REFLECTION FOR FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT ( YEAR C)
LAETARE SUNDAY/ MOTHER’S DAY
WEEK BEGINNING 30 MARCH 2025
At Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist is the second of the two major parts; the first having been the Liturgy of the Word.
This 2nd part opens with the Prayer over the Gifts – the bread and wine, in turn, emphasizing to God that it is through His goodness alone that we have received each of these Gifts.
Having received the bread and prayed over it, the priest places a little wine into the chalice and then inserts a drop of water as well. This symbolizes the dual nature of Our Lord Jesus Christ – He is fully God and fully human.
(In a secondary sense, the wine may also be said to represent Him, while the tiny drop of water may be said to represent each and all of us i.e. we are being commingled with Jesus).
The priest will then incense these Gifts with a triple circular motion of the thurible, to the right and then to the left. He will then go round incensing the altar, stopping in the centre to incense the large crucifix above the Tabernacle – this incensing will be the second time this is done, for it was done at the very start of Mass.
Next, the priest prays that this sacrifice may be acceptable to God, Our Almighty Father, and he specifies that it is jointly from the priest & the people.
The congregation’s prayer is so that God will accept the sacrifice in praise and glory of His Name, for the good of all present, and for the good of all His Holy Church. The priest then prays over the Offerings.
In the ‘Prayer over the Gifts’, the priest asks on behalf of those present and of himself, that we may both revere the Gifts, and offer them to God in a fitting manner – for the salvation of the whole world. This illustrates that we are not just praying for ourselves alone.
Good Shepherd Catholic Church 