Archbishop Levada issues Pastoral Letter, ‘Year of the Eucharist’
Catholic san Francisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
By Jack Smith San Francisco Archbishop William J. Levada has issued a pastoral letter urging the faithful to a “fruitful celebration” of the “Year of the Eucharist” called by Pope John Paul II for 2005. The letter also makes recommendations and suggests resources for the observance of the year in the parishes and institutions of the archdiocese. While every year “is a year of the Eucharist,” Archbishop Levada writes, this occasion offers an “opportunity for all of us to deepen our faith in the Eucharist, to deepen our understanding of its true meaning,” and so to “respond with greater love . . . for such a great gift of love.”
The Archbishop’s reflections and recommendations follow upon the experience of the liturgical year. Starting with Lent, he writes, the gift of Jesus, himself, in the Eucharist “is first of all the gift of redemption and salvation, the gift of his death on the cross ‘for the remission of sins.’” Sin has “alienated us from God and from our true nature and destiny,” he writes. “It is important to understand Jesus’ death and Resurrection in the perspective of this alienation of humanity from its Creator.” Christ “broke the bonds of slavery to sin and rose to a new life” by his obedience to the Father. Referring to the words of the Holy Father, Archbishop Levada writes, when the Church celebrates the Eucharist, “this central event of salvation becomes really present.” In the Easter season “We too are privileged to recognize the risen Christ in ‘the breaking of the bread,’” Archbishop Levada writes. He said that those who drift away from “coming to Sunday Mass are missing the most significant opportunity of life: of encountering the One whom Thomas confessed: ‘My Lord and my God!’” The celebration of the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist) at Easter time “naturally invites us to reflect on the meaning of these gifts.” The mystagogy (guidance into the mysteries/sacraments) engaged by those entering the Church at Easter time is an experience with value for all Catholics. For that reason, Archbishop Levada proposes “a program of Eucharistic adoration YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST, page 8
(CNS PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FABBRICA DI SAN PIETRO)
See complete Pastoral Letter inside
The baldacchino designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini inside St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome honors the apostle buried below and highlights the artist’s devotion to the Eucharist as the continuing sacrifice of Christ. Statues of St. Veronica and St. Helen look toward the altar.
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Scripture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Editorial and letters . . . . . . 10 Commentary. . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lenten movie series . . . . . . 13
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