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PRAYERS AND
OTHER PARTS ASSIGNED TO THE PRIEST
10.
Among the parts assigned to the priest, the eucharistic prayer is preeminent;
it is the high point of the entire celebration. Next are the prayers: the
opening prayer or collect, the prayer over the gifts, and the prayer after
communion. The priest, presiding over the assembly in the person of Christ,
addresses these prayers to God in the name of the entire holy people and all
present.19 Thus there is good reason to call them "the
presidential prayers."
11.
It is also up to the priest in the exercise of his office of presiding over the
assembly to pronounce the instructions and words of introduction and conclusion
that are provided in the rites themselves. By their very nature these
introductions do not need to be expressed verbatim in the form in which they
are given in the Missal; at least in certain cases it will be advisable to
adapt them somewhat to the concrete situation of the community.20 It
also belongs to the priest presiding to proclaim the word of God and to give
the final blessing. He may give the faithful a very brief introduction to the
Mass of the day (before the celebration begins), to the liturgy of the word
(before the readings), and to the eucharistic prayer (before the preface); he
may also make comments concluding the entire sacred service before the
dismissal.
12.
The nature of the presidential prayers demands that they be spoken in a loud
and clear voice and that everyone present listen with attention.21
While the priest is reciting them there should be no other prayer and the organ
or other instruments should not be played.
13.
But the priest does not only pray in the name of the whole community as its
president; he also prays at times in his own name that he may exercise his
ministry with attention and devotion. Such prayers are said inaudibly.
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