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‘Most Reverend José H. Gomez
“Archbishop of Los Angeles
President
MEMORANDUM
To: All Bishops
From: Most Reverend José H. Gomez, President
Date: May 22, 2021
Subject: A Possible Document on the Eucharist,
My Brother Bishops,
‘Now that the majority of the documentation for the June 2021 Plenary Assembly has
been provided to you, I take this opportunity to remind you of the Conference’s process
regarding the development of statements issued by the body of bishops.
As you know, any document that would come from the entire body originates with a
sponsoring Committee whose mandate most closely associates with the topic. In the case of a
document on the Eucharist, the Committee on Doctrine is the relevant starting point. According
to our procedures, the body of bishops must first be asked whether it desires to issue a document
ona particular topic.
Accordingly, Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Chairman of the Committee on
Doctrine, asked the Administrative Committee in March 2021 for time on the June Plenary
Assembly agenda to ask this initial question of the body. ‘The Administrative Committee
approved that request. Since then, the Doctrine Committee met to develop a brief outline to
propose to the body in June. Its outline reflects recent guidance from the Holy See. The
completed Action Item was approved by the Executive Committee on May 17 and then provided
to you in the usual format. I am also attaching it to this letter for your convenience.
Importantly, this Action Item does not ask the body to approve a final statement, but only
whether drafting of a text may begin. If approved, the Doctrine Committee will develop a text.
From there, the Conference’s usual process of consultation, modification, and amendment will
take place as the document is presented for consideration at a future Plenary Assembly.
As you will note, the focus of this proposed teaching document is on how best to help
people to understand the beauty and mystery of the Eucharist as the center of their Christian
lives. The purposes of the proposed document are consistent with our strategic plan: Created
Anew by the Body and Blood of Christ: Source of Our Healing and Hope.1 am grateful for the way the Committee on Doctrine has approached its work and for the
‘good counsel we have received from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I look
forward to our Plenary Assembly.UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS
DOCUMENTATION
COMMITTEE ON DOCTRINE
SUBJECT: Proposal to Draft a Formal Statement
ACTION ITEM #07: Does the body of bishops approve the request of the
Committee on Doctrine to proceed with the drafting of a
formal statement on the meaning of the Eucharist in the life
of the Church?
VOTE: Majority of members present and voting
(via Formstack electronic ballot)
Spring General Meeting
June 16-18, 2021ACTION
COMMITTEE ON DOCTRINE
Members: Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Chairman; Bishop Michael C. Barber, S.J;
Bishop Daniel E. Flores; Bishop Richard G. Henning; Bishop Steven J. Lopes;
Bishop James Massa; Bishop Robert J. McManus; Bishop Michael F. Olson.
Consultants: Archbishop William E. Lori; Dr. Margaret Harper McCarthy; Msgr. Michael
Heintz; Dr. John Cavadini.
Staff: Fr. Michael Fuller; Dr. James Le Grys; Dr. Siobhan Verbeck.
Proposal to Draft a Formal Statement
In November 2020, the USCCB approved the 2021-24 Strategic Plan, “Created Anew by
the Body and Blood of Christ, Source of Our Healing and Hope.” Additionally, in late
December 2020, the Working Group on Engaging the New Administration, established by
Archbishop Gomez as President of the USCCB, recommended that the Conference produce a
document on Eucharistic consistency.
‘The Committee on Doctrine discussed this matter and agreed to develop a proposal for a
document that would place the topic of Eucharistic consistency within the wider context of
Church teaching on the Mystery of the Eucharist. In light of recent surveys, itis clear that there
is a lack of understanding among many Catholics about the nature and meaning of the
Eucharist. This teaching document will address the fundamental doctrines concerning the
Eucharist that the Church, as a whole, needs to retrieve and revive. This includes the call to
all the faithful for ongoing conversion, moral transformation, and missionary discipleship.
The statement will be addressed to all Catholics and will explain the centrality of the
Eucharist in the life of the Church. “Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion is . .. the foremost
source and expression of our communion with the Blessed Trinity and with one another” (Happy
Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper, p. 5). For this reason, every Catholic “should strive to
receive Holy Communion regularly, gratefully, and worthily” (Ibid., p. 7). The document will
include the theological foundation for the Church’s discipline conceming the reception of Holy
Communion and a special call for those Catholies who are cultural, political, or parochial leaders
to witness to the faith.
Asa teaching document, itis hoped that this document would be a theological
contribution to the ongoing work of the Strategic Plan providing a resource for parishes,
catechists, and the faithful.
ACTION: Does the body of bishops approve the request of the Committee on
Doctrine to proceed with the drafting of a formal statement on the
meaning of the Eucharist in the life of the Church?
Bishop Kevin C,
Rhoades Chairman
June 2021Draft 14 May 2021
‘THE MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH:
Way IT MATTERS
Committee on Doctrine
ParTl “THE BUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TOBE BELIEVED"!
Real Presence: For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink... This saying is hard; who
can accept it? (In 6:55; 60).
[The encounter with Christ in the Eucharist is discussed both pastorally and doctrinally]
Sacrifice: This is my body, which wil be given for you; do this in memory of me (Lk 22:19),
[The recovery of understanding the Eucharist as sacrifice]
Healing: Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do, I have not come to call
the righteous to repentance but sinners (LK S:31-32).
[The Divine Physician and the gift of healing from sin]
ParTIT — “THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE CELEBRATED”
Unity: The Eucharist is “a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity” (Sancrosanctum
concilium, no. 47).
[The Eucharist as a “symphony of minds” united in praise; the importance of Sunday as a day of
obligation]
Beauty: “Like the rest of Christian Revelation, the liturgy is inherently linked to beauty”
(Sacramentum caritatis, n0. 35).
[The need for beautiful and dignified liturgies, including preaching that inspire us]
Identity: The Eucharist “is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life (Lumen gentium, no.
11).
[Being a Eucharistic people and living that identity more completely in our daily lives]
PARTI — "THE EUCHARIST: A MYSTERY TO BE LIVED”
Moral Transformation: "I am the food of the mature... You will not change me into yourself
like bodily food: you will be changed into me” (Augustine, Confessions VI. 16).
[The Eucharist calls us to conversion ~ constant conversion]
1 These three parts follow the three headings in Sacramentum caritatisDraft 14 May 2021
+ Eucharistic Consistency: 4 person should examine himsel/, and so eat the bread and drink the
cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on
himself (1 Cor 11:28-29).
[The nature of eucharistic communion and the problem of serious sin]
+ Missionary Discipleship: “Jesus leaves us the Eucharist as the Church’s daily remembrance of,
and deeper sharing in, the event of his Passover (cf. Lk 22:19). The joy of evangelizing always
arises from grateful remembrance: it is a grace which we constantly need to implore” (Evangelit
gaudium, no. 13).
[The renewal of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy and parish life]