277. How is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist carried out? (part 3 continuation)
(Comp
277 repetition) The Eucharist unfolds in two great parts which together form
one, single act of worship. The Liturgy of the Word involves proclaiming and
listening to the Word of God. The Liturgy of the Eucharist includes the
presentation of the bread and wine, the prayer or the anaphora containing the
words of consecration, and communion.
“In
brief”
(CCC 1408)
The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of
God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of
his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the
liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements
constitute one single act of worship.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1352)
The anaphora: with the Eucharistic
Prayer - the prayer of thanksgiving and consecration - we come to the heart and
summit of the celebration: In the preface,
the Church gives thanks to the Father, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit, for
all his works: creation, redemption, and sanctification. The whole community
thus joins in the unending praise that the Church in heaven, the angels and all
the saints, sing to the thrice-holy God. (CCC 1353) In the epiclesis, the Church asks the Father to send his Holy Spirit (or
the power of his blessing, Cf. Roman
Missal, EP I Roman Canon, 90) on the bread and wine, so that by his power
they may become the body and blood of Jesus Christ and so that those who take
part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit (some liturgical
traditions put the epiclesis after the anamnesis). In the institution narrative, the power of the words and the action of
Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the
species of bread and wine Christ's body and blood, his sacrifice offered on the
cross once for all.
On reflection
(CCC 1354)
In the anamnesis that follows, the
Church calls to mind the Passion, resurrection, and glorious return of Christ
Jesus; she presents to the Father the offering of his Son which reconciles us
with him. In the intercessions, the
Church indicates that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the whole
Church in heaven and on earth, the living and the dead, and in communion with
the pastors of the Church, the Pope, the diocesan bishop, his presbyterium and
his deacons, and all the bishops of the whole world together with their
Churches. (CCC 1355) In the communion, preceded by the Lord's prayer and the
breaking of the bread, the faithful receive "the bread of heaven" and
"the cup of salvation," the body and blood of Christ who offered
himself "for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51): Because this bread and
wine have been made Eucharist ("eucharisted," according to an ancient
expression), "we call this food Eucharist,
and no one may take part in it unless he believes that what we teach is true,
has received baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in
keeping with what Christ taught" (St. Justin, Apol. 1, 66,1-2: PG 6, 428). [END]
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