Diocese of Covington - Messenger at 402 E. 21st Street, Covington, KY 41015 US - Preface Dialogue
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Preface Dialogue |
This article is one in a weekly series offering insight to the theology of the Mass and the new translation of the Roman Missal. The articles prepare us for the use of the new Roman Missal at Mass beginning Nov. 27, 2011, the first Sunday of Advent. The articles are provided by the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy and written by Father Daniel Schomaker, assistant director. (Note: Words in bold indicate the new translation.) Priest: The Lord be with you. People: And with your spirit. Priest: Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them up to the Lord. Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. People: It is right and just. Preface Dialogue In every human being there is a hunger – both corporal and spiritual. The hunger within our stomachs causes us to long for food – it is easily recognizable. The hunger within our souls causes us to long for God – not so easily recognizable. In His great wisdom and love God has given us the Sacraments to bring together the realms of the corporal and spiritual. In particular, He has given us the Eucharist so as to satisfy both our physical and spiritual hunger. The word “eucharist” comes to us from the Greek word <<eukharistia>> which means thanksgiving or gratitude. When we celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday or throughout the week, it is a time when the holy people of God come together in prayer to give thanks to God for giving us food that will last forever. The high point of our banquet celebration at Holy Mass comes as the priest, united to his people, prays the great prayer of thanksgiving – the Eucharistic Prayer. In the Sacred Liturgy, the Eucharistic Prayer begins with the Preface Dialogue. Through the priest’s greeting of “The Lord be with you” and the people’s response, “And with your spirit” the community gathered in prayer is reminded that Christ is present in their midst – for the “spirit” that the people are referring to in their response is not the spirit of the man who stands before them at the altar, but the spirit of God who has made him an <<alter Christus>> (another Christ) in his ordination. It is also a reminder that in this great prayer of thanksgiving to the Father in Heaven, it is really the Son who offers His sacred body and blood (not the priest himself) for the redemption and salvation of our souls and that of the whole world. In this initial dialogue the priest and the people are united and drawn into the sacrifice of Christ on the cross and too the eternal dialogue of love that exists between the Father and the Son. Continuing the dialogue, the priest asks the people to, “Lift up your hearts” to which they respond, “We lift them up to the Lord.” Here again we see that the priest and the people are drawn into the dialogue that exists between the Most Holy Trinity, in that we express our longing for God by using His own words found in the Book of Lamentations, “Let us reach out our hearts towards God in heaven!” (Lam 3:41) In this portion of the Preface Dialogue we come to recognize our spiritual hunger – St. Augustine reminds us in the first few lines of his <<Confessions>> that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. We desire peace and freedom from the anxieties of the world and so we give our hearts to God, we focus on the Lord with a mind of gratitude and thanksgiving for the many blessings he has bestowed upon us in this life. We seek to live in such a way that our hearts will conform to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Finally, the priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” And in the English translation of the 3rd Edition of the Roman Missal, the people respond: “It is right and just.” The priest’s use of the word “thanks” is a reminder that we are entering into the Eucharist. The people’s response is the echo of an ancient Greek civic phrase, which is meant to express a communal assent. It is a great yes of the corporate body which is the Church. It is a reminder that we do not come to the Lord just as individuals, but as members of the one Body of Christ, the Church united to Her Head – Jesus Christ. This simple and ancient dialogue is one that unites us with each other and with Christians around the world. It bridges borders and spans the ages. It is a heavenly language that unites us to the heavenly host – to the angels and the saints – as we give thanks to God for his many gifts.