Vatican City, Oct 9, 2005 / 22:00 pm
As over 200 bishops continue to meet in Rome for the 11th General Synod of Bishops, heavy emphasis has been placed, in recent days, on specific ways that the faithful might better respect and come to a fuller appreciation for the Eucharist and its meaning for the worldwide Church.
On Friday, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education specifically stressed the need for Eucharistic formation among the Church's future priests, saying that, "The Eucharist constitutes the framework for all formation of seminarians: human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral."
"This centrality of the Eucharist", he said, "must be strongly emphasized in the life of the seminary at various levels. Solid theological elucidation of the mystery of the Eucharist and its relationship with the Sacrament of Penance, explanation of the meaning of liturgical norms, the example of teachers, correct preparation of Eucharistic celebrations in order that they be intimately experienced by the whole community, the presence and availability of good confessors, well-prepared adoration of the Eucharistic, persistent invitations to private adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament, etc., all these factors, seriously and constantly undertaken, should introduce the seminarian to a full understanding and love of the Eucharist."
The Cardinal highlighted the profound importance of seminary formation saying that "in reality, how the Eucharist is celebrated and how it is perceived by the faithful, mainly depends on priests."