The Consecration is the heart of the Mass — when the priest says Jesus' words, "This is my Body… This is my Blood." Here's what happens, what "the mystery of faith" means, and why the host is elevated.
The Consecration and "The Mystery of Faith" at Mass
The high point of the Eucharistic Prayer is the Consecration — when the priest, acting in the person of Christ, speaks Jesus' own words over the bread and wine: "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body…" and "this is the chalice of my Blood… poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins," drawn from all four accounts (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Corinthians 11). In this session of The Mass Explained, Dr. Brant Pitre explains the elevation of the host and the ringing of the bells — rooted in the golden bells on the high priest's robe (Exodus 28) and in William Durand's reading of "when I am lifted up… I will draw all to myself" (John 12:32) — and unfolds the acclamation that follows, "The mystery of faith" (Latin mysterium fidei; cf. 1 Timothy 3:9), with its three Memorial Acclamations. With St. Ambrose and St. John Paul II, he shows how these words make present Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection — what John Paul II called "Eucharistic amazement."
Key passages & sources examined: the words of institution (Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26); the golden bells of the high priest (Exodus 28:31–35); "the mystery of the faith" (1 Timothy 3:9); "when I am lifted up" (John 12:32); St. Ambrose on the change (On the Sacraments); and St. John Paul II on "the mystery of faith" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia).
What are the "words of consecration"? Jesus' own words: "This is my Body, which will be given up for you" and "This is the chalice of my Blood… poured out for you and for many."
What does "the mystery of faith" mean? The priest's acclamation after the Consecration; the people respond by proclaiming Christ's Death, Resurrection, and return. The phrase echoes 1 Timothy 3:9.
Why does the priest elevate the host, and why the bells? The elevation shows the Body of Christ for adoration ("when I am lifted up… I will draw all to myself," John 12:32); the bell signals the moment, echoing the bells of the high priest (Exodus 28).
Where do the words of consecration come from? The Last Supper accounts in the Gospels and St. Paul (Matthew 26; 1 Corinthians 11).
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It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
It is a great service to provide the excellent Mass Reading Explained by Dr. Brant Pitre. I like the feature to download the transcript of the video which is very helpful. However, there are some rooms for improvement as followed:
1. The media player's controls are spotty. Very often, the Closed Caption button is not available. Therefore, I could not enable the subtitle.
2. It will be very helpful if the videos can be searched or sorted by the calendar date, and not just the "Number of Sunday in Ordinary Time".
3. It will be nice if you have an app (for both iOS and MacOS) to launch it, such that I do not have to open a web browser and type in the URL address manually every time. I talked to your support folks on this and I was informed that an app is coming soon. Please make sure it supports both iOS and MacOS.
Thank you very much for your hard work.
Yours in Christ
simon
The only thing I'd prefer is to have a search options within the readings/explanations. For example, like youtube, except now that I purchased the service, I'd like to have Sunday explanations for Purgatory or Predestination. It would really help when I'm debating Calvinists because I could resource back to Pitre.
