Immersed in Christ: Sunday, July 4, 2021

Joining Ourselves to Christ

What we are called to do at Mass during the Eucharistic Prayer is to join in the action that is taking place on the altar when Jesus, offering himself on Calvary, becomes present in our time and place. When his body hung on the cross, we were in that body, having been incorporated into it, with all of our sins, by baptism.

It is this mystery taking place that makes the Eucharistic Prayer “the center and high point of the entire celebration” of Mass. Therefore, to participate in the Eucharist as we should, the most important thing we need to do is offer ourselves as members of the body of Christ “through him and with him, and in him” during the Eucharistic Prayer.

We do this most intensely during the institution narrative, when the presider repeats the words of Jesus. When the presider lifts up the host, and we see Christ, and ourselves in Christ, lifted up, we need to be repeating in our hearts the words that describe the action: “This is my body, given up for you.”