Redemptionis Sacramentum rev. 0

Not long ago, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued an Instruction by the name of Redemptionis Sacramentum (The Sacrament of Redemption) “on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist.”

Over the course of time, as the Eucharist is celebrated by many different people in many different situations, different variations or additions may occur, usually with good intentions. Sometimes a change that happened at one time and place is repeated and copied in many places.

However, even practices that began with the best of intentions or have been followed by many for a substantial period of time can have deleterious effects, one way or another. It is then the duty of Church authorities to intervene in order to restore and renew the Liturgy and its multifaceted values. That is what Redemptionis Sacramentum is all about.

That is also what today’s first reading is all about: St. Paul the Apostle correcting abuses that have taken hold in the celebrations of the Church in Corinth and calling the Corinthians back to what their celebration should be: a celebration of the body and blood of the Lord.

This reading should remind us, however, not only of the need to remain true to the Liturgy that has been handed on to us (and of the need to be considerate and generous with the poor among us). This reading should remind us of the need of each of us to be renewed in how we approach the Liturgy, whether we participate daily, weekly or seldom. It is easy for us to have become entrenched in our habits: our actions, our personal rituals, our prejudices, our wandering.

Isn’t this as good a time as any for us to ask God to renew us? To get back to basics and approach our common celebration with a fresh mind and spirit?