Pope Benedict XVI noted how the Solemnity of Corpus Christi calls our attention to the importance of Eucharistic adoration. "The prayer of adoration can be performed individually, kneeling before the tabernacle, or as a community with psalms and songs, but always laying the emphasis on silence so as to hear the Lord speaking within us, the Lord Who is alive and present in the Sacrament. The Virgin Mary is our guide also in this prayer, because no one better or more than her was able to contemplate Jesus with the gaze of faith, and to welcome in her heart the intimate echo of His human and divine presence".
For more information, please visit:
http://www.news.va/en/news/dividing-the-eucharistic-bread-renews-our-capacity+
Lord Jesus,You were sent by the Father
to gather together those who are scattered.
You came among us, doing good and bringing healing,
announcing the Word of salvation
and giving the Bread which lasts forever.
Be our companion on life’s pilgrim way.
May your Holy Spirit inflame our hearts,
enliven our hope and open our minds,
so that together with our sisters and brothers in faith
we may recognise you in the Scriptures
and in the breaking of bread.
May your Holy Spirit transform us into one body
and lead us to walk humbly on the earth,
in justice and love,
as witnesses of your resurrection.
In communion with Mary,
whom you gave to us as our Mother
at the foot of the cross,
through you
may all praise, honour and blessing be to the Father
in the Holy Spirit and in the Church,
Now and forever.
Amen.
Please visit the website of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress being held in Dublin, Ireland, June 10 – 17, 2012:
http://www.iec2012.ie/The Importance of Evangelization
On 9 June 2012 His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received in audience prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, who just completed their "ad limina" visit. The Pope began by highlighting how the Church provides for the basic needs of the poor, the marginalised and the sick, especially those suffering from HIV/AIDS, through the work of diocesan agencies. He also noted that the bishops exercise an important aspect of their pastoral ministry when they "speak publicly as an objective moral voice on behalf of those in need".
The Holy Father went on: "When the Church voices her concern in the public square, she does so legitimately and in order to contribute to the common good, not proposing concrete political solutions, but rather helping to 'purify and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective moral principles'. Such principles are accessible to all through right reason and are necessary for the just ordering of civil society. In view of this, I encourage you to continue to dialogue and to work with the civil authorities so that the Church may be free to speak and to provide services for the common good in a manner fully consonant with Gospel values".
In their reports the bishops had spoken of spoken of pastoral efforts aimed at the evangelisation of culture. "This", the Holy Father noted, "is of great importance since the human person can 'achieve true and full humanity only by means of culture'. We also observe the essential role of culture in salvation history, since the Triune God gradually revealed Himself in time, culminating in the sending of His only Son, Who Himself was born into a particular culture".
The family plays a key role in this aspect of evangelisation, since it is "the first place where faith and culture are appropriated. Although society has recognised the important role of the family throughout history, particular attention needs to be given at the present time to the religious, social and moral goods of fidelity, equality and mutual respect that must exist between husband and wife. The Church tirelessly proclaims that the family is based on the natural institution of marriage between a man and a woman and, in the case of baptised Christians, it is a covenant which has been raised by Christ to the supernatural level of a Sacrament".
Finally the Holy Father turned his attention to the importance of "a properly catechised laity and well-formed clergy and religious" in order that they may "resist the temptations of the secular world" and "be wise enough not to be deceived by attempts to convert them to overly simplistic versions of Christianity that are often based solely on false promises of material prosperity. ... These witnesses and those they teach, with your guidance and support, will help to ensure that the Church in your countries will continue to be an effective instrument of evangelisation, attracting those who do not yet know Christ and inspiring those who have become lukewarm in their faith".
For more information, please visit:
http://www.news.va/en/news/vatican-the-pope-to-the-bishops-of-papua-new-guine+
Holy Land Pilgrims in Ireland for International Eucharistic Congress
ReplyDeleteBishop William Shomali, an auxiliary bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, is leading a group of 33 pilgrims from the Holy Land who have come Ireland to take part in the International Eucharistic Congress. “Our group comes from Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and also from the diaspora in the USA . . . So we really represent the Holy Land in its different rites, liturgies. We have Maronites, Greek Catholics, Latins, even some Arab Greek Orthodox.”
The pilgrims from the Holy Land, said Bishop Shomali, came for many reasons: “first of all, to represent the Holy Land.” He said his group also wanted to show their solidarity with the Church in Ireland, which, in recent years has seen a decline in religious practice. “We came [in] solidarity, really to pray with this suffering Church, in order to overcome its crisis.”
Finally, said Bishop Shomali, “We came to deepen our faith in the Eucharist, the Eucharist as presence, as donation, as sacrifice of Christ and of the Church, Eucharist as communion with Christ and with each other.” Although the pilgrims to Dublin are a witness of faith in and love of the Holy Eucharist, they have also come to learn: “So really we feel we have to learn here, not only to be witnesses of something… but we want to learn more about how to live the Eucharist on a daily basis.”
Listen to the complete interview with Bishop William Shomali:
http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-land-pilgrims-come-to-ireland-for-iec