Praying the Eucharistic Prayer
Originally published as a bulletin column series September 2020
An odd thing about the Mass is that the most important part is the one where it seems like the least amount of stuff is going on. We kneel during the Eucharistic prayer and pray, but the Mass doesn’t give us much direction about what we’re supposed to be doing during that time. And yet, the consecration is the moment where ordinary bread becomes the very flesh of our divine Lord, Jesus Christ. We want to pray well during the Eucharistic prayer, but how?
In the following article, I am going to throw out a few more ideas. Don’t feel like you need to use them all, and certainly not at once. Nevertheless, hopefully trying some of these ways of praying will help you enter into the mystery of the Mass more deeply.
Pay Attention to the Words Spoken by the Priest
Paying close attention to the prayers offered by the priest is one way to pray through the Eucharistic prayer. . Taking time to read and reflect on the prayers will be most helpful, but here are a couple things to notice. Over and over again, the priest says to the Father, “We offer to you.” He is placing before the Father the sacrifice Jesus offered for us on the cross and by the merits of Jesus, He implores the Father for certain graces. Listen to who and what he’s praying for and offer your own prayers for those things too.
When the priest says “Take this, all of you...” reflect on the fact that the priest is speaking in persona Christi. In a mysterious way, it is Jesus speaking the words He pronounced at the Last Supper. Let those words sink into your heart because at those words, bread and wine become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus.
The Sacrifice of Melichizedek
Place your Intentions on the Altar
According to St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, every priest is appointed by God to pray for the people and offer the sacrifice (Hebrews 5:1). Jesus did this before His Father on the cross. At the Mass, the priest, standing in persona Christi (in the person of Christ), offers Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary to the Father on our behalf. This is what is happening during the Eucharistic prayer. It is much like Exodus 33. God swore to wipe out the Israelites but Moses stood before Him and prayed for the people, and so God relented. But whereas Moses had only words to offer, the priest has the blood of Jesus to offer as a perfect sacrifice. It is that the priest presents to the Father as He asks for graces on our behalf.
While the priest is praying to the Father for us, you can unite your own intentions to the sacrifice. During the offertory (when the gifts are being placed on the altar), spiritually place the hearts of those you want to pray for on the paten. Then say, “Jesus, when You change the bread into Your Body, change our hearts into hearts pleasing to You.” Likewise in the chalice, you can spiritually place the souls of those in purgatory you want to pray for. Name those souls whose cause you want to bring before the Father and then say “Jesus, when You change the wine into Your Precious Blood, bring these poor souls from their place of suffering into eternal happiness.”
Now Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is about to play out before our eyes. When you see the host and the chalice elevated, reflect that your intentions are united to them and are now being carried by Jesus to the Father. Then say a prayer of thanks to God, because you can be sure Jesus' pleas before His Father in Heaven for us have been heard.
Offer Your Love to Jesus Abandoned and Despised
On the cross, Jesus made the greatest act of love mankind has ever known. He suffered for the sins of every human being for all time, so that we could spend eternity with Him in Heaven. And yet, at that very moment when Jesus gave everything for us, He was alone, despised and rejected. He cried out, “I thirst,” but it was not water that He thirsted for most, but love.
One way to pray through the consecration is to offer Jesus your love in that moment when He is most unloved. This was true on Calvary but it is also true of the Mass itself. Many people reject the Mass as Jesus’ sacrifice; too often Jesus is ignored in the Eucharist or even desecrated. He has given everything for love of us in the Mass and too few people offer their love in return.
As you witness Jesus becoming present on the altar at the words, “This is my body,” “This is my blood,” you can be the one to offer your love to Jesus. Tell Jesus, “I believe that you are present here in the Eucharist and I love you with all my heart.” Tell Him, “I love you for all those who do not know you and do not love you. I love you for what you did for me on the cross and I love you for who you are.”
There may be moments where you clearly sense the reality of what has just happened on the altar and your heart is set ablaze with love for Jesus. In those moments, console His heart by offering Him your love. There may be other times where you don’t feel that same fire. In those moments, it’s enough to tell Jesus, “I believe that you are present here and I love you.” An act of love like that, while not as natural, is harder to give and is pleasing to Jesus.
Jesus meets His mother on the way to Calvary
Go with Mary to the Cross
Calvary is a hard place to go to. Whatever form the cross takes, whether it is a share in Jesus’ sufferings that we are asked to shoulder or it is a privileged glimpse into His sufferings for us, it is hard to endure. On Calvary we see the extremes. The ugliness of sin and death shows its face in the wounds and agony of Jesus. The brilliant light of God’s love breaks the blackest darkness as Jesus endures all this for love of us. It is a worthwhile place to go to, but it is a hard place to go to.
One way to pray the Mass is adore Jesus suffering on the cross , but sometimes we can’t bear going there alone.
So go there with Mary. Ask her as the consecration approaches, to take you by the hand and lead you to Jesus. Ask her to stand with you as His heart is pierced, to be a mother to you as you come face to face with the darkness of sin and the amazing power of His mercy. Perhaps you have your own crosses and sufferings that you want to unite with Jesus’ sacrifice in the Mass. Ask Mary to walk with you as you carry your cross to Calvary next to His.
And just like you offered love to Jesus when He was most alone, most unloved, most rejected, so too, as Calvary is made present before our eyes, offer your love to Mary as her heart was broken and she watched her Son, the one she loved more than anything in the world, be cruelly killed for poor sinners, by poor sinners.
“Mother of Sorrows! Mother of Christ! You had influence with your Divine Son on earth, you have the same influence now in heaven, pray for me, obtain from your Divine Son my request, if it be His Holy Will.”
Sit in Silence and Awe
The Mass is an amazing event where Heaven and Earth meet. At the words of a priest, God descends from Heaven and becomes flesh on the altar. It is easy to feel distant from God as we go through life, but in the Mass God draws very close to us. Sometimes we miss the fact that Heaven is opening up in front of our eyes, but there will be other times where we catch of glimpse of what is really going on. In those moments, it is okay to simply sit in silence and awe. Adoration is a wonderful form of prayer. You don't have to be caught up in what you’re supposed to be doing in the Mass, or how this lay missionary who writes bulletin columns said you should pray. Just be silent, adore Him, and listen to Him.
Sometimes God asks us to be busy in Mass either serving, or praying for people, or actively reflecting on the mysteries of the Mass. But sometimes, He just wants us to sit with Him. It is okay to be like Mary and sit at Jesus' feet, simply basking in His love and listening in silence. Do not feel like you are being lazy or not doing your part to participate in the Mass. Mary chose the better part and Jesus guaranteed that it would not be taken from her.
So that is my final suggestion on praying the Eucharistic prayer: simply sit in silence and awe of what is going on. Use these methods insofar as they are helpful, but also feel free to set them aside for a time if they start becoming more of a burden than a help. They are only means to falling deeper in love with Christ.
