The Liturgy of the Eucharist is the main part of the Mass. Commenting on the Offertory, Pope Francis said, “It is praiseworthy that the faithful should present the bread and wine to the priest because they symbolize the spiritual offering of the Church assembled for the Eucharist.” The Holy Father said, “May the spirituality of self-giving that this moment of Mass teaches us illuminate our days, our relationships with others, the things we do, the suffering we encounter, helping us to build up the earthly city in the light of the Gospel.”
Author Edward Sri wrote, “Putting money in the basket is not simply a contribution to some good cause. It, too, expresses the giving of our lives to God. Our money embodies hours of our lives and hard work, which we now offer to God during Mass in the presentation of the gifts.”
During the Offertory, the deacon, or the priest, pours wine and a little water into the chalice, saying quietly: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”
Edward Sri wrote, “In preparation for this most sacred moment, the priest washes his hands like the priests of old as he approaches a new ‘the holy of holies.’ And he echoes David’s humble prayer of contrition to prepare his soul for this holy task: ‘Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin’ (see Ps 51:2).”
The Eucharistic Prayer opens with a three-part dialogue:
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right and just.
This dialogue is first reported in the Eucharistic prayer of St. Hippolytus in the third century. In the fourth century, St. Cyril of Jerusalem explained: “Then the celebrant cries: ‘Lift up your hearts.’ For truly it is right in that most awful hour to have one’s heart on high with God, not below, occupied with earth and the things of earth. In effect, then, the bishop commands everyone to banish worldly thoughts and workaday cares and to have their hearts in heaven with the good God. Assenting, you answer, ‘We have them lifted up to the Lord.’ Let no one present be so disposed that while his lips form the words, ‘We have them lifted up to the Lord,’ in his mind his attention is engaged by worldly thoughts. At all times we should commemorate God, but at least, if this is not possible to human weakness, we must aspire to it in that hour.”
During the Eucharistic Prayer the priest elevates the host and the chalice for the people to see and to adore. Many spiritual writers recommend that during the elevation of the host, the faithful pray silently the words of St. Thomas the Apostle: “My Lord and my God!” And during the elevation of the chalice, to pray silently: “My Jesus, mercy!”
Pope Francis pointed out that when we go to Mass, it is to do this: to be a prayerful Church. The Holy Father said, “No one and nothing is forgotten in the Eucharistic Prayer, but everything is attributed to God, as is recalled by the doxology which concludes it. No one is forgotten. And if I have someone, relatives, friends, who are in need or have departed from this world to the other, I can name them at that time, interiorly and silently.”
Pope Francis also said that the Eucharistic Prayer expresses all that we fulfil in the Eucharistic celebration and teaches us to cultivate three attitudes that should never be lacking in Jesus’ disciples. “The three attitudes: first, learn ‘to give thanks, always and everywhere’, and not only on certain occasions, when all is going well; second, to make of our life a gift of love, freely given; third, to build concrete communion, in the Church and with everyone. Thus, this central Prayer of the Mass teaches us, little by little, to make of our whole life a ‘Eucharist’, that is, an act of thanksgiving.”
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在感恩經中，沒有人會被遺忘
聖祭禮是彌撒的主要部分。教宗方濟各在評論有關奉獻禮時說：「值得稱讚的是，信眾應該向神父獻上麵餅和葡萄酒，象徵著為了聖體而聚集的教會的屬靈奉獻。」教宗方濟各說：「願這『自我奉獻的神修』 (spirituality of self-giving) 在彌撒這一刻，教教導我們去光照每一天，與他人的關係，我們所做的事情，所遇到的痛苦，和幫助我們以福音的光去建樹現世的城市。」
艾德華·斯里寫道：「將錢放入籃子並不僅僅是對某個善事的貢獻。這同樣表達了我們將生命奉獻給天主。我們的金錢代表著我們生活的時間和辛勞的果實，現在我們在彌撒中透過奉獻禮奉獻給天主。」
在奉獻禮中，執事或神父將葡萄酒和少量水倒入聖爵中，並悄聲說：「酒水的攙合，象徵天主取了我們的人性，願我們也分享基督的天主性。」
艾德華·斯里寫道：「為了迎接這最神聖的時刻，神父會像古代的司祭一樣在接近新的「至聖所」之際洗淨雙手。他回應達味的懺悔祈禱，淨化自己的靈魂，以備這神聖的任務：「上主，求你洗淨我的罪污，滌除我的愆尤。」（聖詠 51:2）
感恩經以三部分的對話開始：神父說：「願主與你同在。」眾人回答：「也與你的心靈同在。」 神父繼續說：「請舉心向上。」 眾人回答：「我們全心歸向上主。」然後神父說：「請眾感謝主、我們的天主。」 眾人回答：「這是理所當然的。」
這個對話首次見於公元三世紀的聖宜博的感恩經中。在公元四世紀，耶路撒冷的聖濟利祿解釋說：「然後主祭者呼籲說：『請舉心向上。』 因為確實，在那最可敬畏的時刻，心靈應該與天主同在，而不是在下面，埋首於地球和世俗之事。因此，主教實際上命令眾人放逐世俗的思緒和日常的操勞，使他們的心與仁慈的天主同在天上。在表示同意時， 眾回答：『我們全心歸向上主。』 不要讓在場的任何人，當他的嘴唇發出：『我們全心歸向上主。』的言辭時，內心的注意力被世俗的思緒吸引。我們應該在任何時候都懷念天主，至少，即使對人的軟弱而言這是不可能的，我們也應該在這時刻努力追求。」
在感恩經時，神父舉起麵餅和聖爵，讓人們看見並朝拜。許多神修作家建議，在舉起聖體時，信眾應在心中默默祈禱聖多默的話語：「我主，我的天主！」而在舉起聖爵的時候，默默祈禱：「我耶穌，求祢垂憐！」
教宗方濟各指出，我們參與彌撒的目的就是這樣：成為一個充滿祈禱的教會。教宗說：「感恩經中沒有人和沒有事被遺忘，而一切都歸於天主，正如感恩經結束詞所提到的。沒有人被遺忘。如果我有一些需要幫助或已經離開這個世界的親友，我可以在那個時候默默地在心中提及他們。」
教宗方濟各還說，感恩經表達了我們在聖祭禮中所實現的一切，並教導我們培養三種態度，這是耶穌的門徒永遠不應該缺乏的。這三種態度分別是：首先，要「時時處處在感恩之中」，不僅在某些場合或當一切順利時；其次，將我們的生命製造成一份無私奉獻愛的禮物；第三，建立具體的共融，既在教會內，也與每個人共融。因此，彌撒的這個中心祈禱逐漸教導我們，使我們的整個生命成為一場「感恩」的聖祭。
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