Year of the Eucharist Totally Explained

Everything about Year Of The Eucharist totally explained

The Year of the Eucharist is the name of the liturgical year from October 2004 to October 2005, as celebrated by Catholics worldwide. On June 10, 2004, Pope John Paul II announced the dedication of an entire year to the Blessed Sacrament and invited the entire Church to reflect upon the Eucharist.

Opening the Year

Pope John Paul II stated that the idea came from scheduled events to take place in the following liturgical year. The International Eucharistic Congress was scheduled for October 10, 2004 to October 17, 2004, and would mark the opening of Year of the Eucharist. The year would close with the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, held from October 2, 2005 to October 29, 2005.
He stated that the World Youth Day 2005 was another consideration in his decision of the dedication. He said, "I would like the young people to gather around the Eucharist as the vital source which nourishes their faith and enthusiasm."
Specifically how the year was to be celebrated was left to the particular Churches. However, Pope John Paul II offered some basic guidelines. Suggestions were also presented by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In the United States, many dioceses encouraged local parishes to conduct celebrations, to examine the place of the Eucharist in parish life, to encourage Eucharistic adoration separate from the Mass, and to evaluate how Eucharistic adoration is conducted locally. Many Bishops took the time to encourage their local parishes to institute 40-hour devotions.

Goals of the Year of the Eucharist

Pope John Paul II made several suggestions to the Church in order to help the faithful benefit from the Year of the Eucharist. He called on Catholics to understand the Eucharist as "an urgent summons to testimony and evangelization," providing the necessary strength to carry out the "charge" given at the end of each Mass to spread the Gospel. John Paul II also asked for a commitment to a "culture of the Eucharist," for example a commitment to providing witness to God's real presence in the world.
Another reflection offered by Pope John Paul II is that of the meaning of the word Eucharist: Thanksgiving. John Paul II said, "In Jesus, in his sacrifice, in his unconditional 'yes' to the will of the Father, is contained the 'yes', the 'thank you' and the 'amen' of all humanity." He asked for a commitment to giving thanks to God, which he called a "'Eucharistic' attitude."

Notable events

Among the many reflections published in honor of the year, Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes' of the Archdiocese of New Orleans wrote, "On this side of heaven, one can't experience a more substantial or intense communion with Christ's presence than in the Eucharist." (External Link

) This year also saw the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005 (the one who established the year itself), and the subsequent election of Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005. World Youth Day was held in Cologne, Germany from August 16, 2005 to August 21, 2005.
There was an Eucharistic Congress in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on September 25 2004, the homily was given by Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship (External Link

). The closing Mass was attended by 3,000 Catholics.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Year Of The Eucharist'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://year_of_the_eucharist.totallyexplained.com">Year of the Eucharist Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.