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SYNODUS
EPISCOPORUM XI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church This Bulletin is only a working instrument for
the press. English Edition
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07 - 04.10.2005 SUMMARY ♦ THIRD GENERAL CONGREGATION (TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2005 - MORNING) ♦ FOURTH GENERAL CONGREGATION (TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2005 - AFTERNOON) ♦ NOTICES ♦ THIRD GENERAL CONGREGATION (TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2005 - MORNING) The summary of a Synodal father’s intervention, who spoke during the Third General Congregation this morning, and which was received after the closure of the bulletin editing, is published below: - H. Exc. Msg. Roberto CAMILLERI AZZOPARDI, O.F.M., Bishop of Comayagua (HONDURAS) La escasez de los sacerdotes, ministros de la Eucaristía afecta la frecuencia de su recepción en los fieles de buena voluntad. Realidad y posibles soluciones al problema. 1. Se da escasez de sacerdotes en muchas naciones del tercer mundo. 2. Los grandes sacrificios que hacen los pocos sacerdotes en estas tierras para celebrar la Eucaristía en todas las comunidades de sus respectivas parroquias. Unas palabras de aprecio y agradecimiento del obispo hacia estos sacerdotes en los países de misión. 3. Los grandes sacrificios que hacen los feligreses, caminando largas distancias, para participar en la Eucaristía. 4. Se considera que debe existir una mejor distribución del clero, es decir, las diócesis con muchas vocaciones sacerdotales deben de ayudar a las diócesis necesitadas de personal sacerdotal. 5. Se busca un mecanismo en la Iglesia para informar a las diócesis con abundancia de sacerdotes acerca de las necesidades de las Iglesias Particulares y pedirles brindar la ayuda que necesitan, compartiendo con ellas este don de Dios. 6. Se transmite a diario por la radio en cada diócesis la celebración de la Santa Misa, cantada y con homilía.(Hay 23 radios emisoras católicas en Honduras y una estación de T.V. con cobertura nacional). Muchísimas personas sintonizan la celebración porque tienen una gran devoción a la Eucaristía. No pudiendo estar presentes físicamente, se conforman con recibir con amor la "comunión espiritual". 7. Urge por lo tanto. orar más por el aumento de la vocaciones al sacerdocio y dar una prioridad en los planes pastorales a la pastoral juvenil y aquella vocacional para que no falten sacerdotes, ministros de la Eucaristía, para que nuestra gente tenga "vida y vida en abundancia." La Pastoral de la Niñez contribuye al éxito de la pastoral juvenil y asegura que más jóvenes se acercan a la Misa dominical. 1. El "Instrumentum Laboris" en el no.7 dice que "hay un declino en la fe y en la asistencia a la Misa Dominical principalmente por los Jóvenes". 2. Una de tantas posibles soluciones a este problema es atender, formar y acompañar al niño, antes y después de su Primera Comunión hasta la recepción del sacramento de la Confirmación, con catequesis semanal y asistencia activa en la Misa dominical. 3. La niñez es el momento propicio para el comienzo de la relación personal amorosa con el Señor Jesucristo vivo y velar para que se esta relación siga fortaleciendose hasta la etapa de juventud y durante toda la vida. 4. Si queremos conquistar para el Señor el corazón del joven, primero es indispensable haber conquistado su corazón cuando era niño. El acompañamiento espiritual desde la niñez hasta que llegue a la etapa de la juventud es una misión a largo plazo, es un cultivo de varios anos. [00072-04.06] [IN045] [Texto original: español] ♦ FOURTH GENERAL CONGREGATION (TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4TH 2005 - AFTERNOON) ● VOTING/ELECTIONS FOR THE COMMISSION FOR THE MESSAGE ● INTERVENTIONS IN THE HALL (CONTINUATION) Today, 4 October 2005, memory of Saint Francis of Assisi, and starting with the prayer Adsumus, the Fourth General Congregation took place at 4.30 p.m., to continue the Synodal Fathers’ interventions regarding the Synodal theme The Eucharist: source and summit of the life and mission of the Church. The President Delegate on duty was H. Em. Card. Juan SANDOVAL ÍÑIGUEZ, Archbishop of Guadalajara (Mexico). At this General Congregation, which concluded at 7.00 p.m., with the prayer Angelus Domini, 242 fathers were present. ● VOTING FOR THE COMMISSION FOR THE MESSAGE The second electronic voting to elect the members of the Commission for the Message took place at the opening of the Fourth General Congregation. ● INTERVENTIONS IN THE HALL (CONTINUATION) The following Fathers intervened during the Fourth General Congregation: - H.E. Most. Rev. Franc RODÉ, C.M., Archbishop Emeritus of Ljubljana, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Ljubljana, VATICAN CITY) - H. Em. Card. Jorge Mario BERGOGLIO, S.I., Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Vice President of the Episcopal Conference (ARGENTINA) - H.E. Most. Rev. Rimantas NORVILA, Bishop of Vilkaviškis (LITHUANIA) - Rev. Father Lino MELA, O.S.I., Superior General of the Oblates of Saint Joseph (Josephines of Asti) - H.E. Most. Rev. Gregorio Nicanor PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia en Higüey (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) - H.E. Most. Rev. Jan Paweł LENGA, M.I.C., Archbishop of Karaganda (KAZAKHSTAN) - H.E. Most. Rev. Nicolás COTUGNO FANIZZI, S.D.B., Archbishop of Montevideo (URUGUAY) - H.E. Most. Rev. Lorenzo VOLTOLINI ESTI, Titular Bishop of Bisuldino, Auxiliary Bishop of Portoviejo (ECUADOR) - H.E. Most. Rev. Maria Callist SOOSA PAKIAM, Archbishop of Trivandrum dei Latini (INDIA) - H.E. Most. Rev. John Atcherley DEW, Archbishop of Wellington (NEW ZELAND) Below are the summaries of the interventions: - H.E. Most. Rev. Franc RODÉ, C.M., Archbishop Emeritus of Ljubljana, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Ljubljana, VATICAN CITY) The Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod suggests giving “ greater emphasis to the spousal aspect of the Eucharist and of the New Covenant, using it as the model for the vocations of the Christian life—marriage, virginity and priesthood”. Consecrated life, by its nature, is a peculiar and paradigmatic expression of the Church as Bride that welcomes and makes fruitful the gift of her Spouse and has a privileged relationship with the Eucharist. In the celebration of this great sacrament, Jesus continues to welcome the consecration of the Father; in Him, his life of virginity, of obedience and poverty expresses continuously his filial devotion and complete adhesion to a project of love and life without limits. Thus, the Eucharist is the privileged place where consecrated persons learn to follow Christ in the existential space determined by the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience; here they find the strength to make of their existence a prophetic proclamation of life in the midst of a world marked by destruction and death. With the religious vows, the consecrated persons commit to live the evangelical counsels and confer total radicality to their response of love. “Virginity opens up the heart to the measure of Christ's heart and makes it possible to love as he loved. Poverty frees one from the slavery to things and to artificial needs which drive consumer society and leads to the rediscovery of Christ, the only treasure truly worth living for. Obedience places life entirely in Christ's hands so that he may use it according to God's design and make it a masterpiece” (RdC 22). Because of this, “by its very nature the Eucharist is at the centre of consecrated life, both for individuals and for communities” (VC 95). At this school consecrated persons learn the strength of love and of spousal oblation, which is the foundation of their chaste life; they are guided along the way of giving up and losing all things and the total consignment to humanity that is the fundamental demand of their poverty; they receive as a gift that mystery of life that is obedience to the will of the Father, making them “sons” and capable of embracing all human means that express this will. [00071-02.03] [IN059] [Original text: Italian] - H. Em. Card. Jorge Mario BERGOGLIO, S.I., Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Vice President of the Episcopal Conference (ARGENTINA) A phrase of the Instrumentum Laboris (n. 2) says that “we are to see if the law of prayer corresponds to the law of faith. We are to consider what the People of God believes and how the People of God lives, so that the Eucharist can become more and more the source and summit of the life and mission of...the Church”. A very rich intuition that goes looking for Christ in his most humble beneficiaries and witnesses: in the holy faithful People of God, the people that, in their entirety, are infallible in credendo. Our faithful people believe in the Eucharist as a priestly people (cf. Christifideles laici 1, 14). It 1. It is a qualitatively constant participation (cf. CFL 1,17). 2. Our faithful people believes as a Eucharistic people in Mary. They tie together their affection for the Eucharist and their affection for the Virgin, our Lady and Mother (cf. Redemptoris Mater III, 44). In the “school of Mary”, Eucharistic woman, we can reread contemplatively the passages in which John Paul II sees our Lady as a Eucharistic woman, and see her not alone but “in the company of” (Acts 1: 14) the People of God. We follow here that rule of tradition by which, with different nuances, “what is said of Mary is said of the soul of every Christian and of the whole Church.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia , 57). Our faithful people have the true “Eucharistic attitude” of giving thanks and of praise. Remembering Mary, they are grateful for being remembered by her, and this memorial of love is truly Eucharistic. In this respect I repeat what John Paul II affirmed in Ecclesia de Eucharistia number 58: “The Eucharist has been given to us so that our life, like that of Mary, can become completely a Magnificat. [00054-02.03] [IN060] [Original text: Spanish] - H.E. Most. Rev. Rimantas NORVILA, Bishop of Vilkaviškis (LITHUANIA) Number 22 of the Instrumentum laboris reminds us of the postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia: “The sacrament of Reconciliation re-establishes the bonds of communion interrupted by mortal sin” (Reconciliatio et Paenitentia 2). Turning our thoughts to these bonds of communication, first of all, we place our attention on the relationship of the faithful with our Lord Jesus Christ and also on the relationships with the local ecclesial communities as well as with the whole Catholic Church. Without the will or the possibility of sacramental reconciliation, it becomes impossible for Catholics to live the deepest union with Jesus Christ and the Church, favored by the Eucharist. Thus the Christian reaches the state where he cannot give the Eucharist its worth as the source of grace and, little by little, loses the bonds with the parochial community and closeness to the whole Church. At the same time, without the practice of reconciliation usually subjectivism increases, and it becomes more difficult to evaluate personal behavior or even religiosity. The decline of the practice of this sacrament is very obvious in the entire world. In the many churches in the various continents, we cannot compare the practice of personal confession with, for example, the same practice during the 50's and 60's or even with a more distant past. Without getting into reflections on the causes of this decrease, we would like to emphasize the consequences of this tendency and the hopes, tied to the practice of reconciliation. The life of many priests and especially very many consecrated sisters or brothers show the abundant fruits of the frequent practice of this sacrament. All this lead the persons mentioned also to closeness to the Eucharist. We also have many examples from the past, for example, like the Curate of Ars or very many others. Along with the decrease in the practice of penance, often opposite tendencies to Christian faith emerge. Religious need, the experience of religious life felt in the past usually urges to looking for wider paths and various propositions do not delay in appearing. As we all can see, in today’s societies, especially the Western ones, the esoteric, magic, the occult and New Age tendencies have all become widespread. All of this together helps the person to create new community and social ties that distance him from the Church, from Catholic thinking and weaken faith. Going further along, we also can see a deformation of consciences, changes that touch the whole personality. Instead, for the positive formation of conscience and Catholic understanding one of the best instruments, I would say - privileged, is reconciliation and spiritual guidance. Therefore we must give relevance to the need of the sacrament of reconciliation. I would say that the signs of the times inspire us to rediscover the new light of the gift of this sacrament, today unfortunately not considered enough. I see the need to remind, once again, the need to renew in the religious practice of the laity, even of priests, of the members of consecrated life, and even of the Bishops, the practice of spiritual guidance, of penance. Especially to incite the priests to sacrifice themselves to the duty of forming new attitudes towards personal confession. This will help all of us also in coming closer to the Eucharistic Jesus, and will help create deeper bonds with the Church. Penance brings us close to Christ; instead the lack of penance distances us from God. [00055-02.03] [IN061] [Original text: Italian] - Rev. Father Lino MELA, O.S.I., Superior General of the Oblates of Saint Joseph (Josephines of Asti) Sunday Eucharist and Communion in the Church “The Eucharist is the heart of ecclesial communion”. (I.L.90) “The parish is the ordinary place where the Church lives her life. The parish, duly renewed and animated, is most suited to formation and Eucharistic worship (....)The parish should also draw from the experience and assistance of movements and new communities which, under the promptings of the Holy Spirit and in accordance to each’ charism, have shown an appreciation for the elements of Christian initiation” (I.L. 12) There are groups and movements which, with different charisms, live and operate in the Church. Religious life itself is an expression of this wealth of gifts of the Holy Spirit. They all draw their spiritual strength from the Eucharist. There can be different ways of catechesis and maturing in faith. However, the Eucharistic Celebration, through which Christ renews his offering of salvation for all, even visibly, in particular on Sunday, the Paschal event of the week, the reference point of the Christian community. All the components of the people of God can be encountered here, the God who is the “Summit” towards whom all tend and the “Source” from whom all are called to draw. [00056-02.04] [IN063] [Original text: Italian]
- H.E. Most. Rev.
Gregorio Nicanor PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, Bishop of Nuestra Señora de la
Altagracia en Higüey (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) |
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