Eucharistic prayers

Eucharistic Prayers comparison and notes on Priest gestures during the prayer.

There are four basic forms of the Eucharistic Prayer:

EP 1, called the Roman Canon
- it is the pre-1960 form
EP2, short form
EP3
EP4

Eucharistic Prayers

Link: https://bit.ly/3SnS0uj

Notes:	· If other Priests assist in the Mass, they are called “Co-Celebrants” · If Co-Celebrants are present, the Priest is called the “Principal Celebrant” · Where marked ✠ the Priest makes the Sign of the Cross over the Offerings			· “Hands extended” means the Priest’s hands are held up as if to form a Cross · “Hands extended towards” means both hands are extended toward the Gifts · “Hands joined” means hands together as in prayer
Preface Dialogue:			Priest: The Lord be with you. Priest: Lift up your hearts. Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.		People: And with your spirit. People: We lift them up to the Lord. People: It is right and just.
Preface (Praise and thanks to God)
		GIRM: The thanksgiving (expressed especially in the Preface), in which the Priest, in the name of the whole of the holy people, glorifies God the Father and gives thanks to him for the whole work of salvation or for some particular aspect of it, according to the varying day, festivity, or time of year.
[Priest extends hands]
Eucharistic Prayer I: “The renewal of all things in Christ” [texts of the Preface may vary]			Eucharistic Prayer II: “Salvation through Christ”	Eucharistic Prayer III: “Praise to God for the creation and restoration of the human race”		Eucharistic Prayer IV: “Praise, the gift of God”
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord. In him you have been pleased to renew all things, giving us all a share in his fullness. For though he was in the form of God, he emptied himself and by the blood of his Cross brought peace to all creation. Therefore he has been exalted above all things, and to all who obey him, has become the source of eternal salvation. And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim:			It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Father most holy, through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, your Word through whom you made all things, whom you sent as our Saviour and Redeemer, incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and gaining for you a holy people, he stretched out his hands as he endured his Passion, so as to break the bonds of death and manifest the resurrection. And so, with the Angels and all the Saints we declare your glory, as with one voice we acclaim:	It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God. For just as through your beloved Son you created the human race, so also through him with great goodness you formed it anew. And so, it is right that all your creatures serve you, all the redeemed praise you, and all your Saints with one heart bless you. Therefore, we, too, extol you with all the Angels, as in joyful celebration we acclaim:		It is truly right to give you thanks, truly just to give you glory, Father most holy, for you are the one God living and true, existing before all ages and abiding for all eternity, dwelling in unapproachable light; yet you, who alone are good, the source of life, have made all that is, so that you might fill your creatures with blessings and bring joy to many of them by the glory of your light. And so, in your presence are countless hosts of Angels, who serve you day and night and, gazing upon the glory of your face, glorify you without ceasing. With them we, too, confess your name in exultation, giving voice to every creature under heaven, as we acclaim:

Preface Acclamation (Praise and thanks to God)
		GIRM: The acclamation, by which the whole congregation, joining with the heavenly powers, sings the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy). This acclamation, which constitutes part of the Eucharistic Prayer itself, is pronounced by all the people with the Priest.
All:		Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.																Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.
[The people kneel]
Eucharistic Prayer I										Eucharistic Prayer II			Eucharistic Prayer III						Eucharistic Prayer IV
Te igitur (To you, therefore, most merciful Father) [Priest speaks with hands extended]										Thanksgiving & Praise [Priest extends hands as he says:]
To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we make humble prayer and petition through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord: that you accept and bless ✠ these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices, which we offer you firstly for your holy catholic Church. Be pleased to grant her peace, to guard, unite and govern her throughout the whole world, together with your servant N. our Pope and N. our Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith. Memento (commemoration of the living) [Priest briefly joins hands and bows silently after saying, “Remember, Lord, your servants...”] [Memento and Communicantes may be spoken by Co-Celebrant with hands extended] Remember, Lord, your servants (N. and N.) and all gathered here, whose faith and devotion are known to you. For them, we offer you this sacrifice of praise or they offer it for themselves and all who are dear to them: for the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being, and paying their homage to you, the eternal God, living and true. Communicantes (In communion with those) In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her Spouse, your blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, (James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian) and all your Saints; we ask that through their merits and prayers, in all things we may be defended by your protecting help. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.) Hanc igitur (Therefore, Lord, we pray) [Priest speaks with hands extended] Therefore, Lord, we pray: graciously accept this oblation of our service, that of your whole family; order our days in your peace, and command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen. [Priest briefly joins hands] (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)										You are indeed Holy, O Lord, the fount of all holiness.			You are indeed Holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise, for through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.						We give you praise, Father most holy, for you are great and you have fashioned all your works in wisdom and in love. You formed man in your own image and entrusted the whole world to his care, so that in serving you alone, the Creator, he might have dominion over all creatures. And when through disobedience he had lost your friendship, you did not abandon him to the domain of death. For you came in mercy to the aid of all, so that those who seek might find you. Time and again you offered them covenants and through the prophets taught them to look forward to salvation. And you so loved the world, Father most holy, that in the fullness of time you sent your Only Begotten Son to be our Savior. Made incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, he shared our human nature in all things but sin. To the poor he proclaimed the good news of salvation, to prisoners, freedom, and to the sorrowful of heart, joy. To accomplish your plan, he gave himself up to death, and, rising from the dead, he destroyed death and restored life. And that we might live no longer for ourselves but for him who died and rose again for us, he sent the Holy Spirit from you, Father, as the first fruits for those who believe, so that, bringing to perfection his work in the world, he might sanctify creation to the full.
Epiclesis (Invocation of the Holy Spirit)
				GIRM: The epiclesis, in which, by means of particular invocations, the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands be consecrated, that is, become Christ's Body and Blood, and that the unblemished sacrificial Victim to be consumed in Communion may be for the salvation of those who will partake of it.
Quam oblationem (Be pleased, O God, we pray)											[The Priest lifts the “pall” (cover) off the Gifts and extends hands over them] [In all forms, the Priest speaks loudly with Co-Celebrants speaking softly, with hands extended toward the Offerings]
Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us the Body and ✠ Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.											Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and ✠ Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.						Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the Body and ✠ Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.			Therefore, O Lord, we pray: may this same Holy Spirit graciously sanctify these offerings, that they may become the Body and ✠ Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the celebration of this great mystery, which he himself left us as an eternal covenant.
Institution Narrative & Consecration (Words of Consecration)
					GIRM: The institution narrative and Consecration, by which, by means of the words and actions of Christ, that Sacrifice is effected which Christ himself instituted during the Last Supper, when he offered his Body and Blood under the species of bread and wine, gave them to the Apostles to eat and drink, and leaving with the latter the command to perpetuate this same mystery.
Eucharistic Prayer I								Eucharistic Prayer II									Eucharistic Prayer III				Eucharistic Prayer IV
Qui pridie (On the day before he was to suffer) [Priest joins hands briefly, then holds the Host in both hands] On the day before he was to suffer, he took bread in his holy and venerable hands, and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty Father, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:								At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:									For on the night he was betrayed he himself took bread, and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:				For when the hour had come for him to be glorified by you, Father most holy, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end: and while they were at supper, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying:
	The words of the Lord [Priest holds the bread, and bowing towards it says:] TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU. [Priest places the Host on the Paten and bows reverently] Simili modo (In a similar way) [Priest briefly joins his hands, then takes the Chalice] In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying: The Words of the Lord [Priest holds the chalice, and bowing towards it says:] [Co-Celebrants extend their right hand toward the bread and chalice] 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, WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME. The “Great Elevation” [Priest raises the chalice, then bows profoundly]
[After the words of Consecration the Priest says or chants:]														The mystery of faith.
[The people acclaim one of three forms:]									We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.						When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.					Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
Anamnesis (remembering Christ’s Passion, resurrection and ascension)
	GIRM: The anamnesis, by which the Church, fulfilling the command that she received from Christ the Lord through the Apostles, celebrates the memorial of Christ, recalling especially his blessed Passion, glorious Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.
	Unde et memores (Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial) [Priest extends hands]
Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion, the Resurrection from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ, your Son, our Lord, we, your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy Bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation. Supra quae (Be pleased to look upon) [Priest continues with hands extended] Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.											Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you.					Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving Passion of your Son, his wondrous Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, and as we look forward to his second coming, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.				Therefore, O Lord, as we now celebrate the memorial of our redemption, we remember Christ’s Death and his descent to the realm of the dead, we proclaim his Resurrection and his Ascension to your right hand, and, as we await his coming in glory, we offer you his Body and Blood, the sacrifice acceptable to you which brings salvation to the whole world.
Oblation (calling upon God’s Spirit; also an “Epiclesis”)
							GIRM: The oblation, by which, in this very memorial, the Church, in particular that gathered here and now, offers the unblemished sacrificial Victim in the Holy Spirit to the Father. The Church’s intention, indeed, is that the faithful not only offer this unblemished sacrificial Victim but also learn to offer their very selves, and so day by day to be brought, through the mediation of Christ, into unity with God and with each other, so that God may at last be all in all.
Eucharistic Prayer I											Eucharistic Prayer II					Eucharistic Prayer III				Eucharistic Prayer IV
Supplices (In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God) [Priest joins hands and bows while saying] In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar [Priest and Co-Celebrants stand upright and cross themselves as they say:] receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)											Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. Remember, Lord, your Church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with N. our Pope and N. our Bishop and all the clergy.					Look, we pray, upon the oblation of your Church and, recognizing the sacrificial Victim by whose death you willed to reconcile us to yourself, grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.				Look, O Lord, upon the Sacrifice which you yourself have provided for your Church, and grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice that, gathered into one body by the Holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ to the praise of your glory.
Commemoration of the Dead
Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace. Grant them, O Lord, we pray, and all who sleep in Christ, a place of refreshment, light and peace. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)												[in Masses for the Dead the Commemoration of the Dead a prayer is added in various forms to the other Eucharistic Prayers]
Intercessions
							GIRM: The intercessions, by which expression is given to the fact that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the whole Church, of both heaven and of earth, and that the oblation is made for her and for all her members, living and dead, who are called to participate in the redemption and salvation purchased by the Body and Blood of Christ.
Eucharistic Prayer I						Eucharistic Prayer II								Eucharistic Prayer III						Eucharistic Prayer IV
Nobis quoque peccatoribus (To us, also, your servants) [Co-celebrant Priests may speak parts here, with hands extended] To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners [Celebrants all strike their breast], hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, (Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia) and all your Saints; admit us, we beseech you, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us your pardon, through Christ our Lord. Per quem haec omnia (“Through whom you continue”) [Co-celebrants do not speak here] [Priest joins hands] Through whom you continue to make all these good things, O Lord; you sanctify them, fill them with life, bless them, and bestow them upon us.						Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection, and all who have died in your mercy: welcome them into the light of your face. Have mercy on us all, we pray, that with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, with the blessed Apostles, and all the Saints who have pleased you throughout the ages, we may merit to be coheirs to eternal life, and may praise and glorify you through your Son, Jesus Christ.								May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, with your blessed Apostles and glorious Martyrs (with Saint N.: the Saint of the day or Patron Saint) and with all the Saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help. May this Sacrifice of our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, advance the peace and salvation of all the world. Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim Church on earth, with your servant N. our Pope and N. our Bishop, the Order of Bishops, all the clergy, and the entire people you have gained for your own. Listen graciously to the prayers of this family, whom you have summoned before you: in your compassion, O merciful Father, gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world. To our departed brothers and sisters and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom. There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.						Therefore, Lord, remember now all for whom we offer this sacrifice: especially your servant N. our Pope, N. our Bishop, and the whole Order of Bishops, all the clergy, those who take part in this offering, those gathered here before you, your entire people, and all who seek you with a sincere heart. Remember also those who have died in the peace of your Christ and all the dead, whose faith you alone have known. To all of us, your children, grant, O merciful Father, that we may enter into a heavenly inheritance with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her Spouse, and with your Apostles and Saints in your kingdom. There, with the whole of creation, freed from the corruption of sin and death, may we glorify you through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.
Concluding Doxology and Great Amen
			GIRM: The concluding doxology, by which the glorification of God is expressed and which is affirmed and concluded by the people’s acclamation Amen.
[To conclude the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest takes the chalice and the paten with the hose and, raising both, he says (may also be spoken by co-Celebrants):]																Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, for ever and ever.
[All speak or sing the “Great Amen”]																Amen

Sources:

· General Instructions of the Roman Missal:

· Chapter II: The Structure of the Mass, Its Elements, and Its Parts | USCCB

· Chapter IV: The Different Forms of Celebrating Mass | USCCB

· Chapter VII: The Choice of the Mass and Its Parts | USCCB

· The Order of Mass from https://universalis.com/static/mass/orderofmass.htm

· Basic Texts for the Roman Catholic Eucharist: Eucharistic Prayers I-IV (catholic-resources.org)

· Text of the English Roman Catholic Mass: Text of the New English Roman Catholic Mass (catholicbridge.com)