BULLETIN No. 15

July 2004

Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, 23 April 2004.

             It is obvious that Rome has, lately, greatly emphasized the importance of the Eucharist. Last year, when the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia was published, the Holy Father announced that it would be followed by a document dealing with the practical aspects of celebrating the Eucharist. This document is the present Instruction.

            The Year of the Eucharist – announced by the Holy Father on the occasion of the feast of Corpus Christi – will begin at the International Eucharistic Congress in Mexico in October 2004 and end with the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2005. Bishops have already received working papers, in preparation for that Synod, entitled “The Eucharist, source and summit of the life and mission of the Church.”

             Redemptionis Sacramentum is an Instruction on the manner of celebrating the Eucharist. It is based on what has already been said in the General Instruction to the Roman Missal (GIRM, third edition, 2001) – which is the primary reference – and on the other official documents of the Church dealing with the Eucharist.

            So the Instruction is actually nothing new. It stresses the fact that the faithful are called upon to be actively involved in the celebration of the Eucharist, be they priests, deacons, Liturgy animators or lay people.

            Each has a function to fulfill, no more no less: a lay person cannot take the place of the priest and the priest should not do what pertains to the laity; in the same way that, when a deacon is present, the priest should not do what belongs to the deacon and vice versa.

            The Instruction is a reminder that the Eucharist is not the personal possession of anyone in particular, e.g. the celebrant, the parish Liturgy committee, choirmasters and singers, a group of people, etc… The Eucharist belongs to the whole Church, and nobody has the authority to change anything at will or celebrate it in his own way, even with the best intentions.

            This is just what the Instruction is saying, but in a style that may sound a bit too regulatory and disciplinary to the liking of some. Especially when all the prescriptions seem to be on the same level, whereas they are different in nature and importance.

            Let us accept this Instruction responsibly, discern what is essential and faithfully keep to both its spirit and letter.                                

Bishop J.L. Papin, Nancy Diocesan Bulletin, July 2004