If you are a fan of classical music, or perhaps more accurately, opera, you will be familiar with the overture. The overture, which takes place before the main part of the piece, is designed to introduce the work and to give the audience a flavour of the music and the themes of work.

In Mass we have an overture, we call it the Preface. The Preface is that prayer, said by the priest, on behalf of us all, that happens just after the gifts have been prepared and the prayer over the offerings has been prayed.

The Preface begins with a dialogue between priest and people. The priest says; ‘The Lord be with’. The people reply: ‘And with your spirit.’ ‘Lift up your hearts.’ ‘We lift them up to the Lord.’ ‘Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.’ ‘It is right and just.’ In that dialogue, and in what follows, is the whole purpose of the Mass, namely to give praise and thanks, which is the meaning of the word Eucharist – thanksgiving.

With the dialogue complete, the preface continues echoing the final words of the dialogue, that ‘it is truly right and just that we should always and everywhere give you [Father] thanks and praise’. Thereby emphasising the necessity of preserving this attitude, that we profess at Mass, of thanks and praise, throughout our whole life. While focussing on one aspect or one particular attribute of GOD for which we should give thanks, depending on the season or feast day, the preface is about raising our hearts and minds to the Father, to whom the whole Mass is directed. The General Instruction on the Roman Missal outlines 7 key elements of the Eucharistic Prayer and says this of the first of these which is: ‘Thanksgiving (expressed especially in the Preface): In which the priest, in the name of the entire holy people, glorifies God the Father and gives thanks for the whole work of salvation or for some special aspect of it that corresponds to the day, festivity, or season.’ (GIRM #79)

There are approximately 100 prefaces approved for use in the Liturgy. There are Prefaces for Ordinary Time, Advent, Lent, Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. There are prefaces for use in Mass on feast days of our Lady and the saints. There are 4 main Eucharistic Prayers and Eucharistic Prayer II has it’s own preface.

The Preface concludes by inviting us to join in singing with ‘…Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven…’ who stand before GOD constantly singing ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, GOD of hosts…’ (see Is. 6:3 and Rev. 4:8). Standing before GOD with the court of Heaven we give thanks to the Father for HIS love, mercy, kindness, for sending us HIS Son to be our saviour. For opening to us the possibility of eternal life. We truly are a Eucharistic people.