Catholic Communications Office statement on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

26 Sep 2010

PRESS RELEASE
26 September 2010

Catholic Communications Office statement on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

“Mass is a community sacramental celebration of the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus.  We would encourage people not to absent themselves from the Eucharist where we re-enact the Last Supper and the Paschal mystery, following the command of Jesus ‘Do this is memory of me’.

The celebration of the Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation is essential to the practice of the Catholic faith as the Sunday Eucharist is a pivotal aspect of the spiritual lives of Catholics.”

Separately, in relation to role of women in the Church: “Lay women and men contribute actively to all aspects of Church life and this involvement has increased significantly in recent years.  Every day throughout Ireland lay people, priests and religious work together making decisions in parishes for the local community.  Examples of this collaboration include Parish Pastoral Councils, liturgy groups, child protection, social justice initiatives, parish finance committees, communications and in administration posts.”

Further information:
Martin Long, Director of Communications 00 353 86 172 7678