Friday, February 15, 2013

This is My Body: The Eucharistic Prayer (Part II)

We have presented our offerings. We have "lifted up our hearts". We have recognized that we are at worship not only like heaven but in heaven.

We have lifted ourselves up to heaven...now heaven is going to come down to us.

This is part seven of my series on the Mass, Guided Missal

Part 1: Opening the Doors
Part 2: A Rite for Wrongs
Part 3: Word.
Part 4: I've Got Good News
Part 5: Offer It Up
Part 6: Holy, Holy, Holy




The Epiclesis

The next part of the Eucharistic Prayer is known as the epiclesis, which is the Greek term used to describe "calling down the Holy Spirit". Until now, we have been remembering - remembering God's covenant for us. Now, we get to live it. 

Note the phrase the priest uses here: "Send down your Spirit like the dewfall." This phrase, which is part of the "new" translation (Missal III) is one of the most poetic - and under-appreciated - changes to the Missal. The first time I heard it, I thought it was just a nice little piece of beauty. It's just so...poetic..."send your Spirit like the dewfall"

It wasn't until I had a very fortunate encounter with a Franciscan brother that I understood that this phrase goes deeper. He showed me a passage from an Old Testament book that really doesn't get a lot of attention: the book of Judges. There's a story there, though, of a man who is calling upon God...asking for a sign of God's Spirit.

Gideon was a man chosen by God to lead Israel to victory. He was not, however, a man of abundant confidence. He desperately prayed to God for a sign that he was the one, and his prayer went something like this:

"Gideon said to God, 'If indeed you are going to save Israel through me, as you have said,
I am putting this woolen fleece on the threshing floor, and if dew is on the fleece alone, while all the ground is dry, I shall know that you will save Israel through me, as you have said.'
That is what happened. Early the next morning when he wrung out the fleece, he squeezed enough dew from it to fill a bowl.
Gideon then said to God, 'Do not be angry with me if I speak once more. Let me make just one more test with the fleece. Let the fleece alone be dry, but let there be dew on all the ground.'
That is what God did that night: the fleece alone was dry, but there was dew on all the ground."
-Judges 6: 36-40

God sent His Spirit like dew...he didn't send a flood. He sent his Spirit exactly where it was intended to go. We can't actually see the dewfall - it just happens. It isn't like rain, that we can look at the sky and pinpoint when the first drops fall. One moment it is dry, the next it is damp. It is the same when God sends his Spirit upon the bread and wine. 

The Institution Narrative

Next is the "high point" of the Eucharistic Prayer - the Institution Narrative. The priest recalls the events of the Last Supper, but he doesn't just recall them: he makes them real. We believe that the priest acts in persona Christi - in the Person of Christ. He is "another Christ" at that altar. The Last Supper is as real to us at that moment as it was to the Twelve all those centuries ago. 

Jesus was not a liar. We know that what He said was truth. So when he said "This is my body" it wasn't a "symbol". It wasn't a metaphor. It was and is his Body and Blood. 

That is perhaps one of the more mystifying parts of Catholicism - something that separates us even from our fellow Christian brothers - we believe that the bread and wine literally become the Body and Blood of Jesus. 

The same Jesus that died on the Cross for us, and was raised, is present right in front of us. 

There's a LOT more that can be said about the Real Presence, but that's a topic for another post. If you're curious, though, and would like to read an explanation that is far better than what I could provide (They even quote saints and everything!), read this brief but well-said explanation: The Real Presence.


The Anamnesis, Oblation and Intercession

Now we are in the presence of God. Our Lord sits on the altar before us. So, naturally, we pray. The next part is known as the anamnesis and it is Greek for "remembering". It's usually paired with epiclesis as the two fundamental parts of any sacrament - we remember God's work throughout history, and we call down the Spirit to continue it. So now we remember God's working throughout salvation history, and how he has redeemed the world before and will continue to do so.

We offer the Eucharist as an oblation (offering) to God - that's the whole point of Jesus' life and death: to save us from our sins. So, we offer that Christ that is on the altar as a sin offering. We give him up so he can die for us. We pray that our offering be acceptable to God.

Then we ask for things, because even with Christ's salvation we are still weak humans. After all, we did sin enough that God had to send his Son to us. We call to mind the lives of the saints, our spiritual ancestors and role models. We know that our prayers are answered here - I mean, God Himself is right in front of us. 

The Doxology

The Eucharistic Prayer ends with what is called the "doxology". It's a short verse, but it packs so much meaning. "Through Him and with Him and in Him, O God Almighty Father, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honors is yours, forever and ever"

We no longer refer to the wafer, which was previously bread - an "it" - as such. Now, it is Christ. It is "Him." We are talking directly to Christ elevated before us. That short verse has a lot of Trinitarian doctrine in it (again, the topic of a later post) but the main thing to take away is this: God is here.

We answer with "Amen"...but it's not just any Amen. It's called the Great Amen, and it's so important that it's usually sung. Amen is one of two Hebrew words we carried over into the regular liturgy - the other being Hallelujah/Alleluia. You've probably heard that it means "I believe." and it does...but it's so much deeper than that. According to legend, when the first-century Christians proclaimed the Great Amen, the pagan temples shook.

Amen isn't just "I believe" but it's "I fully affirm with everything I am." It's saying "I would die for this." So when we say our Amen, say it as though your life depended on it. 

Ad crucis.



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