The Epiclesis – or calling down of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine – was considered to be in the early Church the consecratory moment of the Eucharistic Prayer. The Eucharistic Prayers today follow the custom of the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, which had a “split&...
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The singing of the Sanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy”) manifests that the earthly church gathered now in worship join in praising God with the angels and saints in the heavenly Jerusalem as portrayed in the Book of Revelation.  We praise God with our words and with the goodness of our liv...
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Over the next few months, we will explore the various components in the Eucharistic Prayer.  We may now use 10 Eucharistic Prayers in our worship, along with three for Masses with children or when a large number of children are present.  Ten Eucharistic Prayers is a monumental change in o...
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Eucharistic Prayer I (formerly known as the Roman Canon) was the only Eucharistic Prayer used in the Roman Liturgy since Pope Gelasius I (496).  Pope Gelasius I made the last changes to this prayer until Pope John XXIII during Vatican Council II.    Eucharistic Prayer II is a re...
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St. Justin the Martyr (150 A.D.) provides us with the first mention of the Prayer of Thanksgiving at Sunday Eucharist:  “After finishing the prayers (intercessions), we greet each other with a kiss.  Then bread and a cup of water and wine mixed are brought to the one presiding over...
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We now look at St. Paul’s explanation of the Eucharist in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.  Paul is disturbed by some practices that had crept into the “Lord’s Supper” and that contradicted the very meaning of our unity in the Lord.  He spares no words in chastising the Cor...
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Let us return to Holy Thursday’s “Last Supper” with Jesus.  The Last Supper was depicted in the gospels as taking place during the Jewish Passover Meal when God’s angel passed over the houses of the Jewish people, sparing them from death.  God’s action propel...
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In the Book of Exodus, instructions for celebrating the Passover Meal are proscribed (Exodus 13:3-16).  The Passover is observed among the Jewish People to this very day.  Some Christian communities also celebrate the Passover during Holy Week, which may help us appreciate our spiritual r...
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Once the monetary offering from the faithful has been collected and the bread and wine along with the collection have been presented, the assembly shifts their focus from hearing and applying God’s Word in the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  The central part of the...
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The liturgical reforms from Vatican Council II restored the presentation of gifts during the Preparation Rites as an important ritual action by the faithful, a practice which had not been part of the Roman liturgy since the 11th century.     The new Roman Missal describes how the presenta...
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