Liturgy of the Word

Liturgical Catechesis--Liturgy of the Eucharist

Robert Hadden, Seminary Intern

2007

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To this point we have covered the Liturgy of the Word, which is the first half of the Mass. After the Prayers of the Faithful the Liturgy of the Word is concluded and the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is divided into several parts.

Preparation of the Gifts

The first part is the preparation of the gifts, which is also referred to as the preparation of the altar and/or the offertory. The altar is set with the necessary chalices, purificators, and bowls. The gifts of bread and wine are brought to the altar so that they can be offered and transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. In the history of the Church the faithful brought bread from home to be offered for and shared with the whole community. Bread and wine were very important to maintain life in the region where Christ lived. In the Old Testament Melchizedek, the priest king, offered bread and wine as a sacrifice to God. These elements were important to sustaining life, hence the sacrifice. This is why this part of the Mass was called the offertory. The bread and wine were collected and presented by the deacons while the acolytes prepared the altar. Now the people present the gifts so that it is coming from the congregation. The money that is collected is the offering we make today.

After the priest receives the gifts the priest or deacon mixes a little water with the wine says, “by the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity”. This represents the water and blood that flowed from Jesus’ side on the cross. The mingling of the water and the wine is to represent the true human body, since the human body is made up of a large amount of water. The mingling of the water helps to complete this the image

During the preparation the priest prays over the gifts. This is a prayer of blessing and offering the gifts to the Lord. During Sunday Mass we are not able to hear these words. The priest says, “blessed are you Lord God of all creation, through your goodness we have this bread/wine to offer which earth has given/fruit of the vine, work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life/ our spiritual drink”. If there is no music the priest will recite this prayer out loud, the response is, “blessed be God forever.” On most Sundays we have the music to cover this prayer and so we do not respond. The priest says the response to himself. Then the priest washes his hands, which was seen in the 8th century liturgies, but it disappeared by the 11th century and did not resurface until the 14th century. It symbolizes the celebrant’s desire for interior purity. This is a washing ritual that comes down to us from Tradition and through Scripture.

Eucharistic Prayer

The main part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the Eucharistic Prayer. The Eucharistic Prayer is divided into the preface, thanksgiving, acclamation, epiclesis, institution narrative and consecration, anamnesis, offering, intercession, and the final doxology.

The Eucharistic Prayer begins with dialogue, an invitation from the priest, "pray friends that our sacrifice…" to which we pray that God accept these gifts as a sacrifice from us. We stand after our response out of respect for the sacred mysteries that are about to be celebrated. The priest once again prays over the gifts. This is a blessing over the gifts that are to be offered to God for us.

Preface

The preface is a thanksgiving that changes with the liturgical times and feasts and begins with dialogue between the priest and the congregation. The priest is indicating that we offer ourselves to the Lord by lifting up our hearts to the Lord. The priest in the name of the entire people glorifies God the Father and gives thanks for the whole work of salvation or for some special aspect that corresponds to the day, feast, or season. The priest 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. The preface is a prayer said before a meal as was custom in Jewish tradition.

Sanctus

The preface is concluded with the singing of the Sanctus or Holy, Holy, Holy. This hymn is taken from Revelation. It is a hymn of praise to God in which we join our voices with the Angels and Saints to praise God. The Holy, Holy, Holy is the first of three acclamations used throughout the Eucharistic Prayer.

The thanksgiving and acclamations are times in the Mass when we give special thanks and praise to God through words and songs. The thanksgiving is expressed in the preface. The acclamations are seen throughout the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The Epiclesis is when the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine and asks God to send the Holy Spirit upon them so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus, at which point the priest blesses the bread and wine. The Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine so that they may become Christ's Body and Blood to be received by the faithful.

Eucharistic Prayer

The Eucharistic Prayer begins with dialogue, an invitation from the priest, "pray friends that our sacrifice" to which we pray that God accept these gifts as a sacrifice from us. We stand after our response out of respect for the sacred mysteries that are about to be celebrated. The priest once again prays over the gifts. This is a blessing over the gifts that are to be offered to God for us.

Preface

The thanksgiving and acclamations are times in the Mass when we give special thanks and praise to God through words and songs. The thanksgiving is expressed in the preface. The acclamations are seen throughout the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Epiclesis

The is when the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine and asks God to send the Holy Spirit upon them so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus, at which point the priest blesses the bread and wine. The Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit to transform the bread and wine so that they may become Christ's Body and Blood to be received by the faithful.

Consecration

The Institution Narrative and Consecration come next. This is when the Mass most closely resembles its origins, the Last Supper. The Last Supper is when Jesus gave us the bread and wine as his Body and Blood. Through the Institution Narrative, by means of the words and actions of Christ, the Sacrifice is carried out in which Christ offered his Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine, gave them to his Apostles to eat and drink, and left them the command to continue this ritual. Christ commands us to do this in memory of me. In our remembrance we make Christ present in the elements of bread and wine. The Eucharist is not just a symbol, because we say these words Jesus truly becomes present in the Eucharist. For Catholics, in this sense, remembrance is to make present. In this sense we make Christ present on the altar in the elements of bread and wine.

Anamnesis

The anamnesis comes next and is a remembering of Christ's death, resurrection, and a reminder that Christ will come again. The Church fulfilling the command that she received from Christ the Lord through the Apostles keeps the memorial of Christ, recalling his blessed passion, glorious resurrection, and ascension into heaven. We proclaim the mystery of faith that Christ has died, risen, and will come again. This memorial was seen as early as the time of St. Augustine in 430. We join our voices in singing one of the several options for the mystery of faith so that we, as one Church, remember what Christ did for us.

Offering

The next part is the offering. This is the official offertory as opposed to the presentation of the gifts. In this memorial the Church, here and now gathered offers in the Holy Spirit the spotless victim to the Father. This can be taken back to the days of Jewish sacrifice. Christ is the spotless lamb that is sacrificed for us, and we remember him as such and we offer the gifts to the Father in Christ's name. The Church's intention is that the faithful not only offer this spotless victim but also learn to offer themselves. The priest says, we offer you, Father, this life giving bread, this saving cup. This is an offering so that we who share in the body of Christ may be brought together by the Holy Spirit.

Intercessions

The intercessions follow the offertory in the Eucharistic Prayer. In this part of the prayer we pray for the Church and the leaders of the Church. This is different from the intercessions or Prayers of the Faithful that are proclaimed during the Liturgy of the Word. We pray, Make us grow in love together with Benedict our Pope, Daniel our Bishop. We pray for those who have departed that they may enter God's presence. We ask to become worthy to be in the presence of God.

Doxology

The final part of the Eucharistic Prayer is the final doxology. The priest says, through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours almighty Father, for ever and ever. We respond with the great Amen. By which the glorification of God is expressed and which confirmed and concluded by the people's acclamation, Amen. Amen means we truly believe what has been said and done, we say Amen here because we truly believe that this truly is Jesus in the bread and wine. The Eucharistic Prayer is ended with the final doxology and the great amen. During the final doxology the priest and the deacon elevate the host and the chalice. This tradition of elevating the host began in the 12th century and the custom of raising the chalice began in the 14th century. The host and chalice are elevated as a sign of reverence and out of respect for Christ's presence in the bread and wine.

The Eucharistic Prayer developed over time. It was influenced by many people and cultures over the course of the history of the Church. The oldest Eucharistic Prayer was composed around 215 and is reflected in the second of the four main Eucharistic Prayer that we have and use today.

Over the past several lessons we have discussed the many parts of the Eucharistic Prayer. The Eucharistic Prayer concludes with the final doxology and great Amen. Once this is completed we stand. We were kneeling out of respect for the wondrous miracle that just took place on the altar. Once the Eucharistic Prayer is concluded we begin the Communion Rite, which is another division of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Communion Rite

Our Father

The Communion Rite begins with the "Lord's Prayer" or the "Our Father". This prayer is an ancient prayer of the Church that was given to us by Jesus himself. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray and these were the words that Jesus gave them. During the prayer, we as a community join hands to demonstrate that we are united as one body of Christ. We are united as one community of faith in both action and in words. This is why we are also able to say "Our Father" we are all united as children of God.

After the "Lord's Prayer" the priest prays a prayer that begs for the entire community of the faithful to be delivered from the power of evil. We add, "for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever." This is an ancient text that is sometimes tacked onto the end of the "Lord's Prayer". In the 8th century it was custom for the pope, bishop, or celebrant to add these words, but in the reform of the liturgy, these words became separate so as to become biblically related but also to hold true to tradition. These words were added by the Apostles, it is a reference from an ancient text called the Didache which was written as a teaching in the time of the Apostles. Those who add this ending are taking this prayer from the Didache. Those who do not are holding true to the words given by Christ. During the Mass we add these words so that we hold true to what Christ taught us but also so that we hold true to the teaching of the Apostles.

As of the 4th century the reception of Communion was immediately after the Eucharistic Prayer. Due to this it was hard to place the "Our Father" in ancient liturgies. By the 8th century we see the Eucharistic Prayer beginning to take the shape we know today. By this point in time, the "Our Father" was in the place we have it today.

In our last session we discussed the "Lord's Prayer" and the prayers said after it. The "Lord's Prayer" is the first part of the Communion Rite. The next part of the Communion Rite is the sign or the kiss of peace.

Rite of Peace

In the Rite of Peace the Church asks for peace and unity for herself and the whole human family. The priest introduces the rite or sign by saying that Jesus left a hope for peace and asking that He look not on our sins, but on the faith of the Church and to grant us peace and unity forever. The priest extends his peace to us and we express our peace to him. The congregation then exchanges a sign of peace toward each other. We see in the letters of St. Peter and St. Paul that we are to greet one another with a "holy kiss", this eventually became the kiss or sign of peace. By the 8th century we see the celebrant extend a sign of peace to presbyters, members of the clergy, and eventually to the people.

Following the sign or rite of peace a couple of things happen. The first is that we begin to sing an ancient hymn, "Lamb of God". This hymn is taken from Scripture, St. John the Baptist saw Jesus and proclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." In this ancient hymn we pray as one that the Lamb of God might have mercy on us and grants us his peace.

While we sing the "Lamb of God" the priest breaks or fractions the host as a sign of Jesus being broken for us and the forgiveness of our sins. There is also a symbol of what Christ did at the Last Supper, bread broken for all. Christ, broken for us. It also symbolizes us, a broken people healed by Jesus Christ. The priest then breaks a small piece of the host and puts it into the chalice. This is to signify the unity of Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the living and glorious Body of Jesus Christ. A fraction of the host is then placed in the chalice as a sign of the mingling of the body with the blood. This was also an ancient custom to have the fragment that was dropped in the chalice to come from the bishop's Mass so that there was a greater sign of communion with the wider Church.

The Communion Rite has barely begun and yet is filled with many traditions that make and sustain the Church as it is today.

After the "Lamb of God" we all kneel, the priest holds up the host that has become Jesus' Body and proclaims that it is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is an echoing of what we just proclaimed. To this proclamation we profess that we are not worthy to receive Jesus, but if Jesus says so, we can be healed. This comes to us from Scripture. A Roman Centurion came to Jesus when his slave was sick and said that if Jesus would only say the word, the slave would be healed. We too hope that one word from Jesus and we can be healed.

Once the priest and ministers have received communion and are in place we all come forward to receive Body and Blood of Jesus in the bread and wine. We receive Jesus fully, body, blood, soul, and divinity when we receive the host. We are also offered the cup, the Blood of Christ. While it is not necessary for us to receive the Blood of Christ, it is a fuller sign of our communion with the Church, with the Body of Christ that is the Church, and with Christ himself. Prior to Vatican II the chalice was not offered to the faithful. There was a fear that the faithful would drop or spill the precious blood, hence the custom of offering the faithful the Blood of Christ was omitted. Vatican II reinstated the offering of the chalice to the faithful. When we are offered the host or the chalice the minister says, "the body or the blood of Christ" To which we respond, "Amen." This is saying that we truly believe that this is the Body and/or Blood of Christ.

During the Communion Procession we all stand as a symbol that we receive the Body and Blood of Christ as one body joined together. We sing a hymn together to further demonstrate our connectedness in the one Body of Christ. We are joined in action and in voice to demonstrate and to proclaim that we are one Body of Christ.

Concluding Rite

Once Communion is complete we all sit and either listen to a meditation hymn or we sit in silence to reflect on the fact that we just received Jesus' Body and Blood.

After a short period of meditation and reflection the priest invites us to prayer. This prayer, said by the priest, prays for the fruits of the mystery just celebrated. We have just completed celebrating the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, the mystery of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this prayer we reflect on the reception of Christ's Body and Blood that we just received.

The priest, after the closing prayer, extends God's blessing to all of us using the sign of the Cross, which we used to begin the Mass. We are given the blessing so that we are strengthened as we go out from the Mass. The priest or deacon then proclaims that the Mass has ended and we are to go in peace to love and serve the Lord as well as one another. We are given the charge to love and serve everyone, but mostly we are charged to be Christ to others.

The Mass concludes with the priest and deacon reverencing the altar once again. This, as we said at the beginning of Mass is because of what takes place on the altar and this is a sign of their respect for the sacredness of the altar. Then the ministers process out, just as they processed in.

The Mass developed over 2,000 years. Some points of the Mass developed as local custom and eventually became standard parts of the Mass. The Mass has developed from the Last Supper to the Mass we share and experience today. We are truly blessed to have this opportunity to celebrate the mystery of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

References

History of the Liturgy: The Major Stages. Metzger, Marcel. Collegeville, Minnesota. Liturgical Press. 1997.

History and Future of the Roman Liturgy. Crouan, Denis, STD. San Francisco. Ignatius Press. 2005.

Foundations of Liturgy: An Introduction to its History and Practice. Adam, Adolf. Collegeville, Minnesota. Liturgical Press. 1992.

General Instruction for the Roman Missal (GIRM). USCCB Washington D.C. USCCB Inc. 2003.

Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (SSC). Document of Vatican II.

The Catholic Study Bible. New American Bible.

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