The Liturgy of the Eucharist

The Universal Prayer ends the Liturgy of the Word. We now move into the second major division of the Mass, The Liturgy of the Eucharist. The key to understanding what we do in the Liturgy of the Eucharist is to see the action of Jesus at the Last Supper, the first celebration of the Eucharist. Eucharistic Prayer III tells us:

He Himself took bread, and, giving You thanks, He said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to His disciples

I italicized those words because they are the outline for the Liturgy of Eucharist. Jesus took, blessed, broke, and gave. The Church continues to do these actions of Jesus according to His instructions:

              Do this in remembrance of Me.



At Mass, the Priest, acting in persona Christi, carries out these actions on the part of the community in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We can subdivide the Liturgy of the Eucharist according to these actions.

 Take   Offertory
               Presentation of the Gifts
               Preparation of the Gifts

 Bless Prayer over the Gifts
               Preface
               Holy, Holy
               Eucharistic Prayer
               Memorial Acclimation
               Doxology
               Amen

 Break Lord’s Prayer
               Sign of Peace
               Fraction Rite
               Lamb of God

 Give   Communion
               Prayer after Communion