A daily news service

April 24

Holy Father presided funeral Mass for Cardinal Sabattani

Rome, 24 (NE) Pope John Paul presided yesterday the funeral Mass for Cardinal Aurelio Sabattani, who died Holy Saturday, April 19, at the age of 90. The late Cardinal had been prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, vicar general for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter's.

"'Blessed'!" said the Pope in his homily, referring to today's Gospel of the Beatitudes. "Jesus proclaimed as blessed those who followed him, day after day, going against the current with respect to the logic of the world. It seems that, even in the limits of every human existence, our brother, who gave a multi-faceted and generous service to the Church, belongs to this large group of Jesus' faithful disciples."

The Holy Father noted that "our ultimate home and our 'recompense', as Jesus recalls in the Gospel, are not of this earth, but of heaven. Our dearly beloved cardinal was well aware of this as, in his spiritual testament, he recommended to those close to him to 'live in the faith and grace of God, the only thing that has definitive value. Indeed, he knew well that, precisely in conforming one's own will to that of Christ, especially in life's difficult and agonizing moments, the believer becomes worthy of the Gospel Beatitudes."

Pope to beatify six servants of God this Sunday

Rome, 24 (NE) On Sunday, April 27, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope John Pope will beatify six Servants of God during a Eucharistic celebration starting at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Square. The future blessed, two men and four women, are all Italian. They are Giacomo Alberione, priest, founder of the Pauline family; Marco D'Aviano, priest, of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; Maria Cristina Brando, virgin, foundress of the Congregation of Sisters, Victims Expiators of Jesus of the Sacrament; Eugenia Ravasco, virgin, foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; Maria Domenica Mantovani, virgin, co-foundress of the Institute of Little Sisters of the Sacred Family; Giulia Salzano, virgin, foundress of the Congregation of Sisters, Catechists of the Sacred Heart.

April 17

Pope John Paul II signs new encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia"

Rome, 17 (NE - eclesiales.org) This afternoon, during the Mass of the Lord's Supper, Pope John Paul II signed the Encyclical Letter "Ecclesia de Eucharistia", addressed to the Bishops, Priests and Deacons, Men and Women in the Consecrated Life and All the Lay Faithful on the Eucharist and Its Relationship to the Church.

This encyclical, Pope John Paul II's 14th, consists of an introduction, six chapters and a conclusion. It has been published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese and Latin. We now offer a synthesis of the encyclical, made public by the Holy See Press Office

The fourteenth Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II is intended to offer a deeper reflection on the mystery of the Eucharist in its relationship with the Church. The document is relatively brief, but significant for its theological, disciplinary and pastoral aspects. It will be signed on Holy Thursday, during the Mass of the Lord's Supper, within the liturgical setting of the beginning of the Paschal Triduum.

The Eucharistic Sacrifice, "the source and summit of the Christian life", contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth: Jesus Christ, who offers himself to the Father for the redemption of the world. In celebrating this "mystery of faith", the Church makes the Paschal Triduum become "contemporaneous" with men and women in every age.

The first chapter, "The Mystery of Faith", explains the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist which, through the ministry of the priest, makes sacramentally present at each Mass the body "given up" and the blood "poured out" by Christ for the world's salvation. The celebration of the Eucharist is not a repetition of Christ's passover, or its multiplication in time and in space; it is the one sacrifice of the Cross, which is re-presented until the end of time. It is, in the words of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, "a medicine of immortality, an antidote to death". As a pledge of the future Kingdom, the Eucharist also reminds believers of their responsibility for the present earth, in which the weak, the most powerless and the poorest await help from those who, by their solidarity, can give them reason for hope.

"The Eucharist Builds the Church" is the title of the second chapter. When the faithful approach the sacred banquet, not only do they receive Christ, but they in turn are received by him. The consecrated Bread and Wine are the force which generates the Church's unity. The Church is united to her Lord who, veiled by the Eucharistic species, dwells within her and builds her up. She worships him not only at Holy Mass itself, but at all other times, cherishing him as her most precious "treasure".

The third chapter is a reflection on "The Apostolicity of the Eucharist and of the Church". Just as the full reality of Church does not exist without apostolic succession, so there is no true Eucharist without the Bishop. The priest who celebrates the Eucharist acts in the person of Christ the Head; he does not possess the Eucharist as its master, but is its servant for the benefit of the community of the saved. It follows that the Christian community does not "possess" the Eucharist, but receives it as a gift.

These reflections are developed in the fourth chapter, "The Eucharist and Ecclesial Communion". The Church, as the minister of Christ's body and blood for the salvation of the world, abides by all that Christ himself established. Faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, united in the discipline of the sacraments, she must also manifest in a visible manner her invisible unity. The Eucharist cannot be "used" as a means of communion; rather it presupposes communion as already existing and strengthens it. In this context emphasis needs to be given to the commitment to ecumenism which must mark all the Lord's followers: the Eucharist creates communion and builds communion, when it is celebrated truthfully. It cannot be subject to the whim of individual or of particular communities.

"The Dignity of the Eucharistic Celebration" is the subject of the fifth chapter. The celebration of the "Mass" is marked by outward signs aimed at emphasizing the joy which assembles the community around the incomparable gift of the Eucharist. Architecture, sculpture, painting, music, literature and, more generally, every form of art demonstrate how the Church, down the centuries, has feared no extravagance in her witness to the love which unites her to her divine Spouse. A recovery of the sense of beauty is also needed in today's celebrations.

The sixth chapter, "At the School of Mary, 'Woman of the Eucharist'", is a timely and original reflection on the surprising analogy between the Mother of God, who by bearing the body of Jesus in her womb became the first "tabernacle", and the Church who in her heart preserves and offers to the world Christ's body and blood. The Eucharist is given to believers so that their life may become a continuous Magnificat in honour of the Most Holy Trinity.

The Conclusion is demanding: those who wish to pursue the path of holiness need no new "programmes". The programme already exists: it is Christ himself who calls out to be known, loved, imitated and proclaimed. The implementation of this process passes through the Eucharist. This is seen from the witness of the Saints, who at every moment of their lives slaked their thirst at the inexhaustible source of this mystery and drew from it the spiritual power needed to live fully their baptismal calling.

«Church News» authorizes the complete or partial reproduction of the information offered to our readers in this page, quoting the source (NE). Publication of the information in this page does not imply any compromise.

All rights reserved (©) Noticias Eclesiales