THE GOOD NEWS
ARCHBISHOP BELTRAN
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The Good News
...The
Year of the Eucharist For the next twelve months, we are to reflect on the meaning of the Eucharist. By doing this, we should develop a keener appreciation of the Eucharist in our own lives as well as in the life of the Church. To do this, we must study, pray and put into practice what we learn and what God inspires in us. Last April, our Holy Father presented us with his fourteenth encyclical which he entitled “On the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church.” This Year of the Eucharist officially began last week and will conclude with the Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome October 2-29, 2005. The theme for the Synod is the Eucharist. The Holy Father reminds us that the Eucharist is the source and the summit of Christian life. In the earliest days of the Church, the apostles devoted themselves to prayer, teaching and fellowship, “the breaking of the bread,” the Eucharist. Our hope for this year therefore is that as we contemplate Christ we will come to a deep appreciation of the gift of the Eucharist. As Pope John Paul II tells us in quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “The Church has received the Eucharist from Christ, her Lord, not as one gift, however precious among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it is the gift of Himself, of His Person in His sacred humanity as well as the gift of His saving work. Nor does it remain confined to the past, since all that Christ is, all that He did and suffered for us participates in the divine eternity and so transcends all times.” As Catholic people of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, we want to observe this Year of the Eucharist with great faith and devotion. Therefore, I offer some specific suggestions: 1) STUDY the section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that deals with the celebration of the Christian mystery especially the sacrament of the Eucharist. Then read the Sacred Scriptures references that were cited, especially the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel. 2) READ the Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II on the Eucharist. The full text can be found on the internet. 3) STUDY the instruction of the Congregation for Divine Worship on those matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist. This instruction followed the Pope’s Encyclical on the Eucharist. It too can be found on the internet. 4) PRAY. While the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most beautiful and effective prayer we can offer, there are additional ways of practicing Eucharistic worship. The worship of the Eucharist outside the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the Church. Such worship is strictly linked to the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Thus Eucharistic adoration and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament should be encouraged and practiced in every parish. As Catholics, we are a Eucharistic people. Our faith and our hope are in Jesus Who is Lord and God. It is He Who gives us His own Body and Blood so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. Let us then be alive to the Presence and Love of Jesus throughout this Year of the Eucharist! |
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