A month or so earlier in this column I started to talk about Eucharistic Prayer I, but I ran out of space and decided I’d better make it a series. I’ll return to Eucharistic Prayer I later, but today I’d like to talk about Eucharistic Prayer III.
In case those numbers mean nothing to you: Eucharistic Prayer I and Eucharistic Prayer III are generally the two “Sunday” Eucharistic Prayers. As a reminder the “Eucharistic Prayer” is the core prayer of the Mass, beginning with the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) and ending with the Our Father. It’s the part of the Mass where the Eucharist is consecrated.
Like all the Eucharistic Prayers, Eucharistic Prayer III addresses God the Father and recalls His work in creation. The beginning of the prayer recalls God’s gathering all people to Himself, “so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to Your name.” Indeed, through the holy Apostles and evangelists of our faith, God has gathered believers from every corner of the globe, from east to west. And in every place, every country in the world, the holy sacrifice of the Mass—the “pure sacrifice” of Christ on the Cross—is offered to the glory of the Father!
The imagery of the rising and setting sun reminds us also that this sacrifice is extended not just through space, but also through time. This Mass of Christ’s self-offering was first offered at His coming, the true rising of the sun, and it will continue until the very end of time, the setting of the sun. We’ve already been doing it for 2000 years with the core elements being largely unchanged. The Mass is truly “universal,” and it retains its form throughout every culture and even throughout all of history. Which is pretty cool, if y’ask me.
After the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the words of consecration follow, which are replicated exactly throughout all four Eucharistic Prayers. During this moment in particular, the priest stands in persona Christi, in the person of Christ. When the priest says, “This is My Body,” he is talking about Christ’s Body. No one has authority to speak those words on their own. So at that moment, it is not so much the priest speaking those words as Jesus himself. Through the priest, Jesus reaches through time and addresses His disciples in the present day, giving them the gift of Himself. And the priest is just as much a disciple of Jesus as anybody else, so after the miracle that Jesus makes happen on the altar, he genuflects in adoration.
Much more to say on these rich prayers, but that’ll have to wait for another time. God is good!