the eucharistic sacrifice

The Mass, the memorial of the Death and Resurrection of the Lord, in which the Sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated over the centuries, is the summit and source of all Christian worship and life; it signifies and effects the unity of the people of God and achieves the building up of the Body of Christ. It is an action of Christ himself and the Church; in it Christ the Lord, by the ministry of a priest, offers himself, substantially present under the forms of bread and wine, to God the Father and gives himself as spiritual food to the faithful who are associated with his offering.¹

Men are born to live. Christ, however, was born to die.

On the night of the Last Supper, Christ instituted the Mass in order to leave a memorial to his beloved Spouse, the Church. He offered his body and blood under the species of bread and wine to God the Father.

Taking bread, Christ said: “This is my body which will be given up for you.” Also taking the chalice with wine, he said: “This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all men so that sins may be forgiven.” Christ then commanded his apostles: “Do this in memory of me”, making them priests of the New Testament. This rite anticipates the bloody sacrifice that Christ accomplished on the Cross once and for all on Good Friday for the redemption of the world.

The Church continues offering the sacrifice of the Cross but in a bloodless manner. The Mass is neither a repetition nor a substitute for the Cross, but the merit we gain from the Mass is the same merit we would have gained if we were actually present at the foot of the Cross on Calvary.

However, the historical event of Calvary does not repeat itself nor is it continued in each Mass. The sacrifice of Christ is perfect and therefore does not need to be repeated. Glorious in heaven, Christ does not die again. His sacrifice is not repeated, rather the presence of the singular sacrifice of the Cross is multiplied, overcoming time and space.

The main sign or figure of the Sacrifice of Christ in the Old Testament is the paschal lamb. At every Passover, the Jews recalled and renewed their covenant with God by sacrificing a lamb. This sacrificial lamb once spared the firstborn of the Jews from the exterminating angel who came to slay the firstborn of every family in Egypt.

Our Lord anticipates his Sacrifice on the Cross in the Last Supper, within the Jewish ritual celebration of the Passover. In the Cenacle as in Calvary, the essential elements of the sacrifice are there: the immolation and self-offering (body and blood) to God the Father. Christ is the unspotted Lamb. He sets all men free from the slavery of sin and establishes the eternal alliance between creature and Creator, the New Covenant. More than that, what had only been a foreshadowing in sign is now fully reality: the communion of blood and of life between God and man.

When the faithful are said to offer Mass together with the priest, this does not mean that all the members of the Church, like the priest himself, perform the visible liturgical rite. Only the celebrant does this. He has been divinely appointed for the purpose through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

The principal Victim of the Sacrifice then is Jesus Christ. But the faithful, in order to exercise their common priesthood fully, should unite their sacrifice to his and thus offer themselves also to God the Father, “I exhort you . . . to present your bodies as a sacrifice, living, holy, pleasing to God—your spiritual service,” wrote St Paul to the Romans.²

The Mass “requires all Christians, so far as human power allows, to reproduce in themselves the sentiments that Christ had when he was offering himself in sacrifice: sentiments of humility, adoration, praise and thanksgiving to the divine Majesty. It requires them also to become victims, as it were; cultivating a spirit of self-denial according to the precepts of the Gospel, willingly doing works of penance, detesting and expiating their sins. It requires us all, in a word, to die mystically with Jesus Christ on the Cross, so that we may say with the same Apostle: ‘With Christ, I hang upon the Cross.’”³

Christ bequeathed his Sacrifice to the Church, not just to each individual believer. God wants to save men, not in an isolated manner–disregarding any relationship between them–but as a people. Each Mass presupposes union among the faithful and of the faithful with their bishop, the Pope and the Universal Church. Moreover, that solid union is made stronger with the celebration of the Eucharist and is a consequence of it. The Second Vatican Council states it in this manner: “In the sacrament of the eucharistic bread, the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ⁴ is both expressed and brought about.”⁵

Both on the Cross and in the Mass, the Priest and Victim are one and the same: Christ himself. He is both the one who offers and the one who is offered. No longer is there separation between priests and victims.

The words of Jesus Christ in the Last Supper—”Do this in memory of me”—command the continuation of his Sacrifice on the Cross in every Holy Mass celebrated anywhere in the world until the end of time. This was announced in the Old Testament with these words of the Prophet Malachi: “From the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place there is a sacrifice and there is offered to my name a clean oblation.”⁶

Following Christ’s command, the priest offers the Mass acting as the representative of Christ. That is why he does not say: “This is the body and blood of Christ” but: “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” The priest is the chosen instrument of Christ in the same manner that the brush is the painter’s tool.

In the Mass, Christ is no longer alone on the Cross. As in any other sacrament, the Mass is an action of Christ and also of the Church. At the moment of the offertory the entire Church presents itself for sacrifice with Christ.

We have testimonies from the very beginning of the life of the Church that the Christians had the celebration of the Holy Mass on Sunday, the Lord’s day, when the victory and triumph of the Lord’s death became present.

In the Old Testament, the Jews rested on Saturday, giving thanks to God for the gift of creation. In the New Testament, we celebrate a new creation to the life of grace, a supernatural creation far superior to the material creation of the world. No wonder then that the Church requires us to go to Mass at least on Sunday under the pain of mortal sin.

“The Holy Mass cheers the heavenly court; it alleviates the poor souls in purgatory; it attracts all sorts of blessings to the earth; it gives more glory to God than all the sufferings of the martyrs put together, the penances of all the monks, all the tears shed by them since the beginning of the world and all their deeds until the end of time.”⁷

Since the Mass is the same Sacrifice as Calvary sacramentally renewed, with all its strength and sanctifying power, the Church considers it as the center of its life and the life of each faithful.

“The Eucharistic Sacrifice is the ‘source and summit of all Christian Life’. It is a single Sacrifice that embraces everything. It is the greatest treasure of the Church. It is her life.”⁸

The Mass is also the center of the life and mission of each priest who finds in it the direction and goal of his ministry.

“The Holy Mass brings us face to face with one of the central mysteries of our faith, because it is the gift of the Blessed Trinity to the Church. It is because of this that we can consider the Mass as the center and the source of a Christian’s spiritual life.

“It is the aim of all the sacraments. The life of grace, into which we are brought by baptism, and which is increased and strengthened by confirmation, grows to its fullness in the Mass.”⁹

“The more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest’s Communion, receive the Lord’s Body from the same Sacrifice is warmly recommended to those who are duly prepared and in the state of grace.”¹⁰

Since the Sacrifice of the Mass is the same as the Sacrifice of Calvary, their purpose is the same:

• To adore the Blessed Trinity. The Sacrifice of the Cross was first of all a Sacrifice of adoration and praise of God. Although the Mass is sometimes offered “in honor and in memory of the saints, the Church teaches us that the Mass is not offered to the saints but to God alone who has given them their crown.”¹¹

• To give thanks for the many benefits we receive from God including those which we are not aware of. The second aim of the Mass is thanksgiving. Only Christ Our Lord can offer God a worthy hymn of thanksgiving. He did so in the Last Supper when he gave thanks and when, hanging on the Cross, he continued to give thanks: Our Lord continues to thank God the Father for us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

• To ask pardon for our sins and for the many times we have not loved God as we should. This desire for expiation and atonement should lead us to make a good confession. The same Christ who died on the cross for our sins is present and offered in the Mass “so that sins may be forgiven.”

• To ask for the many things, spiritual and material, which we need. The fourth purpose of the Mass is petition. Jesus Christ on the Cross died “offering prayers and supplications and was heard because of his reverent obedience” and now in heaven “lives always to make intercession for us.”¹² These graces benefit those who attend Holy Mass and the persons for whom it is offered.

We should also participate in the Mass externally, taking care of little details:

• Attend the Mass with a spirit of prayer, praying as the Church teaches us to pray, avoiding distractions. Be one with the words, actions, and gestures of the celebrant who acts in the person of Christ. Give up personal preferences; accept the option which the celebrant, considering the circumstances of the people in each community, has chosen from among the legitimate possibilities that the liturgy offers us.

• Listen, respond, acclaim, sing or keep opportune silence in order to facilitate union with God and to deepen our reflection on the word of God.

• Stand, sit and kneel with the congregation and be serene even if you see someone who does not do so.

• Be punctual. This is a considerate detail for Christ Our Lord himself and for others who are also attending Mass. Arrive before the priest goes to the altar. Leave only after the priest has left.

• Use your missal, or the missalette available in the church. By reading and following the prayers of the priest, you can avoid distractions. The more complete Missals for the faithful have the prayers of the Mass distributed in three main sections: Fixed Prayers of the Order of Mass, Proper Prayers, and Readings. The missalettes for the use of the faithful usually contain the variable prayers for each day’s Mass and most of the fixed parts of the Order of Mass arranged in their usual sequence.

• Dress properly. We should go to Mass dressed and groomed as for an important meeting and not, for instance, as if we were going to play sports. Dress ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of the Mass.¹³

The right intention in receiving Communion means having this good purpose: to please God, to achieve greater union with him through charity, and to apply this divine remedy to one’s moral weaknesses. The sacrament should not be received out of routine, vainglory, or human respect.

The Eucharistic fast requires abstaining from eating and drinking, except water and medicine, for one hour before actual Communion time. The sick and the elderly, as well as those who take care of them, may receive Holy Communion even if they have taken something within the hour.

We are bound to receive Holy Communion, under serious obligation, at least once a year–ordinarily in Easter time–and when we are in danger of death.

Holy Communion may be received a second time on the same day when one attends Holy Mass again on that day, or when one receives the Blessed Sacrament as viaticum in danger of death.

• Complete the Mass with an intense thanksgiving. Devote a few minutes to private prayer. In this way, your Mass will have direct influence on your work, your family life, your dealings with others, and the manner you will spend the rest of your day. In short, the Mass should not be an isolated event of the day; rather, it should be the inspiration and the dynamo of all your actions.

• Turn the whole day into a continuous preparation for the Holy Sacrifice –working and praying –and, at the same time, into a never-ending act of thanksgiving. For a Christian, all honest activities can be turned into prayer.

• Imitate the piety of the Blessed Virgin Mary and ask it from her. While our Lord offered and immolated his flesh, Mary offered and immolated her spirit. Participate in each Mass as if it were your last.

1Cf. Codex Iuris Canonici (C. I. C.), 897 & 898.

2Rom 12:1.

3Pius XII, Enc. Mediator Dei, Nov 20, 1942.

4Cf. 1 Cor: 10-17.

5Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, 3.

6Ml 1: 11.

7St. John M. Vianney, Sermon on the Holy Mass.

8John Paul II, Prayer on Holy Thursday, 1982.

9Saint Josemaría Escrivá, Christ is Passing By, 87.

10Vatican Council II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 55.

11Council of Trent, Session 22, chapter 3.

12Hebrews 5: 7; 7:25.

13CCC 1387