Hey, Father! Before the consecration, the priest says, “Pray brethren (brothers and sisters) that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” I thought it was Jesus’ sacrifice? Since the Mass is the re-presentation of Calvary, isn’t it Jesus’ sacrifice? What sacrifice are we in the pews then offering that may be acceptable to God?

Katie in Effingham

We are familiar with the preparatory rites at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when the gifts of bread and wine and other gifts in the form of money or other things for the relief of the needs of the Church and of the poor are brought to the altar, sometimes in offertory procession and placed in an appropriate area according to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM – nos. 70, 73). We then see the priest saying prayers marking the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, elevating the gifts slightly above the altar, saying a short private prayer, and washing his hands (GIRM no. 146). Then, upon returning to the middle of the altar, the priest, facing the people and extending and then joining his hands, invites the people to pray, saying, Orate, fratres(Pray, brethren …) as you state in your question. 

When I pause and ponder this invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren … ),I recall that there was a time as a child and adult when I offered nothing or paid no attention to these words or did not understand how God sought my cooperation in His Sacrifice! Probably you, who are reading this, may feel the same. However, in the context of the community’s spiritual life and the communal aspect of prayer as the Body of Christ, we are much more than idle spectators. As brethren (brothers and sisters), we are part of that one Sacrifice offered once and for all at Calvary. We are the chosen people of God (Hebrews 10:10-14). We should be excited to be at Mass and by baptism, we are united to the sacrifice of Christ made present in the Mass, which belongs both to the priest and the people! 

When the priest celebrant says, “Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father,”this should not be taken lightly. It is a command in an imperative sense, which demands a call to attention, to which all the faithful present at that sacrifice of Mass are to stand up (unless one has physical difficulty) in response, as a sign of readiness and reverence. This should remind us of the Passover meal as we read in Exodus 12:11, where the chosen people of God were told to offer that first Paschal Sacrifice (the Lord’s Passover) “with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you will eat it in a hurry.”

Secondly, the faithful are not just mere spectators at the liturgy of the Eucharist (the sacrifice of Mass), but together with the priest celebrant, all the baptized are exercising their common priesthood to offer their proper sacrifices as well. This happens through both visible, external gestures and through their invisible internal disposition expressed by a humble and contrite heart at prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with His total offering and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with His offering” (CCC 1368). 

Therefore, the priest’s call to pray is to acknowledge that he is not alone at prayer, but it is the sacrifice of the entire assembly, priest, ministers, and people. It is therefore important and appropriate for the faithful to actively participate in the offering and the celebration of the Eucharist, when the main celebrant asks the people present that his offering and theirs may become acceptable to God the Father. Let us all offer our all, stand in readiness, as we prepare our sacrifices at every Mass and foster active participation so that “my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.”

Father Alfred Tumwesigye is pastor of St. Elizabeth in Granite City.