POPE FRANCIS’ CATECHESIS
ON THE HOLY MASS.
THE PREPARATION OF GIFTS.
OFFICIAL VATICAN-PROVIDED SUMMARY IN ENGLISH
Dear brothers and sisters: In our catechesis on the Mass, we now turn from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Following the Lord’s command at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me”, the Church at every Mass makes sacramentally present the sacrifice of the New Covenant sealed by Jesus on the altar of the cross. The Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the Preparation of the Gifts of bread and wine which will then be consecrated in the Eucharistic Prayer and received by the faithful in Holy Communion. The rite of the Preparation of the Gifts invites us to present our own lives as a spiritual offering together with the gifts we bring to the altar. The Prayer which concludes this rite voices our confidence that the Church’s offering will be transformed by the Holy Spirit and become a sacrifice pleasing to the Father, in union with the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. At every Mass, may we experience the Preparation of the Gifts as an invitation to offer our lives completely to the Lord, in order to receive from him the grace to live ever more fully our vocation to grow in holiness and to serve the coming of his Kingdom.
Speaker:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from England, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Slovakia and the United States of America. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
© Libreria Editrice Vaticana
FULL TEXT TRANSLATION OF ZENIT.ORG
The Holy Father’s Catechesis
Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!
Continuing with the catechesis on the Holy Mass, the Liturgy of the Word — on which I reflected in the past catechesis –, is followed by the other constitutive part of the Mass, which is the Eucharistic Liturgy. In it, through the holy signs, the Church renders continually present the Sacrifice of the new Covenant sealed by Jesus on the altar of the Cross (Cf. Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 47). The first Christian altar was the Cross, and when we come to the altar to celebrate Mass, our memory goes <back> to the altar of the Cross, where the first sacrifice was made. The priest, who represents Christ in the Mass, carries out what the Lord Himself did and entrusted to the disciples in the Last Supper: He took the bread and the chalice, rendered thanks, and gave them to the disciples, saying: “Take, eat . . . drink: this is my Body . . . this is the chalice of my Blood. Do this in memory of Me.”
Obedient to Jesus’ command, the Church ordered the Eucharistic Liturgy in moments that correspond to the words and gestures done by Him, on the vigil of his Passion. Thus, in the preparation of the gifts, the bread and wine are taken to the altar, namely, the elements that Jesus took in His hands. In the Eucharistic Prayer we give thanks to God for the work of Redemption and the offerings become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It’s followed by the breaking of the Bread and Communion, through which we relive the experience of the Apostles, who received the Eucharistic gifts from the hands of Christ Himself (Cf. Ordinamento