Thanksgiving Prayer

The Lord is here.
His Spirit is with us.


 Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.


Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give thanks and praise.


We give you thanks
that you met us
in your Son Jesus Christ
who by the power of the Spirit
was born of Mary in a simple stable.
He took our flesh and lived among us.


He came to be like us.
That we might become like him.


We give you thanks
that he opened wide his arms for us on the cross
and gave His life that we might be forgiven.
 

He gave himself for us.
That we might love like him.


We give you thanks
that you raised Him from the dead
and opened for all people the gates of Heaven;
that we might join the angels in heavens song:
 

Holy, holy, holy Lord
God of power and might
heaven and earth are full of your glory                                             
Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord                       
Hosanna in the highest.


Heavenly Father:

On the night he was betrayed Jesus took the bread.
He gave you thanks, and broke it and said:
This is my body given for you
Eat in remembrance of me.       
                                          

After supper he took the cup.
He gave you thanks, gave it and said:
This is my blood shed for you all,
for the forgiveness of sins.
Drink in remembrance of me.
 

We call upon your Holy Spirit
as we offer this bread and cup,                                                 
to celebrate his death and rising to new life.    
                 

He feeds us with himself.
That we might live for him.


Send your Spirit on us now
and gather us into your Kingdom
with your family of the Saints                                                    
that we may praise you for ever and ever.
 

We praise your name
for ever and ever.

Amen.
 

Why this prayer?

Whilst many of the new and old eucharistic prayers have merits, no single prayer consistently draws on metaphors that resonate with working class ‘sign systems’. What is more important is that none of them avoid metaphors alien to their sign system. It is not suggested that the metaphors have to collude with working class culture, only that they need to be speak to it and don’t just become words that pass by. Metaphors that speak include those that evoke physicality, body, sexuality, childhood, home, safety, protection, suffering, poverty, family, relatives, work, doing not thinking, labour.

In this eucharistic prayer can be identified some metaphors believed to be current and appropriate and concrete imagery is exploited.