Prayers at the preparation of the table

4 Prayers at the preparation of the table

Are there suitable words that help prepare the worshipper for the great Eucharistic Prayer? The pre-Reformation Church thought so and provided prayers that spoke of offering. The Reformation swept these away and instead gave Bible sentences that focused on the giving of money, rather than the offering of bread and wine. There have been two objections to the pre-Reformation prayers. The first is that their use of the language of offering in the Eucharist detracts from the self-offering of Jesus on the cross (and this is discussed on pages 71 – 5). The second is that almost any words one might choose to use about the bread and wine at this moment might seem to anticipate and therefore to undermine the Eucharistic Prayer itself…