The Sacrament Of Charity

Set alongside Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est) where he stressed the relationship between the Eucharist and love, The Sacrament of Charity picks up that theme and expands it as Pope Benedict explores the mystery of eucharistic faith and how it reveals the mystery of the Trinity. Released on the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the Holy Father examines the important relationship between the Eucharist and the other sacraments, including the sacrament of the Church. He also highlights the social implications of the Eucharist and firmly connects it with the Church's social teaching.

---------------
"Pope Benedict teaches that the Eucharist finds its source within the wellspring of love that is the Trinity, the love that is so abundantly expressed in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and in the new life of the Holy Spirit that flows into the hearts of those who participate in his sacrifice and receive him in Communion. The Holy Father also shows how the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Church’s life in its relation to the other sacraments, especially the sacrament of Holy Orders and the sacrament of Matrimony."

--Bishop William S. Skylstad, President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

---------------
Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
The food of truth
The development of the eucharistic rite
The Synod of Bishops and the Year of the Eucharist
The purpose of the present Exhortation
PART ONE:
THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE BELIEVED
The blessed Trinity and the Eucharist
The Eucharist: Jesus the true sacrificial Lamb
The Holy Spirit and the Eucharist
The Eucharist and the Church
The Eucharist and the Sacraments
I. The Eucharist and Christian initiation
II. The Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation
III. The Eucharist and the anointing of the sick
IV. The Eucharist and the Sacrament of Holy Orders
V. The Eucharist and matrimony
The Eucharist and Eschatology
The Eucharist and the Virgin Mary

PART TWO:
THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE CELEBRATED
Lex orandi and lex credendi
Beauty and the liturgy
The Eucharistic celebration, the work of "Christus Totus"
Ars celebrandi
The structure of the Eucharistic celebration
Actuosa participatio
Interior participation in the celebration
Adoration and Eucharistic devotion

PART THREE:
THE EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE LIVED
The Eucharistic form of the Christian life
The Eucharist, a mystery to be proclaimed
The Eucharist, a mystery to be offered to the world