VATICAN - Pope tells participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Divine Worship: “in the Eucharist, adoration must become union: union with the living Lord and with His mystical Body”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On March 13, the Holy Father received participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who have been meeting to consider the question of Eucharistic adoration. “In your Plenary Assembly, you reflected on the Mystery of the Eucharist, especially Eucharistic Adoration,” the Pontiff said, later recalling the recent Magisterial documents on the topic, especially the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, “Sacramentum caritatis,” that also demonstrated the concerns of the Synod Fathers “for a certain confusion that arose following the II Vatican Council, regarding the relationship between the Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament,” as an echo of what Pope John Paul II “had already expressed on the deviances that have perhaps marked the post-conciliar liturgical renewal” in his encyclical “Ecclesia de Eucharistia.”
“The Second Vatican Council has revealed unique role of the Eucharistic mystery in the life of the faithful,” the Pontiff said, recalling that the Eucharist “is at the heart of the Church's origins and is the source of grace, being an incomparable occasion for the sanctification of humanity in Christ and the glorification of God. In this sense, all of the Church's activity is ordained towards the Mystery of the Eucharist and it is by virtue of the Eucharist that 'the Church continually lives and grows.' Our task is to perceive the most valuable treasure we have in this ineffable mystery of faith 'both in the celebration of the Mass, as well as in the worship of the consecrated hosts, which are conserved after the Mass, to extend the grace of the Sacrifice.'”
The Pontiff recalled the various meanings of the word “adoration” in the Greek and Latin. “The Greek word 'proskynesis' indicates a gesture of submission, acknowledging God as our true measure, whose norms we accept and follow. The Latin term 'ad-oratio' implies physical contact, a kiss, embrace, which is implicit in the idea of love. The aspect of submission anticipates a relationship of union, become the One to whom we submit ourselves is Love. In fact, in the Eucharist, adoration must become union: union with the living Lord and with His mystical Body.” The Pope recalled words he had pronounced at World Youth Day 2005 in the German city of Cologne, at Marienfeld: “God no longer simply stands before us as the One who is totally Other. He is within us, and we are in Him. His dynamic enters into us and then seeks to spread outwards to others until it fills the world, so that His love can truly become the dominant measure of the world.”
Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter “Spiritus et Sponsa,” on the 40th anniversary of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, on the Sacred Liturgy, “exhorted us to take the necessary steps in deepening the experience of renewal,” Benedict XVI recalled. “This is also important in terms of Eucharistic adoration. Such deepening will only be possible through a greater awareness of the mystery in full fidelity to sacred Tradition and the increase of liturgical life within our communities.”
The Holy Father then expressed his particular appreciation for the fact that the Plenary Assembly also reflected on the theme of faith formation for the entire People of God, with special attention on seminarians, “to favor their growth in a true spirit of Eucharistic Adoration.” Lastly, in recalling the three penitential practices of Lent, particularly dear to Biblical and Christian tradition, he exhorted all “to rediscover and practice fasting with renewed fervor, not only as a form of asceticism but also as a preparation for the Eucharist and as a spiritual weapon to fight against any disordered attachment to ourselves.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/3/2009)