Our Gifts At The Altar

When I was a child, before we set out for Mass on a Sunday morning, my brother, sister and I were each given a threepence piece to put into the collection.

Why do we have a collection each Sunday? Obviously, the money collected helps with the upkeep of the church and the parish. Ideally, our gift of money is brought up in procession with the bread and wine that will be used at the Mass. This action is under the title The Preparation of Gifts.

In days before money became the ordinary means of exchange, the procession to bring forward the bread and wine to set the table for the Lord’s supper was also the occasion when people brought forward food and drink, oil, or other items to sustain the church ministers, the poor and the imprisoned.

Today the money we give symbolises sharing the fruits of our labour, and thus we are participating in the mission of the Church: to announce the Good News that we are being saved by the cross of Christ and to fulfil the Lord’s command to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty. Many people give by direct debit and standing order so nothing goes in the collection bag.

This action of bringing the bread, wine and gifts of money in procession is significant. They are brought up by the people from the body of the church. All of us at that moment are offering up our very selves to God. This is also the time that the altar is prepared. The General Introduction to the Roman Missal states:

‘First, the Altar, the Lord’s table, which is the centre of the whole liturgy of the Eucharist is prepared by placing on it the corporal, the purificator, missal and chalice.’

Raymond Moloney S.J., in his reflections on the Mass, says:

‘While the priest and his helpers prepare our gifts at the altar, we should prepare ourselves for the offering that is to follow. We need to reflect on the things being prepared and by our thoughts to make them our own. They are to be our gifts, standing for our lives before God. As bread and cup will be transformed into Christ’s body and blood, so we should intend to offer God our very selves, that our lives might be transformed into what he wants them to be.’

The bread stands for our labour, by which we earn our daily bread. The wine, a noble festive drink, stands for the joys of life, which also come from God.

There are two actions that happen at this time that might go unnoticed by us. The priest pours wine and a little water into the chalice and says quietly, ‘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.’ This symbolises the union of Christ with his church. The priest also washes his hands, praying for inner purification, saying, ‘Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.’

Now the celebrant turns and prays that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God. We respond, ‘May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of God’s name, for our good and the good of all God’s holy Church.’