Vatican City (Fides Service) - On Thursday 23 January Pope John Paul II received a group of Brazilian Bishops on their five yearly ad limina visit. In his address to the Prelates the Holy Father said that the Eucharist must always be celebrated according to the norms and teaching of the Church. Before returning to Brazil, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Archbishop of Sao Paulo told Fides Service about the spirit of reciprocal joy and strength which characterise ad limina visits with the Pope.
"The ad limina visit is always a moment of deep communion with the Holy Father, an experience of the unity that exists between every Bishop and Peter who strengthens our faith and guides the College of Bishops. The Pope always prepares a special address for the occasion. The Holy Father's message was addressed to us but it was for the whole country. He focused on the importance of the Eucharist, underlining that it is the celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ: the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus who is present again through the power of the Holy Spirit and in the sacramental form in the sign of the Church who, united with Christ, celebrates and shares in his Paschal mystery while celebrating her own paschal mystery. The Eucharist is truly the source and summit of Christian life, the centre of the life of a priest and the centre of the Church's pastoral activity which must always start from the Eucharist from which it draws its vital dynamism. Nourished by the Eucharist, Christians go out to the world on mission. The Eucharist leads us to love others, to work for the good of all, to defend the fundamental rights of all people the right to life first of all, to support the family, to uphold morality in public and private. Lay people especially are called to make Christ present in the world. The Eucharist teaches us that life is not only this life here on earth, it is eternal life. The Pope reminded us that although the Eucharist demands concrete commitment in life, the celebration of Mass must not be an opportunity for political discourses, it must remain on a higher level". See address of Holy Father in Portuguese at www.fides.org (Fides Service 28/1/2003)