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Holy Father stresses Need of Devotion to Holy Eucharist outside of
Mass
The duty and present importance of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament
not only during but also after and apart from the Mass are re-affirmed
in a letter which the Holy Father has sent to the Superior General of
the Congregation of Priests of the Blessed Sacrament, Father Roland Huot,
on the occasion of a meeting in Rome concerned with eucharistic
devotion. The letter, the text of which we here reproduce in full,
underlines the benefits accruing to the ecclesial community from adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament and in particular from the devotion of the
"Quarant'Ore", re-affirming the doctrine of the real and
substantial presence of Christ under the Sacred Species, whether during
the Mass or after it, and the central position of the Holy Eucharist in
the life of the Church.
To Our beloved Son, Roland Huot, Superior General of the Congregation
of Priests of the Blessed Sacrament.
The most life-giving Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which is so to
say the centre-point of the life of the Church as being that in which
the very author of grace is truly, really and substantially contained,
so takes possession of the minds of the faithful that, not by any
lengthy investigation but by a certain insight, they realise that the
worship of adoration is to be accorded to it. By this act of supreme
worship the virtue of religion is effectively developed and steadily
increased whereby the faithful soul acknowledges its Creator, so far
transcending nature, recognises his dominion and strives humbly to find
its own place in relation to Him. Moreover this adoration is manifested
also in the body which is offered as a "living sacrifice, holy,
pleasing to God" (cf. Rom. 12, 1), "because," as
St Thomas Aquinas says, "in all acts of worship, what is external
has reference to what is internal as to its motive, therefore external
adoration is the expression of internal; just as by making use of bodily
signs of humility our desire to submit ourselves to God is aroused"
(cf. II-II, 84, a. 2).
Strengthen Catholic Eucharistic Belief
Therefore those who, like the religious Congregation of which you,
beloved Son, are in charge, and other similar Sodalities, make their
special concern the adoration of Christ present in this divine
Sacrament, confirm Catholic belief in an eminent way against those who
in their teachings or in their way of life deny God or, while seeming to
adhere to that belief, hold it in scant esteem and minimize it.
To appreciate this matter the more fully, it is necessary to bear in
mind that this adoration is not to be separated from that total
sacrament or mystery of salvation "which is Christ... the hope of
glory" (Col. 1, 27); that is to say that the Holy Eucharist is not
to be considered only in the light of the real presence but "in its
totality both in the Mass and in devotion to the Sacred Species which
are reserved after the Mass in order to extend the grace of the
sacrifice" (cf. Instructio de Cultu Mysterii
Eucharistici 2g; A.A.S. 59, 1967, P. 593). Wherefore those
who offer this adoration also continue their eucharistic devotion
outside the sacrifice in order to receive the more abundantly the fruits
that originate from it and the more efficaciously to participate in
them.
But in order that this supernatural strength may penetrate the more
plentifully into everyday life, the exercise of the virtues is required;
for when we pay dutiful homage to Christ hidden in this august
Sacrament, we receive an increase of the theological virtues of faith,
hope and charity which in turn make our mind the more readily able
"to celebrate with proper devotion the memorial of the Lord and to
receive frequently that bread given to us by the Father" (ibid. 55;
A.A.S., mem., p. 567).
Moreover, this adoration whereby, as We have already said, the grace
of the sacrifice is continued, is of salutary benefit to the
whole community of the Church. For the prayers offered to Him who is
"Emmanuel" exposed upon the altar, are truly
"catholic" insofar as they have respect to the universal
Church and to the whole world. History, too, teaches us this, for the
supplications for forty hours before the august Sacrament offered in
turn in the churches of Rome in the year 1592 were approved and
encouraged by Our Predecessor Clement VIII in order to implore heavenly
help for the human family in times of great difficulty (cf. Bull.
Rom. V, 1; Romae 1751, p. 412). Thus this adoration is not
primarily for the satisfaction of piety on the part of individuals, but
by it the mind is moved towards "the development. of 'social' love
whereby we put the common good before private good, take to ourselves
the common cause of the community, of the parish, of the Church, and
extend our charity to the whole world because we recognise that Christ's
members are everywhere." (Litt. Encyc. Mysterium Fidei;
A.A.S. 57, 1965, p. 772).
Church Needs Eucharistic Adorers
Therefore let those Institutes and Sodalities, to which is entrusted
by special law approved by the Church the duty of manifesting this
devotion of adoration in regard to the Sacrament of the Eucharist, be
aware that they are carrying out a most important office, and doing so
in the name of the Church. So long as the members respond dutifully,
faithfully and unfailingly to their vocation, their life, no less than
that of those dedicated solely to contemplation or that of those engaged
in apostolic works, "is a manifest sign which can and should
effectively attract the members of the Church... show forth to all men
the supereminent greatness of the virtue of Christ triumphant and the
infinite power of the Holy Spirit" (Const. Lumen Gentium,
44).
There is no reason, therefore, why those who carry out this most
important duty of worship should lose heart in our day as if, as some
are wont to say, it were a matter of some "obsolete devotion"
and as if they were wasting their time when other work is more pressing.
Let them be persuaded that the Church, as in the past so now, has need
of those who adore this divine Sacrament "in spirit and in
truth" (cf. Jn. 4, 23), and, by the same token, let them
take all diligent care that the dispositions and regulations in regard
to this matter be observed, which We have laid down in the Encyclical
Letter Mysterium Fidei or in the Instruction De Cultu mysterii
Eucharistici.
Meeting in Rome
It is Our hope, therefore, that in the forthcoming meeting in Rome
directed towards a special study of devotion towards the eucharistic
Mystery, this outstanding duty of adoration, resplendent with new light,
will be assessed at its true value and that opportune counsels
will emerge and spiritual forces be aroused most conducive to the life
of the Church.
With these wishes, as an augury of strength and solace from above and
as a witness to Our benevolence and charity, We willingly impart to you,
beloved Son, to the religious family in your care and especially to all
those taking part in this meeting, the Apostolic Blessing.
Given at Rome, from St. Peter's, this 10th day of January in the year
1969, the sixth of Our Pontificate.
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