Mass Talks 15: Elements of the Eucharistic Prayer

Did you ever wonder what Mass must have been like in the early days of the Church, when there were no printed missals to indicate how it should go? How Mass was said is part of the inheritance we call Sacred Tradition, meaning here what was passed on from Jesus to the apostles, and from them to successive generations of bishops, even down to the present day. We do have some precious and ancient documents that inform us what those liturgies of long ago were like, and there is a phrase in one of them describing the bishop at the altar, saying what we now call the Eucharistic Prayer, that I find curious and even enchanting. It says that the bishop gives out his prayer “with all his might.” Exactly what was said is unknown, but in the course of time various texts came to be written down of these primitive Eucharistic prayers and were distributed throughout various parts of the Church, eventually becoming fixed and permanent. These long series of prayers that form the very heart of the Mass were different in the Eastern Church than in the West, even though there was surely some borrowing of phrases here and there. In the Latin rite, the Eucharistic Prayer finally settled down to a single version that was obligatory; all others being thenceforth prohibited. Thus, this prayer came to be called the “canon” of the Mass: canon meaning permanent and invariable. In today’s Roman Missal–the priest’s altar book containing the Mass prayers–there are a walloping ten Eucharistic prayers, an unprecedented wealth of options. The first of these is the traditional Roman Canon that I mentioned. Number Two, the shortest of them, designed for weekday use, is modeled after a text in one of those ancient documents on the liturgy that I referred to. Three is a very popular choice (I will use it this morning). Four makes only a more rare appearance, but is rich in biblical allusions. And then there are two having reconciliation for a theme; four of them for use in Masses of various needs. Church law stipulates that the priest must select only from these ten; he may not use any other compositions, nor improvise his own, nor even change the printed words in any way.

While each of the ten Eucharistic Prayer has its own appeal, there are some constant elements and features present in all of them. The thing most identifiable to you would be the words of consecration: ‘this is my body; this is my blood;’ which remain the same in all of them.

The general context in which these prayers are cast is praise. The Mass perfectly satisfies God’s demands for our worship and fulfills even beyond human capabilities our need to worship Him. (This is the reason why we are obliged by law, and under pain of sin, to assist at Mass every Sunday–or Saturday evening.) The Mass is the greatest act of worship possible because it is not just a human activity; rather, it is Christ Himself who is the principal, though invisible, priest of every valid Mass who is offering to God the Father the perfect religious act: namely, renewing Christ’s sacrificial death. Without the sacrificial death of Christ, we would all probably be hell-bound and, at least, incapable of entering heaven. So, the Mass, which renews our Lord’s sacrifice, is a vitally necessary act for our salvation. If it were otherwise, our Lord would not have commanded, “Do this” in remembrance of Him.

Returning now to the elements that constitute the Eucharistic Prayer, I want to identify its essential features so that you could be a little more aware of the significance of the words the priest says at this central portion of the Mass. I mentioned already the element of praise. In this, the Church aims to give God glory by having the priest give a recital of some of God’s great deeds. Recall here that Jesus, before the consecration, first “gave thanks” to His Father. The Church imitates this. Then there is a wonderful invocation of the Holy Spirit. This is the prayer the priest says when he exercises his priestly power by stretching his hands over the bread and wine, preparing them for the action immediately to take place of changing them into the Body and Blood of Christ. Then comes the most solemn moment, the words of consecration–which we will speak about next week–followed by an act of ‘remembering’ Jesus’ death and resurrection as you join in a brief acclamation. Once our Lord is now actually present in the Eucharist, the priest then “offers Him up” as the sacrifice of the Mass. This, of course, is a key element. It’s not only that the Mass makes Christ to appear and become physically present–sublime reality that this is–but that Christ and the priest (and the people too) offer our Lord in sacrifice, doing in effect what Jesus did at the Last Supper and on His cross. That’s the central and great act of the Mass that God wishes to be done and by which we have grace and blessings upon the world! The Mass is the sacrifice of Christ renewed and repeated by every true offering of Mass through the world.

The Church, of course, takes good advantage of this opportunity of having Jesus right before us, and makes particular requests of Him. Intercessions are made for everyone in the Church, for all the living and for all the dead who may yet be in purgatory. (The Mass is the most powerful means we have to obtain help from God for whatever our needs.)

The Eucharistic Prayer ends with a doxology, meaning here a particularly stirring form of praise to which you answer Amen.

I have just a few final comments. We’re used to hearing the priest recite the Eucharistic Prayer out loud. That was not always the case. The Canon of the Mass used to be recited by the priest alone in almost complete silence, while the people either followed along in their prayerbooks or else said other prayers of their own at this time. Now it is routinely said aloud, and it may even be sung by the priest in a chant.

Note that the Eucharistic Prayer is always addressed to God the Father because He is the Person of the Trinity who will receive the offering we will make of His Son in the Mass.

Also, in each of the ten Eucharistic Prayers, we make particular mention of certain persons. First of all, we always pray for the Pope by name and the bishop of our diocese. In invoking the saints of heaven, there is always mentioned first the ever-Blessed Virgin Mary and then the apostles; other saints’ names are given as well. We invoke the saints in the Mass so that they will pray to God for us since they so pleased God by the merits of their holy lives.

Finally, we don’t want to forget that in the Mass we are praying for ourselves too that we might be blest and have our prayers and intentions heard by God. Indeed, whether or not we are able to receive Communion at Mass or not, coming to Church for Mass is the best way and time to make your prayers heard.

The Mass is your life-line to heaven!