How to Participate in the Eucharistic Prayer
How to Participate in the Eucharistic Prayer
BOOK CLUB 2 | WEEK 6: A Devotional Journey Into the Mass, Ch. 6
If you’d like to purchase a copy of Carstens’ book, you may do so here. If you’d like to access the Table of Contents for this series, click here.
This week’s chapter is an excellent introduction to the role of the priesthood within the Church, both the ordained priesthood and the lay priesthood of the baptized. Carstens walks us through stories of priestly figures in the Old Testament—Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, and more—in order to illustrate some of the qualities of priesthood. “A key thread throughout the Old Testament—” says Carstens, “perhaps the key thread—is the formation of priests.” But of course, the priest par excellence is the God-man, Jesus Christ, who alone is able to “build the bridge” between God (who He is) and man (who He is).
We come to see that even human nature itself is a revelation to us, not only of the baptismal priesthood to which we are called, but also of the identity of Jesus Christ, who fulfills this “type” most perfectly:
Throughout history, many have noticed that things aren’t quite right with the world around us and have sought either a priest or at least a priestly power to commune with the divine. In fact, the priestly instinct is a part of human nature, since our constitution is perfectly suited to reconnect heaven and earth. On the one hand, we share much in common with the rest of visible creation, since we are composed in part of a material body… On the other hand, we resemble invisible creation, the angels, since we possess immaterial souls… We look like animals but think like angels, with one foot in the earthly world and another in the heavenly world, and so we occupy a unique place in all of creation to bridge, mediate, and intercede between the opposite sides of the abyss separating us from God.
(emphasis mine)
We often hear that our baptism confers on us a participation in the triple munera, the three roles or works of Christ as priest, prophet, and king. This chapter offers us a practical look at what it means to live out that baptismal priesthood in real life.
As a result of this priestly identity we have received through baptism, we are invited to participate in the Eucharistic prayer by offering to the Lord our very selves; our prayers, works, joys, and sufferings; and, indeed, the whole world. It is important to note here that it is the words and actions of the consecrated, vocational priest that efficaciously bring about the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. That’s not our job. But our participation is still important.
In the last chapter of our book club, we discussed the nature of sacrifice and what it means for us to offer ourselves with Christ on the paten. The Eucharistic prayer is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak—the moment when we actually make the offering, when we actually give ourselves to the Lord:
Our devotional journey into the heart of the Mass has taken us to the Sacred Heart of the Redeemer. His heart is, as it were, a bridge, over which we pass from earth to heaven.
We have joined our hearts with the Sacred Heart of Christ, and with Him, we cross the “bridge” between Heaven and earth. Our attentive participation in this moment—our willing choice to give ourselves in love to the Father—is how we live out our baptismal priesthood and pray the Eucharistic prayer well.
This is stuff no one told me as a child, or a teenager, or a young adult!
This is why we’re doing this book club, y’all. Because the riches of the Church are so deep and wide and beautiful, and we can never know all there is to know. Whatever the benefits or flaws of our own catechesis as young people, now that we are adults, we can “take the helm” and allow ourselves to be well-formed by the saints and scholars who spend their lives.
The work that we are doing here—the liturgy—will bear its fruit in the consecration of the gifts and (if we are in the state of grace) our reception of the Eucharist. But we’ll save that discussion for next week!
As we begin the season of Lent, how can we resolve to live out our baptismal priesthood more fully? And for those with children in the home, how can we teach our children to do the same?
One more thing! We’ve got a date for our Virtual Discussion! Our call will be hosted on Monday, March 11, at 7:30pm CST. (You can click here to add the event to your Google calendar.) I am thrilled to share that Chris Carstens (the book’s author) is planning to join us! The call will be a chance for us to discuss the book more fully, to ask questions, and to share how these habits have been bearing fruit in our lives over this spring semester. If you have a moment, you can pop over to the chat thread and RSVP, share a question you’d like to ask on the call, or drop an insight you’ve gleaned from the book!