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Breaking News: Holy See Releases Document on Liturgy of the Eucharist
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4/23/04
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Redemptionis Sacramentum, "On Certain Matters to
Be Observed or to Be Avoided Regarding the Most Holy Eucharist,” the
document from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
Sacraments, was presented just a short while ago at a press conference
in the Holy See Press Office by Cardinal Francis Arinze and Archbishop
Domenico Sorrentino, respectively prefect and secretary of the
Congregation. Also present was Archbishop Angelo Amato, S.D.B.,
secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which
collaborated in preparing this document.
The document consists of an Introduction, 8 Chapters and a Conclusion,
divided into 186 paragraphs.
Chapter I, “The Regulation of the Sacred Liturgy,” speaks of the
role of the Apostolic See, the diocesan bishop, the episcopal
conference, priests and deacons in the regulation of the liturgy,
drawing particular attention on “The Diocesan Bishop, High Priests of
His Flock.” Paragraph 22 states: “The Bishop governs the particular
Church entrusted to him and it is his task to regulate, to direct, to
encourage, and sometimes also to reprove; this is a sacred task that he
has received through episcopal ordination, which he fulfills in order to
build up his flock in truth and holiness.”
Paragraph 24 adds: “It is the right of the Christian people themselves
that their diocesan bishop should take care to prevent the occurrence of
abuses in ecclesiastical discipline, especially as regards the ministry
of the word, the celebration of the Sacraments and sacramentals, the
worship of God and devotion to the saints.”
Regarding episcopal conferences, Paragraph 28 states: “All liturgical
norms that a conference of bishops will have established for its
territory in accordance with the law are to be submitted to the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for
the ‘recognitio,’ without which they lack any binding force.”
In the section on priests, Paragraph 31 says: “They ought not to detract
from the profound meaning of their own ministry by corrupting the
liturgical celebration either through alteration or omission, or through
arbitrary additions.”
Chapter II is entitled “The Participation of the Lay Christian
Faithful in the Eucharistic Celebration.” Paragraph 36 notes that
“the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or
hierarchical Priesthood, though they differ in essence and not only in
degree, are ordered to one another, for both partake, each in its own
way, of the one Priesthood of Christ.”
Paragraph 42 clarifies: “Nor is the Eucharistic Sacrifice to be
considered a “concelebration,” in the univocal sense, of the Priest
along with the people who are present. On the contrary, the Eucharist
celebrated by the Priests ‘is a gift which radically transcends the
power of the community.’ ...The community that gathers for the
celebration of the Eucharist absolutely requires an ordained Priest, who
presides over it so that it may truly be a eucharistic convocation. On
the other hand, the community is by itself incapable of providing an
ordained minister. … Accordingly, terms such as ‘celebrating community’
or ‘celebrating assembly’ (in other languages ‘asamblea celebrante,’
‘assemblée célébrante,’ ‘assemblea celebrante’) and similar terms
should not be used injudiciously.”
On the question of altar servers, Paragraph 47 states: “It is altogether
laudable to maintain the noble custom by which boys or youths,
customarily termed servers, provide service of the altar after the
manner of acolytes, and receive catechesis regarding their function in
accordance with their power of comprehension. Nor should it be forgotten
that a great number of sacred ministers over the course of the centuries
have come from among boys such as these. Associations for them,
including also the participation and assistance of their parents, should
be established or promoted, and in such a way greater pastoral care will
be provided for the ministers. Whenever such associations are
international in nature, it pertains to the competence of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to
establish them or to approve and revise their statutes. Girls or women
may also be admitted to this service of the altar, at the discretion of
the diocesan Bishop and in observance of the established norms.”
Chapter III, “The Proper Celebration of the Mass,” highlights
“The Matter of the Most Holy Eucharist” in Paragraph 48: “The bread used
in the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice must be
unleavened, purely of wheat, and recently made so that there is no
danger of decomposition,” and in Paragraph 50, “The wine that is used in
the most sacred celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice must be
natural, from the fruit of the grape, pure and incorrupt, not mixed with
other substances.”
Paragraph 52 underscores that “the proclamation of the Eucharistic
Prayer, which by its very nature is the climax of the whole celebration,
is proper to the Priest by virtue of his Ordination.”
Paragraph 59 affirms: “The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons
or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the
Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in
doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable,
and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy.”
Paragraph 62 continues: “It is also illicit to omit or to substitute the
prescribed biblical readings on one’s own initiative, and especially “to
substitute other, non-biblical texts for the readings and responsorial
Psalm, which contain the word of God.”
The instructions states in Paragraph 64 that a homily is given by a
priest, occasionally by a concelebrating priest or deacon “but never by
a lay person.”
At the moment of the sign of peace being extended before Holy Communion,
says Paragraph 72, “It is appropriate ‘that each one give the sign of
peace only to those who are nearest and in a sober manner.’ ‘The Priest
may give the sign of peace to the ministers, but always remains within
the sanctuary, so as not to disturb the celebration.”
This Chapter concludes with Paragraph 79: “Finally, it is strictly to be
considered an abuse to introduce into the celebration of Holy Mass
elements that are contrary to the prescriptions of the liturgical books
and taken from the rites of other religions.”
Chapter IV, “Holy Communion,” includes the Dispositions for the
Reception of Holy Communion, including Paragraph 81: “The Church’s
custom shows that it is necessary for each person to examine himself at
depth and that anyone who is conscious of grave sin should not celebrate
or receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession,
except for grave reason when the possibility of confession is lacking;
in this case he will remember that he is bound by the obligation of
making an act of perfect contrition, which includes the intention to
confess as soon as possible.”
“On First Communion of Children,” Paragraph 87 states:
“The First Communion of children must always be preceded by sacramental
confession and absolution. Moreover First Communion should always be
administered by a Priest and never outside the celebration of Mass.”
Concerning the reception of communion, the document notes the right of
all the faithful to receive it in the mouth or by hand. In this latter
case, notes Paragraph 92, “in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with
the ‘recognitio’ of the Apostolic See has given permission,
...special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by
the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes
away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand.”
Paragraph 101 states: “In order for Holy Communion under both kinds to
be administered to the lay members of Christ’s faithful, due
consideration should be given to the circumstances, as judged first of
all by the diocesan Bishop.” Paragraph 104 underscores the prohibition:
“The communicant must not be permitted to intinct the host himself in
the chalice, nor to receive the intincted host in the hand.”
In Chapter V, “Certain Other Matters Concerning the Eucharist,”
it is underscored in Paragraph 109 that “It is never lawful for a Priest
to celebrate in a temple or sacred place of any non-Christian religion.”
Paragraph 112 states: “Except in the case of celebrations of the Mass
that are scheduled by the ecclesiastical authorities to take place in
the language of the people, Priests are always and everywhere permitted
to celebrate Mass in Latin.”
Regarding the sacred vessels, Paragraph 117 states in part: “Reprobated,
therefore, is any practice of using for the celebration of Mass common
vessels, or others lacking in quality, or devoid of all artistic merit
or which are mere containers, as also other vessels made from glass,
earthenware, clay, or other materials that break easily. This norm is to
be applied even as regards metals and other materials that easily rust
or deteriorate.”
On priestly vestments, it says that “the vestment proper to the priest
celebrant at mass...is the chasuble, worn over the alb and stole.
Likewise the Priest, in putting on the chasuble according to the
rubrics, is not to omit the stole.” Paragraph 142 says: “A faculty is
given in the Roman Missal for the Priest concelebrants at Mass other
than the principal concelebrant (who should always put on a chasuble of
the prescribed color), for a just reason such as a large number of
concelebrants or a lack of vestments, to omit the chasuble, using the
stole over the alb.”
Chapter VI is entitled “The Reservation of the Most Holy
Eucharist and Eucharistic Worship Outside Mass.” Paragraph 130
states: “The Most Holy Sacrament is to be reserved in a tabernacle in a
part of the church that is noble, prominent, readily visible, and
adorned in a dignified manner.... It should also be borne in mind that
removing or retaining the consecrated species for a sacrilegious purpose
or casting them away are graviora delicta, the absolution of
which is reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.”
The Instruction recommends “both public and private devotion to the Most
Holy Eucharist even outside Mass should be vigorously promoted, for by
means of it the faithful give adoration to Christ, truly and really
present.”
“Extraordinary functions of the Lay Faithful is the title of
Chapter VII which recalls in Paragraph 151 that “Only out of true
necessity is there to be recourse to the assistance of extraordinary
ministers in the celebration of the Liturgy.” Paragraph 153 adds:
“Furthermore, it is never licit for laypersons to assume the role or the
vesture of a Priest or a Deacon or other clothing similar to such
vesture.”
Paragraph 158 states: “Indeed, the extraordinary minister of Holy
Communion may administer Communion only when the Priest and Deacon are
lacking, when the Priest is prevented by weakness or advanced age or
some other genuine reason, or when the number of faithful coming to
Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly
prolonged.”
In the question of preaching, Paragraph 161 notes that “the homily, on
account of its importance and its nature, is reserved to the Priest or
Deacon during Mass.” Paragraph 162 adds: “Therefore when it is difficult
to have the celebration of Mass on a Sunday in a parish church or in
another community of Christ’s faithful, the diocesan Bishop together
with his Priests should consider appropriate remedies. Among such
solutions will be that other Priests be called upon for this purpose, or
that the faithful transfer to a church in a nearby place so as to
participate in the Eucharistic mystery there.”
In Paragraph 164 we see that “if participation at the celebration of the
Eucharist is impossible on account of the absence of a sacred minister
or for some other grave cause, then it is the Christian people’s right
that the diocesan Bishop should provide as far as he is able for some
celebration to be held on Sundays for that community under his authority
and according to the Church’s norms. Sunday celebrations of this
specific kind, however, are to be considered altogether
extraordinary.... (Para. 165) It is necessary to avoid any sort of
confusion between this type of gathering and the celebration of the
Eucharist.”
Paragraph 167 underscores that “similarly it is unthinkable on the
Lord’s Day to substitute for Holy Mass either ecumenical celebrations of
the word or services of common prayer with Christians from
the...Ecclesial Communities or even participation in these communities’
liturgical services.”
With respect to “Those Who Have Left the Clerical State,” they are
“prohibited from exercising the power of order. It is therefore not
licit for him to celebrate the sacraments under any pretext whatsoever
save in the exceptional case set forth by law, nor is it licit for
Christ’s faithful to have recourse to him for the celebration, since
there is no reason which would permit this according to canon 1335.”
In Chapter VII, entitled “Remedies,” it is
recalled in Paragraph 171 that “Among the various abuses there are some
which are objectively graviora delicta or otherwise constitute
grave matters, as well as others which are nonetheless to be carefully
avoided and corrected.” Bearing in mind everything that is treated
especially in Chapter I of this Instruction, attention should be
paid to what follows.
Paragraph 172 says the “’Graviora delicta’ against the sanctity
of the Most August Sacrifice and Sacrament of the Eucharist are to be
handled in accordance with the Norms concerning ‘graviora delicta’
reserved to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, namely:
a) taking away or retaining the consecrated species for sacrilegious
ends, or throwing them away;
b) the attempted celebration of the liturgical action of the Eucharistic
Sacrifice or the simulation of the same;
c) the forbidden concelebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice with
ministers of Ecclesial Communities that do not have the apostolic
succession nor acknowledge the sacramental dignity of priestly
Ordination;
d) the consecration for sacrilegious ends of one matter without the
other in the celebration of the Eucharist or even of both outside the
celebration of the Eucharist."
Paragraph 175 underscores that “the things set forth in this Instruction
obviously do not encompass all the violations against the Church and its
discipline that are defined in the canons, in the liturgical laws and in
other norms of the Church for the sake of the teaching of the
Magisterium or sound tradition. Where something wrong has been
committed, it is to be corrected according to the norm of law.”
The Diocesan Bishop, says the document, in Paragraph 177, “Since he must
safeguard the unity of the universal Church, ...is bound to promote the
discipline common to the entire Church and therefore to insist upon the
observance of all ecclesiastical laws. He is to be watchful lest abuses
encroach upon ecclesiastical discipline, especially as regards the
ministry of the Word, the celebration of the Sacraments and sacramentals,
the worship of God and the veneration of the Saints.”
Paragraph 179 affirms: “Delicts against the faith as well as graviora
delicta committed in the celebration of the Eucharist and the other
Sacraments are to be referred without delay to the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, which ‘examines [them] and, if necessary,
proceeds to the declaration or imposition of canonical sanctions
according to the norm of common or proper law'."
“Any Catholic,” says Paragraph 184, “whether Priest or Deacon or lay
member of Christ’s faithful, has the right to lodge a complaint
regarding a liturgical abuse to the diocesan Bishop or the competent
Ordinary equivalent to him in law, or to the Apostolic See on account of
the primacy of the Roman Pontiff. It is fitting, however, insofar as
possible, that the report or complaint be submitted first to the
diocesan Bishop. This is naturally to be done in truth and charity.”
In concluding, Cardinal Arinze and Archbishop Sorrentino, both of whom
signed the document, expressed the hope that by the diligent application
of those things that are recalled in this Instruction, human weakness
may come to pose less of an obstacle to the action of the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Eucharist, and that with all distortion set aside and
every reprobated practice removed, through the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, “Woman of the Eucharist,” the saving presence of
Christ in the Sacrament of His Body and Blood may shine brightly upon
all people.”
Click here for the complete document.
This update courtesy of
Vatican Information
Service.
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