Vicars Letter July 07

The Parish Eucharist 3 – The Liturgy of the Eucharist

At the end of the Liturgy of the Word, the focus of the service shifts from the ambo and the chair to the altar (which has been almost entirely unused to this point). The Liturgy of the Eucharist is made up of four principal actions – actions of Jesus at the last Supper and in his feeding miracles. Just as Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it and shared it so do we in the Eucharist.

Taking – or the Offertory

The taking of bread is the offertory. Bread and wine are brought to the altar by members of the congregation. They are handed to the priest-celebrant and he places them on the altar. A prayer is said first over the bread and then over the up. On a Sunday these prayers are covered by singing. The gifts and altar are sometimes censed and the priest washes his hands before starting the Eucharistic Prayer. The washing has a practical purpose but also emphasises the connection between the sacrament of washing (baptism) and the Mass.

The Eucharistic Prayer – blessing

Taken from the Greek word for thanksgiving, the Eucharistic Prayer is about much more than making Jesus sacramentally present in bread and wine. Instead it begins with a seasonal preface which calls to mind the theme of the time of year before moving on to thank God for all that he has done especially in the climax of his work, the ministry of Jesus Christ. We ‘call to mind’ the life death and resurrection of Jesus in readiness for his return in glory. And it is in this wider context of thanksgiving that we ask God to receive our gifts and to make them the gift of Jesus himself, his body and blood. The prayer concludes with a doxology, a sentence in praise of God during which the gifts are raised in a gesture of offering. The ‘great amen’ as it is often called is the community’s affirmation of the prayer and one of the highpoints of the whole celebration.

The breaking of bread

This part of the celebration has had great significance down the centuries to the extent that in the book of Acts and many times since the whole celebration has been referred to in these terms – the breaking of bread or the breaking of bread and the prayers. It was as he broke the bread at Emmaus the disciples recognised him.

At our mass the bread is broken during an ancient hymn in praise of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). Ideally there should be one bread and one cup on the altar (as a sign of unity). Where this isn’t possible and small altar bread are used there is still one bread which is broken and which some of people present are given. (Next time you receive the Eucharist, look to see whether the altar bread has been broken from the larger one or is a small round bread. There is no intended favouritism in this, it is a random thing dependant on what comes to hand first!)

The sharing

The Eucharist is a meal and as with any such occasion, one only participates fully when receiving Holy Communion. The name communion has its roots in the idea of fellowship and belonging. This is both a vertical fellowship and a horizontal one: in its vertical sense we enter into a deeper fellowship with God when we receive Holy Communion; in its horizontal sense Holy Communion expresses and nurtures our fellowship with one another and the whole church ‘living and departed’. The link between communion with God and communion with his church is best expressed in the double-meaning of the term ‘body of Christ’. At on and the same time this means Jesus present in the sacrament as well as Jesus’ Body the church. To put it bluntly, Body of Christ means both him and us; and more than that, the unity between him and us and us with each other.