Our Lady of Hope Blog

My Dear Friends,

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. We remember, as we do every year, that thanksgiving in Greek is the word eucharistia. From this word comes our word, Eucharist. We celebrate, as Catholics, thanksgiving every day of the year, not just the fourth Thursday of November. We are grateful to our Father who sent his Son into the world, taking on human flesh without losing his divinity, in order to free us from sin and open the gates of heaven, reconciling us with the Father, which was destroyed through the sin of Adam.

My Dear Friends,

We finish up the Eucharistic prayers today. As I mentioned in a previous bulletin letter, there are two Eucharistic prayers for Reconciliation. Many priests choose one of these prayers during the season of Lent, but they can be used at any time. There were three Eucharistic prayers for children, but mercifully they were left off the Third Edition Roman Missal in 2011. They were to be primarily used during Masses with children, but in my opinion, as well as the opinion of many other priests and theologians, these Eucharistic prayers were pitifully written and treated children as if they were not able to understand or comprehend eternal truths. It was dumbing down of the faith.

My Dear Friends,

Today we talk about Eucharistic prayer IV. The essential elements are the same as the other three Eucharistic prayers, but it also has differences. For example, this Eucharistic prayer has a set preface which has to be used whenever you use this Eucharistic prayer. The preface is the prayer the priest prays (or sings) before we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy. There are many preface options that may be used, but not with this Eucharistic prayer.

After spending a few weeks on the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), and having already mentioned Eucharistic Prayer II and how it was composed a Trastevere in Rome, I will move on to Eucharistic Prayer III.