Liturgically Speaking: Entering into the Liturgy of the Eucharist

After the Offertory, the priest invites us to prayer: “Pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty Father.”  This dialogue shows forth that the Mass is a sacrifice.  The Compendium to the Catechism of the Catholic Church asks, “What is the Eucharist?”  It responds, “The Eucharist is the very sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus which he instituted to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory….”  At the Mass as on the cross, the victim is Christ being offered to God the Father in atonement for our sins.  The priest and the victim are the same.  Only the manner of offering is different.  On the cross this happened in a bloody manner; in the Mass, in an unbloody manner. 

 That Mass is a sacrifice is shown also by our language used for other elements related to Mass.  We don’t have a simple table; we have an altar because altars are used to offer sacrifice.  We don’t have ministers or rabbis; we have a priest, because priests offer sacrifice.  We refer to the Body of Christ at Mass as the “host;” the word host comes from the Latin for “victim.”  So when I say I receive the host at Mass, I am saying that I am partaking of the victim of the sacrifice.  As we go through the rest of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the language of the Mass reminds us time and again that we are present at a sacrifice, the one and only sacrifice of Christ which He offered on the altar of the Cross.

Following this is what is known as the Prayer over the Offerings.  It is prayed by the priest and varies according to the celebration.  It is generally a petition that God would receive the gifts we offer in sincerity of heart.  

Each Eucharistic Prayer begins with a Preface that usually varies according to the feast or season.  The rest of the Eucharistic Prayer is fixed.  The Preface is a prayer of thanksgiving that is meant to move us to praise and joy, in which “the Priest, in the name of the whole of the holy people, glorifies God the Father and gives thanks to him for the whole work of salvation or for some particular aspect of it, according to the varying day, festivity, or time of year” (GIRM, 79).  The preface is preceded by the dialogue: “The Lord be with you.  And with your Spirit.  Lift up your hearts.  We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  It is right and just.”  The priest urges us to lift our hearts and minds to nothing but God alone.  This exchange has remained the same since at least the third century. 

There are four basic Eucharistic Prayers in the Roman Rite.  Eucharistic Prayer I, also known as the Roman Canon, originated in Rome by the end of the fourth century.  Since the time of Pope Gregory the great in the seventh century it has undergone little change.  After Vatican II, three other Eucharistic Prayers were added.  Eucharistic Prayer II follows closely the Anaphora of St.Hippolytus, and dates to around the year 215.  The Third Eucharistic Prayer is very clear on the notion of sacrifice.  The Fourth Eucharistic Prayer gives an overview of salvation history and is very biblical.    

It is easy to let our minds wander during the Eucharistic Prayer.  The Mass demands that we make the effort to conform our minds and hearts to the action taking place.  Consider using the four Eucharistic Prayers for your own private prayer.  Take some time to read each one slowly and discern the movements of the prayer.  In upcoming articles, we’ll go through one of the Eucharistic Prayers, and show the various elements that come together to make the prayer.