The Consecration in the Liturgy
23 November 2022
Consecration is a profound mystery that the Triune God performs, and the priest participates in it through his priestly anointing.
Jesus instituted His bloodless sacrifice on Mount Zion in Jerusalem and commanded the Apostles to offer it for the forgiveness of sins. On the next day after its institution, Jesus, the Son of God and the spotless Lamb, completed the atoning sacrifice for our sins by His death on the cross.
In the Eastern liturgy, the words of Christ spoken on Mount Zion are regarded as the words of Institution. Here the Consecration culminates in the Epiclesis, where the priest explicitly asks the Heavenly Father to perform the Consecration Himself. It is similar in the Latin Mass (in the Roman Canon): “Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge and approve this offering in every respect; … so that it may become for us the Body and Blood of Your most beloved Son…”
In the Eastern liturgy, Christ’s words of Institution and the Epiclesis are linked by the Anamnesis. It is the remembrance of what Jesus did for our sake after instituting His New Testament sacrifice on Mount Zion. Specifically, it calls to mind the cross (testament from the cross, death), the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven and the sitting at the right hand. It also mentions the second coming of Christ.
On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles and the Church was born. The Holy Spirit began to work in the Church even through the sacraments instituted by Jesus. In addition to baptism, these include, above all, the Holy Liturgy. The Apostles were then anointed by the Holy Spirit to offer the New Testament sacrifice of Christ. This anointing is passed on from the Apostles to Christ’s priests. Immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles began to offer the bloodless sacrifice of Christ. The Consecration presupposed Christ’s words of Institution spoken by the priest and the Epiclesis, i.e. an invocation of the Holy Spirit over the gifts.
A bishop or a priest approaches the altar as the Lord’s anointed, as the bearer of the Spirit who is connected not only to his baptism but also to his priestly anointing, the latter being administered in the Church specifically to the Apostles of Christ. The priestly anointing – ordination – is irrevocable. The following applies to every priest: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Heb 5:6) It does not mean, however, that a priest or bishop will surely be saved. There are and will be many unworthy priests and bishops in hell. Salvation is not determined by the degree of service in the Church but rather by the saving faith connected with the keeping of Christ’s commandments.
It is very useful for a deeper experience of the Liturgy when the priest says the words of the Anamnesis slowly and aloud. These words end with the priest singing: “Your own of Your own, we offer to You, on behalf of all and for all.”
First pause – Keeping focused before the Consecration
After the Anamnesis, there is time to become deeply focused. The choir sings the antiphon “We praise You, we bless You…” The priest asks for the Holy Spirit to be sent down upon him and the faithful, and to make the change (Consecration) of the gifts: “Send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here present.” The priest asks for the Holy Spirit especially for himself, for the renewal of his priestly anointing. He also realizes that in a few moments he is to enter into the closest union with God, when God, at his word, will change the gifts into the Body and Blood of Christ by His Spirit. This supernatural intervention – a miracle – will be made by God through His Spirit, but not without the priest. Similarly, when the Word became flesh, God did not perform this greatest miracle without the consent and faith of the Blessed Virgin. The priest reminds himself of his great dignity connected with the priestly anointing, but also his responsibility because it is written: “He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself.” (1Cor 11:29) The following also applies: A priest who approaches the culmination of this mystery of faith negligently brings punishment upon himself.
There is a practice in some monasteries that a priest lies prostrate during the invocation of the Holy Spirit like during the ordination. Some priests kneel.
Then the priest rises, returns to the altar and continues the Epiclesis over the gifts, which has the character of Consecration. The priest extends his hands over the gifts, breathes on them, and says quietly: “Send down Your Holy Spirit upon the gifts here present.” Especially now he is aware of what he is saying and what is now happening in the spiritual realm. While the choir sings the antiphon, he speaks the words of the Epiclesis slowly and quietly, “And make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ,” making the sign of the cross over the diskos (paten). Immediately afterwards, he says slowly and attentively, “And that which is in this chalice the precious Blood of Your Christ,” and he concludes, saying, “Changing them by Your Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen.”
The transgressive “changing” followed by the words “by Your Holy Spirit” expresses that the priest’s preceding prayer to the Father “And make…” is being fulfilled by God through His Spirit, who accomplishes the change of the gifts.
However, when the deacon or priest says “Amen” after the prayer over the bread and the chalice, the transgressive is given a declarative meaning: “O God, You have changed these gifts by Your Holy Spirit.” Here the word “Amen” means “It is done”.
For easier understanding and participation of the priest in this mystery, a clear expression of the essence is needed. Therefore, if the deacon or priest says “Amen” immediately, this must be preceded by the priest’s words that are otherwise spoken at the end of the Epiclesis: “… by Your Holy Spirit”. Thus the entire wording reads: “Make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ by Your Holy Spirit. Amen.” It is now the Body of Christ. Then the priest says over the chalice: “And that which is in this chalice the precious Blood of Your Christ by Your Holy Spirit. Amen.” It is now the Blood of Christ. The conclusion then takes on a declarative meaning, announcing the completion of the Consecration: “O God, You have changed these gifts by Your Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen.”
Second pause – Adoration of the present Christ
Following the Consecration, the priest kneels, bows down to the floor and continues to kneel for about three to five minutes. While doing so he thinks about what has just happened and that Christ is present on the altar. He is aware of the following: In the spirit I am on Golgotha, but at the same time, Golgotha is here. It is made present at this time and in this space. The crucified Christ is before me. He sees me and He speaks to me. He hands me His testament of the cross: “Behold, your mother.” I, in faith, do what the Apostle John did at the foot of the cross. I spiritually receive the Mother of Jesus into my own innermost being (eis ta idia) just as John did. Mary is new Eve. She is a new promised heart (Ezek 36:26). Then I realize my sinfulness and my wasted past and simultaneously, I repent. In the spirit I look at the five wounds of Christ and with a great care I say the following words: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Then I think of the mystery of the baptism, through which I was immersed in the death of Christ (Rom 6:3f). I also realize that I am a part of the Mystical Body of Christ along with other baptized persons. Now, as I am being mindfully immersed into the death of Christ, God’s grace flows through me to other parts of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church. This is now a spiritual mission. I can think of my closest relatives, or even the entire nation and all baptized people in it. At the same time, in faith, I may say the holy name of God, Yehoshua.
In this manner, not only the priest can experience the moment of silence, but every believer who is present and instructed about the spiritual depth of the Holy Liturgy and who cares truly about the salvation of their soul and the salvation of the souls of their dear ones.
At the moment of my union with Jesus, things are starting to move in the spiritual realm. Those who were bound by demons receive a grace for deliverance; those who were depressed receive light and salvation. Those who were oppressed by compulsive thoughts and demons to commit sins, impurity, fornication, vengeance, crimes, or self-pity, suddenly receive light and strength to resist the evil and addictions. Not everyone opens to this grace, but it reaches many. God works through your faith, when you enter in union with Christ’s death becoming present in the Liturgy. It is the pinnacle of the love of God.
A Catholic priest asks: What about the Epiclesis in the Western liturgy?
In the Western liturgy, the Consecration takes place simultaneously with the words of Institution. The Epiclesis is only implicitly assumed in the Roman canon. The Novus Ordo contains an explicit Epiclesis, but it comes before the words of Institution (Consecration).
As for the turning of the altar and the priest toward the people in the Western liturgy, this has led to a certain desecration of both the temple and the mystery itself. The priest rather than Christ’s cross or the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice becomes the centre of attention.
What should a Catholic priest do if he wants to use the aforementioned two moments of silence before and after the Consecration to experience the Liturgy more deeply? The temporary solution is for the priest to descend the altar before the Consecration. He will thus be on a level with the people like in Eastern liturgy. Then he will kneel, which will be a sign for the people that they should pray with him for the Holy Spirit to descend on both him and the faithful. Then he will rise, return to the altar and say the words of Institution (Consecration). After that, he will descend the altar steps again and stand in front of the altar, kneel, bow to the ground before Christ who has descended to the altar, and together with the people adore the present Christ in a manner similar to that expressed in the Eastern liturgy.
What about the validity of the Consecration? The Consecration is valid both in Eastern and Western liturgy.
The answer to the question of how to experience the Liturgy more deeply in both the Eastern and Western Churches is to experience the above-mentioned two moments of silence, one before and the other after the Consecration.
+ Elijah, BCP
Download: The Consecration in the Liturgy (23/11/ 2022)
