Liturgy of the Eucharist: Mixing Water and Wine, Washing Hands, and Prayer Over the Offerings

It was a common practice in the ancient world to dilute the wine with a bit of water. The meaning is expressed in the prayer that accompanies this rite and begins “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.” In the traditional interpretation of this practice, the wine symbolizes Christ’s divinity and the water symbolizes our humanity. The mingling of the wine points to the Incarnation: the mystery of God becoming man. It also points to our call to share in Christ’s divine life, to become ‘partakers of the divine nature.’ The priest then prays over the bread and wine, using words which are modeled after the Jewish blessing over bread and wine which was used for meals probably around the time of Jesus.

It begins, “Blessed are you Lord God of all creation...” Listen to this prayer as Father recites it today. The priest also prays, “With humble spirit and contrite heart, may we be accepted by you O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.” This prayer is not something being offered to God like bread and wine, it is an offering of the assembled people, ‘May we be accepted by you...”

Next, the priest washes his hands in a gesture that signals a dramatic event is about to take place. Just as in the Old Testament, the priest and Levites had to undergo ritual washing of hands and feet before they could perform their duties in the sanctuary, so the priest also does so today. Soon after these prayers, the gift of the bread and wine will be changed into Christ’s very body and blood, and Our Lord will soon dwell within us as we receive him in Holy Communion. Jesus, the one true High Priest, will accomplish this through the priest’s hands – a power vested in him by the Sacrament of Holy Orders. As in the Psalm where he echoes David’s humble prayer of contrition to prepare his soul for this holy task: “Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin.” Notice how clean hands are associated with a pure heart.

Finally, in one last act of preparation, the priest turns to the people, begging them for prayers, as he is about to begin the Eucharist Prayer. “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” The ‘your’ part of the sacrifice refers to the entire Church offering itself in union with Christ in the Mass. The people respond with a prayer that recognizes how both sacrifices...Christ’s and their own...will be united and offered to the Father through the hands of the priest: “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name for our good and the good of all his holy Church.” During this Mass let us pay close attention to these prayers for a better understanding of this special time of the mass.