The Mystery of Faith

The Mystery of Faith (the Mysterium Fidei) is a Eucharistic Acclamation.

Eucharist means ‘thanksgiving’. The acclamation occurs during the Eucharistic Prayer, directly after the consecration (the transformation of the bread and wine into the body and ). The priest announces, “The mystery of faith” because the consecration has made a tremendous change in the celebration— we accept in faith because we cannot comprehend it just by reason. It emphasizes the importance of the consecration: Jesus is now on the and we respond (typically in song). It is a personal conversation, a prayer, with God.

The words of the mystery of faith are beautiful, reminding us of the central truth: the sacrifice of the is a great mystery of faith. The Mass is the prayer of the in the world (the members of the Church) to the Father through Jesus Christ His Son and in the Holy Spirit.

The Mystery of Faith conveys one of the deep truths and mysteries of the faith:

1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord and profess your Resurrection until you come again. A panorama of salvation history: It proclaims the past, specifically, the Death of the Lord, then it speaks of “professing,” which refers to the present. Finally it speaks of the future: “until you come again.” It makes explicit what the other two acclamations contain implicitly.

2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again. This speaks directly of the , eating the bread and drinking the cup. This is taken from 1 Corinthians 11:26: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” Past, present and future are found as elements but the acclamation has the unique advantage of being Scriptural and referring to the Eucharistic banquet in a concrete way. is an act of faith, a proclamation that we believe in the and in the second coming.

3. Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free. The beginning, “Save us, Savior of the world,” has poetic similarity of sound. This prayer can actually stand alone, independent of the Eucharistic canon. The passion of Christ is more explicitly referred to by the reference to the cross. It also contains the theological idea of “freedom” which is actually a metaphor for redemption. The title of‘ savior’ for Jesus is found twice in Scripture. The first is in the fourth chapter of John’s , in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. After the locals have heard from her, and then heard from Jesus himself, they proclaim that they no longer rely on her testimony-- they know for themselves that Jesus is the Savior of the world. The second half of this acclamation is similar to that found in the Stations of the Cross:“ We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”

Excerpts from: Glenn CJ Byer / ocp.org—The Mystery of Faith; Catholic News Agency