While an essential part of the Church’s work of evangelization is to teach men and women to pray to the Father, through the Son in the Holy Spirit, new evangelization entails the recovery and consolidation of pastoral practices which manifest belief in the real presence of Our Lord under the eucharistic species.

“The priest has a mission to promote the cult of the eucharistic presence, also outside of the celebration of the Mass, thereby making of his own church a Christian ‘house of prayer’” (St. John Paul II. General Audience, 12/5/1993).

The faithful, first of all, should be well instructed with regard to the indispensable conditions for the reception of Holy Communion. It is also important to encourage their devotion to Christ who lovingly awaits them in the tabernacle.

A simple but effective form of eucharistic catechesis is the material care of everything concerned with the church and especially the altar and tabernacle: cleanliness and decor, worthy vestments and vessels, care in celebrating the liturgical ceremonies, the faithful practice of the genuflection etc.

Moreover, an atmosphere of recollection should pervade the Blessed Sacrament chapel. This is a centuries-old tradition guaranteeing that silence which facilitates dialogue with the Lord.

The heart of our churches is the Blessed Sacrament chapel or the area in which the Eucharistic Christ is reserved and adored. For this reason, access to it should be evident and easily facilitated. It should be open for as much of the day as possible and it should be well decorated.

It is clear that all these are signs deriving not from some form of vague “spiritualism” but they reveal a well tested theological tradition of devotion to the Blessed Eucharist. They are possible only if the priest is a man of prayer and genuinely devoted to the Holy Eucharist.

Only the pastor who prays will know how to teach others to pray and be able to bring God’s grace upon those in his pastoral charge, thereby evincing conversions, more fervent resolution for life, priestly vocations and special consecration.

It is certain that only the priest who has daily experience of the conversatio in cœlis and whose life is motivated by friendship with Christ will succeed in making genuine advances towards authentic and renewed evangelization. ²

CONGREGATION FOR THE CLERGY. The Priest and the Third Christian Millennium: Teacher of the Word, Minister of the Sacraments and Leader of the Community, c.III, n.2