The Reverence due to the Holy Eucharist by Francis Cardinal Arinze

The Adoremus Web Site has posted the address of His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, delivered at the convention of "The Church Teaches Forum", Louisville, Kentucky, July 18, 2003.

It can be read here.

A couple of excerpts:

"To Jesus Christ, God and Man, in the sacrifice and sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, are due honor, reverence, adoration, thanksgiving, and love. At this opening of this year's convention of "The Church Teaches Forum", it is right that we should focus our reflection on reverence due to the Holy Eucharist. Many people have sadly noticed that in our churches there is a worrying decline in reverence. The matter is of great importance because of the central place of the Eucharistic Ministry in Catholic faith and life.

For due reverence to the Holy Eucharist, every Catholic needs proper initiation into this faith and continued growth in it. The Second Vatican Council, teaching on divine revelation and our duty to believe, takes up Saint Paul's phrase: "'The obedience of faith' (Rm 16:26; cf 1:5; II Cor 10:5-6) must be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man entrusts his whole self freely to God, offering 'the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals' (Vat I: Dei Filius, De Fide, DS 3008) and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him" (Dei Verbum 5).

It matters therefore very much that the priest's gestures (at Holy Mass) should be genuine manifestations of Eucharistic faith and love. Although Christ is the chief celebrant who uses the ministry of the ordained priest as His instrument, the priest's behavior influences the entire congregation.

It is also important that the congregation show reverence.

The danger of horizontalism is very real in many Eucharistic celebrations. Some priests and people behave as if they come to Mass primarily to meet one another, to reaffirm one another and at times even to entertain one another. No. Such horizontalism is misplaced. We come to Mass primarily to adore God, to thank Him, to ask pardon for our sins and to make requests for our needs. We are not the center. God is.

Sometimes we see people desiring to return to the pre-1970 way of celebrating Mass. Generally the fault is on those who have introduced abuses and their own idiosyncrasies into the Mass, contrary to the clear directives of the Second Vatican Council (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22). If the Mass is celebrated with faith and reverence, and sung also in Latin sometimes, people's Catholic faith and piety will be adequately nourished.

This is a good article. The good Cardinal knows the problems and we should be hopeful that the solutions will be forthcoming.