Every one of the Eucharistic Prayers used in the Sacred Liturgy of the Roman Rite today contain basically the same elements of prayer. The First Eucharistic Prayer, also called the Roman Canon, has been in the longest continuous use and, it can be argued, is the most theologically developed of them all. For that reason, we will look at the various parts of that prayer.

In a very real way we can say that the Eucharistic Prayer, or Canon, is really the center or high point of the Mass, because it is the part of the Eucharistic Liturgy at which the Sacrifice of the Cross, from which the grace and mercy of God is poured out upon all in attendance, is made present on the altar.

The Sanctus, or Holy, Holy, Holy, is a heavenly wake-up call or a celestial announcement to both priest and faithful about where they are and what they are being called into. It is a cry to be vigilant, to fall down in adoration, and to open one’s eyes in faith. We should pray these words with all our hearts.

In our deepening our understanding of what happens at Mass, we come to the dialogue and the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer.  It is coming to the threshold of the holiest part of the Sacred Liturgy.  To enter into this part of the Mass is to leave all earthly cares behind and to become totally present to the mighty workings of God in our midst.

Just as the shepherds and the kings came to adore the Infant Christ, we, too, come to adore Him who makes Himself present on the Altar. Just as the ancient Hebrews were fed of the flesh of the lamb offered in sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem, so, we are fed with the Flesh of the Lamb of God at Mass.

Bread and wine used at Mass carry on the long tradition of offering bread and wine to God as a sacrifice. The difference is that at Mass the bread and wine do not remain bread and wine , rather, become Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

Christ is truly present in both the Liturgy of the Word and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but His Presence in the Blessed Sacrament surpasses all others because it is a substantial Presence.

In the Prayer of the Faithful, the last part of the Liturgy of the Word, the people participating at Holy Mass respond to the proclaimed Word of God, which they have received in faith, and exercise their baptismal priesthood by offering prayers to Almighty God for the salvation of all.

The next time we stand and take up the Creed again at Mass, let us remind ourselves that we do so in communion with all those holy souls of the first centuries and, in fact, every century of the Church, professing the Faith that God Himself has revealed to us and that the Church safeguards until Our Lord Jesus Christ returns at the end of time.

​​​​​​​When we come to Mass, our hearts and our minds must be open to God’s voice speaking to us in the Word proclaimed and then open to the hand of God that gives His very Self to us in the Sacrament of the Altar.  We say to Him, “Speak , Lord, for your servant is listening.”

These Collect prayers at Mass are a rich source of Church teaching and an invitation to walk the way of the spiritual life.  They are true gems of the liturgy that ideally should be prayed by all individually even before we come to Mass.  This helps us to hear the voice of God resounding throughout the Eucharistic celebration.

These words, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will,” are very familiar to us. First, because they are the first lines of the magnificent hymn, the Gloria, that is prayed on most Sundays and major feast days at Holy Mass. Second, because these words are found in St. Luke’s Gospel (2:14) proclaimed by the angels to the shepherds announcing the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we come to Mass, we enter into a true manifestation of God Himself.  We are on holy ground.  We come to hear His voice in the proclamation of the Sacred Scriptures and then we find ourselves in His substantial Presence as bread and wine become the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ who is true God and true man

Making the Sign of the Cross at prayer, and especially at the first moments of Mass, has been with us since the early centuries of Christianity. We can say that the Sign of the Cross is the sign for all times and the sign of victory for us as it was for Constantine.

When we come to Mass anywhere, we enter into the place where heaven and earth are united.  We could say that there we step into heaven.  The entire rite of the Mass mirrors how the heavenly liturgy described in the Book of Revelation unfolds as the angles and saints adore and offer praise to the most Holy Trinity through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ made present.

When we come to Mass, we arrive at an encounter that has been happening for the last two thousand years. As a matter of fact, it started in the upper room in Jerusalem on that first Holy Evening when Our Lord Jesus Christ was celebrating with His chosen band the ancient ritual of the Passover.

When we come to Mass, we do not come only to a “service of worship” or to a series of hymns and prayers, as inspiring and beautiful as they may be. The Mass is a true encounter with Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a living “memorial” of Jesus, who makes Himself present.

This past week Father Joe Freedy and I had the tremendous joy of preaching an Encounter Parish Mission at St. Teresa of Kolkata Parish in Brookline-Beechview... Over the three nights of the parish mission the faithful spoke with clarity and conviction as to what they needed, what they experienced, and what they found to have great value in their lives. Here’s what they told us.

I hear it all the time these days. Parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, even children praying for a family member to return to Mass, to go to Confession, to have someone baptized—in other words, to experience conversion, to turn back to God.

The only truly important question in the midst of all of this is, “Who rules?”  Not just in the political sense but, most importantly, in the cosmic sense.  We, as people of faith, know the answer to that pivotal question.  It is Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and the Lord of lords.”