VATICAN - Pope John Paul II will open Year of the Eucharist in St Peter’s on Sunday. Congregation for Divine Worship offers hints and suggestions for a fruitful celebration of this special year

Friday, 15 October 2004

Vatican City (Fides Service) - On Sunday, 17 October Pope John Paul II will preside a special Mass in St Peter’s Basilica followed by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction to open the special Year of the Eucharist. The Mass will coincide with the conclusion of the 48th International Eucharistic Congress held in Guadalajara (Mexico) which reflected on the theme: "The Eucharist Light and Life of the new Millennium".
To help the local Churches respond to the indications which the Pope gave in his recent Letter "Mane nobiscum Domine", the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has issued a paper: "Year of the Eucharist: Hints and Suggestions" divided in five chapters: cultural contests; lines of Eucharistic spirituality; pastoral initiatives and activity; cultural paths, and a conclusion.
“The Year of the Eucharist is an important pastoral opportunity to increase awareness in the entire Christian community of this wonderful Sacrifice and Sacrament which is the heart of its life. The Holy Father has left it to the particular Churches to plan initiatives for the celebration of this year. Nevertheless he did ask the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to offer some hints and proposals which may be useful for Bishops and pastoral workers at all levels called to make their own contribution”, the document says. This is why it offers only hints and suggestions for dioceses and parishes for example: preparing handbooks on the Year of the Eucharist to foster reflection among clergy and faithful, treating also the most common doctrinal and pastoral difficulties in the different countries (scarcity of priests, loss of the sense of the importance of daily mass among some priests, disinterest for Sunday Mass among the people, decline in the devotion to the Blessed Sacrament); promote national Eucharistic Congresses, encourage universities, seminaries and other institutes to foster in-depth study on the Eucharist; promote devotion to diocesan saints known for their love for the Eucharist; encourage perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in suitable chapels and churches and encourage visits to places where there is already perpetual devotion, making sure they are open at times when people can attend; encourage local diocesan media, print, radio, TV, or via the Internet to focus on the Eucharist. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 15/10/2004; righe 32, parole 409)


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