Offertory: offering sins?

[Jamie_Burns]

In our parish I have heard a couple of teachers telling our students that at Holy Mass, during the Offertory and Eucharistic Prayer, we “offer up our sins.” Is anyone else familiar with this description of our interior process at Holy Mass?
Our CRE cites his sources for this description as his Diaconate Formation classes and a previous teacher here who has a Masters degree in Theology.
I would really like to know if anyone can cite a serious source (theologian, Doctor, Father of the Church, Scriptural reference, etc) that supports the idea of offering our sins to God.

 I personally think that this construct: "we offer up our sins" is confusing to the students, and that a better description would be to say we offer our selves, our sufferings, and our wills along with the bread, wine, and resources (collection), adding that we offer our contrition for our sins during the Penitential Rite earlier, and when we offer our selves and wills we are offering something that is sinful and imperfect, but is the best that we have, rather than the worst thing about us, our sins.  But I would be happy to discover that I am wrong and this idea:  "we should offer up our sins to God" is a common one within the Catholic Church.
 I think the distinction is important because I do try to teach my catechism class students that Active Participation is an interior process of our intellects and hearts during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and that at specific times of the Liturgy we are doing specific things.  That the Eucharistic Prayer is words, and we are ultimately offering the Word as we participate in Christ's sacrifice.

 

[Old_Begonia]

In our parish I have heard a couple of teachers telling our students that at Holy Mass, during the Offertory and Eucharistic Prayer, we “offer up our sins.” Is anyone else familiar with this description of our interior process at Holy Mass?
Our CRE cites his sources for this description as his Diaconate Formation classes and a previous teacher here who has a Masters degree in Theology.
I would really like to know if anyone can cite a serious source (theologian, Doctor, Father of the Church, Scriptural reference, etc) that supports the idea of offering our sins to God.

 I personally think that this construct: "we offer up our sins" is confusing to the students, and that a better description would be to say we offer our selves, our sufferings, and our wills along with the bread, wine, and resources (collection), adding that we offer our contrition for our sins during the Penitential Rite earlier, and when we offer our selves and wills we are offering something that is sinful and imperfect, but is the best that we have, rather than the worst thing about us, our sins.  But I would be happy to discover that I am wrong and this idea:  "we should offer up our sins to God" is a common one within the Catholic Church.
 I think the distinction is important because I do try to teach my catechism class students that Active Participation is an interior process of our intellects and hearts during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and that at specific times of the Liturgy we are doing specific things.  That the Eucharistic Prayer is words, and we are ultimately offering the Word as we participate in Christ's sacrifice.

It is not only common, it is essential.
Start at Leviticus 4. and 1 Cor. 1:18. Yes, it can sound like foolishness, but offering up our worst is exactly what we must do.

God wants all of us, and that includes our sins. It is a most amazing experience when one first is able to offer up to God, say, a particular occasion of sin.

“God, I am so sorry for the way I treated my sister. It was so wrong. I have been to confession and received absolution, but the thought of it keeps coming back. I give it up to You.”

I have had the experience of God taking away the burden of a sin so completely, healing the open wound, and making me stronger to walk in His way, and to do His will.

 

[drforjc]

In our parish I have heard a couple of teachers telling our students that at Holy Mass, during the Offertory and Eucharistic Prayer, we “offer up our sins.” Is anyone else familiar with this description of our interior process at Holy Mass?
Our CRE cites his sources for this description as his Diaconate Formation classes and a previous teacher here who has a Masters degree in Theology.
I would really like to know if anyone can cite a serious source (theologian, Doctor, Father of the Church, Scriptural reference, etc) that supports the idea of offering our sins to God.

I personally think that this construct: “we offer up our sins” is confusing to the students, and that a better description would be to say we offer our selves, our sufferings, and our wills along with the bread, wine, and resources (collection), adding that we offer our contrition for our sins during the Penitential Rite earlier, and when we offer our selves and wills we are offering something that is sinful and imperfect, but is the best that we have, rather than the worst thing about us, our sins. But I would be happy to discover that I am wrong and this idea: “we should offer up our sins to God” is a common one within the Catholic Church.
I think the distinction is important because I do try to teach my catechism class students that Active Participation is an interior process of our intellects and hearts during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and that at specific times of the Liturgy we are doing specific things. That the Eucharistic Prayer is words, and we are ultimately offering the Word as we participate in Christ’s sacrifice.

I agree with you. Maybe a better way to say it is we offer our contrition for our past sins (along with our “selves, sufferings, and wills” as you say)-- not the sins themselves.

 

[IronFaith]

It is not only common, it is essential.
Start at Leviticus 4. and 1 Cor. 1:18. Yes, it can sound like foolishness, but offering up our worst is exactly what we must do.

God wants all of us, and that includes our sins. It is a most amazing experience when one first is able to offer up to God, say, a particular occasion of sin.

“God, I am so sorry for the way I treated my sister. It was so wrong. I have been to confession and received absolution, but the thought of it keeps coming back. I give it up to You.”

I have had the experience of God taking away the burden of a sin so completely, healing the open wound, and making me stronger to walk in His way, and to do His will.

Thank you for this answer, beautifully stated!

 

[Old_Begonia]

I agree with you. Maybe a better way to say it is we offer our contrition for our past sins (along with our “selves, sufferings, and wills” as you say)-- not the sins themselves.

LOL, nope. Gotta be the sin. Gotta give that thing up.

I love the analogy presented by Tolkien in Lord of the Rings. If you see the Ring as sin, you see how desperately we want to cling to it, (We wants it, Precious!), and how incredibly difficult it is to get rid of.

And yet that is exactly what we MUST do, or be destroyed by it.

Again, think of Eustace in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He tries to rip his own dragon skin off, but he can’t. He must let Aslan do it.

There is no other way.

 

[jeshuaelshaddai]

when one says they offer up their sins then it defeats the purpose of believing that Jesus Christ has become a sin offering once and for all.

(Rom 6:10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.)

(Hbr 7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.)

(Hbr 9:26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.)

(Hbr 10:1-2 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.)

The people of God before Christ was crucified had to offer their sins to God but by the blood of bulls and goats but Christ offered his own blood as a perpetual sin offering.

(1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.)

Changing “confess our sins” to “offering our sins” could lead people of weak faith down the wrong path. I would suggest that you correct them and if it was an honest mistake then they will correct it but if this was an intentional mistake then you will know by the stubbornness to correct the error especially since the should be well acquitted with the scripture and should know better.

(Act 10:43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.")

(1Jo 2:1-3 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.)

Remember we can’t keep sinning and then just confess our sins; we must repent turn away from sin.

(Hbr 10:26-29 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?) Jesus Christ is the Spirit of grace

 

[Ed_Silvia]

I was thinking The Offering is Our spotless and innocent Lord in the form of Bread & Wine to Our Heavenly Father in reparation for our sins “for our good and the good of the whole church” Just saying.

 

[jeshuaelshaddai]

I was thinking The Offering is Our spotless and innocent Lord in the form of Bread & Wine to Our Heavenly Father in reparation for our sins

Good point but the partaking in the Bread & Wine is not reparation for ours sins because Jesus Christ himself has become that reparation.

(1Cr 15:3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,)
(2Cr 5:21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.)

The Offering of Bread and Wine is a offering of remembrance;

(1Cr 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”)
-We are remembering that Jesus Christ died for our sins and it is a perpetual sin offering as stated in the next verse.

(1Cr 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.)
-so through His death we are forgiven and through His resurrection we are saved.

(Rom 5:10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!)

Jesus Christ Himself will always be our sin offering as it is written, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [Jhn 1:29]"

The Lord bless you and keep you

 

[Ed_Silvia]

Good point but the partaking in the Bread & Wine is not reparation for ours sins because Jesus Christ himself has become that reparation.

As a Catholic I believe the consecrated bread and wine have become Jesus Christ.

And to the OP question, I do not offer my sins at the Offertory. It does not sound correct to me.

 

[drforjc]

LOL, nope. Gotta be the sin. Gotta give that thing up.

I love the analogy presented by Tolkien in Lord of the Rings. If you see the Ring as sin, you see how desperately we want to cling to it, (We wants it, Precious!), and how incredibly difficult it is to get rid of.

And yet that is exactly what we MUST do, or be destroyed by it.

Again, think of Eustace in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He tries to rip his own dragon skin off, but he can’t. He must let Aslan do it.

There is no other way.

Everyone agrees that we have to stop sinning. Offering something I did wrong to God makes no sense. You can’t offer God something evil. You can certainly give up sin. I don’t think you grasped the OP’s question. It is concerning exactly “what” we are offering at the Offertory at Mass.