LITURGY LESSONS: EUCHARISTIC PRAYER INTRODUCTION Part 1

(Given: July 25, 2010 17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

We are a Eucharistic people. Our ritual celebration of Eucharist is what defines us as Roman Catholic Christians. Our celebration is a ritual action that is repeated over and over so that by participating in it we can bring to consciousness through word and sacrament the deepest meaning of our lives. Although the Church will be making some changes in the future the Eucharistic Prayer is still the heart of the Catholic Liturgy. We begin our Lessons on that great prayer by listening to the words of the late Cardinal Bernadin,³¹

When the altar has been prepared, we stand and are invited to lift up our hearts to the Lord, to give thanks and praise. Thus begins the

Eucharistic Prayer in which we do indeed give thanks to God.

The priest proclaims this prayer, but "the whole congregation joins Christ in acknowledging the works of God and in offering the sacrifice."³²

There is an immense challenge here. Centuries of practice shaped the assembly as spectators rather than participants. We who are older grew up understanding ourselves as lone individuals deriving what we could from prayer and adoration while the sacred action took place at the altar. But we are a holy people, called to praise God actively for God's saving action in our lives....

The Eucharistic Prayer is our great act of praise in which, led by our priest, we thank God for all that He has done for us. It is tradition to stand for the Eucharistic Prayer not only as a sign of respect but also as a sign of our participation. We are an active people who have praised God, and we are ready to step forward together to make Christ's redemptive act of love a reality in the world. Brothers and sisters, let us now listen carefully and respond as we prepare to praise our God.

READER-Please note pronunciation Ber nặ din

³¹ Joseph Cardinal Bernadin, Guide for the Assembly, p. 16.

³² General Instruction on the Roman Missal, #54.