Imagine if you will, a tremendous banquet table where we could all gather around to enjoy the feast beyond all feasts. That’s what we have to envision when we celebrate the Mass. At St. Thomas Aquinas, our altar is set on steps to enable everyone to see what is happening. This is good in some respects, but at the same time, it gives one a feeling of watching rather than praying along with the priest. The Eucharistic Prayer is OUR prayer. The priest leads us in this prayer, but you only need to listen to the text to understand that it belongs to all of us who gather in faith. The prayer begins with an opening dialog. The dialog begins with the priest saying to the assembly, “the Lord be with you.” We respond, “and also with you.” The priest then says, “lift up your hearts.” And we then say, “we lift them up to the Lord.” The priest asks us for one more response when he says, “let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” To which we joyously call back, “it is right to give our thanks and praise.” The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says: “The priest invites the people to lift up their hearts to the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving; he unites the congregation with himself in the prayer that he addresses in the name of the entire community to God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the meaning of the Prayer is that the entire congregation of the faithful should join itself with Christ in confessing the great deeds of God and in the offering of Sacrifice.” [GIRM 78]
Sanctus
The Sanctus or Holy is our song of joy! The preface of the Eucharistic prayer ends with the phrase, “we praise you Lord, with all the angels in their song of joy.” When we sing the Sanctus, we are indeed joining our voices with those in heaven to give thanks and praise to God. Heaven and earth are united and gathered around the altar. We sing from our pews and those in heaven are singing right along with us. Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory! Hosanna! Praise God!
Epiclesis
After the Sanctus, the priest will raise his arms with hands outstretched, to call to mind the Lord in his passion. He will then begin with, “Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise.” As he says, “And so, Father, we bring you these gifts. We ask you to make them holy by the power of your Spirit, “ he brings his hands over the offerings. As he continues, “that they may become the body and blood of your Son,” he makes the sign of the cross over both the bread and chalice. This part of the Eucharistic prayer is called the Epiclesis. Epiclesis: In which, by means of particular invocations, the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands be consecrated, that is, become Christ’s Body and Blood, and that the spotless Victim to be received in Communion be for the salvation of those who will partake of it.” [GIRM 79c]
Institution Narrative and Consecretion
The Eucharistic Prayer continues with the Institution narrative and consecration. A few words about the institution: Webster’s dictionary says that the word institute can mean: to establish, organize, actualize, or set in operation. Jesus knew that his time on earth was coming to an end. He wanted to establish a way for the disciples to call to mind his continued presence with them. He instituted this action for the church so that all future generations would be able to give thanks and praise to God through this action happening before us today just as it was ages ago. We think of this moment as time out of time. A moment, that through God’s grace, is destined to be something other than a moment of chronological time. Events such as these happen in Kairos time. Different than Chronos time which is time measured like our days, months, years, Kronos is time measured by God defined moments such as the birth of the Word in the form of Jesus the infant or the death of Jesus leading to his resurrection, or our own death leading us to new life in Christ. Liturgy happens in time out of time. We step out of the ordinary into the extraordinary presence of God with us in Word and Eucharist. This separates us from other Christian faiths in that we don’t simply believe that we are symbolizing the actions of something that happened 2000 years ago but something that happens whenever we gather for the sacrifice of the Mass.
“On the night he was betrayed,” the
priest takes the bread in his hands and raises it. “He took bread
and gave you thanks and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his
disciples, and said: Take this all of you, and eat it: this is my body
which will be given up for you.” The priest shows the consecrated
host to the people, places it back in the dish and bows in adoration. “When
supper was ended, he took the cup.” The priest raises the chalice, “again
he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said:
Take this, all of you and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for
you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of
me.”
When Jesus asked his disciples to “Do this in memory of me,” what
kind of remembering did he mean? Today in our lives, we can remember
a doctors appointment. We can remember what day it is. This indeed is
remembering but Jesus wants us to do a little more than that. The kind
of remembering that Jesus is talking about is like remembering what your
childhood home looked like and who lived there with you. Do you remember,
as a child, the way the kitchen smelled on Thanksgiving Day while dinner
was being prepared? Can you remember sitting at the dinner table with
family members, who have since gone to their rest? Remembering with your
senses, your heart, even your very soul. That is what Jesus is asking
us to call to mind by remembering his life, passion, death, and his resurrection
as if we were there with him.
Anamnesis
Next we have the part of the Eucharistic Prayer called the Anamnesis. Anamnesis: In which the Church, fulfilling the command that she received from Christ the Lord through the Apostles, keeps the memorial of Christ, recalling especially his blessed Passion, glorious Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. [GIRM 79e] The priest sings, “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.” The priest is referring to the paschal mystery, our Lord’s passion, resurrection, and ascension. We sing in response “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” There are also a few other acclamations that are acceptable responses like, “dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life, Lord Jesus, come in glory.” Whatever the acclamation wording, the paschal mystery is the focus of our response.
Offering
Now we come to the part of the Eucharistic Prayer called the Offering. “By
which, in this very memorial, the Church-and in particular the Church
here and now gathered- offers in the Holy Spirit the spotless Victim
to the Father. The Church’s intention, however, is that the faithful
not only offer this spotless Victim but also learn to offer themselves,
and so day by day to be consummated, through Christ the Mediator, into
unity with God and with each other, so that at last God may be all
in all.” [GIRM 79f] The priest says, “Father, calling to
mind the death your Son endured for our salvation, his glorious resurrection
and ascension into heaven, and ready to greet him when he comes again,
we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.” We,
the assembled body of Christ, are the holy and living sacrifice. We
need to be willing to die to self in order to benefit the entire assembly.
We are entering into communion with each other and with all those who
have gone before us. We are one with each other and with Christ. We
are the body of Christ!
The intercessory part of the Eucharistic prayer is spoken next. “By
which expression is given to the fact that the Eucharist is celebrated
in communion with the entire Church, of heaven as well as of earth, and
that the offering is made for her and for all her members, living and
dead, who have been called to participate in the redemption and the salvation
purchased by Christ’s Body and Blood.” [GIRM 79g] The priest
says, “Look with favor on your Church’s offering, and see
the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself. Grant that we,
who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy
Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ. May he make us an
everlasting gift you and enable us to share in the inheritance of your
saints, with Mary, with the apostles, the martyrs, and all your saints,
on whose constant intercession we rely for help.”
Final Doxology
We now move into the last part of the Eucharistic prayer known as the
final doxology and the great Amen. Webster describes the word doxology
as “a hymn or form of giving glory to God.” As we end the
Eucharistic prayer the priest preferably sings, though sometimes says, “Through
him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and
honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.” To which
we respond with a rousing “AMEN.” Music in Catholic Worship
states, “The worshipers assent to the Eucharistic prayer and
make it their own in the Great Amen.” [MCW 58] Sing this acclamation
loud and strong so that all may hear our response to the great prayer
of thanksgiving, the high point of the liturgy, the Eucharistic prayer.