CHAPTER 21
Additional Eucharistic Prayers
A Form for Ordering the Eucharist (pages 511514) provides a form which may be used in writing and adapting eucharistic prayers. Because they follow the framework provided on pages 512514, the four eucharistic prayers which follow are all authorised for use.
Eucharistic Prayer 1 This prayer is a new composition which was written to provide some complementary images.
Eucharistic Prayer 2 Eucharistic Prayers are often criticised for their repetitiveness. This prayer was written, in part, as an attempt to avoid this.
Eucharistic Prayer 3 This prayer is modeled on one found in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus (early third century). This ancient eucharistic prayer is used widely as a basis for many modern eucharistic prayers in different denominations.
Eucharistic Prayer 4 This prayer is based on an ecumenical prayer with its source in the liturgy of St. Basil.
Eucharistic Prayer 1
The Lord is here.
God's Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
It is right indeed that we should praise you,
God of love, our source and our fulfilment,
for you create all things,
and in you we live and move
and have our being.
Your wonder is manifest
in land and sea and sky.
When the times had at last grown full
and the earth had ripened in abundance,
you made us in your image for yourself.
And even though we turn from you,
again and again you call us to yourself,
and in every age, promise liberation.
As a mother tenderly gathers her children,
you embraced a people as your own
to rear them in your way of compassionate love.
From your own being you sent Jesus among us,
incarnate of the Holy Spirit
and born of Mary our sister.
Jesus revealed your care for all you have made,
and showed us your way of reconciliation.
Looking forward to the joy of new life
Jesus suffered the pangs of the cross
and in rising again
became the firstborn
of the renewed whanau (family).
You sent your Holy Spirit
and gave birth to us your church.
Your Spirit stays to nurture and to guide us.
Now we join hands around your table,
and with all creation
we hymn your praise for your unending love,
as we sing (say),
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
To you indeed be glory, almighty God,
because on the night before he died,
your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread;
when he had given you thanks,
he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body
which is given for you;
do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup;
when he had given you thanks,
he gave it to them and said:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood
poured out for you;
do this as often as you drink it
to remember me.
And so in this great sacrament
we celebrate and proclaim
the mystery of our faith.
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come in glory.
Therefore, loving God,
recalling now Christ's death and resurrection,
we ask you to accept
this our sacrifice of praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and our celebration,
that we may be fed with the body and blood of your Son
and be filled with your life and goodness.
Strengthen us to do your work,
and to be your body in the world.
Unite us in Christ
and give us your peace.
Through your Holy Spirit,
burning as a flame, gentle as a dove,
may we who receive these gifts
live lives of justice, love, and prayer,
and be a voice for those who are not heard.
In union with your whole church
we worship you, O God,
in songs of everlasting praise.
Blessing, honour and glory be yours,
here and everywhere,
now and forever. Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer 2
The Lord is here.
God's Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
It is our duty and our joy
to give you thanks and praise, O God,
creator and sustainer of the universe.
We give you thanks
for sun and sea and sky, for bush and birds,
for phases of the moon, for stars at night,
and planets in their courses.
All you make is very good.
For the universe we praise you
we worship and adore you.
We give you thanks
for our creation and our calling,
for friendship and community,
for love and laughter,
tears and pain of growth.
For your gift of life we praise you
we worship and adore you.
We give you thanks with those who went before us,
with saints and martyrs,
evangelists and prophets.
With all who stand before you in earth and heaven,
from every culture, land and tongue,
we praise you, giving voice to every creature,
as we join the never ending hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed are you, most Holy, in Jesus Christ,
who came among us as a servant and a friend
to reconcile us to yourself.
We thank you for that life of love,
the good news of your reign,
and the promise of a banquet
where all your children shall be free.
For your gift of Christ we praise you
we worship and adore you.
To you indeed be glory, almighty God,
because on the night before he died,
your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread;
when he had given you thanks,
he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body
which is given for you;
do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup;
when he had given you thanks,
he gave it to them and said:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood
poured out for you;
do this as often as you drink it
to remember me.
For new life in Christ we praise you
we worship and adore you.
Therefore, loving God,
recalling now Christ's death and resurrection,
we ask you to accept
this our sacrifice of praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and our celebration,
that we may be fed with the body and blood of your Son
and be filled with your life and goodness.
Strengthen us to do your work,
and to be your body in the world.
Unite us in Christ
and give us your peace.
For the peace of Christ we praise you
we worship and adore you.
Through Christ our Redeemer,
in the power of the Spirit,
we worship you, O God,
in songs of everlasting praise.
Blessing, honour and glory be yours,
here and everywhere,
now and forever. Amen.
There are several ways of adapting this prayer. These include
1) The refrain may be removed. This results in a structure similar to the two eucharistic prayers in Thanksgiving of the People of God.
If the refrain is removed, and an acclamation is desired after the institution narrative, this could be introduced as follows:
And so we gather around your table
and with this bread of life
and this cup of salvation
we proclaim the mystery of our faith.
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come in glory.
2) The given (cue and) refrain could be replaced by a sung refrain well known to the community (e.g. the line "Glory to God in the highest"). This might be particularly effective if this prayer is sung. Then a musical phrase could cue an alternative refrain.
3) The following consistent cue can replace the varying one above:
God of all creation
we worship and adore you.
4) An alternative concluding doxology is
Through Christ our Redeemer,
in the power of the Spirit,
all praise and thanks be yours, Creator God,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer 3
The Lord is here.
God's Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
We give you thanks, O God,
through your beloved servant Jesus Christ,
your living Word,
through whom you have created all things.
By the power of the Holy Spirit
Christ was born of Mary,
and shared our human nature.
With loving arms outstretched upon the cross for us,
Jesus broke the chains of evil and destruction.
By the resurrection your will was fulfilled
and you gathered a holy people to offer you praise.
Now with all creation we raise our voices
to proclaim your glory, as we sing (say):
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
To you indeed be glory, almighty God,
because on the night before he died,
your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread;
when he had given you thanks,
he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body
which is given for you;
do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup;
when he had given you thanks,
he gave it to them and said:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood
poured out for you;
do this as often as you drink it
to remember me.
[God of hope and joy,
we thank you for counting us worthy
to stand in your presence and serve you.
With this bread and this cup
we proclaim the mystery or our faith.
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come in glory.]
Therefore, loving God,
recalling now Christ's death and resurrection,
we ask you to accept
this our sacrifice of praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and our celebration,
that we may be fed with the body and blood of your Son
and be filled with your life and goodness.
Strengthen us to do your work,
and to be your body in the world.
Unite us in Christ
and give us your peace.
May we praise you
and give you glory through your Firstborn, Jesus Christ.
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in your holy Church,
we worship you, O God,
in songs of everlasting praise.
Blessing, honour and glory be yours,
here and everywhere,
now and forever. Amen.
An alternative concluding doxology is
Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in your holy Church,
all glory and honour are yours, our loving Creator,
now and for ever.
Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer 4
The Lord is here.
God's Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to offer thanks and praise.
It is right to glorify you
and to give you thanks, our holy and living God;
you dwell in light inaccessible
from before time and for ever.
Fountain of life and source of all goodness,
you made all things and fill them with your blessing;
you created them to rejoice
in the splendour of your radiance.
Now we praise you with the faithful of every time and place,
and give voice to every creature,
as we join in the eternal hymn:
Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
We acclaim you, holy one,
all your actions reveal your wisdom and love.
You formed us in your own image,
giving the whole world into our care,
so that, in obedience to you, our creator,
we might rule and serve all your creatures.
When our disobedience took us far from your friendship,
you did not abandon us to the power of death.
In your mercy you came to our help,
so that in seeking you we might find you.
Again and again you called us into covenant with you,
and through the prophets
you taught us to hope for salvation.
You loved the world so much
that in the fullness of time
you sent your only begotten one to be our Saviour.
Incarnate by the Holy Spirit,
born of your servant Mary,
Jesus lived as one of us, yet without sin.
To the poor Christ proclaimed the good news of salvation;
to prisoners, freedom; to the sorrowful, joy.
To fulfil your purpose, Christ accepted suffering and death
and, through the victory over the grave,
the whole creation was made new.
And that we might live no longer for ourselves,
you sent the Holy Spirit,
the first gift for those who believe,
to complete this work in the world,
and to bring to fulfilment
the sanctification of all.
To you indeed be glory, almighty God,
because on the night before he died,
your Son, Jesus Christ, took bread;
when he had given you thanks,
he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take, eat, this is my body
which is given for you;
do this to remember me.
After supper he took the cup;
when he had given you thanks,
he gave it to them and said:
This cup is the new covenant in my blood
poured out for you;
do this as often as you drink it
to remember me.
Gracious God, we now celebrate the memorial of our redemption.
From the gifts you have given us
we offer you this bread and this cup,
and proclaim the mystery of our faith,
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come in glory.
Therefore, loving God,
recalling now Christ's death and resurrection,
we ask you to accept
this our sacrifice of praise.
Send your Holy Spirit upon us
and our celebration,
that we may be fed with the body and blood of your Son
and be filled with your life and goodness.
Strengthen us to do your work,
and to be your body in the world.
Unite us in Christ
and give us your peace.
[Remember, sovereign God,
your one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
Reveal its unity, guard its faith,
and preserve it in peace.] [Remember N.]
And grant that we may find our inheritance
with [your blessed servant Mary,
with prophets and patriarchs, matriarchs and martyrs,
(with N.) and] all the saints
who have found favour with you in ages past.
We praise you in union with them
and give you glory through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
we worship you, O God,
in songs of everlasting praise.
Blessing, honour and glory be yours,
here and everywhere,
now and forever. Amen.
An alternative concluding doxology is
Through Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ,
all honour and glory are yours,
eternal God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever. Amen.