Dear Friends,
I concluded last week’s bulletin column with the dialogue between the priest celebrant and the congregation, in which the priest invites everyone to enter more deeply into the offering of thanksgiving and Christ’s sacrifice, asking that God may look upon our offerings with favor. Everyone responds, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church.” We have placed our offerings in the hands of the priest, standing in persona Christi—in the person of Christ; what we are doing is not simply for ourselves, but for the good of the entire Church. At this point of the Mass, it could be possible for the priest to stand in front of the altar, not with his back to everyone, but rather, facing the Lord, praying on behalf of the congregation. The priest then prays the Prayer over the Offerings, which is preparing us for the Eucharistic Prayer.
From here we enter into the most sacred and most important part of the Mass: the Eucharistic Prayer. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM, for short; this contains the general rubrics and background information for the contents of the Roman Missal, the book with the prayers said by the priest at Mass) says this about the Eucharistic Prayer: “Now, the center and summit of the entire celebration begins: namely, the Eucharistic Prayer, that is, the prayer of thanksgiving and sanctification.” The GIRM lists the chief elements of the Eucharistic Prayer: Thanksgiving, Acclamation, Epiclesis, Institution Narrative and Consecration, Anamnesis, Offering, Intercessions, Final Doxology.
Today we will explore the elements of Thanksgiving and Acclamation. Going back again to the GIRM, it states this about Thanksgiving in the Eucharistic Prayer: “...the priest, in the name of the entire holy people, glorifies God the Father and gives thanks for the whole work of salvation or for some special aspect of it that corresponds to the day, festivity, or season.” The Eucharistic Prayer begins with Thanksgiving in what is typically referred to as the Preface. The Preface begins with a 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.”
Perhaps the most noteworthy portion of this dialogue is “Lift up your hearts,” or Sursum Corda in Latin. It is a reminder to all of us that our focus and attention should be entirely on God at this point—no need to worry about what the priest, the musician, the servers, or the people next to you are doing. Lift up your hearts to God! The words following the dialogue will detail what God has done for us, why we lift up our hearts, why we are giving thanks to God.
Following the Preface comes the element of Acclamation in singing the Sanctus, or “Holy, Holy, Holy.” After hearing the reasons for thanking God, we join in singing with the angels of Heaven of the holiness of God: “Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.” The first section of this song and acclamation comes from Isaiah 6:3 in which the Seraphim, the six-winged fiery angels adoring God, cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” Another portion of this song comes from Psalm 118:26, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” “Hosanna in the highest” comes from Matthew 21:9, when the crowds acclaim Jesus as He enters into Jerusalem. The Sanctus is a Scriptural song, and it is a song sung eternally in Heaven by the angels and saints. By joining the song of the angels and saints, it becomes clear that Heaven is being made present to us; the veil between this world and Heaven is lifted! Mass, especially during the Eucharistic Prayer, is where Heaven is opened up to us—what a gift God gives us!
We are saints under construction, lifting our hearts up to the Lord, thanking God, and acclaiming His holiness! Have a great week!
In Christ,
Fr. Matt