(Bold type and emphasis: Holy Hill Cross Web Site)
Addressing
the over 325 attendees from across America convening at Christendom College,
Francis Cardinal Arinze, in his keynote address, said that the sacred liturgy
is at the center of the Holy Father's pontificate. In many documents of the
pontificate of Pope John Paul II, the sacred liturgy and the Holy Eucharist
have figured prominently, said His Eminence, especially in the encyclical
letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia. The following are excerpts from his address:
"The
Eucharistic Celebration has a cosmic character," said Cardinal Arinze.
"The Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ; it builds the Church and
gives her continued life and evangelistic and missionary dynamism. It is a celebration of the Church an this
explains why Catholic ministers licitly administer this sacrament only to
Catholic faithful.
In
speaking of liturgical matters. Cardinal
Arinze said that the Holy Father is also aware of difficulties and erroneous
applications and exaggerations.
"Some
people tend to prefer private and personal participation to community
celebrations. Others have rejected the renewed rites while considering the old
rites as the sole guarantee of certainty in faith. Yet others have promoted
outlandish innovations and ignored the liturgical norms issued by the Apostolic
See or the bishops. All these people are invited to retrace their steps to full
faith in the Church and unity and fidelity in her celebrations."
The
Holy Father urges all Christ's faithful to observe the liturgical norms
established by the Church because of the very nature of the sacred liturgy,
Arinze stressed.
"Not
even a priest can add or subtract anything on his own initiative from the
approved sacred texts. A lack of fidelity on the part of the celebrant can even
affect the validity of a sacrament" said the cardinal.
"The
quarter-century of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II has brought many
blessings to the Church also in the liturgical field. Let us pray the Most Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Christ our Savior whose mysteries we celebrate in the sacred liturgy,
to obtain for us the grace to do our part to listen to believe, to take part in
liturgical celebrations and to live in our daily lives what we have
celebrated," Cardinal Arinze concluded."
(The Wanderer Press,
"Confronting the Culture of Death: John Paul II: Prophetic Vision for the
Renewal of Christian Culture", Vol. 137, No. 31,