Anamnesis and Epiclesis
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There’s a reason the gospel can only be proclaimed by a priest or deacon. And I bet you don’t know why that is.
At his ordination the bishop laid hands on him. This laying on of hands is called an Epiclesis. And when the Bishop did so it conveyed a sacred power to make Jesus present to the people through the sacred minister. But that is not all, the sacred power also makes the events from the life of Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel present. So when, for example, at Mass, when the beatitudes are read, it is Jesus, through the Priest who teaches us. But there is more, not only do we hear the event from the life of Jesus, we are transported to that place. In the Beatitudes we are transported to the north shore of the sea of galilee where we take part in the sermon on the mount.
If you want to understand the Mass, you need to understand two words. Anamnesis and Epiclesis. Anamnesis is the opposite of amnesia. Anamnesis means to recall. When the Gospel is read at Mass the Holy Spirit recalls an event from the past. But not only are the events recalled, the Epiclesis makes that event present so that what took place in Jesus can take place in us. (1103, 1104 see also 1363).
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Liturgy of the Word
In the Liturgy of the Word, the readings at Mass are not just a story of something that took place in the past. No, no its so much more, when the Gospel is read in the Mass it makes present events we cant see. The CCC (1085) says All that Jesus did and suffered for all men participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all.
Jesus is an eternal Person. Eternal means “Present.” For God, there is no past or future, only the present moment. Since Jesus is God, every event from His life remains PRESENT. When the Gospel, the life of Jesus, is read at Mass, the Holy Spirit makes that saving event present so that the grace of that encounter with Jesus can take place in us.
Think of one scene from The Chosen that moved you. Oh how I wish I could have been there. When those events are read at Mass the grace of the event is made present – for you -like the Leper being cleansed; the call of the Apostles; the forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery – the Holy Spirit makes the grace of those events present in the here and now so that what took place then can take place in us.
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The Liturgy of the Eucharist
The greatest event in the history of the world is the Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
By this event - called the Paschal Mystery
· He saved us from sin, death and the power of the devil
The Paschal Mystery means
· All the saving events that took place from
· Holy Thursday when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper
· His suffering and death on Good Friday
· His descent to the dead on Holy Saturday
· His glorious Resurrection on Easter Sunday
· And His Ascension into Heaven
In the Mass
· The Holy Spirit makes those saving events from the life of Jesus present – RIGHT THERE
· Not in our memory, not figuratively, not in our imagination
· But Truly Present
As the CCC teaches: In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ.
When Mass begins - we are at Calvary – united to the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross
The Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus are made present in the Mass
· So that His Victory over Satan, Sin and Death
· may continue in us and in the world.
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The Consecration
- During the Liturgy of the Eucharist the priest prays with his hands palm sides down over the bread and the wine. This is the Epiclesis. The using the Words of Jesus the priest says:
- Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.
- Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant,
- This is the moment when the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ
- After the Consecration the Bread and Wine are gone and Jesus Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity
- That is why the Priest genuflects
- The CCC
- By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change is called transubstantiation.
- We are now in the Physical presence of Jesus Christ.
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The Mass always makes the saving events from the life of Jesus present so that what took place in him can take place in us and transform us. But we are not always transformed because we are not always prepared. The grace affects us only at the level of which we’re prepared. So we need to prepare ourselves better by. How?
A. By daily meditations like we do through the rosary
B. By making a better effort to pay attention when the gospel is read. How often is the gospel read and two minutes later we can’t remember what it was?
C. By Thanksgiving after Communion
Once we receive Jesus and we come back to our pew
- Give Him your full attention in thanksgiving
- Think about His presence WITHIN you
- No words need to be said, just our loving attention for 10 minutes let’s be silent, close our eyes, and think about Jesus in us