Cardinal Sarah: 'We must return to the Eucharist'

In a letter to the leaders of world bishops' conferences, the head of the Vatican office for worship and the sacraments said that Catholic communities should return to Mass as quickly as possible as can be done safely and that Christian life cannot be sustained without the sacrifice of the Mass and of the Christian community of the Church.

The letter, sent to the bishops this week, states that while the Church should cooperate with civil authorities and be attentive to security protocols amid the coronavirus pandemic, "liturgical norms are not matters on which civil authorities can legislate, but only the competent ecclesiastical authorities. He also stressed that bishops can make temporary changes to the liturgical rubrics in order to accommodate public health concerns and urged obedience to such temporary changes.

“In listening and in collaboration with civil authorities and experts”, bishops and episcopal conferences “have been ready to make difficult and painful decisions, even suspending the participation of the faithful for a long time in the celebration of the Eucharist. This Congregation is deeply grateful to the Bishops for their commitment and their commitment in trying to respond in the best possible way to an unforeseen and complex situation ", wrote Cardinal Robert Sarah in Let's return with joy to the Eucharist, dated August 15 and approved of Pope Francis on September 3.

"As soon as circumstances permit it, however, it is necessary and urgent to return to the normality of Christian life, which has the ecclesiastical building as its seat and the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, as the 'summit towards which the activity of the Church is direct; and at the same time it is the source from which all its power springs "(Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10)".

Sarah observed that “as soon as possible… we must return to the Eucharist with a purified heart, with a renewed amazement, with an increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him and to bring him to our brothers and sisters with the testimony of a life full of faith, love and hope “.

"We cannot remain without the banquet of the Eucharist, the Lord's table to which we are invited as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters to receive the Risen Christ himself, present in body, blood, soul and divinity in that Bread of Heaven which supports in the joys and efforts of this earthly pilgrimage “.

“We cannot be without the Christian community”, added Sarah, “we cannot be without the house of the Lord”, “we cannot be without the Day of the Lord”.

"We cannot live as Christians without participating in the Sacrifice of the Cross in which the Lord Jesus gave himself without reserve to save, with his death, humanity that died because of sin ... in the embrace of the Crucifix every human suffering finds light and comfort. "

The cardinal explained that while the masses broadcast in streaming or on television “did an excellent service… at a time when there was no possibility of community celebration, no transmission compares to personal communication or can replace it. On the contrary, these transmissions alone risk distancing us from a personal and intimate encounter with the incarnate God who gave himself to us not in a virtual way ", but in the Eucharist.

"One of the concrete measures that can be taken to minimize the spread of the virus have been identified and adopted, it is necessary that all take back their place in the assembly of brothers and sisters ... and once again encourage those brothers and sisters who have been discouraged, frightened, absent or not involved for too long “.

Sarah's letter provided some concrete suggestions for resuming mass amid the coronavirus pandemic, which is expected to continue to spread across the U.S. in the fall and winter months, with some models predicting a doubling in the number of deaths by the end of the year. 2020.

The cardinal said that the bishops should pay "due attention" to the "rules of hygiene and safety" avoiding the "sterilization of gestures and rites" or "instilling, even unconsciously, fear and insecurity in the faithful".

He added that bishops should be sure that civil authorities do not subordinate the mass to a priority location below "recreational activities" or consider the mass only as a "gathering" comparable to other public activities, and reminded the bishops that civil authorities cannot regulate liturgical norms.

Sarah said pastors should "insist on the need for worship", work to ensure the dignity of the liturgy and its context, and ensure that "the faithful should be recognized as having the right to receive the Body of Christ and to adore the Lord present in the Eucharist ", without" limitations that go beyond what is foreseen by the rules of hygiene issued by the public authorities ".

The cardinal also seemed to address, indirectly, an issue that has been the subject of some controversy in the United States: the bans on receiving Holy Communion on the tongue amid the pandemic, which seem to contravene a right established by the universal liturgical right to receive Eucharist like that.

Sarah did not specifically mention the issue, but said that bishops can give temporary norms during the pandemic in order to ensure a safe sacramental ministry. Bishops in the United States and other parts of the world have temporarily suspended the distribution of Holy Communion on the tongue.

“In times of difficulty (eg Wars, pandemics), Bishops and Episcopal Conferences can give provisional norms which must be obeyed. Obedience safeguards the treasure entrusted to the Church. These measures given by the Bishops and Episcopal Conferences expire when the situation returns to normal ”.

“A sure principle for not making mistakes is obedience. Obedience to church norms, obedience to bishops, ”Sarah wrote.

The cardinal exhorted Catholics to "love the human person as a whole".

The Church, he wrote, "testifies to hope, invites us to trust in God, remembers that earthly existence is important, but much more important is eternal life: sharing the same life with God for eternity is our goal. , our vocation. This is the faith of the Church, witnessed over the centuries by legions of martyrs and saints ”.

Urging Catholics to entrust themselves and those afflicted by the pandemic to God's mercy and to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sarah urged the bishops to "renew our intention to be witnesses of the Risen One and heralds of a sure hope, which transcends the limits of this world. "