4th Reflection on Eucharistic Prayers: We ourselves are offered up

“The Eucharist: The Gift That Keeps on Giving … and giving, and giving.”

By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS

You have joined the fourth in a series of videos on the Eucharistic prayers which we pray during Mass. This series is entitled “The Eucharist: The Gift that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.”

The struggle with praying a familiar prayer is that we do not really think about what we are saying, we do not think about the words and the implications of our prayer. But when we really reflect on the words, they invite us to have a personal encounter with God. I am reflecting on some of those words with you in this series, in the hope that you will notice the words that are said during Mass and their meaning.

The most important meal to which the risen Christ invites us is the Eucharistic Banquet, where he is the Host and we are his guests. He welcomes us and invites us to change. At Mass we encounter him in exceptional ways.

We encounter the risen Lord as the gifts of bread and wine are placed on the altar, and we place ourselves on the altar. We ourselves are offered up with them, surrendering ourselves to God’s marvelous transforming action. We encounter Him in the Eucharistic Prayer, where these humble gifts and we ourselves are consecrated.

I hope that my reflections today will make you more attentive to the Eucharistic Prayer at the next Mass you attend. Start really listening to the readings and the prayers, and the pieces of the puzzle of the Mass will come together. You will only then begin to see the incredible vision God has for our lives, for His Church, and for the world.

Thank you for joining me today. I invite you to join me again next month, as I continue this series on “The Eucharist: The Gift that just keeps on giving, and giving, and giving.” We will then reflect on another one of the 13 Eucharistic Prayers that may be used during Mass.

God bless you today and throughout the week.

All of the videos in this series can be found here: Reflections on the Eucharistic Prayers.

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[Fr. Ron Will, a Precious Blood priest and spiritual director, is a graduate of Catholic Theological Union and Creighton University’s School of Christian Spirituality. He has a special interest in helping form intentional disciples of Jesus, encouraging others to go spiritually deep-sea diving to explore a deeper relationship with God, and walking with people as they dive into the ocean of God’s mystery actually experiencing God rather than simply dipping one’s toe into the water.]

Photo 243869534 | Icon Eucharist © Maxsyd | Dreamstime.com

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