Epiclesis, Consecration, Doxology

Epiclesis

  What is the “Epiclesis”? How do we even pronounce it? (A common pronunciation is Epp-eh-clee-sis.) Charles Belmonte teaches, “In the Epiclesis, the priest requests God the Father to send the Holy Spirit so that the bread and wine offered may become Christ’s Body and Blood and so we may be able to celebrate the Eucharistic mystery, and to make all the effects of the sacrament operative in us. At the same time, the priest extends his hands, palms downward, over the chalice and host, and traces the sign of the cross over them. With this gesture, he asks God to pour his blessing over the gifts offered and to turn them into his Son’s body and blood” (Understanding the Mass, p. 135). That is a lot of action for a few quick words! This is an important moment because it gives us notice about what is soon to come: the changing of the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Jesus.

   According to the Diocese of Peoria, “The Epiclesis is the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts to be offered… It is through the power of the Holy Spirit who descended upon the apostles at Pentecost that the priest, through his hands, offers the human gifts and earthly elements to be consecrated into Godly gifts and heavenly realities. Often we may hear the ‘sanctus bell’ to call our attention to this invocation and calling down of the Holy Spirit” (“A Study of the Mass,” p. 14).

Consecration

   After the calling down of the Holy Spirit, we are now ready for the Consecration. As Charles Belmonte reminds us, “What mankind has been waiting for through centuries is now going to take place among us” (Understanding the Mass, p. 138). At this moment of the Mass, the priest takes the bread and chalice of wine that will become the Body and Blood of Jesus. We hear the words of Jesus: “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will be given up for you.” And soon after, “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.” Let’s pause for a moment and think about what just happened in the Mass: Jesus himself, Almighty God, through the hands and voice of the priest, is now truly, really, and substantially present on the altar!

   After the Consecration, the priest raises the host and chalice above the altar in a moment of silence. This elevation is a wonderful moment of prayer and adoration. We are gazing upon Jesus truly with us, and in that moment, we can adore him for all he has done for us: that he would be willing to come and dwell among us. Following the elevation, the priest places the host and the chalice on the altar, and then he genuflects in adoration to the Lord Jesus present on the altar.

   One more thing on the Consecration: did you notice anything different about how the priest says those words of Jesus during the Consecration? As the Diocese of Peoria teaches, “The priest speaks in the first person because he is acting in the person of Christ [this is called in persona Christi]. At his ordination, the priest is configured to Christ the High Priest in such a way that he acts in his person as he continues the priestly work of Christ here on earth. It was Christ himself at the Last Supper who commanded his apostles to continue this great mystery and sacrifice of love throughout the ages. The same Word that created the heavens and the earth in the beginning, and the same Word that became flesh in the womb of Mary, is the same Word that commands the bread and wine to be the very Body and Blood of Christ” (A Study of the Mass, p. 15).

Concluding Doxology

   As for the doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest raises the chalice and paten, and sings or says: “Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever.”

   Today we are in the homestretch of our journey through the Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass! At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest prays some very special words: The Doxology. The glossary of our Catechism defines doxology as a “Christian prayer which gives praise and glory to God, often in a special way to the three divine persons of the Trinity” (CCC, 875). The Catholic Source Book tells us the word doxology comes from the Greek doxa, which means “glory.” In our tradition, the Gloria can be referred to as the “Greater Doxology” and the prayer “Glory Be” the “lesser doxology” (The Catholic Source Book, p. 7). There are many doxologies found throughout our prayer, including those in the Bible. For example: “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36). Another example is: “To him be glory now and to the day of eternity” (2 Peter 3:18).

Source: EucharisticRevival.org