Which Eucharistic Prayer?

[Karen1996]

How, when, etc. is it determined which Eucharistic Prayer will be prayed at each Mass? Is it left totally up to the priest?

Thanks,
Karen

 

[James0235]

According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal #365:

The choice among the Eucharistic Prayers found in the Order of Mass is suitably guided by the following norms:

      [LIST=1]

*]Eucharistic Prayer I, that is, the Roman Canon, which may always be used, is especially suited to be sung or said on days when there is a proper text for the Communicantes (In union with the whole Church) or in Masses endowed with a proper form of the Hanc igitur (Father, accept this offering) and also in the celebrations of the Apostles and of the Saints mentioned in the Prayer itself; it is likewise especially appropriate for Sundays, unless for pastoral considerations Eucharistic Prayer III is preferred.

*]Eucharistic Prayer II, on account of its particular features, is more appropriately used on weekdays or in special circumstances. Although it has been provided with its own Preface, it may also be used with other Prefaces, especially those that summarize the mystery of salvation, such as the common Prefaces. When Mass is celebrated for a particular dead person, the special formula may be inserted in the place indicated, namely, before the Memento etiam (Remember our brothers and sisters).

*]Eucharistic Prayer III may be said with any Preface. Its use is preferred on Sundays and feast days. If, however, this Eucharistic Prayer is used in Masses for the Dead, the special formula for the dead may be used, to be included at the proper place, namely, after the Omnes filios tuos ubique dispersos, tibi, clemens Pater, miseratus coniunge (In mercy and love unite all your children).

*]Eucharistic Prayer IV has an invariable Preface and gives a fuller summary of salvation history. It may be used when a Mass has no Preface of its own and on Sundays in Ordinary Time. Because of its structure, no special formula for the dead may be inserted into this prayer.

Suggestions are given for when it would be most appropriate to use a particular Eucharistic Prayer but these are only suggestions. So, it is left up to the priest. And this accounts for why most people only ever hear EP II or possibly EPIII.

James

 

[Caesar]

Only the Roman Canon, the only Eucharistic prayer for at least 1500 years, should be used.

Eucharistic prayer 2 is found in a document by one of the Church Fathers, circa 200 AD, but it was dropped from use (if it was ever officialy used) by 400 AD. But since its the shortest, it is used most often.

Eucharistic Prayer 3 was created.

Eucharistic Prayer 4 is used by the Coptic Church, but it doesnt really go along well with the rest of the Latin Rite, so it is rarely used.

 

[James0235]

I would love to see all of the Eucharistic Prayers abolished with the exception of the Roman Canon.

Barring that I wouldn’t mind seeing the Roman Canon required on most Sundays and Holy days, EP II and EP III relegated to weekday Masses, and EP IV would seem to me to be especially appropriate for use in Advent (possibly as an option for the Sundays of Advent) with its emphasis on Salvation History.

James

 

[AlexV]

Prayer 2 is not, as commonly asserted by some, the “Canon of Hippolytus.”

It is based on some fragmentary remains of a text that may or may not ever have had liturgical use, composed in the early 3rd century by an antipope.

It was crafted/fabricated in a Swiss hotel in the summer of 1965.