Address to the Senate of Priests of the Archdiocese of Melbourne

Address Given by Archbishop Denis Hart
to the Senate of Priests of the Archdiocese of Melbourne
on Tuesday, 11th October, 2005, at 10.30am

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My dear Brother Priests,

As you are aware at this time the Pope is gathered with many of the bishops of the world in the Synod on the Eucharist, which will conclude with the final Mass of this special year at Saint Peter’s on Sunday, 22 nd October.

On 7 th October last year Pope John Paul instituted the Year of the Eucharist because the Eucharist is the vital source, which nourishes the faith and enthusiasm of young and old alike.

It has been time to reflect on the Pope’s teaching in Ecclesia De Eucharistia and to rediscover the importance in the life of the Church of the Eucharist; celebrated, contemplated and brought to the sick. It is always an authentic encounter with Christ, our Saviour, who responds to our own needs and sends us out in mission.

In the words of the Pope to the young people at Cologne on 21 st August, “Do not be deterred from taking part in Sunday Mass and help others to discover it too. This is because the Eucharist releases the joy that we need so much, and we must learn to grasp it ever more deeply, we must learn to love it … anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself. It has to be passed on.

As this year comes to an end my mind has turned to the ongoing awareness that we all need to have of the Eucharist in our lives and that of our people.

I commend to all priests the leadership, which we can offer in keeping the Eucharist at the centre of life, because it is our personal encounter with the Lord who alone has the answer to the challenges that we face. A climate where the Eucharist is loved and adored will foster vocations, will challenge us to be apostolic and will nourish our people in their times of challenge and suffering.

I would make the following suggestions so that the work begun in the Year of the Eucharist might continue.

1. Leadership of Priests

1. In celebrating the Eucharist let us do all we can to inspire reverence, prayerfulness, Readings well proclaimed, good music, use of the silences, worthy vestments, vessels and objects for the celebration.
2. The Eucharist is such a precious jewel that we need to contemplate it. The place and adornment of the tabernacle in the sanctuary with its appropriate lighting and décor can help to emphasise its importance.
3. The worthy celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments needs to be accompanied by contemplation and adoration. My own pastoral experience indicates that a regular involvement of priest and people in Eucharistic Adoration changes the whole spirit of a parish because it focuses us on Christ.
4. Try and give a lead in praying in the church with your people so that people can see your example.
5. In the Eucharistic celebration I occasionally receive accounts of people leaving the priest and returning to their places without consuming the host or of hosts found on the floor in churches. It would be an important part of reverence for us and our Eucharistic Ministers to be observant so that people consume the host while they are near the priest or minister and not carry it back to their places.

2. For the People

1. Try and preserve an atmosphere of prayer in the church and encourage greetings and conversations in the gathering space. The church is our holy of holies when everything should be focused on Christ. If we can give leadership and encouragement and help our people to understand how this is important we will, in the Pope’s words, rediscover the power of the mystery.
2. Some instruction and talks on the nature of the Eucharist, which focus more directly on the priest and the confection of the Eucharist, the reality of Christ’s presence, the reverence due to Christ, the fact that the Eucharist is food, medicine and comfort and the relationship of the Sacrament of Penance to the openness of heart necessary for fruitful reception of the Eucharist is also important.

I thank you for whatever you can do to provide leadership and encouragement so that young people facing examinations will realise that in Christ is their strength, families in difficulties will know they can come to him and that we, as priests, bring their needs to Christ and Christ’s care to their family and local situation.

3. Strategic Working Group Consultation Paper

At the meeting today the Consultation Paper of the Strategic Working Group and its proposals for the engagement of focus groups to see the way forward more clearly is presented for your reflection and discussion. It emphasises the essential nature of priestly leadership in the Church and in our parishes. I commend it to your reflection so that we may move forward together, offering hope and courageously facing the future. I encourage your participation in this phase of the initiative as we prepare for the issue of a green paper.

4. Ministry to Priests Retreats/Holidays

I am grateful for all that Father Martin Ashe and the Committee for Further Education of Priests have organised to assist us in our ongoing education and reflection. I believe it is absolutely essential that each priest set aside some days each year for an annual retreat and that he notify the Vicar General when this is taking place. Both our annual retreat and our holidays are an essential part of remaining spiritually and physically fit for the demanding work of the priesthood. I extend my greetings, wishes and prayers to priests who are about to be on holidays at this time of the year.

Of similar importance every seven years, of course, is the taking of an appropriate sabbatical to deepen our priestly spirituality and learning so as to be even more fitted to continue God’s ministry among our people.

Thank you for all that you do in the Archdiocese.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.