Pope says Sunday Mass essential to Catholic Life, Charity
(June 17, 2010) Participation at Sunday Mass and reception of the Eucharist are central
to the life of Catholics because they are a clear expression of belief in the sacrifice
of Christ, they create community and motivate charity, Pope Benedict XVI said. "In
our day, people don't love the word 'sacrifice,' which seems to belong to another
age and another way of understanding life. However, when it is properly understood,
it remains fundamental because it reveals how much God, in Christ, loves us," the
pope said June 15 in an address to the Rome diocesan pastoral conference. With an
evening speech at Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran, the pope opened the diocese's
three-day conference, which focused on finding ways to help Catholics understand the
importance of the Sunday Eucharist and the essential role of charity in Catholic life.
Parishes, the priests' council, lay groups and special ministries throughout the diocese
held preparatory listening sessions and conferences to draw up recommendations for
the 300 delegates attending the June gathering. While the majority of Rome's citizens
are baptized Catholics, "faith can never be assumed because every generation needs
to receive this gift through the proclamation of the Gospel and knowledge of the truth
which Christ has revealed to us," the pope said.