Pope: Priests need deep faith to increase effectiveness of Eucharist

Published: 2005-09-19

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Priests are called to lead lives of deep faith, love and prayer so as to strengthen the effectiveness of the Eucharist they consecrate daily, Pope Benedict XVI said. "The validity of the sacrament does not depend on the holiness of the celebrant, but its effectiveness, for himself and for the others, will be much greater the more he lives with deep faith, burning love (and a) fervent spirit of prayer," the pope said at his Sunday Angelus Sept. 18. He reminded the several hundred pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of his summer residence outside Rome that the month of October would mark the end of the Year of the Eucharist. For all Christians, but especially for priests, there is a relationship between holiness and the Eucharist, the pope said.

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