From the Rector/Catechesis, Fourth Sunday of Easter, 4/30/23
Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass
From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal
The Preparation of the Gifts
- At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the gifts which will become Christ’s Body and Blood, are brought to the
altar. - The procession bringing the gifts is accompanied by the Offertory Chant, which continues at least until the gifts have
been placed on the altar. [There may be incense.] - Then the Priest washes his hands at the side of the altar, a rite in which the desire for interior purification finds
expression.
The Prayer over the Offerings - Once the offerings have been placed on the altar and the accompanying rites completed, by means of the invitation to
pray with the Priest and by means of the Prayer over the Offerings, the Preparation of the Gifts is concluded and preparation
made for the Eucharistic Prayer.
The Eucharistic Prayer - Now the center and high point of the entire celebration begins, namely, the Eucharistic Prayer itself, that is, the prayer of
thanksgiving and sanctification. The Priest calls upon the people to lift up their hearts towards the Lord in prayer and
thanksgiving; he associates the people with himself in the Prayer that he addresses in the name of the entire community to
God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. - The main elements of which the Eucharistic Prayer consists may be distinguished from one another in this way:
[thanksgiving (preface), acclamation (Sanctus), epiclesis, institution narrative, anamnesis, oblation, intercessions, and
concluding doxology]
The Communion Rite
The Lord’s Prayer
The Rite of Peace
The Fraction of the Bread - The Priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, with the assistance, if the case requires, of the Deacon or a concelebrant. The
gesture of breaking bread done by Christ at the Last Supper, which in apostolic times gave the entire Eucharistic Action its
name, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of
Life, which is Christ, who for the salvation of the world died and rose again. The Priest breaks the Bread and puts a piece of
the host into the chalice to signify the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the
Body of Jesus Christ, living and glorious. The supplication Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) accompanies the fraction of the
bread.
Communion - While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant is begun, its purpose being to express the spiritual
union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly
the “communitarian” character of the procession to receive the Eucharist. The singing is prolonged for as long as the
Sacrament is being administered to the faithful. However, if there is to be a hymn after Communion, the Communion Chant
should be ended in a timely manner. - To bring to completion the prayer of the People of God, and also to conclude the whole Communion Rite, the Priest
pronounces the Prayer after Communion, in which he prays for the fruits of the mystery just celebrated.
This week’s FORMED.org recommendation: Real + True: Eucharistic Revival and/or What do Catholics Believe about the Eucharist
