The Liturgy of the Faithful
The Epiclesis
This is the most solemn part of the Eucharist, when the Priest invokes the Holy Spirit to come upon the people to purify them, and upon the oblations set forth to sanctify and change them into the Body and Blood of Christ.
Priest (Inaudible)
We ask You, O Lord our God, we, Your sinful and undeserving servants, who worship You by the pleasure of Your goodness, that Your Holy Spirit descends upon us and upon these oblations set forth, that He may purify them, change them, and manifest them as sanctification for Your saints.
Deacon
Let us attend.
The Priest makes three crosses quickly over the offering, before pronouncing the word “Body”.
Priest
This bread he makes into His holy Body...
Congregation
I believe.
Priest (Inaudible)
Our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, given for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to those who partake of Him.
The Priest makes three crosses quickly over the cup, before pronouncing the word “Blood”.
Priest
And this cup also, into the precious Blood of His New Covenant.
Congregation
Again, I believe.
Priest
Our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, given for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to those who partake of Him.
The People rise from prostration, joyfully and spiritually glorifying.
Congregation
Amen.
Lord have mercy. (3)
In addition, the Priest may pray the First Supplication from the Liturgy of St Gregory. After each petition, the congregation responds with "Lord have mercy".
The Supplications and Litanies follow the Invocation of the Holy Spirit, for now that the Lord Himself is present with us on the altar, we entreat Him for the Church, the clergy, the people and all creation.
Priest· St Gregory
We beseech You, O Christ our God:
Make firm the foundation of the Church.
A oneness of heart leading to love,
Let it be rooted in us.
Let the righteousness of faith grow;
Make straight for us the way of godliness.
The shepherds, control;
Those whom they shepherd, make firm.
Give grace to the clergy;
Asceticism to the monks and nuns.
Purity to those who are celibate;
A virtuous life to those who are married.
Mercy to those in repentance;
Goodness to the rich.
Meekness to the pious;
Help to the poor.
Success for the students;
Work for those in need.
The elders, strengthen;
The youth, instruct.
The unbelievers, restore; bring to
an end the schisms of the Church.
Dissolve the vanity of heresy, and
count us all in the unity of godliness.
And then the Priest proceeds.
Priest
Make us all worthy, O our Lord to partake of Your Holies for the purification of our souls, our bodies and our spirits; that we may become one body and one spirit, and have a share and an inheritance with all the saints who have pleased You since the beginning
The presence of Christ in the sacraments is not a material or spiritual presence but a sacramental and real presence simultaneously. The bread and wine, through the words of consecration and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Holy Blood of Christ.
The bread, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist.
— St Irenaeus of Lyons
In the invocation, the Priest prays the prayer of the coming of the Holy Spirit, imploring Him to come and dwell in the offerings placed, changing them into the Holy Body and Blood of the Lord.
After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the offerings and their transformation into the true Body and Blood of our Lord, not even the Pope or any ranks are allowed to bless the people or sign the cross over the offerings or the incense on the altar or the people. This is because the Chief High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, is present on the altar with His Body and Blood, serving as the High Priest above all. He sanctifies His sacrifice.
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
— Hebrews 8:3
The sacrifice of the Lord Christ is His holy body.
By saying “Body” and “Blood”, they become His Body and His Blood. The ritual warns to sign quickly before the transformation because from that moment, no ecclesiastical rank is allowed to sign especially on the Body and Blood or on the people.
When the priest utters the word “Body”, the bread, by the action of the Holy Spirit, transforms into the real body of our Lord Jesus Christ, our God. And when he utters the word “Blood”, the mixture in the chalice transforms into the real Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, our God. All of this is by the action of the Holy Spirit and does not depend on the priest’s righteousness or his spirituality or his priestly rank.
The priest prays the Epiclesis while prostrating, and all the people prostrate, seeking the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them and the offerings placed on the altar.
The priest’s supplication for the invocation of the Holy Spirit is akin to prayers in the Bible where we seek the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
— Psalm 50:13
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
You shall send forth Your Spirit, and they shall be created,
— Psalm 103:30
And You shall renew the face of the earth.
Who has known Your counsel,
— Wisdom of Solomon 9:17
Unless You have given him wisdom
And sent him Your Holy Spirit from on high?
As an aside, in Wisdom of Solomon we see the presence of the Holy Trinity is unveiled. "Your counsel" refers to God the Father, who gives His Son, "wisdom", and sends His Holy Spirit to reveal the knowledge of salvation to mankind.
With the Body and Blood of the Lord we may attain forgiveness and benefitting from the Cross of Christ.
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
— John 6:54-58
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
— 2 Corinthians 4:7
But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
— 1 Corinthians 1:27-28
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?
— James 2:5