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| Dear Parishioners: ENCYCLICAL
LETTER OF POPE JOHN PAUL II The eucharist, as Christ's saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the church can have in her journey through history. This explains the lively concern which she has always shown for the eucharistic mystery, a concern which finds authoritative expression in the work of the councils and the popes. How can we not admire the doctrinal expositions of the decrees on the most holy eucharist and on the holy sacrifice of the Mass promulgated by the council of Trent? For centuries those decrees guided theology and catechesis, and they are still a dogmatic reference point for the continual renewal and growth of God's people in faith and in love for the eucharist. In times closer to our own, three encyclical letters should be mentioned: the encyclical Mirae Caritatis of Leo XIII (May 28, 1902), the encyclical Mediator Dei of Pius XII (Nov. 20, 1947) and the encyclical Mysterium Fidei fo Paul VI (Setp. 3, 1965). The Second Vatican Council, while not issuing a specific document on the eucharistic mystery, considered its various aspects throughout its documents, especially the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium and the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium. I myself, in the first years of my apostolic ministry in the chair of Peter, wrote the apostolic letter Dominicae Cenae (Feb. 24, 1980), in which I disussed some aspects of the eucharistic mystery and its importance for the life of those who are its ministers. Today, I take up anew the thread of that argument with even greater emotion and gratitude in my heart, echoing as it were the word of the psalmist: "What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord" (Ps. 116:12-13). The magisterium's commitment to proclaiming the eucharistic mystery has been matched by interior growth within the Christian community. Certainly the liturgical reform inaugurated by the council has greatly contributed to a more conscious, active and fruitful participation in the holy sacrifice of the altar on the part of the faithful. In many places adoration of the blessed sacrament is also an important daily practice and becomes an inexhaustible source of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in the eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a grace from the Lord which yearly brings joy to those who take part in it. |
