VATICAN CITY, AUGUST 24 (ZENIT.org)

    The intrinsic relation between the Incarnation and the Eucharist, the sacrament of the really present Savior, who continues to offer himself to humanity as the source of divine life, was highlighted in a letter sent in the name of John Paul II by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican Secretary of State, to the participants in the Italian Liturgical Week, which is being held in Ischia, an island near Naples, from August 21-25.

    The Cardinal stated that the week's theme, "Celebration and Salvation," highlights "are two moments of the unique mystery of Christ, in which the Father's love continues to be revealed to humanity," He affirmed the need and urgent appropriateness "to undertake intensive education again to discover the riches contained in the Liturgy." In fact, the decline in interest in liturgical education persists and, consequently, imposes the duty of a greater commitment to help communities appreciate increasingly its wonderful contents.

    According to Cardinal Sodano, in face of the third millennium, liturgical renewal must respond to the needs of our time, intensifying the exercise of the diaconate, which is open to celibate and married men, the liturgical tasks entrusted to lay men and women, specific celebrations for adolescents, youths, and the handicapped; and the composition of appropriate liturgical texts for different countries, always mindful of Christian popular piety.

    The message affirms that the Holy Father hopes that, through the opportune formation of the faithful, "each liturgical celebration will be an encounter with the saving mystery of Christ and, consequently, an experience of grace and salvation."

    This message comes on the heels of the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal, currently available in Latin, which places great emphasis on the roles of priests, deacons, and lay people, and clears up doubts about the celebration of Mass, the placement of the tabernacle, etc. ZE00082406

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