COLOGNE (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has criticized the increasing replacement of the sacrifice of the Holy Mass with a liturgy of the Word.
In his homily at the Chrism Mass in the Cologne Cathedral, German Cardinal Woelki emphasized the central importance of the Eucharist for priests and the Church.
The daily celebration of Mass is “constitutive of our priestly being and ministry” and spiritually “absolutely vital,” he said during the homily on Monday evening, addressing in particular the assembled priests of the Archdiocese of Cologne, who also renewed their ordination vows as part of the celebration.
“If the liturgy, as the Second Vatican Council put it, is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed and at the same time the source from which all her strength flows, then for us priests, too, the celebration of the Mass is the summit toward which all our other activities are directed and the source from which all our strength must flow,” the cardinal said.
“The Church therefore strongly recommends the daily celebration of Holy Mass, especially to us priests.”
“Even if only a few faithful, or even none at all, should come to join in the celebration, its daily celebration is meaningful for us priests and, spiritually speaking, essential for our survival,” Cardinal Woelki stressed.
“The daily celebration of Holy Mass is constitutive of our priestly being and ministry,” he stated.
Cardinal Woelki said that it fills him with great concern that “more and more frequently on Sundays, services of the Word – often with the distribution of Holy Communion – are replacing the celebration of the Eucharist.”
“I therefore wish to share my deep concern with you once again today, emphatically and urgently, that through such a practice we are in danger of losing our Catholic identity more and more.”
“From places where this practice is already in place, I hear that some faithful travel on Sundays to where Holy Mass is celebrated… while others simply stay away. And still others say that it is enough for them, in any case, to simply participate in a Liturgy of the Word.”
“Yes, it seems there are even places now where they say they are doing everything to become independent of the priest for the future, so that they no longer need him or his ministry,” the German cardinal said. “That, dear confreres, dear sisters and brothers, is quite simply no longer Catholic. And I urge you to counteract this from the very beginning.”
“The celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday is ultimately irreplaceable and non-interchangeable,” he concluded.
