“At the last supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” (SC 47)This means that our Eucharistic meal is a sacrificial meal. In the celebration of the Eucharist, Christ unites our sacrifice of praise with his sacrifice on the cross. Eucharistic Prayer IV includes these words:
“Look, O Lord, upon the sacrifice which you yourself have provided for your Church, and grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one bread and one chalice that, gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory.”You can listen specifically for that, or references to that, during the Eucharistic Prayer at Mass, especially on Sundays.
Other items of a thematic or decorative nature, which are not intended for the poor or for the needs of the Church community, are not to be presented at this time.An Offertory song is recommended during the preparation of the altar and gifts, at least until the gifts are placed on the altar. But since the prayers of the priest that follow are to be spoken in a low voice, the singing may continue until the priest has finished washing his hands. The prescriptions for this song are the same as for the Entrance song. Even though this section is commonly called the "Offertory" because the offerings are collected and brought to the altar, that is not the proper name. It is rightly called the "preparation of the gifts". After the gifts have been brought to the altar, the deacon hands the bread to the priest, who offers the blessing (“blessed are you, Lord God…"). If there is a deacon, he then pours the wine into the chalice and adds a few drops of water while saying, “by the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” (If there is no deacon, the priest does all this.) He then hands the chalice to the priest, who offers the blessing. These prayers are usually done quietly because there is a song. However, if there is no song, they can be said aloud with the congregation responding, “Blessed be God forever” after each of the two blessings. The priest then bows humbly and prays, “With humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.”
[Most of the information used in these blog posts, comes from the text of a video made by Salt + Light Television in partnership with the National Liturgy Office of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2011, to help explain the latest changes to the language of the English Roman Missal, titled, THE CELEBRATION OF EUCHARIST for the Twenty-First Century. The project was headed by Fr. Bill Burke and the text of that video was written by Canadian liturgist Margaret Bick, both of whom I owe a great deal of thanks for the vast knowledge they shared with us.]
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