The Eucharistic Prayer: Thanksgiving
Paragraph 79 of the new General Instruction of the Roman Missal, promulgated in 2003, lists the eight chief elements in the Eucharistic Prayer. The first of these eight elements is Thanksgiving which is defined as the following:
This act of thanksgiving is expressed very clearly in the praying of the preface, and it may surprise some Catholics to know that the Eucharistic Prayer begins not when we all kneel, but as we are standing. The praying of the preface begins with a dialogue between the priest and the faithful who are present. The exchange should be familiar to Catholics.
Presider: The Lord be with you.
Faithful: And also with you.
Presider: Lift up your hearts.
Faithful: We lift them up to the Lord.
Presider: Let us give thanks to the Lord, our God.
Faithful: It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
The presider next prays in the name of the entire congregation a prayer of thanksgiving to the Father, which many times has its focus on some specific aspect of what our Christian faith tells us has been done for us by God. Today, for example, we celebrate the Feast of All Souls. The prayer thanks the Father for sending His Son, who took away the power of death through His own death and resurrection and should also remind us that God has prepared a place for us in heaven. Here is the prayer I will lead the parishioners of St. Thomas with this evening:
Father, all powerful and ever living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In him, who rose from the dead, our hope of resurrection dawned. The sadness of death gives way to the bright promise of immortality.
Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the body of our earthly dwelling lies in death we gain and everlasting dwelling place in heaven.
And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise.
Perhaps one way we might better prepare for entering more fully into the Eucharist is by having at least one thing for which we are thankful that can be brought and placed on the altar of sacrifice. It could be a regular part of our offering to the Lord each time we gather for this prayer of thanksgiving.
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