Our Grand Entrance

In our deepening our understanding of what happens at Mass, we come to the dialogue and the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer.  It is coming to the threshold of the holiest part of the Sacred Liturgy.  To enter into this part of the Mass is to leave all earthly cares behind and to become totally present to the mighty workings of God in our midst.
           
This part of the Mass begins with an exchange that is very familiar to us. It is a dialogue that is beautiful and meaningful for us today, though it has been in use in the Liturgy of the Mass since at least the third century. St. Hippolytus, who died in 215 AD, wrote of it in his description of the prayers of the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
           
It begins with the priest saying, “The Lord be with you.” The people respond, “And with your spirit.” This first exchange of words has already been heard in the Mass in the Introductory Rites and before the proclamation of the Gospel. In Sacred Scripture this greeting, “The Lord be with you,” is no ordinary salutation. It is always used when someone is being charged with an extraordinary mission or undertaking. For example, the angel of the Lord called Gideon to save the people of Israel from the Midianites. The angel greeted Gideon with “The Lord is with you” (Jdgs 6:12). Who could forget the most notable example of the greeting at the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel says to Our Lady, “The Lord is with you” (Lk 1:28). She was being prepared for the greatest mission of all—to bring God Himself into the world. When we are greeted in this way at the Preface of the Mass we are being prepared to enter into the Holy of Holies and to be present at the great fulfillment of the mission of our salvation—the saving Sacrifice of Christ Our Lord.
           
“Lift up your hearts,” the priest then says to the people. Those gathered for the Mass respond, “We lift them up to the Lord.” What does it mean to lift our hearts up to the Lord? The words of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Colossians shed light on its meaning. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on the things of earth” (Col 3:1-2). At this part of the Mass above all, we are called to focus on Our Lord and on the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven that He won for us by His death on the Cross. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 383 AD) commented on this invitation to lift up our hearts. “With all possible emphasis the sacrificing priest exhorts us in this hour to lay aside all the cares of this life, all domestic worries, and direct our hearts to God in heaven who has so loved men…” (Cat. Myst. 5, 4-5). This part of the dialogue is a challenge to be vigilant, to open our eyes of faith, to prepare for the heavenly mysteries that will come upon our altar.
           
Finally, we come to the last part of the dialogue before the Preface. The priest charges the people, “Let us give thanks to the Lord Our God.” The faithful reply, “It is right and just.” Thanksgiving is the necessary response to the goodness, the love and the mercy that God showers upon us in His saving works. The saving work of Redemption by the Sacrifice of Christ is what will come upon the altar. We find that the only possible response that springs from our hearts for the saving work of Jesus’ Passion, Death and Resurrection made present at Mass is thanksgiving from the depths of our hearts. St. Paul tells us that we should be “abounding in thanksgiving” (Col 2:7). When should this be our stance most of all? At Mass, when Our Divine Savior makes His Sacrifice present for us to save us and bring us to Himself!  There we become united with Him in the outpouring of his saving love.
           
This leads us into the priest’s praying of the Preface, a great prayer of thanksgiving not just for himself but also for all of the people assembled for the Sacrifice of the Lord. It is a great hymn of praise addressed to God the Father, a testimony of faith in the redeeming love of God made manifest in Christ and in the mysteries of His saving Death and glorious Resurrection. Finally, the Preface is always offered in union with all of the angelic hosts and saints in heaven.  Heaven and earth unite in this great hymn of adoration and praise!

The dialogue and Preface at Mass are not to be missed. They are an invitation to cross the threshold from this world into the realm of heavenly realities and enter into the beauty of God’s saving love.

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh