Question about the Mass as Sacrifice

[garysibio]

I understand that the Church teaches that the Mass is not a new sacrifice but the same sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary. However at Mass we say, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.”

If it is the same sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary, wouldn’t God already have accepted it? I thought I understood this but now I’m confused.

 

[Windmill]

Since God is outside of time, yet we are in time there is a mental disconnect that is hard for us to wrap our minds around. We are participating in the One, True Sacrifice offered on Calvary. The merits of that sacrifice are meted out to us at each re-presentation of that one sacrifice. Yet each Mass occurs in our “time”, so it is “a” sacrifice because it occurs at “a” point in time. That, however, does not mean that it is distinct from the sacrifice Christ offered and continues to offer in Heaven before the throne of Grace for our good and our salvation. So we can say, truly, that this sacrifice “is” being offered because the bread and wine offered by the priest at our Mass is becoming the Body & Blood of Christ and connecting us to that True Sacrifice on Calvary.

 

[garysibio]

Since God is outside of time, yet we are in time there is a mental disconnect that is hard for us to wrap our minds around. We are participating in the One, True Sacrifice offered on Calvary. The merits of that sacrifice are meted out to us at each re-presentation of that one sacrifice. Yet each Mass occurs in our “time”, so it is “a” sacrifice because it occurs at “a” point in time. That, however, does not mean that it is distinct from the sacrifice Christ offered and continues to offer in Heaven before the throne of Grace for our good and our salvation. So we can say, truly, that this sacrifice “is” being offered because the bread and wine offered by the priest at our Mass is becoming the Body & Blood of Christ and connecting us to that True Sacrifice on Calvary.

I don’t think we need to have a complete understanding of space and time to understand that the Mass is the same sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary. It might be difficult, or even impossible, to understand how it can be the same but all we’re asked to do is accept that it is. Once we accept that, asking God that He accept what He has already accepted just doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[Lancer]

I don’t think we need to have a complete understanding of space and time to understand that the Mass is the same sacrifice that Jesus made at Calvary. It might be difficult, or even impossible, to understand how it can be the same but all we’re asked to do is accept that it is. Once we accept that, asking God that He accept what He has** already** accepted just doesn’t make sense to me.

“Already” … is not precise… what we are doing at Mass is offering the one original sacrifice and to emphasize it is the original one sacrifice on Calvary…it is Christ himself…doing the offering…the priest is in persona Christi

Catechism

1330 The memorial of the Lord’s Passion and Resurrection.
The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, “sacrifice of praise,” spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant.

Pax Christi

The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church’s whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred Mysteries. We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of sacraments. The Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle are designated by this same name.

1367 The** sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice:** “The** victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests**, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.” “And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. . . this sacrifice is truly propitiatory.”

 

[markomalley]

I understand that the Church teaches that the Mass is not a new sacrifice but the same sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary. However at Mass we say, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.”

If it is the same sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary, wouldn’t God already have accepted it? I thought I understood this but now I’m confused.

It’s still going on in heaven:
[BIBLEDRB]Rev 5:6[/BIBLEDRB]

 

[garysibio]

“Already” … is not precise… what we are doing at Mass is offering the one original sacrifice and to emphasize it is the original one sacrifice on Calvary…it is Christ himself…doing the offering…the priest is in persona Christi

Catechism

Lancer,

I agree 100%. That’s why this quoye from the Mass is so confusing to me.

 

[garysibio]

It’s still going on in heaven:
[BIBLEDRB]Rev 5:6[/BIBLEDRB]

Excellent point but it makes it even more confusing to ask God to approve it.

 

[markomalley]

Excellent point but it makes it even more confusing to ask God to approve it.

It shouldn’t. The epiklesis is asking God to make the bread and wine acceptable, for the Holy Spirit to bless them to make them worthy to be transubstantiated (remember, the epiklesis happens before the words of institution):

Be pleased, O God, we pray,
to bless, acknowledge,
and approve this offering in every respect;
make it spiritual and acceptable,
so that it may become for us
the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, the actual oblation of the Body and Blood occur during the Supra quae propitio and Supplices te rogamus prayers (within the Canon):

Be pleased to look upon these offerings
with a serene and kindly countenance,
and to accept them,
as once you were pleased to accept
the gifts of your servant Abel the just,
the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith,
and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek,
a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

and:

In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God:
command that these gifts be borne
by the hands of your holy Angel
to your altar on high
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar
receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,

Those happen AFTER the words of Institution. So the priest is speaking about the Body and Blood of Christ. To me, the Supplices te rogamus prayer really shows, better than anything else in the canon, how heaven comes down to the Sanctuary during the Eucharistic Prayer. It shows the eternal nature of the Sacrifice.

 

[garysibio]

It shouldn’t. The epiklesis is asking God to make the bread and wine acceptable, for the Holy Spirit to bless them to make them worthy to be transubstantiated (remember, the epiklesis happens before the words of institution):

Be pleased, O God, we pray,
to bless, acknowledge,
and approve this offering in every respect;
make it spiritual and acceptable,
so that it may become for us
the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the other hand, the actual oblation of the Body and Blood occur during the Supra quae propitio and Supplices te rogamus prayers (within the Canon):

Be pleased to look upon these offerings
with a serene and kindly countenance,
and to accept them,
as once you were pleased to accept
the gifts of your servant Abel the just,
the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith,
and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek,
a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

and:

In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God:
command that these gifts be borne
by the hands of your holy Angel
to your altar on high
in the sight of your divine majesty,
so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar
receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son,

Those happen AFTER the words of Institution. So the priest is speaking about the Body and Blood of Christ. To me, the Supplices te rogamus prayer really shows, better than anything else in the canon, how heaven comes down to the Sanctuary during the Eucharistic Prayer. It shows the eternal nature of the Sacrifice.

Hadn’t thought of it that way. Thanks.

 

[jlhargus]

I understand that the Church teaches that the Mass is not a new sacrifice but the same sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary. However at Mass we say, “May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.”

If it is the same sacrifice that Jesus offered at Calvary, wouldn’t God already have accepted it? I thought I understood this but now I’m confused.

JL: Not sure but it seems to me when the priest says, Pray brethren that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God.

We respond, May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his Church.

We are asking God to accept OUR SACRIFICE bread and wine and change them into the Body and Blood of our Lord. The acceptable sacrifice.

Before consecration the priest says, Eucharistic Prayer 1. Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may beomce for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eucharistic Prayer II. Make holy, therefore these gifts, we pray by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eucharistic Prayer III. Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

[TimothyH]

Eucharistic Prayer II. Make holy, therefore these gifts, we pray by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Eucharistic Prayer III. Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,

This is extremely important.

These parts of the Eucharistic prayers are called the Epiclesis. It is the “Calling down of the Holy Spirit” and it is an amazing part of the Mass.

At the words of the priest, the same Holy Spirit which overshadowed Mary at the annunciation comes down to make Christ present. The same Holy Spirit which gave human life to the the Second Person of the Trinity in the womb of Mary comes down at the command of the priest to make Christ present on the altar. That’s how much power God has given a priest.

Remember that the sacrifice of Christ is inseperable from the ressurection. The passion, death and ressurection of Christ are a strict unity. Christ’s death is meaningless without the ressurection and the ressurection is a cheap magic trick without the suffering and death. And while the priest offers the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary to God the Father, he is also ressurecting that same life of Christ on the altar by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The altar servers prayer at my parish says, "Heavenly Father, I offer the service of this humble ministry to you. Help keep me free from disractions and help me to remember that in assisting the priest, I am assisting in the ressurection of life."

The priest even acknowledges the acceptable sacrifice in the Eucharistic prayer.

Therefore, O Lord, as we now celebrate the memorial of our redemption, we remember Christ’s death and his descent to the realm of the dead; we proclaim his Resurrection and his Ascension to your right hand; and as we await his coming in glory, we offer you his Body and Blood, the sacrifice acceptable to you which brings salvation to the whole world. (Eucharistic Prayer 4)

God approved of the sacrifice because God offered it himself. Jesus is both the sacrifice and priest.

***Look, O Lord, upon the Sacrifice which you yourself have provided *for your Church, and grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice…

jlhargus has it exactly right. Our sacrifice is bread and wine which is changed into Jesus. Jesus is the acceptable sacrifice because Jesus is God himself.

-Tim-

 

[japhy]

As others have mentioned, the Eucharistic Prayers all contain requests for God to accept the offering of the Eucharist. Why do we ask God to accept something we know He’ll accept because it’s His Son’s sacrifice?

Long story short, the answer is twofold: 1) because we might fall into presumption about our imperfect offerings if we cease to ask God to accept our perfect offering; and 2) because in doing so we acknowledge that the offering of the Eucharist is not just as simple as making the Eucharist present and “showing” it to God; rather, it includes our dispositions, our faith, our reverence, and our participation in the sacrifice (not just in its offering, but in its making).

We ask God to accept our sacrifice because we want to be acceptable too, not just what we offer.