The Quam Oblationem
April 8, 2026 - Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
In the various sacrificial liturgies of the Church there are particular high moments. Next week we will discuss the highest point. The penultimate moment in the Roman liturgy is today’s consideration. It is an epiclesis, that is a particular petition to call down the Holy Spirit at this sacred moment so that he might do something on our behalf. Named the Quam oblationem we invoke the Spirit to do what we, of our own power cannot do.
It is important to recall here the meaning of the word ‘liturgy.’ If we consider this term we generally think about some sort of staged action that we do for religious purposes. However the word itself leitourgia is a Greek word meaning “the public work.” Now, a public work is not a private work. That should be obvious. But this distinction is not as common in our modern American culture. A public work is something that those who are able contribute from their excess to some public thing, something that is not for private use, but is for the benefit of all. It would be similar to getting a group of wealthy benefactors together to build a water treatment plant for a city instead of funding it through taxes. This is how the liturgy is meant to be thought of. It is a public work that we all contribute to for the good of all. However, it can only be accomplished by a certain excess. In this case, the excess that we possess as members of the Body of Christ is his Holy Spirit.
To actualize this largesse we ask God to accept our contribution and apply the merits of his grace to “bless, acknowledge, and approve” it. In this way we ask God to give to us the grace that he has already given us in his Holy Spirit to make effective what we give to him for the sake of his people, who we have already spoken about in the previous sections of the canon, according to the things for which we have already made petition. Now, that might be confusing, so please read that last section again. You will notice that there is a certain economy to the giving and receiving and that in this liturgical economy we are the instruments while God himself remains the primary cause.
And now, as we conclude this section, we ask for the final gift to be given to us. We ask for that gift that Christ said was necessary for us to possess life, namely, we ask that this oblation “become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.” In our next reflection we will examine this most solemn moment of our work in collaboration with God for the good of all.
