Vatican City, Oct 13, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments has released a document today with suggestions and proposals for living out the Year of the Eucharist. The document, entitled "The Year of the Eucharist: Suggestions and Proposals," has been written in answer to instructions put forth by Pope John Paul II in his October 7 Apostolic Letter "Mane nobiscum Domine."
The text of the Congregation’s document (published in Italian, and expected to be available shortly in other major languages) consists of an Introduction, Summary of the five Chapters a list of documents and abbreviations used, the five Chapters (entitled, repectively: Frame of Reference, Worship Contexts, Lines of Eucharistic Spirituality, Pastoral Initiatives and Commitments and Cultural Paths), and a Conclusion.
The introduction opens by pointing out that the integral link between the Pope’s initiatives of the Year of the Rosary which is ending and the Year of the Eucharist, which is beginning is that of “placing the face of Christ at the center of ecclesial commitments in the wake of Vatican Council II and the Great Jubilee,” and that “the Year of the Eucharist offers us an important pastoral occasion for the entire Christian community to be further sensitized to make this wonderful Sacrifice and Sacrament the heart of its life.”
Pointing out that the Holy Father asked particular dioceses to come up with pastoral initiatives, the document says “does not pretend to be exhaustive, but rather limits itself to give, with a simple style, some working suggestions."