Faith

Each of us, priest and people, may have a favorite Eucharistic Prayer, and the reasons for the favoritism vary. "Shortest is best." "This one because there's no rush." "I like this one, and so I use it all the time."

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

We have already posted some preliminaries about the Eucharistic Prayer. Before looking at each of the four, here are some additional points for reflection and preparation.
None of the Eucharistic Prayers can accomplish perfectly its principal purpose: to give thanks to the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Spirit, within the Holy Catholic Church. The simple explanation why this cannot be done perfectly is that we must use human words, and they always fall short. That's part of why we always end a Eucharistic Prayer with the doxology.
Some quick notes about the four Eucharistic Prayers for Sunday:
Eucharistic Prayer I or the Roman Canon
The longest, at 791 words, it should take about five minutes to proclaim at a moderate pace. On certain days, additional inserts are strongly suggested, but these would only add 30 seconds at the most. Obviously, if the entire prayer were sung, this time would be greatly extended; and even if a few parts were sung, it would add maybe a minute or two to the whole prayer.
Eucharistic Prayer II
It is most frequently used of the four, likely because it is also the shortest at 338 words. Prayed aloud, it would take about three minutes. While not forbidden for Sunday use, when it was inserted into the Roman Missal, it came with a suggestion that it is very appropriate for weekdays that are not solemnities, feasts, or memorials.
Eucharistic Prayer III

This prayer, while using other models from liturgical history, is a new composition since the Second Vatican Council. It is probably the second most popularly used, employing 541 words and probably prayed in about four minutes. It is most appropriate for weekdays that are solemnities, feasts, or memorials, and for Sundays.
Eucharistic Prayer IV
Based on some prayers from the Eastern tradition, both Catholic and Orthodox, this prayer might well be dubbed "the orphan Eucharistic Prayer." It is the least proclaimed. Although it is about 100 words shorter than Eucharistic Prayer I, it takes longer to proclaim, probably about six minutes. The vocabulary and sentence structure really require a slower proclamation, as the span of salvation history it splendidly proclaims takes a bit longer for the celebrant and the assembly to process in a prayerful manner.
Each of us, priest and people, may have a favorite Eucharistic Prayer, and the reasons for the favoritism vary. "Shortest is best." "This one because there's no rush." "I like this one, and so I use it all the time."
Whatever the reason one has, it would be good to place it in the context that there are four options because none of them exhausts the mystery we proclaim. And the imposition of the will of a celebrant in choosing an exclusive use of one prayer over another is simply clericalism.
There are four Gospels. None of them exhausts the whole mystery of Christ. Remember John 21:25?
Think of choosing your favorite Gospel, and if it were the only one ever proclaimed, because "Shortest is best." "This one because there's no rush." "I like this one, and so I use it all the time."
Mark is the shortest, using a mere 678 verses; Luke is the longest, needing 1151 verses; Matthew takes 1071, just 80 fewer than Luke, while John, at 879, takes 100 more than Mark.
Let's say John is your favorite Gospel. If you heard this proclaimed all the time, you would ask where are the words of institution at the Last Supper? There are none, but there is the Washing of the Feet. But you could point out Peter's commission at the Gospel's end.
If you chose Mark, you'd be missing all the details of Matthew and Luke about Jesus before his ministry, which we hear during the late Advent and Christmas seasons.
If Matthew, then you'll miss all of Luke's beloved parables: the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, Dives and Lazarus.
If Luke is your preferred choice because he emphasizes the presence of women in Jesus' ministry and the Holy Spirit is more frequently mentioned, then you miss the early Church's simpler catechism in Matthew.
And of course, you can cross-reference and compare each of the Gospels with the others and see what would be emphasized, missing, or expanded in each. Yet even with all four, "There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written." As John says at the end of his Gospel.
Similarly, no one Eucharistic Prayer nor all of them together proclaim all the reasons, the ways, and the causes for our thanksgiving for our salvation in Christ.
The choices are there so we can give different voice and prayerful explanation of our reasons for thanking the Father for our redemption by Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in his Church.

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  Putting Christmas awayJaymie Stuart Wolfe

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  The venerable Roman CanonFather Robert M. O'Grady

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  Why are there four Gospels?Archbishop Richard G. Henning

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  Light breakingScott Hahn

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  Scripture Reflection for Feb. 8, 2026, Fifth Sunday in Ordinary TimeFather Joshua J. Whitfield