Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Eucharistic Adoration
ROME, JUNE 15, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
The June 1 column, which focused on the practice of including babies in the offertory procession, also dealt with the topic of Eucharistic adoration. A reader from Virginia noticed that my reply said, "It is true that participating at Mass is the greatest possible act of adoration and that no amount of adoration could ever substitute a single Mass." The reader asked, "Can you please identify where this is actually written? I do not ask this for the sake of having you prove yourself, but for the sake of knowing its source, that it may increase one's knowledge and faith and spiritual development."
This doctrine is solid in virtue of the infinite value of the Mass, insofar as it is the very sacrifice of Christ himself. At the same time, the doctrine it is not always expressed so directly in Church documents as I stated in my column.
The Catechism says:
"1378. Worship of the Eucharist
In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession."
"1379. The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent, outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament."
From this it can be seen that the foremost means of adoration is during Mass. Other forms of adoration developed later and derive from that of the Mass.
The site www.therealpresence.org contains a wealth of documents on Eucharistic doctrine that readers might find useful.
The June 1 column, which focused on the practice of including babies in the offertory procession, also dealt with the topic of Eucharistic adoration. A reader from Virginia noticed that my reply said, "It is true that participating at Mass is the greatest possible act of adoration and that no amount of adoration could ever substitute a single Mass." The reader asked, "Can you please identify where this is actually written? I do not ask this for the sake of having you prove yourself, but for the sake of knowing its source, that it may increase one's knowledge and faith and spiritual development."
This doctrine is solid in virtue of the infinite value of the Mass, insofar as it is the very sacrifice of Christ himself. At the same time, the doctrine it is not always expressed so directly in Church documents as I stated in my column.
The Catechism says:
"1378. Worship of the Eucharist
In the liturgy of the Mass we express our faith in the real presence of Christ under the species of bread and wine by, among other ways, genuflecting or bowing deeply as a sign of adoration of the Lord. "The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it, reserving the consecrated hosts with the utmost care, exposing them to the solemn veneration of the faithful, and carrying them in procession."
"1379. The tabernacle was first intended for the reservation of the Eucharist in a worthy place so that it could be brought to the sick and those absent, outside of Mass. As faith in the real presence of Christ in his Eucharist deepened, the Church became conscious of the meaning of silent adoration of the Lord present under the Eucharistic species. It is for this reason that the tabernacle should be located in an especially worthy place in the church and should be constructed in such a way that it emphasizes and manifests the truth of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament."
From this it can be seen that the foremost means of adoration is during Mass. Other forms of adoration developed later and derive from that of the Mass.
The site www.therealpresence.org contains a wealth of documents on Eucharistic doctrine that readers might find useful.
posted by Chipi Buenafe at
10:43 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home