Eucharistic Prayer: A Blessing Prayer
by Fr. Erasto Fernandez
Having reviewed the first action of Jesus, we now take up the second action: "he said the blessing." This phrase refers to the special kind of prayer among the Jews called Berakah. Accustomed as they were to regular and frequent sacrifices, they found themselves at a total loss when they were taken into the Babylonian captivity. In that foreign land, they were without Temple, Prophet, Priest, Sacrifice or any other means of getting into contact with Yahweh (Dan.3:37-40). They overcame this serious deprivation by resorting to prayers of praise to Yahweh recalling his past deeds and his present goodness to them in spite of their failings. These 'berakoth' were later termed, 'the sacrifice of praise' since they enabled the people to get in touch with God effectively. Every devout Jew was expected make at least a hundred berakoth each day.
Special Format
As they got more adept in praying the Berakah, it took on a definite shape comprising of four steps.
- Invitation - Come praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord …Bless the Lord, O my soul; let all that is within me bless his holy name.
- Reasons - O give thanks to the Lord for he is good…
- The praise itself : You caused the grass to grow for the cattle …
- Concluding burst of praise : Blessed be God, forever.
It is helpful to note that praise indicates a more selfless extolling of God's good qualities as such; it is different from thanksgiving for favours received out of his goodness. In this latter instance, we are the beneficiaries of God's favours and so we thank him, whereas we praise God even when we personally have not benefited from his goodness; we look more directly at God's marvelous qualities as they are in themselves.
Jesus himself prayed the berakah several times, e.g. at the grave of Lazarus [Jn. 11:41-42], when the disciples returned after their trial mission [Lk.10:21-22] and so on. However, expert that he was, he did not tie himself down to the pattern mentioned above yet kept the basic elements of the prayer.
In the Eucharist, the berakah pattern is seen in the Eucharistic Prayer that begins with the dialogue of the Preface - a call to praise. In the unfolding of the Preface generally, we have the various reasons listed, and this is followed by the praise itself in the Eucharistic Prayer. A careful reading of the Preface and Eucharistic Prayer would reveal a wealth of reasons very briefly mentioned. To get the maximum benefit of this prayer one would need to elaborate on each of these points and perhaps even personalize them. By far, the greatest reason we have for praising God is recalled in the Institution Narrative, viz. that Christ freely chose to die out of love for us. A burst of praise follows in the Memorial Acclamation. After recalling further aspects of Christ's self-gift, especially his resurrection, ascension and sending of the Spirit, we move into the "tefillah" or intercessions. These express our firm belief that God will continue to bless us as he has in the past. The final burst of praise is seen in the Doxology especially when it is sung together with the Great Amen.
Intercessions
It is not uncommon for the berakah to be followed by Intercessions [Tefillah]. The reason is that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Since he has been so good to us in the past, there is every reason to believe that he will bless us in the future as well. In the Eucharistic Prayer too we find a number of petitions - for the Holy Father, Bishops and clergy, for the Church and those in need, the living and the dead. The key point, of course, is to make these petitions with a lively faith that the Lord will not deny us anything we need and ask for in faith. Also, we must remember that here our petitions take on a very special power in that they are presented to the Father in and through Christ - we could say that they go up to the Father precisely as the prayer of Christ himself.
Final Burst : Amen
The Doxology ends with the response 'Amen' from the people. This expression signifies not only assent: Yes, I agree with what has been said. It also expresses commitment to fulfill what has been said. So, to the Celebrant's prayer: '… may all honour and glory be yours heavenly Father forever and ever,' the community's response 'Amen', means: 'We will ensure that this becomes a reality, that all honour and glory is actually given to the Trinity for ever and ever.' During the rest of the day, therefore, our commitment is to continue to praise God through the berakah. For the Christian no number is actually stipulated for he is expected to praise God always and everywhere! Thus our entire day becomes a continuous hymn of praise to the Trinity.
The Rationale for Berrakah
The practice of praising God in all circumstances is based on a particular 'philosophy of life' which includes the following:
The Exodus Experience: From their experience in Egypt, the Israelites realized one very important truth, viz. that when God chooses to bless someone, no one can ever stop him … Pharaoh might postpone or delay the departure of the Hebrews by placing various obstacles in their path, but he would never be able to prevent God from carrying out his designs. In the end God always wins. So, when any adversity comes their way, the Jews interpret it as being only a temporary set-back. They remember that in the end God will win in their case too, and so rather than wait till they actually see God's powerful victory, they anticipate it in a burst of praise. This is what explains their capacity to praise God even in adverse circumstances.
The Covenant Experience: From among all the peoples dwelling on the face of the earth, God chose to make covenant only with Israel: "I shall be your God and you shall be my people!" During their desert journey, they slowly but surely discovered the absolute fidelity of God to his promises … and also that God does not take pleasure in the death of a sinner, but rather desires that he live and have life to the full. God does not create something in order to destroy it! His designs are always positive, life-giving and life-oriented. So, even if something 'bad' happens, they see it against the background of the Covenant: if God had freely blessed them with his very special friendship, no negative experience, not even their sins, could make him revoke his choice; they were convinced that in the end God would bring some good out of it in keeping with his Covenant promise. And so, without having to wait to 'see' that good, they praised God immediately.
Besides these two, the Christian has also a third experience:
The Christ Experience: "God so loved the world"… Jn. 3:16; "If God is for us, who can be against us" … Rom. 8:28-39; "God did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all …" "He loved me and gave himself up for me" Gal. 2:20. Nothing can ever come between God's love and us.
If we have really understood the gift of sonship given us by the Father ("Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to grant you the kingdom - Lk. 12:32), then joy would truly characterize our lives. God's last word to us is not condemnation, suffering or death, but the joy of the resurrection and eternal life. Our Eucharist would be truly a joyful celebration with the focus not on sin, but on praise and thanks for God's gifts. J. J. von Allmen says: "Christian worship is normally celebrated in a banqueting hall rather than in a laundry." Having celebrated Eucharist and joyfully praised God during the celebration, we continue throughout the day with the same attitude of praise.
"Blessed be God, forever!"
God loves a cheerful giver!
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Copyright © Fr. Erasto Fernandez. All rights reserved.
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