The Eucharistic Prayer: Acclamation
Sometimes I wonder how many folks there are out there, many clergy included, who know that the Sanctus is part of the Eucharistic Prayer. But there it is, plain as day, in the new GIRM:
Once again, in this part of the Eucharistic Prayer, we are reminded that it is the whole congregation who offer this prayer together to God the Father. The GIRM also points out that it is not only those gathered who are taking part in this prayer, but that we are in fact joining our prayer to the prayers of those who sing ceaselessly in the heavenly liturgy. We unite our prayers with the angels and saints in heaven in this prayer to the Lord God Sabaoth.
Here is the prayer in the current English translation of the liturgy:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Power and Might. 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.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was reminded of the strong Jewish roots of this prayer when taking Jewish students at a Johns Hopkins University summer program to worship and heard them pray the same words in Hebrew, “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh…..” I am hardly a scholar of Hebrew, but literally this would be something akin to “the most holy”. I do know from my small amount of study of this language that superlatives are formed through the repetition of a word, rather than the holy, holier, holiest structure that we have in English.
Another reason I find this prayer so fascinating is the strength of it, even in just the language. We translate the next title into English as Lord God of power and might. A more literal translation would read Lord God Sabaoth, or Lord God of Hosts. The word Sabaoth refers to the heavenly armies, made up of God’s angels. Our modern culture seems more often than not to portray angels as cute babies with wings. The Biblical notion is very different. In the Bible and in tradition, these are powerful beings, capable of mighty deeds. Think along the lines of the traditional image of St. Michael the Archangel, who is portrayed as a soldier. I also often recall that it was these powerful heavenly hosts who cast Satan and his fellow angels from heaven. In this prayer we call upon the God who commands these angels and join our prayer with theirs.
The next line, “heaven and earth are full of your glory,” always reminds me of the image from the book of the prophet Isaiah when the hem of God’s garment fills the temple. Chapter six of Isaiah begins,
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. (Isaiah 6: 1-3)
Isaiah shares his vision of angels who serve the Lord of hosts, praying the very prayer that we do during the Eucharistic Prayer. One of the things that always strikes me also about this passage of Scripture is the fact that the entire temple was filled with only the hem of God’s garment. Having visited the temple mount, I understand how massive of an area this was. Currently a famous mosque called the Dome of the Rock or Al Aqsa sits in the middle of what used to be the temple mount. If you have seen pictures of Jerusalem on television, you know how big that building is, but it hardly takes up the whole temple area. Isaiah’s image reminds us that God is so much more than we can ever fully comprehend. The universe which he created for us is so expansive, that we have only begun to scratch the surface of seeing what is out there. This much only accounts for the very bottom edge of God’s garment, heaven covers even more. We have never to worry about running out of things to see or learn when it comes to God. This prayer unites us to the unfathomable mystery of God.
Yet we might see the last line of the prayer as calling to mind also the person of Christ. The line, “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” is found in Psalm 118, which is one of the Hallel Psalms that would have been sung by the people during the time of Passover. It is also this Psalm that we recall as Catholics when we celebrate Palm Sunday, remembering the words sung during Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is an opportunity during each celebration of the liturgy to remember that Christ, our Passover Lamb, has come and will come again.
The Sanctus is a truly awe inspiring part of the Eucharistic Prayer. It should humble us each time we enter into it during our celebration of the liturgy.
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Thank you for this. I enjoyed it.
Thank you for this deeper understanding of the prayers that lead up to partaking of the Eucharist. These explanations always aid my worship. Thank you, Fr. Mathis. Your posts are always encouraging.
I am so appreciative of any further understanding I can draw about the Mass. It was about four years ago when the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart this very realization of the Sanctus…I believe I was listening to a talk by Scott Hahn and he was discussing how the Angels and Saints in Heaven were singing “Holy! Holy! Holy Lord! God of Power and MIght!” at the very time we were singing it any time we sang it….oh what a Glorious thing!