Eucharistic Prayer II: History, Biblical Roots, and Meaning

Of the four Eucharistic Prayers, this is the shortest and the one the Church recommends for weekdays (GIRM 365). Dr. Pitre explains its distinctive history: it is modeled on the third-century Eucharistic Prayer attributed to St. Hippolytus of Rome — the earliest anaphora to come down to us — and was assembled for the reformed Missal by Bernard Botte and Louis Bouyer under St. Paul VI. He sets the Missal text side by side with Hippolytus so viewers can see what was retained and what was new. Biblically, the session follows the manna and "dewfall" imagery ("by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall," cf. Exodus 16) into John 6's Bread of Life and the "chalice of salvation" of Psalm 116, with St. Ambrose and St. John of Damascus on the mystery. Dr. Pitre even reads Bouyer's own candid memoir about how quickly the final edits of the prayer were performed. The video maps this territory and raises the questions; it saves the full synthesis for the session.

Key passages & sources examined: GIRM 365; Roman Missal, Order of Mass nos. 99-106; Exodus 16:14-15; John 6:48-51; Psalm 116:13-17; St. Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition (3rd c.); St. Ambrose, On the Sacraments; St. John of Damascus, On the Orthodox Faith; Louis Bouyer, Memoirs