The Eucharistic Prayer and Communion

We saw earlier on in this series of short comments on the Mass that the structure of the whole Liturgy of the Eucharist is shaped by the actions of the Lord at the Last Supper, when he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples. Then he did the same – more or less – with the cup of wine. His three actions of taking, blessing, breaking and giving correspond to the Presentation of the Gifts (taking), the Eucharistic Prayer (blessing), and Communion (breaking and giving).

We can find another help in understanding the structure of the Liturgy of the Eucharist if we compare it to a toast at a wedding or some similar occasion. The person making the toast takes a glass of wine (or the like) and makes a speech about the person for whom the toast is being made. They all say “Here, here” and drink from their glasses to share in and agree with the toast that the person leading the toast has made.

In parallel – and of course there are great differences – at Mass, the priest takes the bread and cup of wine, and gives the Father thanks and praise over them, and then at Communion all eat of the bread and drink from the cup.

One of the things that this analogy with a toast can help us see is the relationship between the Eucharistic Prayer and receiving communion. The Eucharistic Prayer is the prayer that accompanies and tells us the meaning of communion just as it is the speech during the toast which tells those participating what they are taking part in and agreeing to. The “Here, here” at the end of the toast has the same meaning as the “Amen” at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer. And then we also say our personal “Amen” when we receive holy communion. Our personal “Amen” ratifies and personalises the Great “Amen” of the whole community at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer. The “Amen” at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer is called the Great Amen because it is the People’s affirmation of all that has been prayed. It is the most important and most ancient of the People’s acclamations in the Mass.

By Fr Frank O’Loughlin