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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

What is epiclesis?

Andrew R. Motyka · July 10, 2013

o, last week, I was complaining about having a difficult time coming up with a topic. This week I’m going to tackle something about which a doctoral dissertation could be based. How ambitious. I attempt to give some bare-bones basics. A friend asked me this past week about epiclesis, and I remembered how many times I was in graduate school, learning something about the liturgy, when I asked myself “Why doesn’t everyone learn about this stuff?” My specific studies were so spiritually enriching that I wish everyone could experience them, however small they were.

Epiclesis is the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine, implicitly or explicitly, in the Eucharistic Prayer. In the Orthodox churches, the epiclesis completes the consecration. In Catholic theology, the Words of Institution (or anamnesis, for those of you starved for Greek terms) are consecratory. In our (Roman Catholic) Eucharistic Prayers, the epiclesis is “split,” occurring both before and after the consecration.

When I was in graduate school, a small group of us went out in the dead of night to grab some fast food to break up the studying. I drove. After going through the drive-through, I asked my friend in the back seat to pass me my drink. He said, “Preparing to pass the soda.” Pause. “Passing the soda.” I asked him what in the world that was. He was an Army major and explained that in military operations, you would frequently give a command of preparation immediately prior to the command of execution. It worked; I was ready to receive the drink instead of clumsily spilling it into my lap (which is more than likely what I would have done absent the warning).

Similar to this preparatory command is the epiclesis in the Eucharistic Prayers. In the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I), the first portion of the epiclesis is implicit with the words:

Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

These words themselves are not consecratory; the Words of Institution that follow them are. The epiclesis is the “command of preparation” before the executing “command of execution.” It’s an imperfect analogy, but we’re talking about miracles, here. Work with me.

The epiclesis (epicleses? epicleses’s?) in Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV are much easier to identify; they explicitly invoke the Holy Spirit. For example, in EP II:

Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Very clear. There is also an epiclesis of sorts after the consecration. It is the prayer by which we ask the Holy Spirit to unify the faithful by their participation in this sacrament. Again, in the Roman Canon this is implicit:

In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

While in the other Eucharistic Prayers this is explicit, for example in EP III:

Look, we pray, upon the oblation of your Church and, recognising the sacrificial Victim by whose death you willed to reconcile us to yourself, grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.

This “second epiclesis” is always oriented toward the unity of the Faithful. This culminates with the Doxology (Through Him, with Him, and in Him…in the unity of the Holy Spirit…), which in the Roman Canon is the only explicit mention of Holy Spirit.

We see that the epiclesis is the request for the Holy Spirit’s intercession in the Eucharistic Prayer, first to sanctify the gifts of bread and wine, and then to sanctify the gifts of the faithful. This makes special sense in that the sanctification of the faithful is one of the primary goals of the Eucharist.

This concludes this week’s session of Andy’s Ten Minute Liturgical Theology. I’m sure I have left something out or mis-phrased something that makes me look like a heretic, so do the web-thing and correct me in the comments. Thanks, and be sure to tune in next time!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ with regard to 1960s switch to vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The cemeteries are full of people who thought they were indispensable.”

— Fr. Alan Heet, OFM

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