LITURGY LESSON: EUCHARISTIC
PRAYER #4: NARRATIVE OF INSTITUTION
(Given:
In our Liturgy Lessons we have now reached that
part of the Eucharistic Prayer which was frequently called “the Consecration,.”
That word isn’t used much any more because the Church wants to emphasize the
entire celebration and not just a specific moment in the
At this point in the Eucharistic Prayer, we are
talking about remembering what Jesus did at the Last Supper when he said, “Do
this in memory of me.” ... How do we know what we are to do? The answer is, we
are to do what the Church has always done in different ways and in different
places. In the New Testament there are four descriptive narratives of the Last
Supper.[1] Each is
different. These four narratives do not reflect directly what Jesus did. They
reflect what first century Christian communities celebrated in memory of Jesus.[2]
As mentioned last week, we now have fourteen
Eucharistic Prayers, and the Last Supper narrative is different in each one.
This diversity is part of the richness of our tradition.
At this point, one might say, “That’s all well and
good, but whatever happened to the bells?” ... Remember when the altar boy -
and they were only boys prior to Vatican II - rang a bell when the host and
chalice were raised? Actually that came late to the Church. Centuries ago the Mass became very remote from
the people. It especially became
physically far removed in the great Gothic cathedrals of
It is apparent to all of us that our whole notion
of celebration has changed. We approach this part of the Eucharistic Prayer
with great reverence, but we are also grateful that we are now part of
the celebration - not merely spectators. Brothers and sisters, we are truly “a
chosen people, a people set
apart.”[3]