Eucharist as Sacrifice

[t68ware]

I am having a hard time with the understanding as the Eucharist as a Sacrifice. Please tell me that Christ isnt being re-sacrificed at each Mass. I need some explanation about how this all works. Plus I read this on a Catholic website “But His physical death on Calvary was not to be an automatic redemption of a sin-laden world. It would not exclude the need for us to appropriate the merits He gained on the Cross; nor would it exclude the need for our voluntary cooperation with the graces merited by the Savior’s shedding of His blood.” Is this saying that Christ’s death wasnt sufficient to rid the world of the problem of sin? My Protestant upbringing is having me cringe at that statement.

 

[justtryin]

THE MASS THE SAME AS THE SACRIFICE OF THE CROSS
This, then, is the unique excellence of the Mass that, being a true and proper sacrifice, it represents and recalls the Sacrifice of the Cross. In substance the Mass is the same as the Sacrifice of the Cross. The same Priest, Jesus Christ, continues to offer Himself to God the Father by the ministry of His lawful priests. The same Victim, Jesus Christ, is now truly present on our altars under the appearances of bread and wine. Only the manner of offering differs in the Mass from that in the Sacrifice of the Cross. In death upon the Cross, the Precious Blood was physically shed and separated from the Body. Today upon our altars, the Precious Blood is shed for us and separated from the Body, not indeed physically, but sacramentally, under a sign or symbol that expresses death: the separate consecration of the substance of the bread which now becomes His Body, apart from and previous to the consecration of the substance of the wine which now becomes His Blood.

Four page pamphlet here in pdf:

THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
His Grace The Most Reverend John Charles McQuaid, D.D.
Archbishop of Dublin, Primate of Ireland

(catholicpamphlets.net/pamphlets/THE%20HOLY%20SACRIFICE%20OF%20THE%20MASS.pdf)

Maybe it will help.

 

[Will_S]

I am having a hard time with the understanding as the Eucharist as a Sacrifice. Please tell me that Christ isnt being re-sacrificed at each Mass. I need some explanation about how this all works. Plus I read this on a Catholic website “But His physical death on Calvary was not to be an automatic redemption of a sin-laden world. It would not exclude the need for us to appropriate the merits He gained on the Cross; nor would it exclude the need for our voluntary cooperation with the graces merited by the Savior’s shedding of His blood.” Is this saying that Christ’s death wasnt sufficient to rid the world of the problem of sin? My Protestant upbringing is having me cringe at that statement.

The bold part is basically just saying that there is no universal salvation.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

The Mass follows from the Jewish Passover. The Seder Meal is not a remembering of the escape from Egypt; it joins the participants in that event - sort of a time machine. In explaining the service to the various sons the father states: “It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt;” for me, not for my ancestors. With a mighty hand, the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." “I do this for what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.”

In a similar way the mass brings us back to Calvary; so that we may be included in that. Note that Jesus gives His mother over to St John, who represents all of us, to include us in that sacrifice. He then says “It is finished” and drinks the wine on the hyssop, the Fourth Cup, completing that assover meal. For a full discussion of this see Scott Hahn’s The Fourth Cup. Also see his book The Supper of the Lamb which interprets the Book of Revelation as The Mass in heaven which unites all masses on earth to Calvary.

This is my interpretation of what I have read. Don’t think I violate any Church teaching, but much is probably not official teaching of the Church.

 

[Edward_H]

One thing that gets people mixed up is to put God into our constaints. God is not limited by our time constraints. All moments are seen by God as present.

In other words Jesus’ sacrifice is ever present to the Father. At Mass we simply enter this ongoing act of sacrifice and salvation.

 

[AJV]

I am having a hard time with the understanding as the Eucharist as a Sacrifice. Please tell me that Christ isnt being re-sacrificed at each Mass. I need some explanation about how this all works. Plus I read this on a Catholic website “But His physical death on Calvary was not to be an automatic redemption of a sin-laden world. It would not exclude the need for us to appropriate the merits He gained on the Cross; nor would it exclude the need for our voluntary cooperation with the graces merited by the Savior’s shedding of His blood.” Is this saying that Christ’s death wasnt sufficient to rid the world of the problem of sin? My Protestant upbringing is having me cringe at that statement.

Do you have a good library near you? If so, an excellent book, though not necessarily comprehensive on the most modern theories, is Clark’s “Eucharistic Sacrifice and the Reformation”. It’s an apologetic work to refute certain Anglican claims but there is much valuable material in there. If you don’t have one, let me know and I will see what I can do in the way of scanning something in.

 

[TimothyH]

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre explains the Biblical and historical basis for the passover, what happened during the passover, how the Jews Celebrated it and why Jesus not drinking the fourth cup of wine extended the passover to include his death.

This is the basis for how the Jews present would have understood Jesus death as a sacrifice and not just another bloody Roman execution.

The book covers much more than this and is a fascinating read.

-Tim-

 

[Paxvobis]

I am having a hard time with the understanding as the Eucharist as a Sacrifice. Please tell me that Christ isnt being re-sacrificed at each Mass. I need some explanation about how this all works.

Christ is not re-scarified and re-crucified at each Mass. Rather, at the Mass we participate in the same sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. God, of course, transcends time and through the Mass the benefits of Christ’s one sacrifice are applied to us. A Mass is not a new sacrifice, but is a participation in the one sacrifice of Christ. We pray the Mass by offering up the sacrifice in union with the priest. We can even do so for a particular intention.

Plus I read this on a Catholic website “But His physical death on Calvary was not to be an automatic redemption of a sin-laden world. It would not exclude the need for us to appropriate the merits He gained on the Cross; nor would it exclude the need for our voluntary cooperation with the graces merited by the Savior’s shedding of His blood.” Is this saying that Christ’s death wasnt sufficient to rid the world of the problem of sin? My Protestant upbringing is having me cringe at that statement.

As I understand it, the website is saying that all men aren’t going to be saved because of Christ’s death, but that we must have the grace purchased for us by his blood in order to enter paradise. “Yet good Lord, in grace complying rescue me from fires undying.”

 

[centurionguard]

Christ is not re-scarified and re-crucified at each Mass. Rather, at the Mass we participate in the same sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. God, of course, transcends time and through the Mass the benefits of Christ’s one sacrifice are applied to us. A Mass is not a new sacrifice, but is a participation in the one sacrifice of Christ. We pray the Mass by offering up the sacrifice in union with the priest. We can even do so for a particular intention.

As I understand it, the website is saying that all men aren’t going to be saved because of Christ’s death, but that we must have the grace purchased for us by his blood in order to enter paradise. “Yet good Lord, in grace complying rescue me from fires undying.”

The Mass Is A True Sacrifice in every way but in an unbloodied manner for the expiation of Sinners.

catholic.com/library/Sacrifice_of_the_Mass.asp