South Africa: “The Eucharist Must Be central to the life of Faith”

Mgr. Buti Joseph Tlhagale, archbishop of Johannesburg and President of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC), shocked by the attitude of the faithful, expressed himself forcefully in his sermon on Holy Thursday. “Some Catholics do not show their faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament,” wrote the Catholic Information Service of Africa (CISA).

By way of an example, Archbishop Tlhagale stated that “many faithful enter Church without making the sign of the Cross with holy water, many do not genuflect, not even bowing their heads before the presence of Christ in the tabernacle.” He also condemned the fact that communion rails had been removed, since it has never seemed “more imperative that worshippers kneel for the reception of the Body of Christ.” “Our churches are like markets, both before and after Mass, partly because we have moved the tabernacle to a place apart, or simply because we have lost our sense of the Blessed Sacrament. We have abandoned silence and an atmosphere of prayer in church. Wherever we are, we must return to the centrality of the tabernacle. We need to rediscover the culture and the practice of genuflection and silence,” he continued. “The law of the Church obliges us to fast for one hour before Holy Communion. The chewing of gum during Mass is quite simply disgusting,” said the archbishop.

He called on the priests, as guardians of the Blessed Sacrament, to promote Eucharistic Adoration and to ensure that “Christians be well acquainted” with the documents on the Eucharist. “Help us to translate them into the vernacular, if need be,” he added. Finally Archbishop Tlhagale invited them to set up Eucharistic movements in parishes and organize Eucharistic processions “in order to give public witness of our faith.” “It is the supreme treasure of the Catholic Church,” recalled the archbishop, because “the Eucharist gives to Catholics a unique identity. The lack of Eucharistic celebrations due to a lack of priests is weakening our Catholic identity.”

(Sources: apic / cisa / fides)