(Promulgating the editio typica of rites for holy communion and worship of the eucharist outside Mass, 21 June 1973 Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship)

The sacrament of the eucharist was entrusted by Christ to His Bride the Church, as spiritual nourishment and as a pledge of eternal life. The Church continues to receive this gift with faith and love.

The celebration of the eucharist in the sacrifice of the Mass is the true origin and purpose of the worship shown to the eucharist outside Mass. The principal reason for reserving the sacrament after Mass is to unite, through sacramental communion, the faithful unable to participate in the Mass, especially the sick and the aged, with Christ and the offering of His sacrifice.

In turn, eucharistic reservation, which became customary in order to permit the reception of communion, led to the practice of adoring this sacrament and offering to it the worship of latria that is due to God. This cult of adoration is based on valid and solid principles; furthermore, the Church itself has instituted public and communal forms of this worship.

The rite of Mass has already been revised. The Instruction Eucharisticum Mysterium, published 25 May 1967, has set out the norms "on the practical arrangement of the worship of this sacrament even after Mass and on its correlation with the proper arrangement of the Mass in conformity with the directives of Vatican Council II and other pertinent documents of the Apostolic See."[1] Now the Congregation for Divine Worship has revised the rites that bear the title Holy Communion and lVlbrship of fee Eucharist outside Mass.

These rites, approved by Pope Paul VI, are now published in this edition, which is declared to be the editio typica. They are to replace the rites that appear in the Roman Ritual at the present time. They may be used at once in Latin; they may be used in the vernacular from the day set by the conferences of bishops for their territory, after the conferences have prepared a vernacular version and have obtained the confirmation of the Holy See.

Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

ENDNOTE

1 Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instr. no. 3 g.

HOLY COMMUNION AND WORSHIP OF THE EUCHARIST OUTSIDE MASS,

General Introduction Chapter 1 and Chapter 3, Introductions, June 21, 1973: Vatican Polyglot Press, 1973, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EUCHARISTIC WORSHIP OUTSIDE MASS AND THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

1. The celebration of the eucharist is the center of the entire Christian life, both for the universal Church and for the local congregations of the Church. "The other sacraments, like every other ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate, are linked with the holy eucharist and have it as their end. For the eucharist contains the Church's entire spiritual wealth, that is, Christ himself. He is our Passover and living bread; through his flesh, made living and life-giving by the Holy Spirit, he is bringing life to people and in this way inviting and leading them to offer themselves together with him, as well as their labors and all created things."[1]

2. "The celebration of the eucharist in the sacrifice of the Mass," moreover, "is truly the origin and the purpose of the worship that is shown to the eucharist outside Mass."[2] Christ the Lord "is offered in the sacrifice of the Mass when he begins to be sacramentally present as the spiritual food of the faithful under the appearance of bread and wine"; "after the sacrifice has been offered . . . as long as the eucharist is
reserved in churches and oratories, Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, 'God with us.' Day and night he is in our midst; full of grace and truth. he dwells among Us."[3]

3. No one therefore may doubt "that all the faithful show this holy sacrament the veneration and adoration that is due to God himself, as has always been the practice recognized in the Catholic Church. Nor is the sacrament to be less the object of adoration on the grounds that it was instituted by Christ the Lord to be received as food."[4]

4. In order to give right direction and encouragement to devotion to the sacrament of the eucharist, the eucharistic mystery must be considered in all its fullness, both in the celebration of Mass and in the worship of the sacrament reserved after Mass in order to extend the grace of the sacrifice.[5]

II. PURPOSE OF EUCHARISTIC RESERVATION

5. The primary and original reason for reservation of the eucharist outside Mass is the administration of viaticum. The secondary ends are the giving of communion and the adoration of our Lord Jesus Christ present in the sacrament. The reservation of the sacrament for the sick led to the praiseworthy practice of adoring this heavenly food that is reserved in churches. This cult of adoration has a sound and firm foundation, especially since faith in the real presence of the Lord has as its natural consequence the
outward, public manifestation of that belief.[6]

6. In the celebration of Mass the chief ways in which Christ is present in his Church emerge clearly one after the other. First, he is present in the very assembly of the faithful, gathered together in his name; next, he is present in his word, with the reading and explanation of Scripture in the church; also in the person of the minister; finally, and above all, in the eucharistic elements. In a way that is completely unique, the whole
and entire Christ, God and man, is substantially and permanently present in the sacrament. This presence of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine "is called real, not to exclude the other kinds of presence as though they were not real, but because it is real par excellence."[7]

Consequently, on the grounds of the sign value, it is more in keeping with the nature of the celebration that, through reservation of the sacrament in the tabernacle, Christ not be present eucharistically from the beginning on the altar where Mass is celebrated. That presence is the effect of the consecration and should appear as such.[8]

7. The consecrated hosts are to be frequently renewed and reserved in a ciborium or other vessel, in a number sufficient for the communion of the sick and of others outside Mass.[9]

8. Pastors should see that churches and public oratories where, in conformity with the law, the holy eucharist is reserved, are open every day for at least several hours, at a convenient time, so that the faithful may easily pray in the presence of the blessed sacrament.[10]

III. PLACE OF EUCHARISTIC RESERVATION

9. The place for the reservation of the eucharist should be truly preeminent. It is highly recommended that the place be suitable also for private adoration and prayer so that the faithful may readily and fruitfully continue to honor the Lord, present in the sacrament, through personal worship. This will be achieved more easily if the chapel is separate from the body of the church, especially in churches where marriages and funerals are celebrated frequently and in churches where there are many visitors because of pilgrimages or the artistic and historical treasures.

10. The holy eucharist is to be reserved in a solid tabernacle. It must be opaque and unbreakable. Ordinarily there should be only one tabernacle in a church; this may be placed on an altar or if not on an altar, at the discretion of the local Ordinary, in some other noble and properly ornamented part of the church.[11]

The key to the tabernacle where the eucharist is reserved must be kept most carefully by the priest in charge of the church or oratory or by a special minister who has received the faculty to give communion.

11. The presence of the eucharist in the tabernacle is to be shown by a veil or in another suitable way determined by the competent authority.