The Archbishop of Valladolid, Mons. Luis Argüello, shares in Your last pastoral letter 7 keys to deepen the way we live and celebrate the Eucharist, “to express that we are a believing people” who wants to live from this sacrament.
Under the title The law of prayer, the law of belief, the law of lifethe Spanish prelate and president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, encourages the faithful to “this summer time is the opportunity to deepen the the law of prayerhow we live and celebrate the Eucharist. Thus expresses what we believe and help those who are beginning in the Christian life to realize what our faith is. ”
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The archbishop emphasizes the importance of “setting us how our way of living, and applying public prayer, sacramental life and, singularly, our way of celebrating the Eucharist, because we will really express the heart of our faith.”
1. The Eucharist is not an individual act
Mons. Argüello explains that “the Eucharist is neither an individual act that expresses our unique piety – valuable, of course – nor of the small group he celebrates, but is a celebration of the Church.”
In this sense, he adds that the faithful “must be constituted as an assembly that is preparing to be the body of Christ, worship the presence of the Lord, to commune him and to know us sent to be also a body delivered in the middle of the world.”
2. Improve the care of silence
The prelate indicates that “when delving into the mystery of the Eucharist to become an expression of what we believe, we must greatly improve the care of silence”, both before starting and during the Eucharist and at the end “to be able to welcome, in thanksgiving, what we have celebrated.”
3. The choir is “to help the people of God to pray”
Song is one of the elements contemplated in the liturgy that, from the beginning “helps us to form an assembly, namely and gathered in the name of the Lord.” In this sense, Mons. Argüello emphasizes: “How important is the choir of the ministry to help the people of God to pray and sing.”
On this issue, the archbishop points to an aspect to take care of in a special way: that the own letter is respected when some common parts of the Mass are interpreted: “It is not the glory any song in which the word glory appears”, but its liturgical text. The same happens, for example, with the saint.
On the other hand, Mons. Argüello warns that “we have to adapt the music – right and rhythm – with what is celebrated at every moment, because it is true that the Eucharist is a party, but it is also the drama of the cross.”
4. Participation of the entire Assembly
While it is true that there are certain people who develop special ministries such as readers or acolytes, “all others also participate” in various ways. This becomes more evident in the presentation of Eucharistic species.
Therefore, “it is significant that bread and wine, even in the daily Eucharist, but especially on Sunday, is brought from the assembly, without the need for more offerings, perhaps without the need for any comments.”
“The bread, the wine, the collection for the needs of the Church and the help to the poor express that we want to put our life on the altar so that the Lord transforms it together with what we present,” explains the prelate.
5. Prepare well to commune
Mons. Argüello makes special emphasis on these recommendations to the way in which the time to commune, in various aspects, is taken.
On the one hand, it encourages those who barely commune without apparent reason to consider: “How are you going to sustain your life of faith if you do not feed yourself, if you do not receive the Lord?” On the other hand, in front of those who “can commune frivolly, without arranging the heart”, the prelate encourages the moment of communion “” examining our conscience “and aware that” a word of yours will be enough to heal us. ”
Thus, he adds that “there are times when this word of yours that we need to listen is ‘I acquit you, I forgive you of your sins'”, in reference to the sacrament of confession.
The care of the moment of communion is also observed while the row is saved where, the archbishop recalls, many times the “astonishment is not going to live” is not taken care of.
6. Communted in the mouth or hand
Regarding the act of communion and its different ways, the archbishop of Valladolid explains that “no greater respect in the communion to commune in the mouth is not expressed than to commune in the hand.” “Respect is in the heart in a state of grace to receive the Lord and in the spirit of worship, who lives the heart and, in one way or another, our body states,” he says.
Thus, he asks that, being in hand, we offer it “in the form of a cross, as a small cradle to which the Lord comes, and respectfully commune before the celebrant himself, before the Lord himself.”
Regarding those who commune in the mouth “wanting to express the Eucharistic respect,” Mons. Argüello urges “that they can do it in all our celebrations.”
“Let us facilitate that each faithful Christian can express with their own body the way in which the Eucharistic astonishment is manifested in it: in the inclination, in kneeling in the commune, in communion in hand, in receiving the Lord in the mouth,” he adds.
7. The priest, with dawn and chasuble
Finally, the prelate fixes his gaze in the way of dressing, both of the priests and of the faithful who participate in the Mass, because “it is also important how we have in the dress when celebrating the Eucharist.”
Thus, he explains that the priest must be covered “with the dawn and with the chasuble” because, he warns, “it is not good to say: how is very hot, at this time I do not wear a hell.”
Regarding the faithful, Mons. Argüello points out that he has to take care of his way of dressing “from the ancient tradition of party or Sunday to celebrate the day of the Lord.”
In this regard, he added: “We are going to celebrate the Passover of the Lord, so the decorum in dressing, respect for the Lord and also respect the brothers in the way we are dressed, dressing for the Eucharist also expresses that remote preparation, as the Eucharistic fasting one that one hour before celebrating the Eucharist prepares the heart to receive the Lord.”
Nicolás de Cárdenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish and journalist’s husband and father with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specialized in socio -political and religious information. I have worked more than 10 years in defense of human rights and I have accreditations in journalism and comprehensive communication. Since July 2022, I am a correspondent for ACI Press and Ewtn News in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.