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We have heard the Word of God, our gifts have been offered and we stand on the threshold of the Eucharistic Prayer. This is the highest and deepest part of the Mass where we touch eternity. Now, we enter the timeless mystery of Jesus offering Himself totally for the life of the world - for us. We remember His death - and enter ourselves into His sacrifice of love. The Prayer opens with a short dialogue in which we are told to “Lift up our hearts” - and we respond “We lift them up to the Lord.” “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” “It is right to give Him thanks and praise”The words give us a clue about the nature of the Prayer that is to come - praise - thanksgiving - honour - glory - wonder at all that God has done for His people throughout history - being lifted up into the presence of God. The Preface proclaims the greatness of God - and leads to a song of praise: the Sanctus or Holy Holy. The words of this are taken from Isaiah 6, Psalm 117 and Matthew 21: 9 - all drawn together to create a powerful sacrifice of praise (a freely given - no strings attached - offering of praise) It also echoes the hymn of praise being sung constantly in heaven (Revelation 4: 8).And this is where we begin to sense the enormity of what the Eucharist is about. We are no longer confined by our church building at whatever time of day it is - but are tuning into what is happening now in heaven - the eternal now. What we are doing as human beings at a given time and place is linked to the divine and eternal. What we are singing - or saying - is joining with the heavenly chorus - here and now.Our minds struggle to understand this. We feel more comfortable when we can explain things in ways that seem sensible - but this cannot be explained in such terms and this is why we also use the word “Mystery” in relation to the Eucharist. This is not a mystery that we can pick up the clues and solve - but a Mystery that we can pick up clues about - but which will always remain beyond our understanding. And so it must be - for who can understand the mind of God - or fully understand what God does for us?Fortunately, our souls - being eternal - are not so troubled. Given the chance, they can sense the presence of their Creator. We can speak of spiritual senses as well as physical ones - and so allow our souls to “see” what our eyes can’t - to “hear” what our ears can’t. We can also allow our hearts to be lifted up to God and our mouths to proclaim what our souls are sensing - the greatness of God - His mighty works - and the gift we are about to receive - the living presence of Jesus amongst us... Take Time Out Read some of the Prefaces. Read them slowly and really get into what the words are saying.Try proclaiming them out loud - or, at least, proclaim them in your head. At Mass next week, try to give your soul a little freedom - and let it lead you into the Mystery that is going to unfold before you. Give the Holy, holy... the power it deserves!© Wellspring 2005 |
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