Eucharistic Prayer I (The Roman Canon): The Oldest and Longest Eucharistic Prayer

Eucharistic Prayer I — the venerable "Roman Canon" — is the longest of the four Eucharistic Prayers, with parts witnessed as early as St. Ambrose in the 4th century and shaped over the centuries by a line of popes (down to John XXIII, who added St. Joseph). In this session of The Mass Explained, Dr. Brant Pitre explains why it is called the "Canon" (the "rule" of prayer), and walks through its structure — the "Te igitur" ("To you, therefore," whose opening "T" was seen as the shape of the Cross, echoing the taw marked on the faithful in Ezekiel 9), the twin lists of twelve apostles and twelve Roman martyrs, and the great remembrance of the living and the dead. He then draws out its biblical heart: the offering of the "holy and unblemished sacrifice" set beside the Old Testament sacrifices of Abel, Abraham, and Melchizedek (Genesis 4; 14; 22), and the angel who bears the offering to the "altar on high" with the "prayers of the saints" (Revelation 8:3–4).

Key passages & sources examined: the sacrifices of Abel, Melchizedek, and Abraham (Genesis 4:4; 14:18; 22:1–14); the angel and the golden altar in heaven (Revelation 8:3–4); the taw / cross mark of Ezekiel 9:4 (the "Te igitur"); St. Ambrose's 4th-century witness to the Canon's words (On the Sacraments); and the Council of Trent (1562) on the Roman Canon.