The Blessing of the Offering

We are called by God to approach the altar at Mass with our eyes and our ears opened. The Church in the United States is in the midst of a Eucharistic Revival. Simply put, this revival is a clarion call to each one of us to open our eyes and ears in faith and to see and hear what is happening on the altar at Mass.
           
The section of the Roman Canon just before the words of consecration magnifies the call to faith that the Church gives to us at Mass. It says:

Be pleased, O God, we pray
to bless acknowledge
and approve this offering in every respect;
make it spiritual and acceptable,
so that it may become for us
the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
           
In this prayer the priest is addressing God the Father, and he asks the Father to bless these offerings of bread and wine, which are set apart for God alone. The priest prays that the Father will acknowledge or, we might say, recognize the offering that is being made. Of course, God sees and knows all things that are happening. To “acknowledge” the offering means that the priest is asking God to take note of the service, love and devotion with which the priest and the people in union with him are worshiping God through this offering.
           
The priest continues and begs God the Father to “approve this offering in every respect” and to “make it spiritual and acceptable.” Here the priest is praying to God to ask Him to accept this offering and by the action of the Holy Spirit to make it a spiritual and grace-filled reality. It is no earthly exchange between human beings. Rather, it is a Divine Mystery that is taking place on the altar. The priest offers bread and wine and in exchange, the Father gives His holy people the very Body and Blood of His Son Jesus Christ.
           
As the priest prays these words, he extends his hands over the hosts (bread) and wine in an ancient gesture called the epiclesis. It comes from the Greek word epikaleo, which means “to call down upon.” He is calling down the Holy Spirit on the offering so that when the words of consecration are spoken by the priest, the bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
           
This beautiful section of the First Eucharistic Prayer teaches us that through the sacrifice of the altar something wondrous is about the happen. In this meeting of heaven and earth, the perfect sacrifice of Christ is made present and the offering of the Church, bread and wine, becomes Christ Himself.


Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh