#23 The Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer: Why we Give Thanks and Worship. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts.

What follows the Opening Dialogue of the Eucharistic Prayer is the Preface, also called "the Thanksgiving" of the Mass. This is the giving thanks which is expressed in the Greek word for thanksgiving, i.e. eucharistia, from which we have the name for the Mass as Eucharist. This is significant because thanksgiving so predominates the Mass that the early Church called the entire service "Thanksgiving," i.e. Eucharist.

 

As we saw last week, a declaration is made in this Thanksgiving. When the Priests exhorts the People saying "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God," the People respond "It is right and just."

 

Then the Priest continues in these words:

 

"It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,

through Christ our Lord."

 

 

Note that it is "through Christ our Lord" that we give God thanks. Jesus initiated the Eucharist first at the Last Supper when he took bread and wine and gave thanks (eucharistia) to God the Father. All liturgical prayer is made to God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit. We enter then, or share, Christ’s thanksgiving.

 

Let us consider the implications of this giving of thanks to God.

 

I will often say in introducing the Eucharistic Prayer to the Assembly gathered for Sunday Eucharist:

 

"My brothers and sisters, now is the time for us to remember all the good gifts that God has given us and give thanks for those gifts..."

 

I say this because it is at this point in the Mass (i.e. at the Preface) that thanks is given.

 

When a gift is given to us, the proper response is thanksgiving, showing our gratitude. There is an appreciation not only for the gift but also for the gift-giver. When we receive some wonderful gift, we will praise the gift-giver. We might say "You are so generous and kind, etc."

 

This is the dynamic of the Eucharistic Prayer: thanksgiving for the gifts of God lavished upon us, the greatest gift being God’s love made fully known to us in his Son, Christ Jesus. We say that such thanksgiving to God is "right and just."

 

 

These two words, "right" and "just," are almost synonymous in Biblical thought. In the Bible the concept of justice does not refer primarily to legal obligations and the punishment for violations of these obligations. Justice in the Scriptures refers primarily to the rich meaning of "right relationships."

 

We have three basic relationships which we must "get right" in life or experience suffering:

 

(1) There is the right relationship with God which is to love God and thank and worship God as God (as above all).

 

(2) There is the right relationship with others, about which Jesus said "Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34)

 

(3) And there is the right relationship with creation, which is to be good stewards of it.

 

So when we say it is "right and just" to give God thanks, we are saying in essence "it is in right relationship with God that we give God thanks and recognize God as the giver of every good gift.

 

Moreover, the Priest says in the opening sentence of the Thanksgiving that this is "our duty and our salvation." It is our duty because it is what is due to God because of God’s gifts to us. It is our salvation because to be in right relationship with God produces our well-being.

 

In addition, the Priest declares at Mass that we should give thanks "always and everywhere through Christ our Lord." St. Paul says " And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17) This phrase "always and everywhere" could be interpreted as refer to the eternal thanksgiving of the Church, on earth and especially in heaven. Such an eternal thanksgiving goes on always in all places, and it is this cosmic thanksgiving we enter into when we participate in the Mass.

 

I encourage that in preparation for Mass on Sunday you make a list (write it out if you wish) before Mass about what you want to thank God for in the Mass at the Thanksgiving. In the time before Mass when the people are praying silently and preparing, recall what it is you want to give thanks for, in addition to what you may be asking for God’s help.

 

So often we focus on what may be wrong in our life, upon the negative (consider that most news media is about reporting "bad news") and upon what we perceive as lacking in our lives. But when we concentrate and remember the good gifts in our lives, what we have, and what is going right, we experience gratitude and gratitude brings joy. Then we may say with the Prophet Isaiah:

 

"Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth." (Isaiah 12:4-5)

 

 

Next Week: What We Give Thanks For in Mass.

 

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#22 Just Between Us: Dialogue of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer. Understanding the Mass and Its Parts

The Eucharistic Prayer is the central prayer of the Mass. It begins with a dialogue between the Priest (or Bishop) and the People. It is inspiring, as we shall see, that every sentence of the Eucharistic prayer is meaningful, especially for those who become knowledgeable about the Mass, as you are doing.

 

The Dialogue begins what is called the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer. The Dialogue is as follows:

 

Priest: The Lord be with you.

People: And with your spirit.

 

Priest: Lift up your hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

 

Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

People: It is right and just.

 

The first exchange is a type of greeting between the Priest and the People. We have heard it before in the Mass: at the beginning of the Mass after the Sign of the Cross; before the Gospel is proclaimed; it will also be exchanged at the "Kiss of Peace’ (in this form, Priest: "The peace of the Lord be with you." People: "And with your spirit."). Finally it is said at the Dismissal.

 

This was one of the changes that came about with the new translation of the Roman Missal in 2011. The greeting was once said in this way: Priest: "The Lord be with you." People: "And also with you." However, the original Latin of the authoritative text of the Mass has the People’s response as "Et cum spiritu tuo," i.e., "And with your spirit." This has a meaning not captured in the response "And also with you."

 

So what does this greeting mean and how is it meaningful for us in the Mass?

 

First, the Priest and the People are together entering into a holy work (the root meaning of the word "liturgy" is "public work"). We are being united with the Prayer of the Risen and Glorified Christ in the Liturgy of Heaven.

 

Painting by Pietro Cavallini

 

The Mass is not our action alone nor is it initiated by us. Rather, by our union with Christ in Baptism, we share in his worship of God the Father. God has initiated our worship and the Son of God perfectly worships the Father in his glorified humanity. In this union, we are the Body of Christ and we participate in the Prayer of our Head, our Leader and Lord, Christ Jesus. As the Catechism states:

 

"The liturgy is also a participation in Christ's own prayer addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its source and goal. Through the liturgy the inner man is rooted and grounded in ‘the great love with which [the Father] loved us’ in his beloved Son. It is the same ‘marvelous work of God’ that is lived and internalized by all prayer, ‘at all times in the Spirit.’" (#1073)

 

I remember what a revelation this was for me when I first realized that it is Christ’s worship that we join in every time we celebrate the Eucharist. What dignity is conferred upon us in this divine act of which we are a part!

 

 

So at the beginning of this divine work, knowing that this is a work rooted in the Triune God, the Priest wishes or expresses what must happen to enter into this prayer. So he says: "[May] The Lord be with you." You see, only with the Lord can we do this Christian worship, Christ’s worship. And the People respond in a similar way to the Priest; "And [may the Lord be] with your spirit."

 

This response "And with your spirit" is only said to an ordained minister (a Bishop, Priest, or Deacon). Commentators on this use of the word "spirit" propose that what is being referred to is the grace of the ordination of the minister given to his spirit. In the context of the Eucharistic Prayer, when only a Priest (or Bishop) is saying this greeting, the U. S. Bishops note:

 

"The Priest, by the spirit given him at ordination, is about to act in the person of Christ to consecrate the bread and wine into the Holy Eucharist."

 

You see, the Priest (and Bishop, supremely) is consecrated in Ordination to be able to represent "Christ the Head of the Church."

 

 

The second exchange of the Preface Dialogue is understood as "a turn toward" heaven, and more specifically entering that aforementioned "Heavenly Liturgy." (For more sgo HERE) As the Catechism teaches:

 

"The liturgy is the work of the whole Christ, head and body. Our high priest celebrates it unceasingly in the heavenly liturgy [i.e., in heaven], with the holy Mother of God, the apostles, all the saints, and the multitude of those who have already entered the kingdom." (#1187)

 

Our worship is not merely a social gathering concerned only with this world. Our worship is a transcendent event, "heaven on earth," and so should have an exalted dimension. Thus the Priest exhorts: "Lift up your hearts." But to where are we lifting our hearts up? To heaven, to the Lord.

 

 

 

The People respond, "We lift them up to the Lord."

 

Our hearts denote our entire selves. St. Thérse de Lisieux said "For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."

 

 

The final exchange is also rich in meaning. The Priest says, "Let us give thanks to the Lord." As it is often pointed out, the original Greek for "thanksgiving" is "eucharistia." (Greek was the original language of the Mass at the beginning) And the People respond: "It is right and just."

 

 

Justice in its Biblical meaning is "right relationship" and doing what is right. One web site notes:

 

 

"St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that we participate in Mass as an act of justice, giving God the praise and thanksgiving that is his due. It is not so much about what we ‘get out of Mass’ but instead what we bring to Mass.

 

  "Christian worship is about praising and thanking God in community as we recall God’s blessings and as we rediscover our own identity as Christ’s body in this world.

 

  "Gathering every Sunday for Mass challenges us both as individuals and as a community to live differently because of the worship we celebrate. Authentic worship fills our hearts with gratitude and leads us to deeds of justice.

 

 "We are missioned to "go" from Mass and live each day lifting our hearts to the Lord, aware of God’s glory in creation and thanking and praising God, because it is right and just."

 

(www. blog.renewintl.org/it-is-right-and-just)

 

Next Week: "The Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer: Why we Give Thanks and Worship"

 

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