The Eucharistic Prayer: Epiclesis
One of the most fascinating things said by Fr. Gerry Austin at our recent priest retreat concerned the part of the Eucharistic Prayer known as the epiclesis. The new GIRM describes it in this way:
Epiclesis: In which, by means of particular invocations, the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands be consecrated, that is, become Christ’s Body and Blood, and that the spotless Victim to be received in Communion be for the salvation of those who will partake of it.
It is fairly easy to spot the first epiclesis as the priest extends his hands over the gifts in a symbolic gesture of calling down the Holy Spirit. I will cite the words from Eucharistic Prayer II as it is one of the shorter prayers currently in use in the West. The words of the epiclesis in Eucharistic Prayer II are,
Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
This is followed by the Institution Narrative and the Memorial Acclamation. The second epiclesis then follows with these words,
May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Gerry noted that we often miss this calling down of the Holy Spirit as there is no external symbol given by the priest at this time, coupled with the fact that we frequently give so much emphasis to the Institution Narrative that precedes it. I couldn’t agree more.
The importance of these two elements in the prayer highlight that God gives Himself to us by the gift of the Holy Spirit that transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ so that we can physically experience the reality of the Lord. And He also continues to send the Holy Spirit upon us to transform us too into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is through both the reception of the Holy Spirit and the eating and drinking of Christ’s Body and Blood that we continue on the path of theosis. This is how little by little we enter more and more into God’s own divine life. How humbling is it to know that at the same time the Holy Spirit is transforming the gifts of bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood, He is also transforming our entire life into a holiness that left to our own devices we could never reach.
One of my attractions to the theology of Eastern Christianity is the emphasis on the role of the Holy Spirit and the notion of life long sanctification or theosis. It seems to be a much more positive lens for looking at God’s action in the world than what I was shown growing up as a child in the Roman Catholic Church. The wonderful thing is that the power of the Holy Spirit is not absent in our Western prayers, but simply many times overlooked. Since the Second Vatican Council we have entered much more fully into dialogue and fellowship with Eastern Christians. I hope it will continue to give us opportunities to focus more intently on recognizing the role of the Holy Spirit in our midst.
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