AFRICA/TANZANIA - “Eucharist sign of unity and bond of Charity”: Lenten Message in the Year of the Eucharist. “The Family of God must always be a community which grows in the one spirit united in the one bond of love”

Thursday, 17 March 2005

Dar Es Salaam (Fides Service) - The Eucharist as a sign of unity and bond of charity was the theme of a Lenten Message issued by the Catholic Bishops of Tanzania in this Year of the Eucharist in which the Bishops call on Catholics to pray and meditate on the Sacrament of the Eucharist and how it builds unity and peace, mutual understanding. The Letter entitled Eucharist sign of unity and bond of Charity underlines first of all “unity among people and God” that is “unity between humanity and Divinity” and it calls to everyone to embrace God’s love for humanity. The message also recalls the importance of unity among the faithful and with all human persons: “The Family of God must always be a community which grows in one spirit and one bond of charity”.
The Bishops express clearly in the message that the riches of humanity is that we are “all brothers and sisters of the same Father in the same family all created by the Father and united in the bond of Divine Love”. Their reflection deepens to dwell on the central place of the Eucharist in the life of the Church: “when we meditate on the Eucharist we are meditating about the person of Jesus Christ himself who is the redeemer of mankind. In short Jesus is the perfect source of unity and the perfect bond of love among all human beings”.
Following the Holy Father’s exhortation in the encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia and the elaboration of the same in the Instruction Sacramentum Redemptionis, the Bishops recall that “the Holy Eucharist is the source of the Church’s life and that Christ himself offers his life for his people. The Eucharist touches the heart and heals the wounds brought about by sin”. The Season of Lent, the underline, is a great moment of grace for all which must be lived with unceasing efforts on the part of each believer to obtain God’s mercy offered through the Eucharist for inner healing. Although the Eucharist is a source of true conversion and holiness, the Bishops of Tanzania remind the faithful that “inner conversion is always completed with the Sacrament of Penance” and they encourage the faithful to “receive the sacrament properly for the remission of sins.”
The Eucharist unites sick people in the love of Jesus it is the sacrament of love and healing for the sick. The Bishops say that by receiving the Holy Eucharist sick people are united in the love of Jesus, the Redeemer. The message emphasises the preferential option for the poor, and the Bishops ask the people to grow in authentic solidarity if love and care for the poor, recalling that the preferential option for the poor has been the apostolate of the Church since apostolic times.
The Catholic Bishops of Tanzania end their Lenten Message calling on the people to maintain peace and mutual understanding particularly in view of presidential and parliamentary elections in October this year. They call on Christians to pray that God will enlighten the minds of people to chose candidates committed for peace and solidarity and integral human development. (L.M./S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 17/3/2005; righe 33 parole 469)


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