(Using Eucharistic Prayer B, BCP p. 367)
LITURGICAL WORSHIP
- Holistic worship: We human beings are incarnate beings. That is to say, we have bodies, with five senses to guide us in our relationships with others and through life. In liturgical worship, we use all five of our senses to assist us in relating to God: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. Worship cannot simply be a mental activity, nor merely a spiritual one, but it is a physical one, as well.
- The “work of the people”: “ Liturgy” comes from the Greek words for “work” and “people”. Therefore, Matthew’s injunction about “two or three being present” (Matthew 18: 20) becomes a key ingredient for worship. There can be no “private Mass”, celebrated by the Priest alone, for liturgical worship to occur.
“People” must be present, and should take a prominent role in leading worship.
OPENING ACCLAMATION
- God is at the center of liturgical worship: Right from the beginning, we bless God in our opening word. For God is the audience for all that we do (people are not the audience, nor is worship “entertainment” in any sense).
- Collect for Purity: (BCP p. 355) In order to approach God with a proper frame of mind and heart, it’s necessary to ask God to purify our hearts.
- Hymn of Praise: (BCP p. 356) We give honor to God with the “Glory to God” (Gloria).
SERVICE OF THE WORD
- Collect of the Day: The word “Collect” is used to denote the prayer that “collects” the theme or thought for the day (and is often tied to the theme(s) to be found in one or more of the readings which follow.
- Readings: Our service has an enormous amount of Scripture in it. Generally, the Old Testament and the Gospel often have a common theme (though not always). In the readings, the Word of God is “offered” to the people
- Sermon/homily: The word is “broken open” and is “shared” with everyone present in the words of the sermon or homily. Here, the timeless lessons of Holy Scripture are applied to our lives today.
- Nicene Creed: Following the readings and the sermon, we offer our response by affirming the Faith that was once delivered to the Apostles and to the Saints. So doing, we join in a 2,000 year long train of followers of Jesus Christ.
- Prayers of the People: Now, we offer our own collective prayers of thanksgiving, of intercession, and of thanks for the lives of the Saints who have gone before us.
- Confession of Faith: Closely related to the Collect for Purity at the opening of our worship, now we ask God to forgive our individual transgressions, in preparation for receiving the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, which will follow shortly.
- The Peace: By passing the Peace among each other, we affirm that we “are in love and charity with our neighbors”, even as we affirm in our Confession that we “intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God.” (Rite I eucharistic liturgy, BCP p. 330)
OFFERTORY SENTENCE
Now, we offer to God the things that He has given us: ourselves, our substance (in the form of wine, bread, money, etc), that He may strengthen us for His service.
THE CANON OF THE MASS
- Opening blessings: Often, traditional blessings over the bread (host) and the wine are said. The formula “Blessed are you, Lord God of all Creation, etc” is based on traditional Hebrew blessings.
- “Lift up your Hearts” (Sursum Corda): (BCP p. 367) The Eucharistic celebration is cause for rejoicing. (The word “eucharist” comes from the Greek for “thanks”.) So, it is cause for rejoicing at God’s work in redeeming us through Christ.
- “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Sanctus): (BCP p. 367) Is derived from the Hebrew Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai ts’vaot (Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts), which is still used in Jewish synagogues today (people bow in synagogue during these words, just as we do at the “Holy, Holy, Holy”.)
- “Blessed is He” (Benedictus): The text comes from Psalm 118: 26 (and was quoted by those who greeted Jesus during His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem – see Mark 11:9).
- Recalling God’s redeeming acts (anamnesis): (BCP p. 368) The Greek literally means “not forgetting”….a recalling of God’s saving acts down through history, culminating in the redemption of the world by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
- Words of Institution: (BCP p. 368) We repeat the words Jesus used at the Last Supper (see Mark 14: 22 – 25 and I Corinthians 11: 23 – 25) to set aside the bread and the wine for holy purposes.
- Memorial Acclamation (“We remember His death”): (BCP p. 368) Here is the heart of our faith, and our Communion together: We are recalling Jesus’ death, His resurrection, and His coming again, even as we celebrate His presence among us in the Sacrament.
- The double invocation (“epiclesis”): Here, we ask the Holy Spirit to bless and set apart (sanctify) the elements (bread and wine), and to make us worthy to receive the bread and the wine. Historical note: American Prayer Books have always had invocations on the elements and the people receiving the elements. Most English Prayer Books have just an invocation on the people alone.
- Doxology (“By Him and with Him” etc): Just as we began our worship together by blessing God, now we give honor to God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) for His mighty acts in Jesus Christ.
- Lord’s Prayer, and Breaking of the Bread (“Fraction”): The Lord’s Prayer is Jesus’ model prayer for us. In breaking the bread, a similar action to that of the sermon is taken, following which, the bread and the wine are offered to all to share. (Note the silences which the rubrics direct.)
POSTCOMMUNION PRAYER, BLESSING & DISMISSAL
- Postcommunion Prayer (“Eternal God, heavenly Father”): (BCP p. 365) We now give thanks to God for providing us with heavenly food. We also ask God to send us out into the world to do the work He has given us to do, making it clear that the Eucharist is not for our benefit primarily or alone, but to assist us with God’s work in the world.
- Blessing: It is traditional for the Bishop (or the Priest, in the absence of the Bishop) to offer God’s blessing on those assembled. (Historical note: The blessing is an integral part of the Rite I Eucharistic liturgy, but is optional in Rite II (see the rubrics at the middle of page 366).)
- Dismissal (“Let us bless the Lord”, etc): (BCP p. 366) Here, we are sent out into the world, carrying God’s blessings and sustenance with us for the work He has given us to do.
