Episode Transcript  

One

Liturgy of the Eucharist 

After the Creed, we enter the heart of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Eucharist. At this moment, heaven bends low, and Calvary is made present on this altar. Here, the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ are not merely remembered but made present for us. The Catechism teaches (CCC 1370), “In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ.”

On the Cross, Jesus offered Himself once for all to the Father. In every Mass, He makes that same sacrifice present, inviting us to join in. The altar is no ordinary table. It is the Cross standing in our midst. That is why the priest reverences it with a kiss, and why we bow to it, for it is here that heaven and earth meet in the sacrifice of Christ.

Before the Consecration, the bread and wine symbolize us. When they are placed upon the altar, it is as though our whole lives are placed there too. Our prayer, our work, our joys and sorrows, even our sins and failures, all are laid upon the Cross. Joined to Jesus, we ascend with Him, offering ourselves to the Father.

Our prayer at this moment should be simple and total, “Father, I give myself entirely to you, my prayer, my work, my joy and suffering, my good and my bad.” When our offering is united to Christ’s, it takes on infinite value, for our good, and for the good of those for whom we pray.

This is why the Mass is the greatest gift you can offer for others. A thousand acts of kindness cannot equal the infinite worth of one Mass, for here Christ Himself is the gift, His Body, His Blood, His very life poured out for the salvation of the world.

Two

Preface to the Sanctus  

The Eucharistic Prayer begins with the Preface, a prayer of thanksgiving that glorifies the Father for the work of creation and redemption in Christ. In Eucharistic Prayer II, the priest proclaims, “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father most holy, through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, your Word through whom you made all things, whom you sent as our Savior and Redeemer, incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a holy people, he stretched out his hands as he endured his Passion, so as to break the bonds of death and manifest the resurrection. And so, with the Angels and all the Saints, we declare your glory, as with one voice we acclaim: When the prophet Isaiah was caught up into the throne room of heaven, he was overwhelmed by the vision of seraphim crying out in awe: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3). The very same hymn of heaven is now on our lips at every Mass. At this moment, the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, and all the angels and saints surround the altar. We do not simply recall their hymn—we join it, proclaiming together: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.”

The second half of the Sanctus recalls Palm Sunday, when the crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem with shouts of, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” In the Mass, those words become ours once again, because Christ now comes to us, not riding into a city, but approaching the altar to make His sacrifice present for us.

If our eyes could see the spiritual reality, we would behold Christ Himself advancing toward the mystical Calvary of the altar, surrounded by angels and saints. And with them, our voices rise in joy and awe, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Three

Epiclesis and Institution Narrative 

After the Holy, Holy, we kneel because heaven itself bends low. We now enter the Epiclesis and the Institution Narrative, the very heart of the Eucharistic Prayer. This is the moment when the Holy Spirit and the words of Christ make Calvary present on this altar.

The word Epiclesis comes from Greek, meaning “calling down upon.” In this prayer, the Church calls upon the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine, so that they may become the Body and Blood of Christ, and so that we who receive them may become one body, one spirit in Christ (CCC 1353).

You will recognize the Epiclesis when the priest stretches out his hands over the gifts, palms down, invoking the Spirit. It is a sign of power and blessing, echoing how the Spirit hovered over the waters at creation, descended upon Mary at the Annunciation, and came down at Pentecost. At this moment, the bells are rung, not to wake us up, but to rouse us to awe: the Spirit is descending, Christ is becoming present, His sacrifice is here.

The priest prays, “You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness. Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

And then comes the Institution Narrative, the very words of Jesus at the Last Supper. “At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you. In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice and, once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples saying: 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.”

“Do this in memory of me” means that every time the Mass is celebrated, the Holy Spirit makes Calvary present so we can join our lives to His sacrifice and receive the grace of His saving love.

Four

Transubstantiation and Anamnesis 

After the Epiclesis and the words of Consecration, the bread and wine are no longer bread and wine. By the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of Christ, Jesus Himself is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. That is why the priest genuflects: he adores the living God now before us on the altar.

The Catechism expresses this mystery with precision, “By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” (CCC 1376).

Because Christ’s sacrifice, His suffering, death, and Resurrection, is now made present on the altar, the priest proclaims, “The mystery of faith.” In that moment, he calls us to give voice to what has just taken place. And we respond with the Memorial Acclamation, “We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.” In other words, we declare with faith that here and now, on this altar, Calvary and the Resurrection are present, and we look forward to the day when Christ will return in glory.

Five

Intercessions and Doxology 

At this moment in the Eucharistic Prayer, the Church turns outward and upward. The priest prays, “Remember, Lord, your Church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with our Pope and our Bishop and all the clergy.” The Eucharist is never a private act. It is Christ’s sacrifice offered for the whole Church, for her shepherds, and for every member of His Body across the world.

Then we pray for the dead, “Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face.” This is such an important time to help our deceased loved ones through Purgatory by the sacrifice of the Mass.

Finally, the priest prays, “Have mercy on us all, we pray, that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with the blessed Apostles, and all the Saints… we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life.” Around the altar, heaven and earth are united, Mary, the saints, the faithful departed, and we who are present.

All this builds to the climax, the Doxology, “Through him, and with him, and in him…” As the priest lifts up Christ’s sacrifice to the Father, we proclaim the Great Amen, giving our wholehearted yes to everything that has just taken place on the altar.

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you. 

• Attend one extra Mass this week, and at the Liturgy of the Eucharist, pay special attention to each word that’s said, knowing that Calvary is made present before you.

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