God Is Near Us The Eucharist, the Heart of Life

by Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal; Horn, Stephan Otto; Pfnur, Vinzenz

• ISBN13: 9780898709629
• ISBN10: 0898709628
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Ignatius Press

Summary

According to the Second Vatican Council, "We ought to try to discover a new reverence for the Eucharistic mystery. Something is happening that is greater than anything we can do. The magnitude of what is happening is not dependent on the way we perform it, but all our efforts to perform it aright can always be at the service of the great act that precedes our own and that we cannot achieve for ourselves... The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows." This profound statement about the Eucharist stands at the center of this book by Cardinal Ratzinger. In these previously unpublished texts, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a scholar of international repute, leads the reader into the heart of the Christian faith and its central mystery. Cardinal Ratzinger compellingly shows us the biblical, historical, and theological dimensions of the Eucharist. The Cardinal draws far-reaching conclusions, focusing on the importance of one's personal devotion to and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, for the personal reception of Communion by the individual Christian, as well as for the life of the Church. For Ratzinger, the drive toward any transformation of the world on the social plane also grows out of the celebration of the Eucharist. He beautifully illustrates how the omnipotent God and Creator comes intimately close to us in the Holy Eucharist, the Heart of Life. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger is the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he is regarded as one of the most profound Catholic theological and spiritual writers of our times

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 7
God with Us and God among Us: "By the Power of the Holy Spirit He Was Born of the Virgin Mary, and Became Man"	p. 11
God's Yes and His Love Are Maintained Even in Death: The Origin of the Eucharist in the Paschal Mystery	p. 27
The Wellspring of Life from the Side of the Lord, Opened in Loving Sacrifice: The Eucharist: Heart of the Church	p. 42
Banquet of the Reconciled--Feast of the Resurrection: The Proper Celebration of the Holy Eucharist	p. 56
The Presence of the Lord in the Sacrament: The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic Sacrament	p. 74
The Immediacy of the Presence of the Lord Carried into Everyday Life: On the Question of the Adoration of the Eucharist and Its Sacredness	p. 94
The Lord Is Near Us in Our Conscience, in His Word, in His Personal Presence in the Eucharist: A Homily on Deuteronomy 4:7	p. 102
Standing before the Lord--Walking with the Lord--Kneeling before the Lord: Celebrating Corpus Christi	p. 107
We Who Are Many Are One Body, One Bread (1 Corinthians 10:17): The Eucharist and the Church	p. 114
Peace from the Lord: "Peace" as One of the Names of the Eucharistic Sacrament	p. 116
A Church of All Times and Places: Celebrating in Communion with the Pope	p. 119
The Church Subsists as Liturgy and in the Liturgy: A Homily on Acts 2:42	p. 121
My Joy Is to Be in Thy Presence: On the Christian Belief in Eternal Life	p. 130
List of Sources	p. 149
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