Sections 
THE PREFACE
The preface is like the overture of the Eucharistic Prayer. Pre-factum etymology means “before the act,” and refers to the great works of the Eucharistic Prayer, center of the celebration of the Holy Mass.
The word “Eucharist” means, “act of thanksgiving”, and this act of thanksgiving is clearly expressed in a special way in the preface. In Him, the priest, in the holy name of the people, glorifies God the Father and gives him thanks for the work of salvation or for one of these aspects in particular.
There are a great variety of prefaces. They enclose the reasons for glorifying God, according the solemnity or feast that is celebrated or according to the liturgical time in which we find ourselves.
The preface consists of four parts:
1- The initial dialogue, is always the same and is of ancient origin, that, from the beginning, bonds the prayer of the people to the prayer of the priest, and at the same time lifts the heart “to the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3, 1-2).
“The Lord is with you. –And with your spirit.- We lift up our hearts. –We lift them up to the Lord. –We give thanks to the Lord, our God. –It is right to give him thanks and praise.”
2-The elevation of the Father takes back the last words of the people, “It is right to give him thanks and praise,” and depending on the various formulas, the Prayer of the Church is elevated to the Heavenly Father. In this way, the preface and with all of Eucharistic Prayers, the Prayer of the Church is precisely directed to the Father. This is how we fulfil the will of Christ: “When you pray, say Father” (Lk 11,2), and we are docile to the Holy Spirit, who, aiding us in our weakness, prays in us saying: “Abba, Father.” (Rm 8, 15-26)
“Father, it is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved Son Jesus Christ. (Pref. Eucharistic Prayer II).
3-The central part, the most variable in content, depending on the different days and feasts, joyfully proclaims the fundamental reasons for the act of thanksgiving, which always revolves around creation and salvation:
“He is the Word through whom you made the universe, the Savoir you sent to redeem us. By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary.”
“For our sake he opened his arms on the cross; he put and end to death and revealed the resurrection. In this he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people.” (ib.).
4- The end of the preface, which in reality is a prologue to the “Santus” which follows, associates the Eucharistic Prayer of the Church on earth with the worship of the heavenly liturgy, making of it the following echo:
“And so we join the angels and the saints in proclaiming your glory as we say…”
The reason for this preface is to thank God for all of his gifts, for all of the favours that he has granted us throughout the history of salvation. Recognizing his greatness and recognizing his works implies two attitudes:
In the first place, an attitude of thanksgiving because these works have been done freely in our souls so that we can reach salvation.
At the same time, recognizing the greatness of God implies a second attitude: that of praise. We praise God because these works are truly magnificent, these works are great, and these works are truly worthy of an all-powerful God, of a God who loves.
This same attitude that we express at the Holy Mass is necessary to maintain throughout our entire life. Throughout our day we have to recognize the continuous works that God performs from one moment to another in our life, and know how to appreciate all of these acts. We should be attentive in order to know how to see the hand of God that constantly is assisting and guiding us; constantly thinking about how he can serve us. We must praise him and recognize who we are. If we are what we are it is thanks to Him and thanks to his love, and to the desire that he has to save us. The awareness of this reality should be the main reason for out drawing close to him.
Our thankfulness and praise to God is also owed to Him, because he has done great works for my own benefit. I am thankful because he shares his very own divine life, and I praise him for all the Good that he has done in me. For this reason, our appreciation and praise are “just and necessary,” as we say in the preface at mass.
Pope Benedict XVI held and encounter with the priests at Castelgandolfo on the 31st of August 2006. He spoke to them about the liturgy and about the ars celebrandi (the art of celebrating). He spoke to them about the essentiality of the agreement of what we say with the lips and what we think with the heart. The “sursum corda” (the raising of our hearts), should be the “path” of our words and thoughts. We should not only lift our heart to God in a ritual response, but as an expression of what arises from our heart, and in this way elevating and encouraging others.
Our life must be a liturgy of praise to God. May we always live life recalling the great favours that the Lord has done for us, thanking and praising Him always. May we say as the psalmist: “What shall I render to the Lord for all his bounty to me?”
