Saints LightThe Offertory and the Eucharistic Prayer
We bring bread, wine and our own lives to the altar. In the Eucharistic Prayer the priest calls down the Holy Spirit and speaks Christ's words, and the bread and wine become Christ, offered to the Father.
What this lesson teaches
- At the Offertory bread, wine and gifts for the poor are brought to the altar, and we offer ourselves with them.
- The Eucharistic Prayer is the heart and summit of the Mass.
- In the epiclesis the priest asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit; at the consecration the bread and wine become Christ.
- The prayer ends with the doxology and the Great Amen, the people's yes to all that has been prayed.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 1105-1106
- CCC 1350-1351
- CCC 1352-1354
- CCC 1375
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Isaiah 6:3 (Isaias in Douay-Rheims); Matthew 21:9; Luke 22:19-20.
A sample question from this lesson
What is the epiclesis?
- The collection taken for the poor
- The prayer asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the gifts
- The priest washing his hands
- The hymn sung at the end of Mass
Show the answer
The prayer asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the gifts. In the epiclesis the Church asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit so the bread and wine become Christ's Body and Blood (CCC 1353).
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Epiclesis
- Greek for invocation: the prayer asking the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the gifts.
- Consecration
- The moment when, by Christ's words spoken by the priest, the bread and wine become his Body and Blood.
- Doxology
- A short prayer of praise; at Mass, the closing words of the Eucharistic Prayer before the Great Amen.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"The Offertory and the Eucharistic Prayer" is lesson 6 of The Mass, Explained. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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