Vatican City (AsiaNews) During the Angelus, Benedict XVI announced that on 15 October he will welcome in the Vatican those children who received their first Communion this year. Set to take place at the end of the Eucharistic Year, this encounter will be yet another sign of its significance. Before the Angelus, the pontiff drew attention to the Eucharist, "a precious pearl", reiterating that we Christians cannot live "without Sunday".
Below is the text of the pope's address before the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters!
The Year of the Eucharist continues, as desired by the much-loved Pope John Paul II, to reawaken ever greater awe for this wonderful Sacrament in believers' consciousness. In this unique Eucharistic period, one recurrent theme is that of Sunday, the Day of the Lord, a theme which was also at the heart of the recent Italian Eucharistic Congress held in Bari. During the final Celebration, I highlighted how Christians should consider attending Sunday Mass not as an imposition or a burden, but as a need and a joy. Coming together with our brethren, listening to the Word of God and being nourished by Christ crucified for us is a beautiful experience which gives meaning to life and brings peace to our heart. We Christians cannot live without Sunday.
This is why parents are called to enable their children to discover the value and significance of responding to Christ's invitation to bring the entire Christian family together for Sunday Mass. A crucial leg in this educational journey is first Holy Communion, a real celebration for the parish community as it welcomes its youngest children to the Lord's Table for the first time. God willing, to highlight the importance of this event for the family and parish, I will hold a special catechetical encounter on 15 October here in the Vatican for children who received their first Communion this year, especially those from Rome and Lazio. This joyous meeting will take place nearly at the end of the Eucharistic Year, when the Ordinary Assembly of the Bishops' Synod focused on the Eucharistic mystery will be under way.
It will be a timely and beautiful occasion to reaffirm the essential role the sacrament of the Eucharist plays in the formation and spiritual growth of boys and girls.
From now, I entrust this meeting to the Virgin Mary, so that it may teach us to love Jesus ever more in the constant meditation of His Word and in the adoration of his Eucharistic presence, and so that it may help us to enable younger generations to discover the "precious pearl" of the Eucharist, which gives real and full sense to life.