From the washing of hands to the Prayer over the Offerings
O God, in your goodness, in your great tenderness wipe away my faults; wash me clean of my guilt, purify me from my sin (Ps 51:1‑2).
* * *
In every Mass, a liturgical act is performed which originally was a response to a practical necessity. The celebrant washes his hands, which have touched the sundry offerings as well as the censer, before taking up the bread about to become the body of Christ. The Church has kept this ceremony of the Lavabo to express the desire of interior purification. This mystical meaning was emphasized by St Cyril of Jerusalem in the fourth century, when he wrote: “This action shows that we must be free from all sin. We perform actions with our hands; to wash our hands is the nearest thing to purifying our deeds.”[1]
This is the way the celebrant understands it. To express his desire to be cleansed within, he washes his hands at the side of the altar while he says,
Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
The priest then returns to the center of the altar to begin the Eucharistic Prayer; he begs us to unite ourselves with him in the sacrificial act as it draws nearer. He seems to pause in what he is doing, extending and then joining his hands, to make a last pressing appeal for unity, before he proceeds to the Consecration. He does this by using the words of a medieval prayer which is a sort of long‑drawn “Let us pray”:
Pray, brethren [brothers and sisters],
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
The priest stresses that the sacrifice is mine (i.e., Christ offers himself—the aspect of ministerial priesthood), and yours (the entire Church offers the sacrifice—the aspect of common or baptismal priesthood). Standing, our answer expresses with the same simplicity the intentions of the Mass:
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands
for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good and the good of all his holy Church.
* * *
The priest addresses to God the Prayer over the Offerings in the name of all of us present and the entire holy people.[2] We remain standing at this presidential prayer to signify our unity in faith and worship.[3]
In the early ages of Christianity, the processional entrance ended with the Collect; and the distribution of Communion with what we now call Prayer after Communion. Likewise, the presentation of the gifts concluded with the Prayer over the Offerings, which was said in the orans attitude, i.e., with arms outstretched.
In the Prayer over the Offerings, we usually acknowledge our incapacity to offer to God gifts adequate to his goodness and power. We ask God to accept what we offer with sincerity. We ask some grace in connection with the mystery celebrated on that particular day, in return for the material gifts. We notice an ascending or upward‑striving rhythm in the progress of the liturgical action. If we contrast this prayer with the Collect, we can perceive an increase in fervor and assurance. We know that our gifts to God will be returned to us multiplied a hundredfold.
We should not forget that the only worthy offering is that of the body and blood of Christ. Our inward gift of self to God consists in a life lived in a state of grace; it means fleeing from sin and being faithful to our ordinary duties.
* * *
St Paul exhorted the first Christians to offer every action to God, “Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God (1Cor 10:31), and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col 3:17). The Second Vatican Council encourages the ordinary Christians to make their daily offering united to the Eucharistic sacrifice:
For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, if patiently borne—all these become “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:5). Together with the offering of the Lord’s body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist.[4]
Every morning we should offer our day to God. We need not do it always with a concrete formula. This practice of piety, like an anticipated Prayer over the Offerings, will serve as a preparation for the Eucharist. Our morning offering will awake our spirit of service, and will guard us against the temptation of pride, love of comfort, and irresponsibility.
Footnotes:
[1]Catechesis Mystagogical, V, 2.
[2]GIRM, no. 10; GIRM3, no 30.
[3]GIRM, no. 21; GIRM3, no. 43.
[4]LG, no. 34.
* * *
In every Mass, a liturgical act is performed which originally was a response to a practical necessity. The celebrant washes his hands, which have touched the sundry offerings as well as the censer, before taking up the bread about to become the body of Christ. The Church has kept this ceremony of the Lavabo to express the desire of interior purification. This mystical meaning was emphasized by St Cyril of Jerusalem in the fourth century, when he wrote: “This action shows that we must be free from all sin. We perform actions with our hands; to wash our hands is the nearest thing to purifying our deeds.”[1]
This is the way the celebrant understands it. To express his desire to be cleansed within, he washes his hands at the side of the altar while he says,
Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
The priest then returns to the center of the altar to begin the Eucharistic Prayer; he begs us to unite ourselves with him in the sacrificial act as it draws nearer. He seems to pause in what he is doing, extending and then joining his hands, to make a last pressing appeal for unity, before he proceeds to the Consecration. He does this by using the words of a medieval prayer which is a sort of long‑drawn “Let us pray”:
Pray, brethren [brothers and sisters],
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.
The priest stresses that the sacrifice is mine (i.e., Christ offers himself—the aspect of ministerial priesthood), and yours (the entire Church offers the sacrifice—the aspect of common or baptismal priesthood). Standing, our answer expresses with the same simplicity the intentions of the Mass:
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands
for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good and the good of all his holy Church.
* * *
The priest addresses to God the Prayer over the Offerings in the name of all of us present and the entire holy people.[2] We remain standing at this presidential prayer to signify our unity in faith and worship.[3]
In the early ages of Christianity, the processional entrance ended with the Collect; and the distribution of Communion with what we now call Prayer after Communion. Likewise, the presentation of the gifts concluded with the Prayer over the Offerings, which was said in the orans attitude, i.e., with arms outstretched.
In the Prayer over the Offerings, we usually acknowledge our incapacity to offer to God gifts adequate to his goodness and power. We ask God to accept what we offer with sincerity. We ask some grace in connection with the mystery celebrated on that particular day, in return for the material gifts. We notice an ascending or upward‑striving rhythm in the progress of the liturgical action. If we contrast this prayer with the Collect, we can perceive an increase in fervor and assurance. We know that our gifts to God will be returned to us multiplied a hundredfold.
We should not forget that the only worthy offering is that of the body and blood of Christ. Our inward gift of self to God consists in a life lived in a state of grace; it means fleeing from sin and being faithful to our ordinary duties.
* * *
St Paul exhorted the first Christians to offer every action to God, “Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God (1Cor 10:31), and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col 3:17). The Second Vatican Council encourages the ordinary Christians to make their daily offering united to the Eucharistic sacrifice:
For all their works, prayers and apostolic endeavors, their ordinary married and family life, if patiently borne—all these become “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:5). Together with the offering of the Lord’s body, they are most fittingly offered in the celebration of the Eucharist.[4]
Every morning we should offer our day to God. We need not do it always with a concrete formula. This practice of piety, like an anticipated Prayer over the Offerings, will serve as a preparation for the Eucharist. Our morning offering will awake our spirit of service, and will guard us against the temptation of pride, love of comfort, and irresponsibility.
Footnotes:
[1]Catechesis Mystagogical, V, 2.
[2]GIRM, no. 10; GIRM3, no 30.
[3]GIRM, no. 21; GIRM3, no. 43.
[4]LG, no. 34.