The Gift of Sanctity

In the eastern rite the priest approaches the Altar of Sacrifice with the words, "Now is the time for God to act." These words remind the faithful that in the Liturgy the substance of bread and wine is changed by the action of the Spirit into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and that, as we receive the Energy of the Triune God in the Mystery of the Blessed Sacrament, it is the Sanctifier who acts to change our very being, restoring in us the Image of that which we receive.