"Eucharist" is a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving."
The word "Mass" is of uncertain etymology; some think
the name to be derived from the Latin phrase Ite, missa est,
with which catechumens or probationers are said to have been dismissed
in the ancient Church before the chief part of the service-with
which the Holy Angels are still dismissed at the end of it, to
fly forth on their glorious errands of mercy and blessing. The
fact that the term "mass" has in this Liturgy given
place to "Holy Eucharist" has no doctrinal significance.
We have preferred the latter title because it expresses more adequately
and beautifully the nature and character of the Service.
The Holy Eucharist is the central act of Christian worship. Designed
to help those who take part therein, it is intended also to pour
out a great flood of spiritual power upon the surrounding world
at large, and it summons the congregation to intelligent and energetic
participation in this work. So real is this participation that
the congregation may expect to feel a great spiritual upliftment.
The Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist opens with the Asperges or
sprinkling with consecrated water, whose purpose is to prepare
the building, to purify and steady the thought and feeling of
the people, and to invoke the presence of an Angel to assist in
the worship.
Then follows the Preparation, consisting largely of ascription
of praise to Almighty God, intended to attune the worshippers
to high and holy things. This is greatly helped by the Confession
and Absolution. The Collect, Epistle, Gospel, and
Creed draw out especially the thought of the people, whereas
the preceding sections have largely worked on their devotion.
At the Offertorium another phase of the Liturgy is introduced.
The bread and wine are now brought forward and offered in the
service of God as first-fruits of the earth and tokens of our
worldly offerings. In ancient times produce of various kinds was
at this place offered for the support of the clergy and the poor,
and blessed. A little later, in the prayer, "We lay before
Thee, O Lord," these elements are offered as a symbol of
the sacrifice of ourselves to God's service. Very shortly, in
the Prayer of Consecration, they will be offered as a channel
for Christ's blessing, and at yet a later stage as His most sacred
Body and Blood, to be used by us as an aid to unite ourselves
with His will. Then comes the splendid appeal to the congregation
to lift up their hearts, and, in company with the nine orders
of Angels whose presence is here invoked, to give "eucharist"
or thanks to Almighty God-the Sursum Corda and Preface,
followed by the Sanctus.
We have now entered upon the Canon, as it has been called
since ancient times, the most important section. At the beginning
of the Prayer of Consecration the celebrant proceeds to
enumerate the special purposes or intentions for which the Sacrifice
is to be offered. The Liturgy then explains how this great act
of worship is in itself a mystery-drama, re-enacting in time and
space the primal cosmic sacrifice of the Logos, the incarnation
or descent into matter of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
Now come the Words of Consecration, the solemn act by which
the bread and wine in their natural substance become the Body
and Blood of Christ. It may help us to understand this great mystery
if we realize that our own bodies are vehicles or expressions
of our consciousness, of the indwelling Spirit; so that bread
and wine which nourish our bodies become here the special expression
or manifestation of the Christ, the channel of His blessing for
the nourishing of our souls. All who are present must inevitably
be uplifted by the radiation of His holy power, and those who
receive Holy Communion are brought by this blessed privilege
into close and intimate union with Our Lord and Master.
Rightly do we regard this service as the supreme act of Christian
worship and offer thanks to Him Who gave it. All the love and
devotion that have so freely been poured out during the Service,
and the infinite abundance of spiritual force that has been called
down from on high in response, are gathered together by the directing
Angel and shed abroad upon the world along with the benediction
given by the Celebrant. Through the ceremony of the Holy Eucharist,
each time it is celebrated, there passes forth into the world
a wave of peace and strength, the effect of which can hardly be
overrated; and this, which is indeed the primary object of the
Service, is achieved at every celebration, whether the Priest
be alone in his private oratory or ministering to a vast congregation
in some magnificent cathedral. Therefore it offers to us an unequaled
opportunity of becoming laborers together with God, of doing Him
true and laudable service by acting channels of His wondrous power.