The shape of the Liturgy of the Eucharist is given to it by the actions which Jesus did at the Last Supper. This is a topic that has been addressed in this column before, but given that we are going through the whole Mass, it is good that we look at it again at this juncture of our tour through the Mass.
In the New Testament and at each Eucharist, we have recounted the actions of Jesus at the Last Supper: he took bread and later took wine, he blessed and gave thanks to the Father, he broke the bread and he gave the bread and wine to his disciples gathered with him.
When we gather for the Eucharist, we are in the position that those first disciples were in at the Last Supper; we are there to receive the gift of Jesus himself to us. And of course, there were those crucial words: ‘Do this in memory of me”
What we now do in memory of Jesus is what he did then. We take bread and wine, we bless and give thanks to the Father, we break the bread and we are given that bread and wine.
So, the shape of the Eucharist follows that pattern of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.
The Presentation of the Gifts is our taking of bread and wine to the altar which the priest takes in readiness for the rest of the Eucharist.
In the Eucharistic Prayer, we bless and give thanks to the Father for all of his creation but especially for the gift of Christ’s death and resurrection.
In the Communion Rite, there are two salient parts which correspond to Christ’s breaking of the bread and his giving of the bread and wine to his disciples. The breaking of the bread has rich meaning which we will look into later in this series and of course the Eucharist reaches its culmination in our being given that bread and wine by which we enter into communion with Christ.
So, at Mass, we do what Jesus did and we receive the gift of union with Christ as did those first disciples.
The Eucharist is the precious centre of the whole Christian life. We cannot be truly disciples of Jesus if we do not take seriously those words: “Do THIS in memory of me”.
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Leonie says:
Thank you for sharing and explaining so clearly.