Source and Summit of Unity 

The Mass instructions (GIRM 78) say the “center and summit of the entire celebration” is the Eucharistic Prayer, in which “the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands… will become Christ’s Body and Blood.” And “the Church here and now gathered offers in the Holy Spirit the spotless Victim to the Father. The Church’s intention is that the faithful… also learn to offer themselves, and so… be brought into perfect unity with God and each other, so that at last God may be all in all.” 

Mass is “an action of Christ and the Church, the holy people united… In this way, the Christian people… expresses its cohesion…”  

The presider’s role is to “associate the people with himself in the offering of sacrifice through Christ in the Holy Spirit to God the Father…All form one body by hearing the word of God, by joining in the prayers and singing, and above all by the common offering of the Sacrifice and common partaking at the Lord’s table. This unity is beautifully apparent from the gestures and postures observed in common by the faithful” (91-96).  

The Mass is an expression and experience of unity. Unity is the work of the Holy Spirit. We might say that in Mass the gift of the Spirit is the “source and summit” of unity in the Church.  

ACTION: At Mass, be conscious of the Spirit making us all one. 

PRAYER: Come Holy Spirit. Overcome all divisions. Make us one with each other. 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings on the USCCB website here

Easter season is the time to focus on the Holy Spirit. Starting on Easter Sunday, we will look carefully at how the Spirit is proclaimed, invoked, and presented to us in the Mass. Lex orandi, lex credendi: “As the Church prays, so she believes.”

After that, we will reflect on the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Galatians 5:22), and at how the Spirit enters the life of those who believe.

As you read these reflections, ask for the gift of Understanding. Ask to really understand what you believe, what you see and hear at Mass. Go deeper into understanding the Mass than you ever have before. We experience the Faith when we become aware of its mystery. We hope you reflect deeply on the Mass and Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and find yourself more and more drawn into the mysteries of our Lord in the Mass and in His Gifts.