Overlooked Praise

It is easy to overlook opportunities to praise God in the course of the day. Sadly, it is just as easy to do so during the holy sacrifice of the Mass, especially in the preface. During Mass, the preface immediately precedes the Sanctus and Eucharistic Prayer. The preface praises God for His mighty works, for the history of salvation, and the redemptive action of the Paschal Mystery. Even with its depth, this prayer gets frequently ignored. Before I studied the Mass in greater detail, I tuned out the preface and mainly paid attention to what I had to say before and after it.

After taking a closer look at the preface, my appreciation for the prayers of the Mass transformed my experience of it. The more we understand the Mass, the more we appreciate it. From there is only a short step to loving the Sacred Liturgy. Once we come to love the Sacred Liturgy, our spiritual life really takes off. The preface is a guide to remembering the great work that the Holy Trinity has accomplished. How then could we not praise God?

The Preface in Context

Before the preface, the priest invites the assembly to raise their minds and hearts to God.  The Lord be with you, the priest says, and with your spirit, we respond. Lift up your hearts, the priest commands, we lift them up to the Lord, the people answer. The priest pushes us further: let us give thanks to the Lord our God, and we testify that it is right and just.

This dialogue is so familiar that practicing Catholics could say it in their sleep. Like many familiar things, I think this dialogue and the preface get skipped over by those who are not fully, actively, or consciously participating in the Mass. It is important to emphasize that there are no throw-away words in the Sacred Liturgy. The introductory dialogue was not casually tossed in to give the assembly something to say. The meaning goes far deeper: it “establishes that this prayer is the prayer of the baptized and ordained, is offered in the presence of God, and has thanksgiving as its central focus” (USCCB commentary on the Liturgy of the Eucharist). In particular, the thanksgiving focuses our attention on the big picture of salvation.

Entering into Salvation History

Now united in prayer, the priest offers the preface “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” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #79a). One of the biggest reasons to go to Mass should be to praise God the Father for making salvation open and available to each one of us.

Even though the work of salvation happened 2,000 years ago, these sacred mysteries are not confined to history books. Theologians dub this the “event character” of the Word of God, which we encounter at every Mass. Theologically, the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary marks an eternal moment in history. Rather than merely recalling it, we enter into that moment. The holy sacrifice of the Mass “makes present the ‘wonders’ of God which it proclaims. The Spirit makes present and communicates the Father’s work, fulfilled by the beloved Son” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1155).

God opens the door for us to marvel at the redemption wrought by Jesus. The prefaces seize that chance and offer praise to the Father, using different themes depending on the season or feast day. All the phrases and terms in the preface are packed with the mysteries of our faith, and provide fertile ground for meditation.

Themes within a Preface

Let’s take the preface for the Solemnity of Christ the King as an example:

For you anointed your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with the oil of gladness as eternal Priest and King of all creation, so that, by offering himself on the altar of the Cross as a spotless sacrifice to bring us peace, he might accomplish the mysteries of human redemption, and, making all created things subject to his rule, he might present to the immensity of your majesty, an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace. (Roman Missal 3rd Edition, 2011)

The preface for the solemnity of Christ the King fittingly focuses on the anointing of Jesus as priest, as king, and on the Kingdom of God.

Jesus as the Great High Priest

First, the preface describes Jesus as a priest in a few ways. The description of Jesus as priest and victim comes from the letter to the Hebrews: “he did this once for all when he offered up himself” (7:27). As the preface continues, the offering of himself as a “spotless sacrifice” calls to mind the Exodus from Egypt and the Passover lamb. It needed to be unblemished (Exodus 12:5). Here the preface subtly draws our attention to the typological connection between the Eucharist and the Passover sacrifice.

Another connection between Jesus and the Exodus is in Luke’s account of the Transfiguration (9:28-36), Moses and Elijah appear next to the glorified Jesus. Luke includes a detail that Mark and Matthew do not recount. Moses and Elijah “spoke of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem” (9:31, RSVCE). In this passage, the word ‘departure’ in Greek is exodus. Moses led the Israelites out of slavery, through water to the promised land. Jesus as the High Priest offers Himself as a sacrifice, leads us out of slavery to sin, through the waters of baptism, and ultimately to the promised kingdom of heaven. 

Just a few lines from the preface shed light onto one of the greatest stories in salvation history. All of the key figures and events of the Old Testament illumine the New Testament and point to Our Lord.

Jesus the King

Probably the most familiar type of Jesus in the Old Testament is King David. He was the Lord’s anointed, and the terms Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean “anointed one.” King David held dominion over the twelve tribes of Israel, and the promised messiah had an even greater kingdom awaiting him. God promised that David’s throne would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16). Actually, one of the best summaries of the kingly promises destined for Jesus is from the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation:

He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:32-33, RSVCE).

The kingdom that Jesus instituted is everything that the preface lists, for each depends on Christ: truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love, and peace. Without Christ as King, truth loses its foundation. We depend on Him for our physical life as well as for our spiritual life. Christians have been trying to advance the banner of the Kingdom of God for two millennia–imagine a world of truth, life, justice, and peace!

Crowned with the Sanctus

At the conclusion of every preface is a common invocation of all the heavenly hosts. After listing reasons to praise the Father, the preface builds as to compel us to worship Him. How could we not? In this moment of the Mass, the Church gives us the very words of the seraphim, as recorded by the prophet Isaiah. He had a vision of God upon His throne, surrounded by the heavenly seraphim, singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (6:3, RSVCE). We need to stop and appreciate this hymn. At every Mass, our voices blend with those of the angels, archangels, saints, and every single soul in heaven. In justice and in praise, we exult to God for the eternal gifts He offers. 

The second half of the Sanctus comes from the crowd’s acclamations when Jesus entered Jerusalem: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9, RSVCE). On that first Palm Sunday, the crowds welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. By repeating their song, our focus shifts from God the Father to God the Son. The liturgy gives us a preview of what is next. Jesus is coming in the Eucharist as a triumphant king, ready to enter into our bodies and hearts.

The Importance of Praise

What makes the preface worthy of attention? My hope with this article was not to write on an often overlooked part of the Mass but to highlight the importance of praising God. Recently, I read Robert Hugh Benson’s Lord of the World novel. The climax of the novel between the Antichrist and the remnant of the Church featured weapons on both sides. The world fought with weapons of war, and the Church fought with prayers of praise, adoring the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

How does that work? What can we do when overwhelmed? How can we possibly defeat the world? The short answer is, we can’t. But God can, and already did at Calvary. Our prayers take on a new character when made through our priest and king, Jesus.

This impacted me and reminded me of the importance of praise. Prayers of praise are a strong spiritual weapon in our arsenal. In a world built on shifting sand, prayers of praise can help us maintain a firm foundation. Our hope is not in military might, or even in arguments. We need constant reminders of the great salvific work done by our Heavenly Father. Once remembered, faith, hope, and love come a little easier.