Easter Prefaces

I’ve written about prefaces before, and it’s a great thing to come back to: they encapsulate many tenets of the faith in a few short lines.  The function of the preface is to kick off the Eucharistic Prayer—after the priest calls upon the assembly to lift up our hearts to the Lord, they respond that it is right and just. 

Why is it right and just?  The preface answers the question!  It lists the mysteries of salvation.  The priest is reminding us that, when we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy, we should really rejoice and give praise to the Lord. 

We always have cause to give praise to God for all He has done for us/in us… but the Easter season is something extra special.  The prefaces reflect that quite literally.  I’ll pull a Fr. Z and put my comments in bold.  Each of the five Easter prefaces start with the same sentence:

“It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, at all times to acclaim you, O Lord,

(this is similar to the formula used in other prefaces—but wait, there’s more!)

but in this time above all to laud you yet more gloriously,

(let’s remember that the Paschal Mystery is THE foundational narrative to our faith, it’s a huge deal)

when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.”

(notice the emphasis on sacrifice and the tie to the Passover)

 

That extra part of the first sentence of the preface is overflowing with meaning.  If the Paschal Mystery is THE foundational narrative to the New Testament, the Passover was THE foundational narrative to the Old Testament.  It marked a new chapter in Israel’s history, cemented their identity as the Chosen People, and featured the direct involvement of God stepping into human history and saving His Chosen People.  The Paschal Mystery accomplished those same three things and is the perfect fulfillment of the Passover!  And if we really want to set our nets out into the deep, our thoughts could drift to…

• the Lamb of God and the Eucharist.  None of the gospel writers note that a lamb was eaten at the meal, but for a Passover meal to be a true Passover meal, as Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God (formerly-named Rosalind Moss) would emphasize, you had to eat the lamb.  They all consumed the first Eucharist... hmmm... and one of Jesus' titles was one given by John the Baptist: the Lamb of God.  Hmm, Jesus is also called that in the Book of Revelation...  

• the events of the Passover and the flight from Egypt saw the Israelites passing through water to be delivered from their pursuers… prefiguring baptism!  And within baptism, we’re reminded of the intimate unity we have with the Lord and our Church in the Mystical Body of Christ… the missionary zeal that the Lord assigned us, to go out to all the nations… it even leads into the other sacraments of initiation, confirmation and Eucharist.  

And we didn't even get into the specialized text of the prefaces!  More on that for another day.