The Bishops' Conference recognise that the causes and effects of the pandemic are still present to such a degree that the absolute duty for all to attend the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration cannot yet be fulfilled. However, the Bishops have asked that all Catholics now reflect on the centrality of the Eucharist to our life of faith and take into consideration their personal circumstances and the reasons as to whether they can now attend the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration.
To encourage this process of reflection and to promote the vital, indispensable and irreplaceable place of the Eucharist in our lives, we have produced a series of conversations for Advent called ‘Dies Domini – Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy‘. Our inspiration comes from Pope Saint John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter of the same name from 1998.
Bishop Mark O’Toole, Lead Bishop for Evangelisation and Discipleship, is looking forward to Catholics encountering the Lord fully in His glorious and Risen Body:
The first topic looks at how Sunday – the Lord’s Day – is at the heart of our Christian life. This goes beyond the Blessing and post-Mass commissioning. A holy Sunday doesn’t end when we leave the Church.
The pandemic is taking many twists and turns so it’s not as simple as heading back to Church en masse this advent. That said we asked our guest, Sarah Adams, Director of Adult Education and Evangelisation for the Clifton Diocese, a question central to the theme:
What’s the importance of being physically present at Mass on a Sunday?
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From Mass to Mission – the Eucharist binding the Parish Community
For this second discussion in the series ‘Dies Domini – Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy‘, our Mission Adviser, Elliot Vanstone and Natalie Orefice from the Archdiocese of Birmingham join Joe Hopkins to talk about the parish community and the celebration of the Eucharist. .Joe is the Director of Adult Formation for Mission for the Diocese of Nottingham.
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The Mass gives us our weekly Easter and Pentecost
The third discussion is with Michele Thompson about how the Eucharist is foundational and transformational. It’s the cornerstone of our journey of mission – taking the message of Christ beyond the church walls.
Michele has spent seven years working in evangelisation for the Diocese of Plymouth and is co-founder of the Genesis Mission – an initiative that prepares disciples for mission in the Catholic Church.
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Mass – Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ
The final discussion in our Dies Domini series in which we examine why we keep Sunday holy, the Lord’s Day, we talk about how we need to make time for God.
Elliot Vanstone, Mission Adviser at the Bishops’ Conference, concludes our series alongside Natalie Orefice, Advisor for Parish Evangelisation for the Archdiocese of Birmingham based at the Maryvale Institute.
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