
the “breaking of bread”. When minds are enlightened and hearts are
enkindled, signs begin to “speak”. The Eucharist unfolds in a dynamic
context of signs containing a rich and luminous message. Through these
signs the mystery in some way opens up before the eyes of the believer.
As I
emphasized in my Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, it is
important that no dimension of this sacrament should be neglected. We are
constantly tempted to reduce the Eucharist to our own dimensions, while in
reality it is we who must open ourselves up to the dimensions of the
Mystery. “The Eucharist is too great a gift to tolerate ambiguity and
depreciation”.12
15.
There is no doubt that the most evident dimension of the Eucharist is that
it is a meal. The Eucharist was born, on the evening of Holy
Thursday, in the setting of the Passover meal. Being a meal is part
of its very structure. “Take, eat... Then he took a cup and... gave it to
them, saying: Drink from it, all of you” (Mt 26:26, 27). As such,
it expresses the fellowship which God wishes to establish with us and
which we ourselves must build with one another.
Yet it
must not be forgotten that the Eucha- ristic meal also has a profoundly
and primarily sacrificial meaning.13 In the Eucharist,
Christ makes present to us anew the sacrifice offered once for all on
Golgotha. Present in the Eucharist as the Risen Lord, he nonetheless
bears the marks of his passion, of which every Mass is a “memorial”, as
the Liturgy reminds us in the acclamation following the consecration: “We
announce your death, Lord, we proclaim your resurrection...”. At the same
time, while the Eucharist makes present what occurred in the past, it also
impels us towards the future, when Christ will come again at the end
of history. This “eschatological” aspect makes the Sacrament of the
Eucharist an event which draws us into itself and fills our Christian
journey with hope.
“I am
with you always...”
(Mt 28:20)
16. All
these dimensions of the Eucharist come together in one aspect which more
than any other makes a demand on our faith: the mystery of the “real”
presence. With the entire tradition of the Church, we believe that
Jesus is truly present under the Eucharistic species. This presence—as
Pope Paul VI rightly explained—is called “real” not in an exclusive way,
as if to suggest that other forms of Christ's presence are not real, but
par excellence, because Christ thereby becomes substantially
present, whole and entire, in the reality of his body and blood.14
Faith demands that we approach the Eucharist fully aware that we are
approaching Christ himself. It is precisely his presence which gives the
other aspects of the Eucharist — as meal, as memorial of the Paschal
Mystery, as eschatological anticipation — a significance which goes far
beyond mere symbol- ism. The Eucharist is a mystery of presence, the
perfect fulfilment of Jesus' promise to remain with us until the end of
the world.
Celebrating, worshiping, contemplating
17. The
Eucharist is a great mystery! And it is one which above all must be
well celebrated. Holy Mass needs to be set at the centre of the
Christian life and celebrated in a dignified manner by every community, in
accordance with established norms, with the participation of the assembly,
with the presence of ministers who carry out their assigned tasks, and
with a serious concern that singing and liturgical music be
suitably “sacred”. One specific project of this Year of the Eucharist
might be for each parish community to study the General Instruction of the
Roman Missal. The best way to enter into the mystery of salvation made
present in the sacred “signs” remains that of following faithfully the
unfolding of the liturgical year. Pastors should be committed to that
“mystagogical” catechesis so dear to the Fathers of the Church, by
which the faithful are helped to understand the meaning of the liturgy's
words and actions, to pass from its signs to the mystery which they
contain, and to enter into that mystery in every aspect of their lives.
18.
There is a particular need to cultivate a lively awareness of Christ's
real presence, both in the celebration of Mass and in the worship of
the Eucharist outside Mass. Care should be taken to show that awareness
through tone of voice, gestures, posture and bearing. In this regard,
liturgical law recalls—and I myself have recently reaffirmed15—the
importance of moments of silence both in the celebration of Mass and in
Eucha- ristic adoration. The way that the ministers and the faithful treat
the Eucharist should be marked by profound respect.16 The
presence of Jesus in the tabernacle must be a kind of magnetic pole
attracting an ever greater number of souls enamoured of him, ready to wait
patiently to hear his voice and, as it were, to sense the beating of his
heart. “O taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Ps 34:8).
During
this year Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a
particular commitment for individual parish and religious communities. Let
us take the time to kneel before Jesus present in the Eucharist, in order
to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and
neglect, and even the insults which our Saviour must endure in many parts
of the world. Let us deepen through adoration our personal and communal
contemplation, drawing upon aids to prayer inspired by the word of God and
the experience of so many mystics, old and new. The Rosary itself, when it
is profoundly understood in the biblical and christocentric form which I
recommended in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, will
prove a particularly fitting introduction to Eucharistic contemplation, a
contemplation carried out with Mary as our companion and guide.17
This
year let us also celebrate with particular devotion the Solemnity of
Corpus Christi, with its traditional procession. Our faith in the God
who took flesh in order to become our companion along the way needs to be
everywhere proclaimed, especially in our streets and homes, as an
expression of our grateful love and as an inexhaustible source of
blessings.
III
THE
EUCHARIST
SOURCE AND MANIFESTATION
OF COMMUNION
“Abide
in me, and I in you”
(Jn
15:4)
19. When
the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay “with” them, he
responded by giving them a much greater gift: through the Sacrament of the
Eucharist he found a way to stay “in” them. Receiving the Eucharist means
entering into a profound communion with Jesus. “Abide in me, and I in you”
(Jn 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual “abiding”
enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Is this not
the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when he
brought about in history his plan of salvation? God has placed in human
hearts a “hunger” for his word (cf. Am 8:11), a hunger which will
be satisfied only by full union with him. Eucharistic communion was given
so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our
complete fulfilment in heaven.
One
bread, one body
20. This
special closeness which comes about in Eucharistic “communion” cannot be
adequately understood or fully experienced apart from ecclesial communion.
I emphasized this repeatedly in my Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia.
The Church is the Body of Christ: we walk “with Christ” to the extent that
we are in relationship “with his body”. Christ provided for the creation
and growth of this unity by the outpouring of his Holy Spirit. And he
himself constantly builds it up by his Eucharistic presence. It is the one
Eucharistic bread which makes us one body. As the Apostle Paul states:
“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread” (1Cor 10:17). In the mystery of the
Eucharist Jesus builds up the Church as a communion, in accordance with
the supreme model evoked in his priestly prayer: “Even as you,
Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the
world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21).
21. The
Eucharist is both the source of ecclesial unity and its greatest
manifestation. The Eucharist is an epiphany of communion. For
this reason the Church sets conditions for full participation in the
celebration of the Eucharist.18 These various limitations ought
to make us ever more conscious of the demands made by the communion
which Jesus asks of us. It is a hierarchical communion, based
on the awareness of a variety of roles and ministries, as is seen by the
reference to the Pope and the Diocesan Bishop in the Eucharistic Prayer.
It is a fraternal communion, cultivated by a “spirituality of
communion” which fosters reciprocal openness, affection, understanding and
forgiveness.19
“... of
one heart and soul”
(Acts 4:32)
22. At
each Holy Mass we are called to measure ourselves against the ideal of
communion which the Acts of the Apostles paints as a model for the
Church in every age. It is the Church gathered around the Apostles, called
by the word of God, capable of sharing in spiritual goods but in material
goods as well (cf. Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35). In this Year of the
Eucharist the Lord invites us to draw as closely as possible to this
ideal. Every effort should be made to experience fully those occasions
mentioned in the liturgy for the Bishop's “Stational Mass”, which he
celebrates in the cathedral together with his presbyters and deacons, with
the participation of the whole People of God. Here we see the principal
“manifestation” of the Church.20 It would be praiseworthy to
specify other significant occasions, also on the parochial level,
which would increase a sense of communion and find in the Eucharistic
celebration a source of renewed fervour.
The
Lord's Day
23. In a
particular way I ask that every effort be made this year to experience
Sunday as the day of the Lord and the day of the Church. I would be happy
if everyone would reflect once more on my words in the Apostolic Letter
Dies Domini. “At Sunday Mass, Christians relive with particular
intensity the experience of the Apostles on the evening of Easter, when
the Risen Lord appeared to them as they were gathered together (cf. Jn
20:19). In a sense, the People of God of all times were present in that
small nucleus of disciples, the first-fruits of the Church”.21
During this year of grace, priests in their pastoral ministry should be
even more attentive to Sunday Mass as the celebration which brings
together the entire parish community, with the participation of different
groups, movements and associations.
IV
THE
EUCHARIST, PRINCIPLE AND PLAN OF “MISSION”
“They
set out immediately”
(cf. Lk 24:33)
24. The
two disciples of Emmaus, upon recognizing the Lord, “set out immediately”
(cf. Lk 24:33), in order to report what they had seen and heard.
Once we have truly met the Risen One by partaking of his body and blood,
we cannot keep to ourselves the joy we have experienced. The encounter
with Christ, constantly intensified and deepened in the Eucharist, issues
in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and
evangelization. I wished to emphasize this in my homily announcing the
Year of the Eucharist, based on the words of Saint Paul: “As often as
you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until
he comes” (1 Cor 11:26). The Apostle closely relates meal and
proclamation: entering into communion with Christ in the memorial of his
Pasch also means sensing the duty to be a missionary of the event made
present in that rite.22 The dismissal at the end of each Mass
is a charge given to Christians, inviting them to work for the
spread of the Gospel and the imbuing of society with Christian values.
25. The
Eucharist not only provides the inte- rior strength needed for this
mission, but is also —in some sense—its plan. For the Eucharist is
a mode of being, which passes from Jesus into each Christian, through
whose testimony it is meant to spread throughout society and culture. For
this to happen, each member of the faithful must assimilate, through
personal and communal meditation, the values which the Eucharist
expresses, the attitudes it inspires, the resolutions to which it gives
rise. Can we not see here a special charge which could emerge from
this Year of the Eucharist?
Giving
thanks
26. One
fundamental element of this plan is found in the very meaning of
the word “Eucha- rist”: thanksgiving. In Jesus, in his sacrifice, in his
unconditional “yes” to the will of the Father, is contained the “yes”, the
“thank you” and the “amen” of all humanity. The Church is called to remind
men and women of this great truth. This is especially urgent in the
context of our secularized culture, characterized as it is by a
forgetfulness of God and a vain pursuit of human self-sufficiency.
Incarnating the Eucharistic “plan” in daily life, wherever people live and
work—in families, schools, the workplace, in all of life's settings—means
bearing witness that human reality cannot be justified without
reference to the Creator: “Without the Creator the creature would
disappear”.23 This transcendent point of reference, which
commits us constantly to give thanks for all that we have and are—in other
words, to a “Eucharistic” attitude—in no way detracts from the legitimate
autonomy of earthly realities,24 but grounds that autonomy more
firmly by setting it within its proper limits.
In this
Year of the Eucharist Christians ought to be committed to bearing more
forceful witness to God's presence in the world. We should not be afraid
to speak about God and to bear proud witness to our faith. The “culture of
the Eucharist” promotes a culture of dialogue, which here finds strength
and nourishment. It is a mistake to think that any public reference to
faith will somehow undermine the rightful autonomy of the State and civil
institutions, or that it can even encourage attitudes of intolerance. If
history demonstrates that mistakes have also been made in this area by
believers, as I acknowledged on the occasion of the Jubilee, this must be
attributed not to “Christian roots”, but to the failure of Christians to
be faithful to those roots. One who learns to say “thank you” in the
manner of the crucified Christ might end up as a martyr, but never as a
persecutor.
The way
of solidarity
27. The
Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church's life;
it is also a project of solidarity for all of humanity. In the
celebration of the Eucharist the Church constantly renews her awareness of
being a “sign and instrument” not only of intimate union with God but also
of the unity of the whole human race.25 Each Mass, even when
celebrated in obscurity or in isolation, always has a universal character.
The Christian who takes part in the Eucharist learns to become a
promotor of communion, peace and solidarity in every situation. More
than ever, our troubled world, which began the new Millennium with the
spectre of terrorism and the tragedy of war, demands that Christians learn
to experience the Eucharist as a great school of peace, forming men
and women who, at various levels of responsibility in social, cultural and
political life, can become promotors of dialogue and communion.
At the
service of the least
28.
There is one other point which I would like to emphasize, since it
significantly affects the authenticity of our communal sharing in the
Eucharist. It is the impulse which the Eucharist gives to the community
for a practical commitment to building a more just and fraternal
society. In the Eucharist our God has shown love in the extreme,
overturning all those criteria of power which too often govern human
relations and radically affirming the criterion of service: “If anyone
would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mc
9:35). It is not by chance that the Gospel of John contains no account of
the institution of the Eucharist, but instead relates the “washing of
feet” (cf. Jn 13:1-20): by bending down to wash the feet of his
disciples, Jesus explains the meaning of the Eucharist unequivocally.
Saint Paul vigorously reaffirms the impropriety of a Eucharistic
celebration lacking charity expressed by practical sharing with the poor
(cf.1Cor 11:17-22, 27-34).
Can we
not make this Year of the Eucharist an occasion for diocesan and
parish communities to commit themselves in a particular way to responding
with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in
our world? I think for example of the tragedy of hunger which plagues
hundreds of millions of human beings, the diseases which afflict
developing countries, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardships faced
by the unemployed, the struggles of immigrants. These are evils which are
present—albeit to a different degree—even in areas of immense wealth. We
cannot delude ourselves: by our mutual love and, in particular, by our
concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of
Christ (cf. Jn 13:35; Mt 25:31-46). This will be the
criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is
judged.
CONCLUSION
29. O
Sacrum Convivium, in quo Christus sumitur! The Year of the
Eucharist has its source in the amazement with which the Church
contemplates this great Mystery. It is an amazement which I myself
constantly experience. It prompted my Encyclical Ecclesia de
Eucharistia. As I look forward to the twenty-seventh year of my
Petrine ministry, I consider it a great grace to be able to call the whole
Church to contemplate, praise, and adore in a special way this ineffable
Sacrament. May the Year of the Eucharist be for everyone a precious
opportunity to grow in awareness of the incomparable treasure which Christ
has entrusted to his Church. May it encourage a more lively and fervent
celebration of the Eucharist, leading to a Christian life transformed by
love.
There is
room here for any number of initiatives, according to the judgement of the
Pastors of the particular Churches. The Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacraments will not fail to provide some
helpful suggestions and proposals. I do not ask, however, for anything
extraordinary, but rather that every initiative be marked by a profound
interiority. If the only result of this Year were the revival in all
Christian communities of the celebration of Sunday Mass and an increase in
Eucharistic worship outside Mass, this Year of grace would be abundantly
successful. At the same time, it is good to aim high, and not to be
content with mediocrity, since we know we can always count on God's help.
30. To
you, dear Brother Bishops, I commend this Year, confident that you
will welcome my invitation with full apostolic zeal.
Dear
priests, who repeat the words of consecration each day, and are
witnesses and heralds of the great miracle of love which takes place at
your hands: be challenged by the grace of this special Year; celebrate
Holy Mass each day with the same joy and fervour with which you celebrated
your first Mass, and willingly spend time in prayer before the tabernacle.
May this
be a Year of grace also for you, deacons, who are so closely
engaged in the ministry of the word and the service of the altar. I ask
you, lectors, acolytes and extraordinary ministers of holy communion,
to become ever more aware of the gift you have received in the service
entrusted to you for a more worthy celebration of the Eucharist.
In
particular I appeal to you, the priests of the future. During your
time in the seminary make every effort to experience the beauty not only
of taking part daily in Holy Mass, but also of spending a certain amount
of time in dialogue with the Eucharistic Lord.
Consecrated men and women,
called by that very consecration to more prolonged contemplation: never
forget that Jesus in the tabernacle wants you to be at his side, so that
he can fill your hearts with the experience of his friendship, which alone
gives meaning and fulfilment to your lives.
May all
of you, the Christian faithful, rediscover the gift of the
Eucharist as light and strength for your daily lives in the world, in the
exercise of your respective professions amid so many different situations.
Rediscover this above all in order to experience fully the beauty and the
mission of the family.
I have
great expectations of you, young people, as I look forward to our
meeting at the next World Youth Day in Cologne. The theme of our
meeting—“We have come to worship him”—suggests how you can best
experience this Eucharistic year. Bring to your encounter with Jesus,
hidden in the Eucharist, all the enthusiasm of your age, all your hopes,
all your desire to love.
31. We
have before us the example of the Saints, who in the Eucharist found
nourishment on their journey towards perfection. How many times did they
shed tears of profound emotion in the presence of this great mystery, or
experience hours of inexpressible “spousal” joy before the sacrament of
the altar! May we be helped above all by the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose
whole life incarnated the meaning of the Eucharist. “The Church, which
looks to Mary as a model, is also called to imitate her in her
relationship with this most holy mystery”.26 The Eucharistic
Bread which we receive is the spotless flesh of her Son: Ave verum
corpus natum de Maria Virgine. In this Year of grace, sustained by
Mary, may the Church discover new enthusiasm for her mission and come to
acknowledge ever more fully that the Eucharist is the source and summit of
her entire life.
To all
of you I impart my Blessing as a pledge of grace and joy.
From the
Vatican, on 7 October, the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, in the
year 2004, the twenty-sixth of my Pontificate.
1Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 45.
2Cf.
ibid., 22.
3No.
55: AAS 87 (1995), 38.
4Cf.
Nos. 32-34: AAS 90 (1998), 732-734.
5Cf.
Nos. 30-32: AAS 93 (2001), 287-289.
6Ibid.,
35: loc. cit., 290-291.
7Cf.
Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (16 October 2002), 19-21:
AAS 95 (2003), 18-20.
8Encyclical
Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia (17 April 2003), 53: AAS 95
(2003), 469.
9Cf.
No. 51.
10Ibid.,
7.
11Cf
ibid., 52.
12Encyclical
Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia (17 April 2003), 10: AAS 95
(2003), 439.
13Cf.
John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia (17 April
2003), 10: AAS 95 (2003), 439. Congregation for Divine Worship and
the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum
on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy
Eucharist (25 March 2004), 38: L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition
in English, 28 April 2004, Special Insert, p.3.
14Cf.
Encyclical Letter Mysterium Fidei (3 September 1965), 39: AAS
57 (1965), 764; Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction
Eucharisticum Mysterium on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery (25
May 1967), 9: AAS 59 (1967), 547.
15Cf.
Message Spiritus et Sponsa, for the fortieth anniversary of the
Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium (4
December 2003), 13: AAS 96 (2004), 425.
16Cf.
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments,
Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum on certain matters to be
observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist (25 March
2004): L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, 28 April
2004, Special Insert.
17Cf.
ibid., 137, loc. cit., p.11.
18Cf.
John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia (17 April
2003), 44: AAS 95 (2003), 462; Code of Canon Law, canon 908;
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 702; Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Directorium Oecumenicum (25
March 1993), 122-125, 129-131: AAS 85 (1993), 1086-1089;
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Ad Exsequendam
(18 May 2001): AAS 93 (2001), 786.
19Cf.
John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January
2001), 43: AAS 93 (2001), 297.
20Cf.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Sacrosanctum Concilium, 41.
21No.
33: AAS 90 (1998), 733.
22Cf.
Homily for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (10 June 2004):
L'Osservatore Romano, 11-12 June 2004, p.6.
23Second
Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the
Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 36.
24Ibid.
25Cf.
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pasto- ral Constitution on the Church
Lumen Gentium, 1.
26John
Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia
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