Press release of the October General Meeting of the Irish Bishops' ConferenceInternational Eucharistic Congress in Ireland in 2012
The Catholic Church throughout Ireland has embarked on a journey of spiritual and practical preparation for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which takes place from 10 to 17 June 2012. The theme of the Congress is ‘The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another’. One of the central mysteries of our faith is the Incarnation. The Son of God took on our human nature and lived our human reality, including our experience of suffering and death. This means that the Eucharist has something to say about every truly human experience.Bishops agreed that, as a key moment in the pastoral preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress, a national gathering would take place to coincide with the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on the last weekend of June 2011. Further details will be announced at the December General Meeting of the Episcopal Conference.Archbishop Martin, President of the Congress, approved a new Eucharistic Congress Prayer, which is available in English, Irish, Polish, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The Eucharistic Congress Prayer draws its inspiration from the Gospel story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24) and from the words of the prophet Micah “This and only this is what the Lord God asks of you: to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Bishops invite the faithful to pray this new prayer on a daily basis. A short video reflection based on the prayer, along with other Eucharistic Congress resources, is on http://www.blogger.com/features/2074-feature-preparation-for-the-eucharistic-congress. The Congress hymn Though We Are Many, We Are One Body in Christ has been prepared for the Eucharistic Congress by the well known Irish composer Bernard Sexton.A pastoral programme has been devised by the Eucharistic Congress Planning Committee. A range of catechetical material is now available to assist on our journey towards an encounter with Christ, to enable a rediscovery and a renewal with Him and one another. More details are available on http://www.iec2012.ie/.
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