Eucharistic Prayers for Lent

Prayer of Dedication

Blessed are you, God of all creation; 

through your goodness we have these gifts to share.

What we keep we lose,

but what we give away we have forever.  

Accept and use our offerings for your glory 

and for the service of your kingdom.  

Amen.

Invitation to the Lord's Table

This is the joyful feast of the people of God!

They will come from all the world,

from every race and language,

men and women,

young and old,

to sit at table in God’s Kingdom.

This is the meal of paradise!

The foretaste of the blessings coming to us,

a sign of abundance and generosity,

forgiveness and deliverance. 

This is the Lord’s table.

Our Savior invites those who trust in him

to share in the feast

which he has prepared.

The Story

On the night 

when he was betrayed by his friends 

and arrested by the authorities,

the Lord Jesus celebrated the Passover meal 

with his disciples.

After supper he took some of the bread.  

He blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: 

“This is my body, broken for you.  

Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way he took the cup of wine, saying:

“This cup is the new covenant sealed in my blood,

shed for the forgiveness of sins.  

Whenever you drink it,

do this in remembrance of me.”

Every time we eat this bread and drink from this cup,

we proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord,

until he comes. 

The Great Prayer of Thanksgiving

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right to give our thanks and praise.

We give you thanks, O God,

for all we have and are,

for you have given us everything.

We lift up our hearts to you

raising our thoughts 

above negative words and images,

abandoning the ideologies of scarcity and death,

fear and violence,

that dominate our lives in the world.

We recognize and celebrate your saving Presence 

with and within and among us,

granting us your peace,

establishing among us your justice,

bathing us in goodness and blessing,

straightening us in righteousness,

gathering us in community.

In this holy season we strip off 

all the extraneous accretions of our existence:

the useless and trivial thoughts,

the vain fantasies of our imagining,

the empty daydreams of our longing,

the sour rantings of our deepest horror,

the cheap chanting of our most ancient pain...

And we bid them be silent

in the face of your contradicting love.

In your cross and resurrection

we see what we are worth.

We see who we truly are in your eyes:

blessed, holy, good, and precious,

the culmination of your creation

made to bless and be a blessing to

everything you have made.

And so we join our voices 

with those of all your people

in every time and place,

in the angels’ song of praise to you:

Sanctus

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,

Gracious God of life,

by your Word and Spirit

you created the universe and declared it very good.

You called a holy family to bless the Earth.

Liberated from Pharoah’s bondage,

you gave your people a law by which to live in peace.

You sent prophets to remind and recall them

to this purpose.

And from that family in the fullness of time 

you came among us in your Son, Jesus Christ.

He walked lightly on the Earth,

healing, teaching, and blessing,

casting out evil spirits,

preaching the good news,

establishing your new community, 

and showing us your holy way of love.

Murdered by the organized violence that rules our world,

resurrected by the power of your infinite love,

he spreads his life over the whole world,

healing, purifying, and protecting, 

restoring the balance and integrity of creation,

reconciling us to you, to each other, 

and even to our true purpose and destiny,

and gathering a holy people

in your Spirit.

Send your Spirit, O God, upon your holy people,

called out from the world and gathered together,

and upon these holy gifts,

fashioned from the fruits of the Earth,

revealing here and now 

the living and saving Presence of Jesus Christ

with us, within us, around us, and among us.

Empower us to share together in your mission,

showing your love and justice in all we do.

O God,

like a mother hen you are always gathering your children,

and so we are bold to pray the prayer that Jesus taught us,

saying:

The Lord’s Prayer

The Breaking of Bread

Because there is one loaf, 

we, many as we are, 

are one body; 

for it is one loaf of which we all partake.

Baruch ata Adonai Eloneinu Melech ha-olam, 

ha-motzi lehem min ha-aretz.

When we break the bread, 

is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?

Baruch atah Adonai Eloneinu melech ha olam, 

borei p’re ha-gafen.

When we give thanks over the cup, 

is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?  

1 Corinthians 10:16-17

These are the gifts of God

for the people of God.

Take them in remembrance 

that Christ has given us his life,

and may his life of thanksgiving, joy, peace, and justice

become our life

as we are sent into the world as witnesses

of his saving love.

Amen.

The Holy Communion of the People

Closing Prayer 

Gracious God of life,

we thank you for this supper

shared in the Spirit with Jesus,

and with all believers,

and all creation.

Send us out,

empowered and energized

by your Body and Blood,

that we may witness in all things

to your saving love

that fills all things.

Amen.