One of the advantages of the priest facing the congregation is that we can see what is happening at different points during the liturgy. At key moments in the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest invokes—calls down—the Holy Spirit upon the assembly. Before the words of the Institution Narrative, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it…”, the priest asks the Spirit to bless the bread and wine that are to be consecrated and transformed. This is the first moment of the epiclesis, the Greek term meaning “calling upon.”
Later in the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest again invokes
the Holy Spirit, this time asking that the people gathered may be drawn
together into one body in Christ. The Mass is not only about what happens on
the altar before our eyes; it is also about what is happening within and among
the people around that altar. This is not a spectacle or a performance but a
profound mystery in which the Holy Spirit is at work, transforming us and,
through us, the whole of creation. Creation, Incarnation, and Pentecost converge
as the Spirit once more “hovers over” us.
It is easy to miss this moment. Yet an experience of the
epiclesis at a crowded Eucharist in Taizé many years ago left a lasting
impression on me. The unity of hundreds of young people—brothers and sisters
humming and chanting softly as the Spirit was invoked—offered a glimpse of
something far greater than any one of us.
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