Parts of the Mass: Prayers you don't hear
After the gifts [of water and wine] are brought forward, the priest says a prayer over each. When there is a song for the preparation of the gifts, these prayers are said quietly, so you may have never heard them. Just as the Kyrie is a continued link to the early church and a reminder that the language of the New Testament is Greek, so these prayers keep us linked to our Jewish ancestors. With slight modifications, these prayers reflect Jewish blessing prayers used to this day.
Between the two blessing prayers the priest adds a bit of water to the wine, recalling the blood and water that flowed from the side of Christ. The prayer that accompanies this action ("By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity") recalls the very center of our faith.
Between the two blessing prayers the priest adds a bit of water to the wine, recalling the blood and water that flowed from the side of Christ. The prayer that accompanies this action ("By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity") recalls the very center of our faith.