Day 150: The Epiclesis

The Epiclesis ("invocation upon") is the intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful by receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to God. Together with the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental celebration, most especially of the Eucharist. CCC 1105-1106

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the epiclesis in the liturgy and gives an "In Brief" to review what has been covered over the past few days. It has already been discussed how in the liturgy the Holy Spirit "make[s] the saving work of Christ present and active by his transforming power" (CCC 1112). In the epiclesis with the priest's prayers, the Holy Spirit transforms "the bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ" (p. 64). 

This change in the elements by the power of the Holy Spirit is not only to spiritually feed us Christ but to make us more like Him. In essence, change us from within. As the Catechism Companion, Vol II notes:

The Church prays that the Holy Spirit change our hearts to be like Christ, guide us to preserve the oneness of the Church, and help us to act with charity. (p. 64)

The Catechism itself puts it this way:

In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us into communion with Christ and so to form his Body... The epiclesis is also a prayer for the full effect of the assembly's communion with the mystery of Christ. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit"28 have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic celebration. (CCC 1108-1109)

Amen.

Finally, because "the Eucharist can be the most beautiful and daunting teaching we have," the Companion recommends this video in order to "dive deeper into this teaching" (p. 65):