Episode Transcript  

One

Preparation of the Gifts 

After the Creed and the Prayers of the Faithful, where we pray for four groups, the Pope and the leaders of the Church, for public authorities, for those burdened by difficulties, and for the local community, we begin the second part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This second part of the Mass begins with the Offertory, otherwise known as the preparation of the Gifts. 

We all sit down, and the collection basket is passed around, and typically a family goes to the back of the Church to bring up the gifts of the financial collection, and the bread and the wine. It would be easy to see this as an intermission where we take a breather from Mass, but something extremely significant is taking place. 

We are about to enter that part of the Mass in which the Holy Spirit makes the suffering, death, and Resurrection of Jesus present on the altar. This is not a ritual where we just recall the sacrifice of Calvary. The Holy Spirit will make that event present in the Mass so that we can join in.

But how? And why?

Two

What the Gifts Represent 

In the ancient Church, instead of passing around a collection basket, everyone would go to the back of the Church and then process forward, each person bringing gifts from their livelihood, foodstuffs, clothing materials, or silver and gold, plus the bread and wine to be used for the consecration. The deacons would place the bread and wine on the altar while the rest was set aside to be distributed to the poor. The most striking part is that each person brought forth a gift that represented themselves. In their offertory gift, they gave themselves in love to God. 

Today, we no longer bring forward material gifts. Instead, we give the money that can purchase the same things to be used for the good of the Church and for the poor. But the gift signifies the same thing, our gift of self to God. 

At this point in the Mass, the bread and wine also represent us. Bread represents our labor, for it is produced by the sweat of the brow. Wine that comes from grapes crushed in a winepress until the blood of the grapes runs out stands for our suffering and endurance. We bring to the altar the bread of life’s labor and the wine of life’s sorrow. We are offering our daily life. The Altar represents the Cross because it is the place where the sacrifice of Jesus is made present. 

The symbolism is profound. When the bread and wine are placed on the altar, they represent us. This signifies that we, too, mount the Cross with Christ, offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to the Father.

Three

Offer Yourself 

We have all heard people say, “I just don’t get anything out of Mass.” St. Paul pleads with us in Romans chapter 12, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Jesus gave Himself completely to the Father on the Cross. He makes Calvary present in the Mass so that we can join Him. In this way, His sacrifice becomes ours and ours becomes His. We should place ourselves on the paten with the host and pour ourselves out in trust into the chalice, offering all that is good and bad in us to be transformed. 

So, when the gifts are placed on the altar, this is what would should be saying in our souls, “Father, I give myself entirely to you, all my prayer, work, joy, and suffering, I unite it to the sacrifice of your Son made present here. I offer it for the good of my loved ones and the whole world.”

We, too, like the bread and wine, are to be changed. We are to be transfigured. We come bringing ourselves to the sacrifice, and we leave renewed in Christ. As St. Paul says, “I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me.”

The Mass is not about getting something. It’s about giving oneself totally and unconditionally to God. 

Four

Berakah 

The priest then lifts the bread and prays, “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation. Through your goodness, we have this bread to offer: fruit of the earth and work of human hands. It will become for us the bread of life.” And we respond, “Blessed be God forever.” Next, the priest pours one drop of water into the wine, praying, “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

Here, the wine represents Christ, and the water represents us. Notice that only the water is blessed. And what happens to that drop of water? It becomes one with the wine. This simple ritual expresses our whole faith: God became man so that we might share in His divine life. And how does that happen? By receiving the Eucharist with faith and love, we are united with Christ and transformed in Him.

Then the Priest prays, “Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness, we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.” We respond, “Blessed be God forever.” Finally, he turns and says, “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” And we answer, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.”

Notice: the priest does not say “his” sacrifice but “our” sacrifice—because we, too, are on the altar, joined to Christ’s one sacrifice of Calvary made present. This is why incense may be directed to the assembly: to signify that we ourselves are part of the offering, rising like a fragrant sacrifice to God.

Five

Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer 

Next, the priest says, “The Lord be with you.” We respond, “And with your spirit.” He invites us, “Lift up your hearts.” We reply, “We lift them up to the Lord.” Then he urges, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” And we proclaim: “It is right and just.”

This is the moment of the great exchange, the offering of hearts.

St. Catherine of Siena prayed again and again, “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” In a vision, Jesus came to her, opened her side, and took her heart. He later returned and gave her his own Sacred Heart, burning with love, saying as he did so, “Dearest daughter, as I took your heart away, now I give you mine, that you may live by it forever.”

Every Mass is an exchange of hearts. When the priest invites us, “Lift up your hearts,” we give our hearts to Jesus. And in Holy Communion, Christ gives us His Sacred Heart in return. This is the climax of the offertory. We give Him our heart, He gives us His. We mount the Cross with Him, and He places within us the fire of His love, that we may live no longer our own life, but His.

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 an extra Mass this week, and at the Offertory, remember that we are offering ourselves up to God in that moment.

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