VATICAN CITY, MAR 3, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from John Paul II - signed this morning in Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic - to Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and to participants in that dicastery's plenary session which concludes tomorrow in the Vatican.
In his Message the Pope thanks Cardinal Arinze for his "words of affection and the assurance of a special prayer which you conveyed to me in everyone's name, and for the generous dedication with which you guide the dicastery."
The Holy Father particularly expresses his gratitude "to the congregation for having quickly complied with the indications of the Encyclical 'Ecclesia de Eucharistia' and of the Apostolic Letter 'Mane nobiscum Domine', preparing first the Instruction 'Redemptionis Scaramentum' and then the 'Suggestions and Proposals' for the year of the Eucharist. It is my hope that, also by virtue of these documents, the Christian community may grow in love for the Most Holy Sacrament, and that it may be helped to celebrate the Eucharistic sacrifice in an ever more worthy fashion, in conformity with liturgical norms and, above all, with true inner participation."
Making reference to one of the themes of the plenary gathering, "ars celebrandi," the Pope highlights how, "above all in the celebration of the Eucharist, a living re-presentation of the paschal Mystery, Christ is present and His action is shared in ways appropriate to our humanity, which is so in need of words, signs and rituals. The effectiveness of such action is fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit, but it also calls for a human response."
John Paul II indicates that the homily, another of the subjects discussed during the plenary session, "has a physiognomy different from that of ordinary catechesis, and commits the person who pronounces it to a dual responsibility: towards the Word and towards the assembly. ... It is important that the homily not be absent, especially in the Sunday Eucharist. In the context of new evangelization, the homily represents a precious - and for many people, unique - formative opportunity."
The Holy Father also refers to another of the themes of the plenary, liturgical formation, saying: "It is urgent for parish communities, associations and ecclesial movements to guarantee appropriate formative itineraries, in order for the liturgy to become better known in the richness of its language, and for it to be fully experienced. In the measure to which this is done, beneficial effects on individual and community life will be felt."
MESS/LITURGY/ARINZE VIS 20050303 (440)
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