The Trinity can be a difficult concept to understand: God in three persons. When we pray are we praying to the Triune God, or are we praying to Father, Son, or Holy Spirit? Do we even make the distinction in our minds about which one we are addressing? We do make the distinction in the Mass.
The final doxology from the Eucharistic Prayers explains how we are praying at Mass. The prayer is addressed to God our almighty Father. We are praying through, with, and in Christ. We are praying in union with the Holy Spirit.
The use of three different prepositions to describe the prayer in relationship with Christ is interesting. We pray “through” Christ who intercedes for us to the Father. “For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:5) The prayer is made “with” Christ because of our connection to Christ. “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:16-17a) We pray “in” Christ as members of his Body. “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” These distinctions are subtle, but they show important ideas about our relationship with Christ.
We are united with the Holy Spirit when we pray. This is the Spirit who is called upon to bless our offerings of bread and wine so they may become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the Advocate who is with us always; the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17) Sent in Christ’s name, the Holy Spirit will teach us everything and remind us of all that Christ said. (John 14:26)
