Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI told followers of a Catholic evangelizing community to adopt new Vatican norms on celebrating Mass, saying adherence to the rules would bring them gifts from God.
Benedict held a special audience last week with thousands of followers of the Neocatechumenal Way, which was developed in the 1960s in Spain and focuses on evangelizing with small groups of believers.
The Neocatechumenal Way has grown significantly over the past 40 years, spreading to 105 countries and generally enjoying the support of the Vatican, which has seen it as an effective way to preach Catholicism in the modern world.
Catechumenate Masses, however, contain unique practices that were recently the subject of a Vatican letter telling Catechumenate followers to bring their celebrations in line with regular Catholic Masses approved by Rome.
Catechumenate followers, for example, typically celebrate Masses on Saturday nights rather than Sundays and receive Communion while seated around a table, rather than standing or kneeling at the altar, which is the practice in parish Masses.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, who heads the Vatican office for sacraments, told the community's founders in a Dec. 1 letter that they had two years to bring their Communion practice in line with Rome's, and said followers must attend a Sunday parish Mass at least once a month.