The Roman Canon in particular

Rev. Charles Strebler • September 23, 2025

Eucharistic Prayer I, also called The Roman Canon, was for centuries the only Eucharistic Prayer used at Mass. I do use it fairly regularly, so I thought it would be worthwhile to look at some aspects of it. My hope is that knowing the parts of the prayer will enable your full, active, conscious participation—which, as pointed out before, does not mean having some action to do or some action to say; it is entering into the prayer and letting the prayer enter into you.

The prayer begins: To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we make humble prayer and petitions through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord.


This section is known as the Te igitur, from the Latin for the opening words. It points out again that the prayer is made to the Father, through the Son.


The sign of the cross is made over the gifts as it is being asked that “these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices,” three ways of referring to the gifts on the altar, be accepted. 


The Roman canon is different from the other Eucharistic Prayer in that the pope and bishop are prayed for before the consecration.


The next section is the Commemoration of the Living (the memento Domine), which gives the priest the option of naming specific persons. Remember, Lord, your servants N. and N.


Then the priest pauses for silent prayer so that all may call to mind the living for whom they want to pray. It is noted that we offer this prayer for them and the prayer states for what we ask for them: 

for the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being, and paying their homage to You, the eternal God, living and true.


These are the traditional purposes of sacrifice: praise, atonement, and petition.


The next section, the Communicantes, speaks of our communion with the saints, who now participate in the Divine Liturgy. The start of this section has texts specific to celebrations, viz., The Nativity of the Lord and through the Octave of Christmas; the Epiphany; the Easter Vigil through the Easter Octave to the Second Sunday of Easter; the Ascension, and Pentecost.  As a rule, when these proper prayers are provided, I will use The Roman Canon.


There is a listing of saints, beginning with Mary, the Mother of God (using her central and greatest title). St. Joseph was added to the list by Pope St. John XXXIII (Pope Francis added St. Joseph to the other Eucharistic prayers). Not surprisingly, the saints are those to whom there was a devotion at Rome: Peter and Paul, the two patrons of Rome, lead the list.

 

Then there are the other apostles: Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude. Then there is a list of martyrs: Saint Linus, the second Pope, successor to Saint Peter; Saint Cletus, the third Pope, successor to Saint Linus; Saint Clement, the fourth Pope, successor to Saint Cletus; Saint Sixtus II, Pope from A.D. 257-258 and martyred under the persecutions of the Emperor Valerian; Saint Cornelius, reigned as Pope from A.D. 251-253, martyred under the Emperor Gallus; Saint Cyprian, defender of the Catholic faith; beheaded in Carthage, Africa in AD 258; Saint Lawrence, martyred by roasted alive on a grid iron; he is said to have quipped, “You can turn me over now, I’m done on this side." (my kind of guy!); Saint Chrysogonus martyred in Northern Italy; Saints John and Paul, saints of Rome; Saints Cosmas and Damian physicians who were martyred in Syria, and all your Saints:


Having named them we ask,

that through their merits and prayers, in all things we may be defended by your protecting help.


The Hanc Igitur:

Therefore, Lord, we pray: graciously accept this oblation of our service, that of Your whole family; order our days in Your peace, and command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those You have chosen,


has specific texts for Easter and its Octave, as well as for weddings, ordinations, and other celebrations. The Easter text specifically mentions those who were baptized at the Easter Vigil: 

Therefore, Lord, we pray: graciously accept this oblation of our service, that of Your whole family, which we make to You also for those to whom You have been pleased to give the new birth of water and the Holy Spirit, granting them forgiveness of all their sins, order our days in Your peace.


Repeating the repeating three times, God is asked to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect, and to make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us the Body and Blood of His most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.


The Institution Narrative in the Roman Canon is the only one that tells the priest where to look “He raises His eyes,”

and with eyes raised to heaven to You, O God, His almighty Father, giving You thanks He said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to His disciples, saying…


We note that there is a richness to the language, bordering on the baroque:

He took this precious chalice in His holy and venerable hands, and once more giving You thanks, He said the blessing, and gave the chalice to His disciples.


After the mystery of faith, again we three-peat,

we, Your servants and Your holy people, offer to Your glorious majesty from the gifts that You have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy Bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.


The prayer next recalls Old Testament characters who offered sacrifice: Abel, a son of Adam and Eve, brought an offering in sacrifice to the Lord, one of the best lambs of his flock. God found this sacrifice acceptable, while he did not find his brother, Cain's sacrifice of fruits and vegetables acceptable. This made Cain angry (so: Q: How long did Cain hate his brother? A: As long as he was Able.) Abraham was willing to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, but God stopped him from doing so. God did what He did not ask Abraham to do. Melchizedek, priest of God Most High in Jerusalem, offered as a sacrifice to God gifts of bread and wine. These Old Testament sacrifices prefigure the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, which is celebrated in the Mass. (Of note: the node (knob) on my silver chalice, a gift from my parents for ordination, has an image of a lamb with a pierced side, representing Jesus, and images of Abel, Abraham, and Melchizedek.)


There is a commemoration of the dead, as there was of the living in the first part of the prayer. Like that, first the priest may name names,

Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace.


Then the priest pauses and allows time to recall other who have died, then like in the first part of the prayer, states what we ask for them, 

Grant them, O Lord, we pray, and all who sleep in Christ, a place of refreshment, light and peace.


The priest admits on behalf of all present that we are sinners, striking his breast while saying,

To us, also, Your servants, who, though sinners,


He asks for mercy so that we can share eternal life with the saints

we though sinners hope in Your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with Your holy Apostles and Martyrs:


Those Apostles and Martyrs, male and female, are named,

John the Baptist, the forerunner, he prepared the way for Jesus and was beheaded by Herod; Stephen, a deacon and the first martyr; Matthias the Apostle; Barnabas, the companion of Saint Paul; Ignatius of Antioch, a martyred bishop; Alexander, a martyred Pope; Marcellinus and Peter were a priest and exorcist who were martyred together; Felicity and Perpetua, female martyrs from Africa; Agatha, a virgin martyr from Sicily; Lucy, a virgin martyr from Sicily; Agnes, a virgin martyr of Rome; Cecilia, a virgin martyr of Rome, patroness of music; Anastasia, a virgin martyr from Croatia.


One of my favorite lines in the Eucharistic Prayers follows:

admit us, we beseech You, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us Your pardon,


We ask that we may join the saints, not because we earned it, but because God is merciful, even to the point giving His Son on the Cross, which is the center of the Mass.


Finally, we acknowledge that we take the things of Creation, giving them to God, Who blesses them and gives us back far more than what we gave Him,


Through whom You continue to make all these good things, O Lord; You sanctify them, fill them with life, bless them, and bestow them upon us.

We give Him bread and wine, we get in return Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

A/C Relief is Coming

By Rev. Charles Strebler • July 18, 2026
“Having played many roles of scientific intellect I do have an empathy for that world. It's been hard on me because flying the Enterprise for seven years in Star Trek and sitting in Cerebro in X-men has led people to believe that I know what I'm talking about. But I'm still trying to work out how to operate the air conditioning unit on my car.”—Patrick Stewart Dear Parishioners: I don’t think I have to tell you that we have had some issues with the church air-conditioning recently—unless you only attend the Saturday, 5 pm Mass, for some reason the system works on Saturday, but not on Sunday. I expect that this is a concern for you, the parishioners. It is very much a concern for me. I have said that a couple of weeks ago when we had the heavy rains and the A/C was not working well, “The parishioners were getting soaked from the outside, I was getting soaked from the inside, sweating under my vestments.” I am very frustrated with the situation. While the A/C unit is just a couple years old, the control system is much older. However, the real problem with the control system is that we cannot fully access it. Jim Allen took the access codes for the system to his grave. We cannot at this time adjust the times of the system and other issues. This may be one of the issues with the current system. We found out last Sunday that in addition to the A/C, the boiler was running. We have had several experts look at the system and try to figure out how to access it to take control of it. There has been no success. I have instructed Tony Smith, our Multi-Campus Facility Director, that getting these controls sorted out is a priority. This is one of those “what it costs—it costs” situations. We need to get a system that we can set, reset, and control. I ask for your patience—which is ironic since mine is almost gone—as we try to get this situation sorted out. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor

What Is Excommunication?

By Rev. Charles Strebler • July 11, 2026
“There is nothing more serious than the sacrilege of schism because there is no just cause for severing the unity of the Church.”— Saint Augustine Dear Parishioners: You may have been hearing about the fuss in the Catholic Church in the last couple of weeks and are wondering what it is all about. There is group in the Church called The Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X ( SSPX ). They follow the teachings of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected parts of the Second Vatican Council, including the current formulation of the Mass. The group ordained four men as bishops on July 1 st without a papal mandate—the authorization of the pope. This was after several warnings from the Vatican and Pope Leo not to do so. This is an act of schism, which is defined by the Church as “the withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from communion with the members of the Church subject to him.” Because of the seriousness of the act, any bishop ordained without a papal mandate and the bishops ordaining him are automatically excommunicated for doing so. The Vatican declared the excommunication, which makes the situation even more serious because it sets even stricter penalties on the one excommunicated. This is being portrayed as being merely about the old Mass in Latin, the Tridentine Liturgy, but is about much more. If you have seen any social media about the situation, many of the Lefebvrists followers do not acknowledge Pope Leo as a legitimate pope and reject the Second Vatican Council. Somehow, they know better than the popes, the bishops, and the Church. They are right and everyone else—the vast majority of Catholics—are wrong. Lefebvrists made the choice to follow their course. Now they face the consequences. A note about excommunication since the word is bandied about these days with little precision. Excommunication is seen as the Church’s hammer for punishment. This is incorrect. Excommunication is called by the Church a medicinal penalty. It is meant to make it clear to the offender that a line has been crossed that should not be crossed. Excommunication is a call to repentance and return and reconciliation. It is not meant as a punishment but as a corrective. People get it wrong when they ask, “Why were not the priests who abused children excommunicated?” That situation did not call for a medicinal penalty, it called for an expiatory penalty, which is not about reform but are punitive. Such penalties can include being removed from the clerical state, which was done to many of the abusers, or a life of prayer and penance which others received. Another common misconception is that excommunication puts a person “outside” the Church. This is not the case. Though the relationship with the Church is strained, it is never broken. It is like sending a child who disrupted Thanksgiving Dinner to his or her room. That child is not permitted to be with the family but is not considered not to be a part of the family anymore. When the child considers the bad choices and actions made and apologizes, the child is welcomed back to the table. This situation with the Lefebvrists is a wound in the Body of Christ. We pray for the unity of the Church, in all those separated from her that the “High Priestly” of Christ on the night of the last supper, “that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.” Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor 

We Need a Few Good Helpers

By Rev. Charles Strebler • July 5, 2026
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Could God Be Calling You?

By Rev. Charles Strebler • June 28, 2026
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Chosen Despite Their Flaws

By Rev. Charles Strebler • June 20, 2026
“Jesus was loyal to his apostles, with full knowledge of their cowardice.”— Mother Angelica Dear Parishioners: I was asked to share the “letter” I used to start my homily last weekend. From : Jordan Management Consultants Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for managerial positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service, we make some general comments for your guidance, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation, and comes without any additional fee. It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew had been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory. We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely, Jordan Management Consultants Eating Problems for Breakfast by Tim Hansel, Word Publishing, 1988, pp. 194-195 Remember the point of the homily: If God can choose these people, He can choose us! Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor 

Introducing the New Parish Pastoral Council

By Rev. Charles Strebler • June 13, 2026
“The council now beginning rises in the Church like the daybreak, a forerunner of most splendid light.”—Pope John XXIII Dear Parishioners: After several sessions of prayerful discernment, there is a new Parish Pastoral Council at Holy Spirit! The members are: Larry Maloney, Chairman Todd Sabath, Vice-Chairman Andrew Renacci, Secretary Mike Breton Dave Fritzman Ray Frank Susie Graehling Jen Luca Mark Seidel And from the Parish Staff: Chris Hoag Nathan Hetrick As I said before, the members of the HSPPC are more akin to a president’s cabinet than they are to elected representatives in a legislature. While they do express the tenor of the parishioners, their role is not to be the speaking voice of a single parishioner or a small group of parishioners. If a parishioner brings a concern to a member of the HSPPC, the member will pass along the concern but will share with me the name of the person asking. As Christians and mature adults, we take responsibility for our words and do not hide behind anonymity. I have said several times before: If you have a concern about something in the parish, talking to your friends and neighbors will not accomplish anything because they have no ability to effect change; it then is just gossip and is not productive. If you have a question, concern, or complaint about the parish or an aspect of it, please bring it to me . I would be happy to sit down with you for some conversation. You can reach me via the parish office 440-933-3777 or email at cstrebler@hspal.org . Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor

Under Christ's Providence and Care

By Rev. Charles Strebler • June 6, 2026
“And since there is in the Sacred Heart a symbol and a sensible image of the infinite love of Jesus Christ which moves us to love one another, therefore is it fit and proper that we should consecrate ourselves to His most Sacred Heart – an act which is nothing else than an offering and a binding of oneself to Jesus Christ, seeing that whatever honor, veneration and love is given to this divine Heart is really and truly given to Christ Himself.”—Pope Leo XIII, from the encyclical Annum Sacrum (1899) Dear Parishioners: To mark the 250 th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, celebrated as the birthday of this nation, the bishops of the United States are consecrating The United States to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the image and symbol of God’s love for us incarnate in Jesus Christ. Devotion to Jesus’ Heart has deep roots in the faith of the Church. It was to Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) that Christ appeared showing her His heart and asking for devotion be given and reparation be paid to His Heart. In these appearances, Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary, "Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify its love.” Archbishop Alexander Sample says that the reason for the consecration of the United States, “would be to place our nation under the kingship of Christ.” He also said, “Yes, we are a democratic republic; we are a civil society — but no civil society can long endure without being under the kingship of Christ himself; to place ourselves under God’s providence and care.” He adds, “So at this time, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it’s to remind all of us that — whatever civil government we might have — we are all under, ultimately, the kingship of Christ.” This consecration will take place on Thursday, June 11 while the bishops have their summer meeting in Orlando, FL. That day is the eve of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. You are welcome to come and join in prayer at Mass on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday, June 12, at 8:30 am in the chapel. As the bishops consecrate the United States to the Sacred Heart, let each of us as individuals and families do so as well. I share the USCCB’s prayer: O Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: You know the longings of our hearts, and you desire that we enjoy friendship with you. From your pierced side, you have poured out the wellspring of life, for which we thirst. Your heart burns with a love for all people to return to a right relationship with you. We celebrate the abundant gifts you have given this nation, founded on the self-evident truths that our Creator has endowed all people with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We make reparation for the offenses against you and against human dignity that have taken place in this nation. May our hearts be united to yours, so that our families and communities enjoy peace and happiness; may broken relationships be reconciled, injustices repaired, and the wounds of our land be healed. May your holy Catholic Church serve as a sign, pointing all people to your infinite love. O Desire of Nations and Center of History, we ask you to bless these United States of America. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor

Twenty-Five Years of Faithful Priesthood

By Rev. Charles Strebler • May 31, 2026
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One Parish, One Spirit

By Rev. Charles Strebler • May 23, 2026
“The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector…to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console.”—St. Cyril of Jerusalem Dear Parishioners: Sometimes I feel like I am missing out on something when we pray Eucharistic Prayer III at Mass on Sundays. When we come to the lines, May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs ( with Saint N.: the Saint of the day or Patron Saint ) and with all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help, we don’t have a patron saint to include. For many years, I was used to mentioning St. John the Evangelist during the time I lived at the Cathedral. If you hear me mentioning a saint at this point in the prayer, it is acknowledging the saint or saints celebrated on that date, though it is the Mass of Sunday. A parish’s patron saint’s day is celebrated as a Solemnity, regardless of its liturgical rank. It can also be moved in Ordinary Time from a weekday to a Sunday for a special celebration. For Holy Spirit Parish, today, Pentecost, is our patronal feast. It is always on Sunday and is already a solemnity. I would argue that our patronal feast day is the second most important day of the Church year, after Easter Sunday. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. The sending of the Holy Spirit changed the many disciples into the one Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit was sent to enliven and invigorate the Church. It keeps the Church in Truth. What a great patron! The many people: men and women; young and old; working and retired; single and married and families; Democrat and Republican; are all part of this one parish. The Holy Spirit enlivens our parish and invigorates us for the spreading of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God in our part of Avon Lake and into the world. In this parish we encounter Jesus Christ, The Truth, and from here proclaim Him to the world. The Holy Spirit is not a saint but the sanctifier. Not a human person, but the Third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit might not be mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayer with saints, but is active in the same prayer, doing the work of the prayer, making the bread and wine in the Body and Blood of Jesus. As far as patrons go, The Holy Spirit is a pretty good one. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor 

Building for the Future

By Rev. Charles Strebler • May 16, 2026
“On the other hand, I believe there's hope, because the breakdown and the repair are happening simultaneously.”—Kathryn Bigelow Dear Parishioners: Three things are certain: death, taxes, and something needing to be repaired on the parish grounds. The infrastructure at Holy Spirit is aging out. Some of these things will be addressed in the upcoming church and office renovation. Some of them need to be addressed sooner. In the very near future, we will be replacing the front church steps, which particularly took a beating last winter (estimated cost: $17,700). There is some roof work in the hall that needs to be done to fix a leak in the Drexel Room. There are other needed repairs that pop up on a far-too-often basis. Thank you to you, the parishioners, for your on-going support of the Repairs and Improvements (R&I) account at Holy Spirit Parish. This enables us to keep up with the upkeep of the parish. Sometimes we get a check dedicated to R&I, or parishioners check the box on their multi-purpose parish envelope indicating that amount goes to R&I. When given to R&I, that money must be used for that purpose and cannot be used for anything else. Some parishioners like to donate to R&I because they know that their donations stay at the parish; we do not pay diocesan assessments on those donations. While that is a plus, we also need funds to pay salaries and other non-R&I expenses. We need both the regular collection and R&I to keep the parish running. The Finance Council and I have spoken for a while about being more transparent on the R&I funds—how much we have, what is given, what is spent and how it is spent. With Nicole Davis getting settled into her position as Business Manager, we are in the place to be able to do this accurately. In the next week or two we will be presenting this information in the bulletin each week. Again, thank you for your support of Holy Spirit Parish in the past and on-going into the future. Sincerely, Rev. Charles F. Strebler Pastor