Autor: Sokolowski, Robert

Buch: Christian Faith & Human Understanding

Titel: Christian Faith & Human Understanding

Stichwort: Eucharistie; Kanon d. Messe (Elevation, Akklamation im Kontext d. Trinität); Präsentation von Brot u. Wein (konsekriert) zum Vater;

Kurzinhalt:

Textausschnitt: The elevation and acclamation

92a We have emphasized the fact that the Eucharistie Prayer is recited, in the company of the angels and saints, before God the Father. The elevation of the host and the chalice can also be seen in this context. It is true that historically the elevation was introduced to allow the people to see and worship the consecrated species. This reverence toward the presence of Christ, however, can take on a deeper meaning if the elevation is seen also as a presentation of the consecrated bread and wine to the eternal Father. We worship Christ not only as the Incarnate Word come down among us, but also as the eternal Son, as present within the Holy Trinity. The bread and wine are profiled against the eternal Eucharist between the Son and the Father, and we are allowed to glorify and participate in that sacred exchange. The consecrated bread and wine are presented to the people, but in conjunction with their presentation by the Church to the Father. (Fs)

92b The acclamation following the consecration, which is usually addressed to Christ in the sacrament ("Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free"; "We proclaim your death, Lord Jesus"), can also be seen in this setting; we address Christ in glory, not only present in the bread and wine but as eternally present to the Father. Thus, the trinitarian and celestial setting remains in force during the elevation and acclamation; we do not turn away from it simply to what is present before us at the altar. (Fs) (notabene)

92c To see the elevation and acclamation in this trinitarian context would avoid a difficulty that many liturgists have raised. The claim has been made that both the elevation and the acclamation, with their focus on Christ, disrupt the continuity of the Eucharist Prayer, which is directed toward God the Father. No disruption would occur, however, if in the elevation and acclamation the priest and people were directed toward the Redeemer in the life of the Holy Trinity, in the presence of the eternal Father. On the contrary, the focus of the prayer toward the Father would acquire a deeper dimension as it moved through Christ the Savior in the Father's presence. (Fs)

93a Thus, the three points that punctuate the Eucharistic Prayer—the Sanctus, the consecration and its elevation, and the doxology and its "minor" elevation before the Great Amen—can be seen as variations within the prayer addressed by the Church to God the Father. In the Sanctus the Church addresses the Father and anticipates the coming of the Son when she prays, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." In the concluding doxology the Church expresses the honor and glory due to the Father and presents the Son, who is now sacramentally part of the creation that was achieved through him, the eternal Word of God. The Son is no longer anticipated; he has come among us, and now through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is given to the Father. In the elevation and acclamation after the consecration, the Church addresses the Son, in both his sacramental presence and his presence before the Father, in sinu Patris. (Fs) (notabene)

93b This focus of attention toward the Father and the Holy Trinity does not detract from the attention due to the congregation in the liturgy. The Mass is for the people, but it is not done by the priest toward the people. Both priest and people are directed toward God in the Eucharistie Prayer. The people join their offering of the sacrifice to that of the priest, to that of Christ who speaks through the priest, and as they do so they are turned toward God the Father, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Their share in this sacred action, their "active participation," as the Second Vatican Council expresses it (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy §11, §14, §27, §30), elevates them sacramentally to the eternal life and presence of God. The focus of their attention is not on the priest himself but on the Father and the Son their Redeemer. (Fs) (notabene)