Where Do the Priest’s Prayers Come From?
Sometimes, people ask where the prayers that the priest says at Mass come from. Basically, they come from the Roman Missal, the book that the priest reads from at Mass, both at the chair for the celebrant as well as at the altar.
The prayers of the missal, however, have a great history and have served as the principal way of passing down the Christian tradition over the centuries. A quick glance at the missal can help us appreciate these prayers more deeply.
The entrance and communion antiphons, which are really chants for the whole assembly, usually come from the Bible. The sign of the cross at the beginning of Mass, can be traced back to the Gospel of Matthew 28:19: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. When the priest shows the Host to the people before communion he says: Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb, which a clear reference to Revelation 19:9: Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb. After the priest says that, the people respond with: I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof which echoes the words of the centurion in Matthew 8:8/Luke 7:6.
Then there is the prayer that the priest says before the readings which is known as the Collect, and the Prayer over the Offerings and the Prayer after Communion. These three prayers are often from the first thousand years of the Church’s existence. Some go back as early as the fifth century. Finally, there is the great Eucharistic Prayer I, which is also known as the Roman Canon. Passages of that prayer are found in writings from the middle of the fourth century.
The prayers of the priest, therefore, are a gift to us from the Church, and they pass down to us a treasury of prayers by which Christians through the ages have worshipped their Lord and God.
Source: Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA
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