As we’ve been focusing on prayer this Lent, I wanted to share a bit about the central prayer of our Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer.

The Eucharistic Prayer is the part of the Mass that begins after the Altar is set and the priest says, “The Lord be with you…lift up your hearts…let us give thanks to the Lord Our God…”

Then the priest prays the “Preface” which leads into us singing “Holy, Holy, Holy,”

Then the priest continues with the next part of the Eucharist Prayer, called the “Epiclesis,” (where the priest extends his hands over the gifts, asking God the Father to pour out the Holy Spirit upon the gifts), and then the “Consecration,” (the words of Christ at the Last Supper, “Take this, all of you and eat of it…drink of it…”).  The Consecration is the climactic moment of the entire Mass, for we would say in that moment, the bread and wine no longer become bread and wine, but the Sacred Body and Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It’s when the bread and wine become the Eucharist!

The Eucharistic prayer then continues with the “Memorial” where, as we remember Christ’s Death and Resurrection, we offer Christ’s very Sacrifice back to the Lord with humble thanks.

Then the Eucharistic Prayer Includes “Intercessions,” praying for others during this Sacrifice: especially the Pope, the Bishop, and all those who have died.  Then it concludes with a word of praise to the Holy Trinity, or what is called the “Doxology.”  When the priest says, “Through Him, and with Him and in Him…” and the people all acclaim “Amen.”   

You might not have noticed that there are different Eucharistic Prayers.   They all have the same core elements (The Preface, Epiclesis, Consecration, Memorial, Intercessions, and Doxology), there are different options of Eucharistic prayers.  There are four main Eucharistic Prayers, which are the ones ordinarily and most commonly used.

There are also two other sets of special Eucharistic Prayers used on special occasions: 1) The Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation and 2) The Eucharistic Prayers “for Various Needs.”

For Sundays in Lent we have been using the Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation (the first option), which emphasizes Christ’s work of Reconciling us God the Father (and so too each other).

Speaking of Christ’s work of Reconciliation, attending the Sacrament of Reconciliation is something that is encouraged during Lent as a way of preparing for the great celebration of Holy Week and Easter. A reminder that we will be having times of Communal Reconciliation coming up in the next two weeks, where myself and some other priests will be available for confessions.  They will be

Wed. April 2, 2025 – 7:00pm at St. Mary’s, Ackley

Wed. April 9, 2025 – 6:30pm at St. Patrick’s, Hampton

Please join us if you are able.

Peace,

-Fr. Kevin