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The Liturgy of the Eucharist

The next part of the Eucharist celebration is the actual sacramental action of the
Liturgy. The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy calls it the Liturgy of the
Eucharist & notes that “The Liturgy of the Word & the Eucharistic Liturgy are
so closely connected with each other that they form but one single act of
worship” (SC #56). As a result, the Council Fathers urged the faithful to take
part in the entire Mass. When the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins, the central
focus of the Liturgy moves from the presidential chair or the ambo to the altar.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist can be sub-divided into 3 parts:

 The Preparation of the Gifts,
 The Eucharistic Prayer
 The Communion Rite.

In the Preparation of the Gifts we have: the Presentation of the Gifts which can
take the form of a procession. Then the actual Preparation Prayers, ending with
the Washing of the Hands. The Rite of Preparation ends with the Prayer over
the Gifts.

The Eucharistic Prayer, formerly known as The Canon, begins with the Preface
& the Acclamation “Holy, holy, holy…” This leads into the Eucharistic Prayer
proper in which the gifts of bread & wine that have been presented become the
Body & Blood of Jesus Christ. The Eucharistic Prayer ends with the Doxology
& the congregational response “Amen.”

The final section of the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the Communion Rite which
begins with the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. This is followed by the Rite of
Peace & the Fraction Rite. Then the Communion proper in which the priest,
ministers & congregation receive the Body & Blood of Christ. The Communion
Rite & the Liturgy of the Eucharist as a whole, ends with The Prayer after
Communion.

The Presentation of the Gifts

From the earliest days of the Church, this part of the Mass began with the
faithful offering gifts to the ministers of the Liturgy. The Catechism cites the
First Apology of Justin: “After the homily & the Prayers of the Faithful,
someone brings bread & a cup of water & wine mixed together, to him who
presides over the brethren.”

As centuries passed, the faithful would present many other things as well as the
bread & wine needed for the Eucharistic celebration. St. Hippolytus lists other
“gifts” such as oil, honey, wool, fruit, wax or flowers. These other gifts were
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used for the support of the priests & the poor. Around the 11th cent., the offering
took a form closer to that with which we are familiar. A collection of money
was made & this was brought to the altar with the gifts of bread & wine for the
Eucharistic Liturgy & the support & upkeep of the Church, the clergy & the
needs of the poor. This procession was, especially on Sundays, accompanied by
the Offertory Hymn or the Offertory Antiphon.

The Presentation of the Gifts is reminiscent of another offering of bread & wine
made in the Book of Genesis: the offering of the priest Melchizedek in Gen
14:18. Melchizedek’s gesture was a sign of hospitality to the nth degree. Bread
& water would be sufficient. Bread & wine is royal fayre & regularly
accompanied by sacrifice. In the minds of the Church Fathers, Melchizedek’s
offering to the King of Sodom, is a type of the bread & wine that will be
brought out by Jesus at the Last Supper, the bread & wine that will become the
Body & Blood of Christ. The Catechism interprets this: “the presentation of the
offerings at the altar, takes up the gesture of Melchizedek & commits the
Creator’s gifts into the hands of Christ, who in his sacrifice brings to perfection
all human attempts to offer sacrifice” (CCC #1350).

This raises two questions. First: why bread & why wine? Secondly: was it
necessary to present these gifts in the first place, God has no need of them?

The answer to the first question is found in many places where bread & wine
appear in the Scriptures. Recall that the Liturgy of the Eucharist is modelled on
the Passover Meal. Bread & wine play a prominent role in the Passover Meal;
hence they are significant for the Mass.

But even more, bread was one of the major sources of sustenance in that period.
The Book of Sirach tells us that life’s prime needs are: water, bread & clothing
(Sir 29:21). We see this in the story of Elijah & the widow at Zarephath. Due to
famine, the oil was running dry & the flour was running out. The widow would
soon be unable to make simple bread cakes. She & her son would not be able to
eat & so would die. When Elijah came on the scene, she was willing to feed him
& as a result of that her oil did not go dry & her flour was plentiful until the
drought ended (1 Kings 17:8-16). Bread for them was thus the staple of life.

Further, bread was to be offered to God at harvest time. “One shall present as
offering, unleavened cakes or unleavened wafers & grain cakes, together with
loaves of leavened bread, along with a thanksgiving communion sacrifice. From
this the individual shall offer one bread of each type of offering as a
contribution to the Lord” (Lev 7:13-14).

Wine was a sign of festivity, as the Psalmist sings: “You make wine to gladden
people’s hearts & oil to make their faces shine” (Ps 104:14-15). As such wine
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was served at meals, especially festive meals, as with bread. The first of the
wine was also offered to the Lord. “The first batch of our dough & the offerings
of the fruit of every tree of wine & oil, we bring to the priests, to the chambers
of the house of our God” (Neh 10:38). Further, whenever wine was used in
sacrifices, a drink offering or libation was poured out (Exodus 29:38-40).

Many in Ancient Israel saw this offering of bread & wine in sacrifice as an
offering of one’s self. That’s the answer to the second question. It’s as if we
bring our whole lives, with all our little sacrifices symbolized by the gifts, to the
hands of Jesus himself who is represented by the priest. The priest then brings
our gifts to the altar, the place where Christ’s sacrifice is made present, in order
to express our union with Christ’s offering to the Father. It’s very much like the
narrative of the multiplication of the loaves. Through the apostles, the young
boy presents his meagre offering of five loaves & two fish to Jesus who takes
that insufficiency & makes it possible that it feeds a multitude of 5000. In the
Mass we bring mere bread & wine to Christ & receive back the Body & Blood
of Jesus.

The Preparation of the Gifts

The priest then takes the gifts of bread & wine to the altar & pronounces the
offering prayer over them. These offering prayers are taken, nearly verbatim,
from the Haggadah, a ritual of the Passover meal. In the Passover Haggadah,
the father of the family takes unleavened bread, matza, & prays a prayer of
blessing over it: “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who
brings forth bread from the earth.” Those gathered answer: “Blessed are you, O
Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by your
commandments & has commanded us concerning the eating of unleavened
bread.”

The father’s blessing is expanded in the Mass, but the basic sentiment is the
same. The priest offering the bread says: “Blessed are you, Lord God of all
creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you.
Fruit of the earth& work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of
life.” The congregation responds simply: “Blessed be God forever.”

The reference to the Bread of Life at the end of the offering prayer reminds us
of Jesus’ great Discourse in the synagogue at Capernaum on the Bread of Life
(Jn 6). In this Discourse the author of John’s Gospel sets out his theology of the
Eucharist.

The current translation of the prayer of offering over the bread has restored the
indirect object, showing that these offerings are from someone, the people
through the priest, to somebody, God Himself. God has given us the gifts from
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which we fashion a gift to return to Him in gratitude. The acclamation “Blessed

be God forever” reminds us of the opening of Romans where Paul speaks of the
idolaters. He says: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie & revered &
worshipped a creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever” (Rom
1:25). With that acclamation we affirm the truth of God which for us will be &
is salvific. Later Paul again expresses the eternal blessing of God affirmed in
this acclamation: “God who is over all, be blessed forever. Amen” (Rom 9:5).

After the Prayer of Offering of the bread, the celebrant or deacon prepares the
wine, pouring it into the chalice or chalices & adding a drop or two of water to
the wine in the chalice. It was common in the ancient world to add a bit of water
to the wine in order to dilute it. In the development of the Liturgy, the Church
saw a great symbolism in this act. The water joined to the wine became a
symbol of the humanity of Jesus joined to his divinity. This is what the priest
says in the accompanying prayer: “By the mystery of this water & wine, may we
come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our
humanity.” Although there is no direct biblical reference here, the short prayer
recalls the Prologue of John’s Gospel where the Word became flesh. & the
Infancy Narratives of Mt & Lk where Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit &
born of the virgin Mary. It also recalls the formula of the Council of Chalcedon
expressing the relationship between the two natures in Christ.

In the Passover or Sedar meal, when the father of the family takes the wine, he
says a blessing over it & those gathered respond: “Blessed are you, O Lord our
God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.” The prayer that the
priest says when he offers the wine is based on that response. “Blessed are you,
Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine
we offer you. Fruit of the vine & work of human hands, it will become our
spiritual drink.”

In the Prayer of Blessing over the wine, two biblical allusions are found. The
reference to wine as “fruit of the vine” recalls the statement of Jesus at the Last
Supper when he speaks to his disciples: “I tell you from now on, I shall not
drink this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in the
kingdom of my Father” (cf Mt 26:29; Mk 14:25; Lk 22:18). This reminds us of
our waiting for the ultimate final feast in the future kingdom which will be
inaugurated in the Passion, Death & Resurrection of Jesus.

The reference to “spiritual drink” is an allusion to 1 Cor 10:4, where “all drank
the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them
& the rock was Christ.” This is a reference to a rabbinic legend. In the account
of the desert wanderings in Num 20:1-11, we hear of Moses drawing water from
a rock for the thirsty Israelites. The rabbis, in traditions that were popular at the
time of the writing of the NT, taught that the rock followed the Israelites &
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always gave them water to drink. Paul takes that tradition & interprets it further,
saying that the rock is Christ. This shows that the wine which is here blessed,
will become later in the Mass, our spiritual drink i.e. Christ.

In the revisions of the Roman Liturgy after Vatican II it was decided to simplify
this rite limiting the prayers that the priest says to the two offering prayers
above. These prayers were chosen because they embody three ideas:
 Bread & wine are products of this earth & thus symbolize our world, our life.
 They also signify the work of our hands & our daily labour.
 They are offered here as the matter or material disguise for what they will
become in the Eucharistic mystery: the bread of life & the spiritual drink.

Having prepared the gifts, the priest then bows slightly before the altar & prays
a private prayer, beginning with the words: “With humble spirit” - a translation
of the Latin “in spiritu humilitatis” – “in a spirit of humility.” This prayer aptly
expresses the invisible sacrifice of the heart, the interior meaning of all external
offering. The prayer speaks of two exteriors: “may we be accepted by you, O
Lord,” & “may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, O Lord
our God.”

Thus the offering of bread & wine which is to become the sacrifice, is
representative of the offering of ourselves to God. This reminds us of the
Canticle of the three young men in the fiery furnace (Dan 3:39-40), praying “but
with contrite heart & humble spirit, let us be received, as though it were burnt
offerings of rams & bulls or tens of thousands of fat lambs, so let our sacrifice
be in your presence today & find favour before you, for those who trust in you
cannot be put to shame.” They see themselves as a sacrifice & their faith in
God’s favour saved them. That faith is expressed in this prayer of the priest. In
both the prayer & in the Canticle of the Three Young Men, the interior
disposition is humility & a contrite heart. That is how we approach God here.

Another action remaining from the larger offertory processions, now takes
place. When the people would bring not only bread & wine but many items
necessary for the sustenance of the priest & for the poor, the hands of those
receiving the gifts would get quite dirty, so it was necessary to wash the hands
before continuing with the Eucharistic ritual. As time marched on & the nature
of the presentation of gifts changed, the need to wash hands became less & less.
But the ritual was kept in the Liturgy with a spiritual significance. This washing
recalls the ritual washings necessary for the priests of the Temple to perform
their sacred duties. Ritual cleanliness was also required of those who entered the
Temple. Ps 24 says: “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord & who shall
stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands & a pure heart” (Ps 24:3-4).

The external clean hands is symbolic of the internal, a pure clean heart. Thus the
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priest now washes his hands prior to entering the moment of the Liturgy when
at his hands the bread & wine will become the very presence of the Almighty,
the body & blood of Christ. As he washes his hands, he invokes the words of Ps
51: “Wash me completely from my iniquity & cleanse me from my sin” (Ps
51:4). Notice again the relationship between cleanliness & purity of heart.

Having prepared the gifts & washed his hands, the priest now invites the
congregation to pray: “Pray, my brothers & sisters…” What are they to pray
for? “That my sacrifice & yours may be acceptable to God.” There is a subtle
change in the translation with the New Roman Missal. “Our sacrifice” has
become “my sacrifice & yours”. “Our” stressed the equality & commonality
between priest & people. “My sacrifice & yours” expresses a distinction
between priest & people. The priest is not merely one of the members of the
congregation. As the theology of the sacrament of Holy Orders tells us, citing
Hebrews, the priest is “taken from among men & made their representative
before God to offer gifts & sacrifices for sin” (Heb 5:1). The priest is chosen to
offer sacrifice on behalf of the people. The people offer themselves in union
with Christ in the Mass.

The people respond with a wish that the sacrifice be accepted by God for the
praise & glory of his name. Secondarily for the good of the local community &
finally, for the good of the entire Church. The new translation added the word
“holy” modifying Church, to produce “for the good of all his holy Church”.
Again the change is made to bring the translation in line with the Latin. It also
recalls the end of Ephesians where in speaking of Christ & the Church, Paul
says “that he might present himself, the Church in splendor without spot or
wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy & without blemish” (Eph
5:27).

The Prayer over the Offerings

The preparation rite ends with the second of the presidential prayers - the Prayer
over the Offerings, formerly known as the Prayer over the Gifts. In the pre-
Vatican II Liturgy it was known as The Secret because the priest would pray the
prayer almost inaudibly. The Prayer over the Offerings is meant to focus
attention on the presentation of the offerings concluding the preparation rite &
look forward to the Eucharistic Prayer.

The Eucharistic Prayer

With the completion of the Preparation Rite, the Liturgy moves into what the
GIRM calls “the centre & summit of the entire celebration” – the Eucharistic
Prayer. This prayer has roots in prayers offered at Jewish meals, but especially
in the prayers offered at the Passover meal. In the ritual of Passover there were
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three offerings of bread, matza, & four cups of wine which were drunk. The
action of the Eucharistic Prayer seems to take place with the second offering of
the bread & the drinking of the third cup of wine.

Three elements or characteristics are common to the blessing or berakah

prayers of the Passover meal & correspondingly of the Eucharistic Prayers of
the Mass today:
 Praise to God for His creation.
 Thanksgiving for God’s redemptive work in the past
 Supplication for the future.

These were joined to blessings offered over the bread & wine & a narrative of
the salvific events of Jesus’ death & resurrection which included an account of
Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper, known as the Institution Narrative.

Prior to the revisions of the Second Vatican Council one Eucharistic Prayer was
recited at every Mass in the Western Church. This was known as the Roman
Canon, today known as Eucharistic Prayer No.1. With the reforms of Vatican II,
three more Eucharistic Prayers were added to the Roman Missal of 1970.
Eucharistic Prayer 2 dating from the time of St. Hippolytus the Great in 215-220
CE. Eucharistic Prayer 3 which derives from an oriental prayer with roots in
both the ancient liturgies of Alexandria & Antioch. & Eucharistic Prayer 4
which is the most theological of the Eucharistic Prayers containing a grand
panorama of the history of salvation. It’s drawn from the Syro-Antiochean
church with elements of the liturgy in ancient Alexandria.

In 1975 two Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation & three Eucharistic Prayers
for Children’s use, were added. In 1994 four Eucharistic Prayers for Various
needs & occasions were added. Thus there was a choice of 13 Eucharistic
Prayers for the celebrant in any given liturgy.

The GIRM indicates 8 elements of the Eucharistic Prayer which are found in
some form in all of the Eucharistic Prayers listed above. These elements also
represent some of the technical vocabulary used in talking about the Eucharistic
Prayer.

1. Thanksgiving - the celebrant gives thanks for the whole work of salvation or
for some special aspect corresponding to the particular celebration of the day.
This is usually contained in the Preface.

2. Acclamation(s) - the congregation joins the heavenly liturgy in praising God.

There are three major acclamations in the Eucharistic Prayer. The Holy, Holy,
Holy, also known as the Sanctus, in response to the Preface. The Memorial
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Acclamation in response to the Institution Narrative & the Great Amen which
concludes the Eucharistic Prayer.

3. Epiclesis from the Greek επι + καλέω which means “to call down.” In
technical liturgical language, it’s a calling down of the Holy Spirit to implore
that the gifts offered by human hands first be consecrated i.e. become Christ’s
Body & Blood. & second, that the Body & Blood of Christ received in
communion, be for the salvation of those who partake in it.

4. The Institution Narrative or the Consecration is the central part of the

Eucharistic Prayer. By means of words & actions of Christ, the sacrifice of
Christ is carried out which Christ Himself instituted at the Last Supper when He
offered His Body & Blood under the species of bread & wine & gave them to
the apostles to eat & drink & left the apostles the command to perpetuate this
same mystery.

5. The anamnesis from the Greek word for memory – anamnesis. At the end of
the Institution Narrative Jesus commanded his disciples “to do this in memory
(anamnesis) of me.” In the anamnesis of the Eucharistic Prayer the Church
carries out that command, keeping the memorial of Christ recalling especially
his Passion, Resurrection & Ascension into heaven.

6. The offering. The Church offers in the Holy Spirit the spotless victim to the
Father. This offering leads to the faithful offering themselves through Christ,
leading to the faithful being drawn day by day into an ever more perfect union
with God & with each other (SC #48).

7. The intercessions express the fact that the Eucharist is celebrated in

communion with the entire Church. The offering is made for the Church & for
all her members, living & dead, who have been called to share in redemption &
salvation.

8. The final doxology through which God’s glory is expressed & confirmed.
This ends with the people’s acclamation “Amen”. The word “doxology” comes
from two Greek words: δοχα meaning “glory” & λογος meaning “word”. So a
“doxology” is a “word of glory” which is answered by the Great Amen of the
people.

Let’s look at one Eucharistic Prayer to see how these characteristics are
implemented.

The Preface

All Eucharistic Prayers begin with a Preface which has an introductory dialogue
that is thought to date back to the 3rd cent. The first mention of this dialogue was
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in the Eucharistic Prayer of St. Hippolytus c.215 CE. That Eucharistic Prayer is
the one we know today as Eucharistic Prayer No.2.

The Introductory Dialogue consists of three statements by the celebrant which

are answered by three answers of the congregation. The first is the familiar:
“The Lord be with you” used as the simplest form of the greeting in the
Introductory Rites & used to introduce the Proclamation of the Gospel. Recall
that in the Scriptures, when God called one to a mission the promise that He
would be with them always accompanied the call. So here, through this
greeting, the priest invokes the presence of the Lord for the people & the
congregation in responding “& with your spirit” invoke the presence of the
Lord with the priest as he leads them into the most sacred part of the Liturgy.

The second invocation of the priest is “Lift up your hearts”. He invites the
congregation to lift their hearts to the Lord in prayer & thanksgiving through the
lifting of his hands. In the Hebrew understanding of the human being, the heart
not the mind or the intellect, is the centre of thought & action. Intentions &
commitments flow from the human heart. Thus the invocation to lift up our
hearts, is a call to focus & centre the attention of our hearts on what is about to
happen. It’s akin to Paul’s command “to set your minds on the things that are
above, not the things of the earth” (Col 3:1-2). The moment of the Mass that is
coming leads us into heavenly things, into the heavenly liturgy. The
congregation responds “We have lifted them up to the Lord”. In that response
they affirm that they are thinking of the things above, not the things below. But
the caution of St. Cyril of Jerusalem is to be heeded: “Let there be not among
you who shall confess with his lips ‘we have lifted up our hearts’ & allow his
thoughts to remain with the cares of this life.”

Having sought the presence of the Lord & turned our being to the things above,
the final invocation focuses on what we are about to do: “Let us give thanks to
the Lord our God.” The priest extends his hands to embrace everyone in this
great act of thanksgiving. One of the earliest names given to the Liturgy was
“the Eucharist” from a Greek verb εύχαριστέω (eucharisteo) meaning “to give
thanks”. In the Jewish tradition, thanksgiving is one thing we could actually
offer the Creator that he does not already possess. The Jewish philosopher Philo
of Alexandria said “to give due worship to God is the only one duty incumbent
upon us, that of giving thanks, so we must carry it out in all times & in all
places.” This is especially so in the action we are about to participate in.

The congregation again affirms what the priest has said; “It is right & just.”
This is a simplification of the response in the earlier translation & it is much
closer to the original Latin. The earlier English translation added words in an
attempt to explain the meaning of the response. In a sense the additional words
– “to give him thanks & praise” - made the response more complex than it need
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be. Two Latin adjectives are used. One – dignum – basically “worthy.” As
explained above, giving thanks to God is something we are worthy to do &
hence it is right to do so. The second adjective – justum – basically “just”.
“Justice” in its Greco-Roman sense is being in proper relationship with another,
whether the “other” be another human being or God. So giving thanks is “just”
because we are in proper relationship with God. Thus thanksgiving is the right
thing to do. We owe God a debt of gratitude.

The Preface then follows the dialogue. It is essentially a prayer of thanksgiving.

In the Roman Liturgy there are some 60 plus prefaces which are recited on
particular feasts & at particular types of Masses e.g. funerals, weddings, the
administration of sacraments, holy days etc. Then there are a series of Common
Prefaces which can be used on multiple occasions. Each Preface basically
consists of 3 parts:
 An introduction
 A core that makes reference to the feast or the Mass
 A concluding call to join the heavenly hosts in acclamation.

The Introduction picks up the response of the people to the final acclamation.
E.g. in the Fourth Preface for the Sundays in Ordinary Time, the celebrant
begins: “It is truly right & just, our duty & our salvation…” This says it is no
haphazard action we are about to embark upon. It is a duty. & that duty pertains
to salvation. He goes on delineating that duty: “Always & everywhere to give
you thanks.” Giving thanks – Eucharist – is not when we can get to it. It’s our
duty. & the first part of the Preface ends with a mention of whom this duty to
give thanks is addressed to: “Lord, Holy Father, Almighty & Eternal God.”
However, it’s not just “us & God”. This prayer is addressed through the
mediation of Christ our Lord.

In this Preface, the Core narrates the key role of Christ in the history of
salvation, beginning with the incarnation i.e. the moment the second person of
the Trinity takes on human flesh & becomes one of us. The Preface shows that
the process of righting Adam’s sin began for “by his birth he brought renewal to
humanity’s fallen state.” The text shows Christ as the new Adam. Many would
see this renewal as an allusion to the Lord’s words in the Book of Revelation:
“Behold I make all things new” (Rev 21:15). The fallen state referred to is the
old man dominated by Adam’s sin. This renewal is putting off that old man &
putting on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness
& holiness (cf. Eph 4:24).

From the incarnation the text moves to redemption & in particular Jesus’
suffering whereby he cancelled out our sins, his Resurrection whereby he
opened the way to eternal life & his Ascension whereby he unlocked the gates
of heaven. In rising from the dead, Jesus rolls away the stone that blocks us. He
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clears our path & shows us the way to go. Our barred way blocked by sin is
made open & cleared for us through Christ. This is the essence of this Preface.

The Concluding Call to acclaim then follows as a logical conclusion. Introduced

in the Latin with the phrase “et ideo”, translated as “& therefore…” or in the
current English translation “& so…” Then in the most solemn language of the
acclamation, the acclamation of praise is stated: “With the company of angels &
saints, we sing the hymn of your praise, as we acclaim without end…” as in the
great hymn at the end of Rev 5 where the praise of God & the Lamb is joined by
Twenty Four Elders, who are then joined by countless angels surrounding the
throne. Then every creature in heaven & earth & under the earth, & finally
everything in the universe cries out & acclaims to the one who sits on the throne
& the Lamb: “Blessing & honour, glory & might, forever & ever. Amen.”
Similarly having heard & giving thanks for God’s great actions in history, we
now join the heavenly host in praising God in an acclamation of God’s holiness.

Acclamation – Holy, Holy, Holy…

The Acclamation is a combination of two biblical texts. It begins with the words
of the angels in the heavenly throne room in the inaugural vision of Isaiah.
Isaiah is in the Temple in Jerusalem & he has a vision of the divine throne
room. He sees the angels attending to the throne of God & hears their cry:
“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts. All the earth is filled with His glory” (Is
6:3). In this Acclamation the congregation is joining the whole heavenly host in
proclaiming God’s glory. In Hebrew it is: Qadosh, Qadosh, Qadosh, Adonai
Sabaoth. The triple holy or Qadosh is the way that the superlative is constructed
in Hebrew. Thus they acclaim that the Lord is the holiest. The title given to the
Lord in Hebrew is “sabaoth”, translated in recent English texts as “of hosts”.
Previously an attempt was made to further describe “of hosts.” It was “Lord of
power & might.” That translation misses the nuance of “sabaoth.” It’s actually
“Lord of the armies.” The picture is not just “power & might”, but the “power &
might of an army”. So “the Lord of the most powerful army” is “the holiest”.

Then following Isaiah: “Heaven & earth are full of your glory”. The
Acclamation adds “heaven” to “earth” to give a greater sense of universality to
the Acclamation. Since the Acclamation is addressed to God, it’s “your glory”
rather than “his glory”.

The second part of the Acclamation is drawn from words addressed to Jesus in
the NT. As he entered the city of Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, the
assembled crowds shout or acclaim: “Hosanna in the highest.” Mt’s Gospel
records: “the crowds preceding him & those following him kept on crying out &
saying ‘Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the name of
the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.’” (Mt 21:9)
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“Hosanna” comes from the Aramaic hosha’na, literally “O Save” which

became a liturgical cry of jubilation. It is close to “God save…” or “Praised
be…” The dative “in the highest” is added. Thus praise or glory in the highest.
There is an allusion to Ps 118:25-26 where a form of the same verb as
“hosanna” is used: “Save us, we beseech thee, O Lord.” In v.26, we have the
rest of the acclamation: “blessed is he who enters in the name of the Lord. We
bless you from the House of the Lord.” This psalm was chanted by the people of
Jerusalem as the messianic king returned from battle & approached the walls of
the city. Thus in the Matthean text the crowds acclaim Jesus as the promised
descendant of David, who would bring the promised blessing of the kingdom.

So in this acclamation we join our voices to the heavenly host to announce the
holiness of God who is Lord of the Armies & we acclaim him as the one who
comes in the name of the Lord who is most significant in our salvation. It is an
appropriate acclamation as we embark on the Eucharistic Prayer where Jesus
will become present in the name of the Lord in the Eucharist on the altar.

Eucharistic Prayer No.2

There are now 13 Eucharistic Prayers in the Roman Missal. We’ll look at
Eucharistic Prayer No.2. in more detail. It is the shortest of the Eucharistic
Prayers – which may account for its popularity! However it’s also a prayer
which contains much theology & several allusions to the Scriptures.

The Epiclesis

Following the Acclamation “Holy, Holy, Holy…”, the celebrant continues with
the epiclesis of the Eucharistic Prayer. The epiclesis is a “calling down” from
έπίκαλέω [epikaleo] (έπί “upon” + καλέω “to call”) of the Holy Spirit to effect
the consecration of the gifts i.e. their becoming the Body & Blood of Christ, &
that the Body & Blood of Christ received in communion effects salvation for
the people. Thus the role of the Spirit here is key. As the priest intones the
words of the epiclesis, he holds his hands out-stretched over the Gifts with
palms downward. This is the sign of the calling down of the Spirit upon the
Gifts. In the Eastern Rites, this moment is considered to be the moment of
consecration. This same palm downward gesture of out-stretched hands is also
used in the sacraments of Confirmation & Holy Orders.

The epiclesis begins with a solemn declaration of the holiness of God: “You are
indeed holy, O Lord.” The Latin word for “indeed” is vere which is translated
“truly”. In a sense the Prayer is saying that “the truth about you, O Lord, is that
you are holy.” But the Lord is not just holy. The Lord is the source of all
holiness, “the fount of all holiness.” Then comes the request that the Lord, the
source of all holiness, make the gifts that are on the altar at this moment, holy.
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“Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray.” The order of the phrases is
determined by the Latin text of the prayer. How is the Lord to effect this
holiness? Through the sending of the Holy Spirit down upon them – hence the
name epiclesis. That sending is likened to the morning falling of the dew.

The reference goes back to the falling of the manna in the desert (Ex 16:13-14).
In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp & when the layer
of dew evaporated, fine flakes like hoarfrost were on the surface of the ground.
Moses tells the Israelites the flakes are the bread that the Lord had given them
to eat. So on several fronts, reference to the Spirit & the dew is appropriate.
Often God’s actions come to us quietly, like the dew in the early morning. But
more significantly the dewfall described in Exodus is linked to the falling of the
manna, bread from heaven. Several theologians throughout Church History saw
this manna as a type of the Eucharist.

The prayer continues with the purpose of this sending or calling down of the
Spirit: so that the “gifts may become for us, the Body & Blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Through the action of the Spirit a change will occur in the bread &
wine, the gifts now upon the altar. That change has been explained by
theologians since the time of St. Thomas Aquinas with the word
“transubstantiation.” This rather complicated word is taken from two Latin
words: trans which literally means “across”, but when compounded with other
words has the sense of “change”. & substantia which literally means
“substance” i.e. something of which something is made, what it is. So on the
surface, transubstantiation is a change of substance. This concept is based on
Thomistic Aristotelian philosophy which saw things as a union of substance
(what something is made of) & accidents (the outward appearance of a thing),
its colour, size, taste, shape etc.

Put simply what happens through the action of the Spirit at Mass is that the
substance of the bread & wine is changed, but the accidents remain the same.
The bread & wine become the Body & Blood of Christ, but they retain the look,
feel & taste of bread & wine. In this epiclesis the Lord is petitioned to send the
Spirit to effectively transubstantiate the bread & wine & make present the
presence of Christ under the appearances of bread & wine, quietly as the falling
of the dew.

The Institution Narrative

The Institution Narrative is the key action of the Eucharistic Prayer & is drawn
from the narrative of the Last Supper found in the Passion Narratives of Mt, Mk
& Lk. In the Synoptics Jesus eats the Last Supper with his disciples on the night
before he died. That Last Supper was a Passover meal. The Passover celebrated
once each year beginning on the 14th day of the month of Nissan, fulfilled the
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command of Ex 12:14 “this day will be a day of remembrance for you which
your future generations will celebrate with pilgrimages to the Lord. You will
celebrate it as a statute forever.” The Passover meal was one in which the
events of the exodus from Egypt & the founding of the nation of Israel were
remembered. It is important to realise that remembering in a Semitic context is
quite different from a Greco-Roman or a British context. In a Semitic context,
remembering is an actual participation in the event which is re-lived. In
describing their remembrance of the exodus, later rabbis used the phrase: “Our
fathers passed through the Red Sea, & our feet got wet.” When the Passover
Meal was celebrated, those participating in the meal were also participating in
the events it commemorated.

The Catechism explains how this notion of remembrance is incorporated into

the Institution Narrative: “In the Institution Narrative the power of the words &
actions of Christ & the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present
under the species of bread & wine, Christ’s Body & Blood, His sacrifice offered
on the cross once for all.” (CCC #1353)

The Institution Narrative begins specifying the time of the action: “At the time
he was betrayed.” In the Synoptic accounts, the Last Supper precedes the
account in the garden where Judas betrays Jesus to the Jewish authorities. So “at
that time” is an appropriate translation. It continues: “He entered willingly into
his Passion.” The adverb “willingly” (voluntarie) has the sense of “voluntarily”.
This is not something Jesus had forced on him, but something He takes on
willingly or voluntarily. That’s brought out in the account of the Good Shepherd
in John’s Gospel: “I lay down my life in order to take it up again…” Jesus says,
“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own” (Jn 10:17b-18).

Then the action of Jesus at the Last Supper is narrated: “He took bread &,
giving thanks, broke it, & gave it to his disciples…” These words are taken
nearly verbatim from the Institution Narrative that’s found in the Last Supper
account in Lk 22:19 & the account of the Last Supper narrative found in “the
tradition received from the Lord” by Paul (1 Cor 11:23-24). There is another
similar variant in Mt 26:26 & Mk 14:22 which has the word “blessed” instead
of “giving thanks.” It is thought by experts in liturgical studies that the wording
of the Gospel reflects the wording of the Eucharistic celebration in the
communities where the gospels originated. Hence the general wording of this
Institution Narrative was similar in all communities with the one exception:
between the communities of Mt-Mk & between the communities of Lk & Paul.
The similarity between Lk & Paul suggests that Lk was in some way connected
to, maybe even a travelling companion, of Paul.

Then the celebrant pronounces the words of consecration, the words whereby
the bread becomes the Body of Christ: “Take this, all of you & eat of it, for this
 15

is my Body which will be given up for you.” These words are a combination of
the words used in Mt, Mk & Lk. Mt & Mk began with the imperative “Take”.
Mt adds the second imperative “Eat”. All three gospels have the central
affirmation “This is my Body” & Lk adds “which is given for you.” Paul in 1
Cor. puts it simply “which is for you.” The Latin translation of the text of Luke
sheds light on the meaning of these words. Luke uses the Greek word
Διδόμενον (didomenon), a participle from the verb Διδόμαι (didomai) meaning
“given.” However the Latin does not translate that Greek verb with the usual
Latin word dare meaning “to give”. Instead it chooses tradere which means “to
hand over”. Thus the words of Institution speak of the Body of Jesus being
“handed over”. That word will be used over & over in the Passion Narrative to
show the progress of Jesus towards his ultimate death. Judas will hand him over
to the arresting party, who will hand him over to the Sanhedrin, who will hand
him over to Pilate, who will ultimately hand him over to the executioners.

Further, Jesus will be “handed over for you” – the disciples. Again the Greek
preposition is telling. It is ύπέρ (huper) which is “for” or “on behalf of”. Earlier
in the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples in a rather climactic moment of defining
his mission; “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve & to give his
life for (ύπέρ) the many” (Mk 10:45). In this giving of his life for the many,
Jesus is like the Suffering Servant of Isaiah “who bore the sins of many &
interceded for their transgressions” (Is 53:12). Jesus the Suffering Servant,
Jesus the Messiah, takes our place before the throne of God making intercession
on our behalf.

The Institution Narrative continues with the Prayer of Consecration over the
wine: “In a similar way, when supper was ended…” This makes reference to the
third cup which was consumed at the Passover meal. “He took the chalice” is
one of the changes in the new translation. Previously the word “cup” was used
which is a proper translation of the Greek ποτήριον (poterion). However the
Latin chose to translate it with the word calix which can mean “cup”, but also
has the meaning of “chalice”, which is the word the new translation uses. This
change reflects the fact that the object which contains the wine about to become
the blood of Christ is no ordinary cup. The celebrant continues: “& once more
giving thanks, He gave it to his disciples…” This follows closely the words of
the Institution Narrative in all the gospels.

The words of consecration of the wine begin: “Take this all of you, & drink
from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the New & Eternal
Covenant…” The notion of “new & eternal covenant” calls to mind the “old
covenant”. In the covenant ratification ceremony on Mount Sinai (Ex 24),
Moses took the bowls of blood from the sacrifice, splashed half on the people &
half on the altar, showing that both God & the people would be bound by the
 16

covenant. As he splashed the blood on the people he said; “this is the blood of
the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words”
(Ex 24:8). That covenant was commemorated in the Passover Meal. In this
Passover Meal Jesus now says his Blood is the blood of a new covenant. But not
just a new covenant, but a “new & eternal covenant”. It is the new & eternal
covenant established by Jesus shedding his blood on the cross in just a matter of
hours. The Catechism says: “the Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-
presents (makes present again) the sacrifice of the cross because it is its
memorial & because it applies its fruit” (CCC #1366).

The celebrant continues: “Which will be poured out for you & for many…”
Again we find a rather significant change in the translation. The previous
translation read “for you & for all.” In the current translation “all” has been
changed to “many”. The obvious reason given for the change is to conform
more closely to the Latin which is “pro multus”, “for the many”. The Latin is a
fair translation of the Greek of Mt & Mk which says ύπέρ ρολων (huper polon)
or “on behalf of the many”. Does that imply there are those who are not
beneficiaries of this sacrifice of Jesus? No. Both in the biblical texts & here, the
contrast is not between “the many” & “the all”. The contrast is between “the
many” & “the one life which is given up for them.” The noted Scripture scholar
Joachim Jeremias has argued that in Semitic texts “many” often has the
inclusive sense of “all” & cites particularly the Fourth Servant Canticle. But
then adds “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” which is found in Is
53:6 just a few verses earlier. Thus “many” as it is used in both Second Isaiah &
in Mt & Mk & correspondingly in the Institution Narrative of the Eucharistic
Prayer, indicates not “many” but “the sum total of all humanity”.

The Prayer of Consecration ends with “for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus’ blood
is poured out in order that our sins may be forgiven. This goes back to a point in
the Creed: “Jesus is both truly God & truly human.” Alone we are unable to
achieve forgiveness for our sins. It was necessary that God become one of us,
truly human & truly divine, in order to achieve that forgiveness. That action will
be accomplished on the cross & resurrection & it is remembered here in the
sacred action of the Mass.

The prayer closes with the command: “Do this in memory of me!” Again, this
memory is not an intellectual recollection rather it is the Church celebrating
Christ’s Passover & it is made present. The sacrifice of Christ offered once for
all on the Cross remains ever present according to the Catechism #1364.

The Memorial Acclamation

The Memorial Acclamation follows the genuflection of adoration to the now

consecrated Blood of Christ. The celebrant proclaims: “The Mystery of Faith”.
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The term “mystery of faith” appears in the instruction to deacons in 1 Tim 3:9.
In the new translation of the Roman Missal the acclamation has been simplified
to correspond to the Latin mysterium fidei. The previous translation read “Let us
proclaim the mystery of faith.” The added words have been dropped, thus the
simplicity of the Latin has been restored. But more significantly, the added
words change the nuance of the acclamation. When we say “Let us proclaim the
mystery of faith”, it implies that the mystery is what we are about to say or
proclaim. In other words, the content of the acclamation. That’s not the intent of
the invitation. Saying simply “The mystery of faith” implies that what has just
happened is the mystery of faith, that is the fact that Our Lord Jesus Christ has
become present on the altar under the forms of bread & wine. That truly is a
mystery.

In response to this, the people affirm that mystery & their incorporation into.
The intent of that acclamation was to help the faithful become more fully aware
of the meaning of their action.

There were four acclamations in the former translation. In the current translation
that number has been reduced to three. The reason for the reduction is that there
are only three acclamations in the Latin text of the Roman Missal. Prior to the
new translation, the Missal included another Acclamation based on a text
composed by Lucien Deiss in 1964 & which was very popular in musical
settings of the Memorial Acclamation: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ
will come again.” The acclamations contained in the Roman Missal express in
some way the proclamation of the assembly’s incorporation into the Paschal
Mystery, signified by first person pronouns which are lacking in this
acclamation.

Let’s look at the three acclamations contained in the Roman Missal. The first
Acclamation (second in the former Missal) was originally translated: “Dying
you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life, Lord Jesus come in
glory.” This translation addresses the acclamation to the Lord Jesus almost with
the intent of commanding him to return as a result of his death & resurrection.
That’s not the intent of the Latin. The new translation brings out the intent of
the original Latin more clearly. The congregation professes & proclaims the
Paschal Mystery until the Lord comes. “We proclaim your death, O Lord, &
profess your resurrection until you come again.” This translation also brings the
text closer in conformity to 1 Cor 11:26 on which it is based: “As often as you
eat this bread & drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He
comes.” In 1 Cor 11 Paul deals with abuses that have occurred in relation to the
celebration of the Lord’s Supper. That Supper is a proclamation of the Lord’s
death. When the participants, both then & now, realise that, they will not over-
indulge themselves, despise others, shame them or allow them to go hungry.
 18

The second Memorial Acclamation is another variant on the text of 1 Cor 11:26
“When we eat this bread & drink this cup, we proclaim your death O Lord, until
you come.” Participation in the Eucharist, eating & drinking, is a proclamation
of the death & resurrection until the Lord comes. The Catechism points out that
“in an age of the Church Christ manifests, makes present & communicates his
work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church until he comes” (CCC
#1076). These two acclamations affirm our participation in that through the
liturgy.

The final Memorial Acclamation is based on Jn 4:42 which is the reaction of the
Samaritans to their encounter with Jesus, not just to the mediated story of the
Samaritan woman. They say “We no longer believe because of your word (viz.
the woman’s) for we have heard for ourselves & we know that this is truly the
Saviour of the world.” The current translation of the acclamation is similar to
the previous one in general. It basically rearranges the order of the phrases to
conform more closely to the Latin text. The final phrase “You are the Saviour of
the world” is brought to the beginning & placed in the imperative as in the
Latin: “Save us, Saviour of the world.” The new translation departs a bit from
the Latin inserting a connector “for” which gives the reason for the saving: “By
your cross & resurrection you have set us free”. The Latin has a relative
pronoun connecting those two phrases: “who by your cross & resurrection have
set us free.” The acclamation stresses the saving power of the death &
resurrection of Jesus.

The Anamnesis

After the Memorial Acclamation, the Eucharistic Prayer continues with the
anamnesis, the memorial. This memorial or the remembering, derives from the
command Jesus gave the apostles at the end of the Institution Narrative: “Do
this in memory of me.” Thus the link to the Institution Narrative is “therefore”.
In the recent translation, “the memory of his death & resurrection” has become
“we celebrate the memorial of his Death & Resurrection.” The celebration of
the memorial is a more solemn way of expressing in biblical terms what has just
happened. “Memorial” as we have seen, is a significant term, referring not just
to an intellectual memory but to actually participating in the events
remembered. Thus “we celebrate”, even though the verb is not in the Latin.

The priest & the people have just participated in Christ’s saving action on the
cross & in his resurrection, not merely remembering it. Then comes the action
of offering: “we offer you Lord, the Bread of Life & the Chalice of Salvation.”
This is a much more biblical translation than the previous one which simply
said: “we offer you, Father, this life-giving bread & this saving cup.” When we
say “Bread of Life”, we immediately think of Jesus’ great statement in John’s
Gospel, the Bread of Life Discourse, “I am the Bread of Life” (Jn 6:35 & 6:48).
 19

This is the bread that he commands that we eat in order that we have eternal life
(Jn 6:51). This is the Eucharist, the bread become the Body of Christ that is our
source of life. To participate of the Bread of Life is to unite oneself with Jesus
the Resurrection & the life.

Similarly, the “chalice of salvation” recalls the words of Ps 116:13 “I will raise
up the cup of salvation & call upon the name of the Lord.” The change from cup
to chalice in the Institution Narrative has been maintained here. The verse in the
psalm is parallel to v.17 “I will offer a sacrifice of praise & call upon the name
of the Lord.” On the basis of this parallelism the Catechism points out that the
Mass can be known as “the holy sacrifice of the Mass, a sacrifice of praise, a
spiritual sacrifice & a pure & holy sacrifice.” So this is no ordinary bread & no
ordinary cup. This bread gives life, this chalice gives salvation.

Also to be noted is the change from “Father” to “Lord”. Again that brings the
recent translation in line with the Latin where the word is “Domine” (Lord) not
“Pater” (Father). But also the use of “Lord” for “God” recalls the Jewish
practice of substituting “Adonai” (my Lord) for the divine name, to save them
from having to pronounce the Divine Name.

The prayer continues: “Giving thanks that you have held us worthy, to be in
your presence & minister to you.” The prayer of memorial ends with
thanksgiving to God recognising our unworthiness to stand before Him & to
minister to Him. Curiously the recent translations altered “stand” to “be”, since
the Latin astare has the sense of “stand at”, “stand by” or “assist.” The change
of “serve” to “minister” not only brings the translation in line with the Latin
ministrare, but also brings out the biblical connection of ministering as the
priests of the OT ministered in the Temple. This recalls 2 Peter which extends
that notion of priesthood to the community, calling it “a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own who announce the praise of Him
who called them out of darkness into his own wonderful light” (2 Pt 2-9).

The Intercessions

The conclusion of the prayer introduces the intercessions. “Humbly we pray…”

Here the verb deprecor has the sense of “intercede”, “entreat” or “beg”. So
“standing in the presence of God”, we now realise that our place is humbly to
intercede with God or entreat God. Thus we are ending this Eucharistic Prayer
with intercessions which we do as a result of our partaking of the Body & Blood
of Christ, the memorial of his saving death & resurrection.

The first intercession is for unity, particularly that by partaking in the Eucharist,
the Holy Spirit will gather us into one. This recalls Paul’s teaching on the
Eucharist: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the
 20

blood of Christ. The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of
Christ. Because the loaf of bread is one, we though many, are one body, for we
all partake of the one loaf.” Partaking of the Eucharist makes us one, not just
the community gathered in a particular church at a particular time, but all those
who partake of the Eucharist in all churches, at all times, are united.

The recent translation strengthens the verb from “sharing in the Body & Blood
of Christ” to “partaking of the Body & Blood of Christ”. This implies a more
active participation & brings the translation more in line with the Latin
“participes.”

Therefore we can also pray “remember your church, spread throughout the
world.” The GIRM tells us that “the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with
the entire Church of heaven as well as of earth & the offering is made for her &
for all her members, living & dead, who have been called to participate in
redemption & salvation” (GIRM #79G).

The participle translated “spread” (diffusae from the verb defundo) actually has
the sense of “pour out” or “spread out”. The implication is that through the
pouring out of the word of God to all nations, the Church has spread out
throughout the world. The purpose of remembering is that the Church’s love or
charity may be brought to completion, as signified by the verb perficio which
has the sense of “complete.” This implies that the Church wants more than
simple growth in love or charity. She prays for a completion or perfection of
love or charity. This is not the love that exists between human beings expressed
in Latin by the word amor. Rather it is the great virtue of “charity” expressed in
Latin by the word caritas, so eloquently described by St Paul in 1 Cor 13:1-13.

Mention of the fullness of charity also brings to mind the First Letter of John
where he says “there is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because
fear has to do with punishment & so one who fears is not yet perfect in love” (1
Jn 4:18).

This union in love & charity begins at the top of the Church hierarchy & works
its way down. So we pray “Together with Francis, our Pope; Vincent, our
bishop (or whoever the bishop may be) & all the clergy.” The mention of “all
the clergy” is derived from the Roman liturgical tradition. Some may be put off
by the mention of pope, bishops & clergy with no mention of “lay people”.
However the Latin clerus, translated “clergy”, has a broader connotation. It is
not just those in Orders but all who are engaged in ministry. Thus the laity
would also be included.

From the Church & its ministers, we move to remember those who have died. In
Masses for the Dead there is a special commemoration added for the person for
 21

whom the Mass is being offered. In all Masses the general commemoration of
the dead follows. “Remember also, our brothers & sisters, & all who have
fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection.” All believers in Jesus have the
hope of the resurrection. St. Paul speaks of the hope of the resurrection when he
says “hope that is not seen is not hope, for who hopes for what is seen? But if
we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience” (Rom 8:25).
That’s the case of the Christian with regards to the resurrection: we have not
seen it, but we wait patiently for it.

The memorial is then expanded to “all who have died in your mercy”. Both
groups are to be admitted into the light of God’s countenance. The Latin is
further translated: “Welcome (admitte) them into the light of your face (vultus).”
The Latin verb “admitto” has the sense of “urge”, but also “let in”, “admit” or
“receive.” This is an allusion to Ps 89:16 which says: “How blessed the people
who know the festal shout, who walk O Lord in the light of your face.” The
“festal shout” is in worship a cry or a shout of acclamation & joy towards God.
So those who cry out with that festal joy & shout, are those who live in the
radiance of God’s countenance. Ps 27:8 says: “your face O Lord we seek.” Ps
4:7 notes that the countenance or face of God brings us light: “O Lord, let the
light of your countenance shine upon us.”

Underlying this is a blessing heard many times in Jewish liturgy: the Aaronic
Blessing found in Num 6, in particular the invocation “The Lord make his face
shine upon you & be gracious to you. The Lord will lift up his face to you &
give you his peace” (Num 6:25-26). The “shining of the face” is a figure of
speech for benevolence or favour. Putting all this together, the sense of the
phrase of the Eucharistic Prayer is to show benevolence & favour to all who
have died.

The final prayer of intercession is a plea for mercy for those gathered in the
Eucharistic assembly. “Have mercy on us all, we pray (quaesumus)”. The sense
of the Latin verb quaeso is “ask” with a sense of “seeking” or almost “begging.”
The purpose of this mercy is that the company of all who have gone before us,
in particular Mary the Mother of God, the blessed apostles & all the saints who
have pleased God, we may come to be co-heirs of eternal life. Paul notes that
we are children of God: “The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God & if children, then heirs, heirs of God & joint heirs or co-heirs
with Christ. If only we suffer with him, may we be glorified with him” (Rom
8:16-17). Mary, the apostles & the saints experienced suffering in their lives &
through that suffering they have achieved eternal glory.

We end the Eucharistic prayer praying that we also having suffered in this life,
may achieve eternal life & may praise God for it. As with all prayers, we
conclude our prayer “through your Son, Jesus Christ.”
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The Final Doxology

All of the Eucharistic Prayers end with a final word of praise known as
“doxology”. In Eucharistic Prayer No.2 that doxology expands the final words
“through your Son, Jesus Christ”. The celebrant takes the chalice & the paten
containing the Body & Blood of Christ & elevates them before the people. The
words he says are an ancient prayer of praise common in the Church of the 3rd
& 4th cent. That prayer is an address to God through Christ in the Holy Spirit.
This is a classic formula underlying all Christian prayer.

The doxology begins: “Through him & with him & in him, O God almighty
Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.” The phrase “unity of the Holy Spirit”
recalls Eph 4:3 which speaks of the preservation of unity of the Spirit through
the bond of peace. In Paul, as well as in the final doxology of the Eucharistic
Prayer, that unity is the unity of the Church, a unity whose foundation is the
Holy Spirit.

The main clause follows: “All glory & honour is yours.” All glory & honour are
offered to God through Christ. But now, in what has just occurred in the
sacramental liturgy, Christ is united to the community of the redeemed in the
glorification of God which takes place with him & in him.

Finally, that glory is said to be eternal: “forever & ever.” Thus, we the
community celebrating the Eucharist, join with Jesus in offering to the Father
eternal honour.

To that great final doxology the gathered congregation makes yet another
acclamation, the Amen, known as the Great Amen. “Amen” is an Anglicised
form of the Hebrew for “I believe.” In other words, through this Great Amen the
congregation puts its assent on all that has happened in the Eucharistic Prayer.