Celebrating the Holy Eucharist is a fantastic 2006 book by Francis Cardinal Arinze, who many thought would one day be Pope. It is a good book to get you ready for Easter. Celebrating the Holy Eucharist has an interesting author, so this article will focus on the 92-year-old Cardinal from Nigeria. At only 126 pages long, this book is short and readable. It should appeal to all Catholics and anyone interested in the 92-year-old Nigerian Cardinal. Is this book of interest to you?
Summary of Celebrating the Holy Eucharist
Nigerian-born and raised, the author converted at the age of nine in Ibo, Nigeria, and since 2002, has been Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. Francis Cardinal Arinze has written a very accessible overview of modern liturgy in Celebrating the Holy Eucharist. He explores the source and summit of the Christian life from several angles.
Cardinal Arinze writes and thinks with the Church in presenting the centrality of the liturgy for Christian life, and in turn, the centrality of the Eucharist for the liturgy. He argues this is the most important sacrament. With great and reliable accuracy and simplicity, Arinze explains in Celebrating the Holy Eucharist the need for contributions of the liturgical renewal movement.
A particular strength of Celebrating the Holy Eucharist is the ease with which he incorporates quotations from, or close paraphrases of, Sacrosanctum concilium, the Roman Missal, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a variety of dicasterial statements on liturgy, the 2005 Synod on the Eucharist, and even the Code of Canon Law. These are all very important documents, so it is good that it is highlighted in Celebrating the Holy Eucharist. With directness, students will find themselves alerted to the major liturgical books, those dicasterial statements which are most important to understand, and the conciliar or papal documents that should most inform one’s thinking.
About Francis Cardinal Arinze
Francis Arinze is now a 92-year-old Nigerian Cardinal, but he was once the youngest bishop in the world. He was Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2002 to 2008, and prior to that, he led the Secretariat for Non-Christians (later renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue) from 1984 to 2002. Arinze has been a cardinal since 1985 and the Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni since 2005. Arinze was one of the principal advisors to Pope John Paul II and was considered papabile, many thought he would replace him, but at the papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
His career as a cardinal was interesting. Pope John Paul II named Arinze Cardinal-Deacon of San Giovanni della Pigna in the consistory held on 25 May 1985. After 10 years, Arinze exercised his option to be raised to the rank of cardinal-priest, which Pope John Paul approved on 29 January 1996. Just 2 days after he became a cardinal, Arinze was appointed president of the Secretariat for Non-Christians, which was renamed the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 1988.
Arinze served in various related capacities, including as the president of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. Being of African descent made a lot of sense for him. He also received honors as the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. On October 24, 1999, he received a gold medal from the International Council of Christians and Jews for his outstanding achievements in interfaith relations. He traveled extensively and became a popular speaker in the United States.
Arinze was a member of the Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. In that capacity, he worked closely with individual bishops and priests throughout the world in preparation for the celebration of the Church. On 1 October 2002, Pope John Paul II named him prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
When Pope John Paul II died on 2 April 2005, all major Vatican officials – including Arinze – automatically lost their positions. He was considered papabile, that is, a candidate for election to the papacy, at the papal conclave that followed, in which he was a cardinal elector. He returned to his post as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship when confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI on 21 April 2005,[20] and on April 25, 2005, Benedict XVI named him Cardinal Bishop of Velletri-Segni,[21] a post which Benedict himself had held until he was elected Pope. In 2006, he published Celebrating the Holy Eucharist. Arinze retired on December 9, 2008.
Conclusion
Celebrating the Holy Eucharist is a useful book as Catholics prepare for Easter. It was written by a legendary cardinal and contains several references to important documents. It is short and readable, so it is recommended for the faithful. Celebrating the Holy Eucharist also presents a good summary of the changes that have taken place in the Mass in the last forty years.
