The phrase "our sacrifice" at Mass

[EphelDuath]

Why does the priest say, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, “pray, my brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God,” and then the people respond, “may the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands”? I don’t understand why these possessives are used; how is it our sacrifice, at the priest’s hands?

 

[AmbroseSJ]

As St. Paul says, we are a Holy People, a Royal Priesthood. Those are not just empty words but describe the reality of our Baptism’s blessings. We the Holy People of God, as members of the Body of Christ, being a Royal Priesthood, offer the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of our Savior to God, which was offered once for all, but by virtue of our Baptism, and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, is comemmorated and indeed offered by us as a perfect Sacrifice to God. (That is why we are a royal priesthood) This is the Perfect Sacrifice that replaced the imperfect bloody sacrifice of the Old Temple. This Sacrifice has been offered continuously since the beginning of Christianity, and continues to be offered around the world to this day.

The priest acts in Persona Christi, or as St. Paul again says, as our High Priest. So we, the royal priesthood, through our High Priest Jesus Christ, in the person of the priest, (who is also the victim in this Perfect Sacrifice) offers this sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving to God the Almighty Father until the end of time.

But Good Question! I’m not a theologian or anything like that, so you are getting just a layman’s grasp of the words.

 

[fellowChristian]

I found a few websites to help

The Offertory

This is the first principal part of the Holy Mass. The best gift we can offer God is a pure heart, humble and sorrowful for having offended Him by our sins. Offer your heart when the priest offers the oblation of this Sacrifice.

“I consecrate to Thee, O Lord, every thought, every word and deed of my whole life. I give Thee my understanding, my will and memory.”

I like the traditionalness of this website, but I just remembered there’s also some “opinions” on other pages that are a little off.Thought I should say something.

theholymass.com/part2.htm

In this memorial, the Church joins in Christ’s self-offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit. It calls the faithful not only to offer the spotless victim** but also to learn to offer themselves**. In doing so they are drawn into ever more perfect union, through Christ the Mediator, with the Father and with each other, so that at last God may be all in all. The priest then again invokes the Holy Spirit to bless the Church and to unite all Christians and again to bless the gifts.

ourcatholicfaith.org/mass/eucharist.html

carr.org/~meripper/faith/massexpl.htm

 

[jfoges]

Why does the priest say, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, “pray, my brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God,” and then the people respond, “may the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands”? I don’t understand why these possessives are used; how is it our sacrifice, at the priest’s hands?

I am not sure I totally understand the theology behind this part of the mass but the same dialog is in the Tridentine Mass, between the priest and the altar servers. Here it is:

“Pray Brethren, that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty.
May the Lord receive the Sacrifice from thy hands, to the praise and glory of His Name, to our benefit, and that of all His holy Church.”

 

[LeroyCRHP]

It is the sacrifice that we will receive and the priest is holding it.

But I’m guessing your question is deeper than that. Thanks for this question, I love these questions about mass.

 

[Joannm]

I am not sure I totally understand the theology behind this part of the mass but the same dialog is in the Tridentine Mass, between the priest and the altar servers. Here it is:

“Pray Brethren, that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty.
May the Lord receive the Sacrifice from thy hands, to the praise and glory of His Name, to our benefit, and that of all His holy Church.”

This is pretty close to the new translation that we will see in a few years The Latin actually translates as “my sacrifice and yours,” and does so in other languages. One of our priests actually uses those words now.

 

[passus]

One of our priests actually uses those words now.

This is not allowed. Changing the words to any prayer of the Mass would constitute a liturgical abuse.

 

[Brendan]

This is not allowed. Changing the words to any prayer of the Mass would constitute a liturgical abuse.

Not necessarily. The words to the ordinary of the Mass have been approved by both the bishops and by Rome.

A local bishop may authorize a priest to begin introducing the new texts without abuse.

 

[japhy]

The words to the ordinary of the Mass have been approved by both the bishops and by Rome. A local bishop may authorize a priest to begin introducing the new texts without abuse.

I highly doubt that.

 

[Brendan]

As St. Paul says, we are a Holy People, a Royal Priesthood. Those are not just empty words but describe the reality of our Baptism’s blessings. We the Holy People of God, as members of the Body of Christ, being a Royal Priesthood, offer the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of our Savior to God, which was offered once for all, but by virtue of our Baptism, and the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, is comemmorated and indeed offered by us as a perfect Sacrifice to God.

I suggest that you read Pope Benedict’s “Spirit of the Liturgy”

First of all, the sacrifices being offered by the Minsterial Priest and the Common Priest are different.

The English translation being used now does not reflect that distinction, which is present in Latin, and as mentioned above, in the new translation.

The Ministerial Priest, and he alone, offers the Eucharist. We, the Common Priests, offer ourselves, our obedience and our good works along with, but distinct from, the Sacrifice of the Altar.

A Priest may only sacrifice what he is in possession of. The Minsiterial priest, as persona Christi, IS Christ and may therefore offer the person of Christ. We are not Christ, so we may not offer Him.

But we are creations of God and inspired by Him to do His Will on Earth, so we are to offer that ourselves, our bodies and souls and all the faculties thereof; the simple offering we can.

So, in reference to the original question, the possessive nouns differ because the translation stinks and it’s in the process of being corrected.

 

[Brendan]

I highly doubt that.

Why, they are approved texts after all, complete with a recognito from Rome.

Are you saying that a bishop cannot allow texts to be used in Mass that have been approved by the local Synod of Bishops and subsequently approved by Rome?

What Canons do you base that on?

 

[japhy]

Why does the priest say, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, “pray, my brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God,” and then the people respond, “may the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands”? I don’t understand why these possessives are used; how is it our sacrifice, at the priest’s hands?

First of all, this dialogue was mistranslated in the current English translation of the Mass. This will be corrected when we start using the new translation (in a couple of years).

The Latin of this dialogue (the same in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass as in the Ordinary Form of the Mass) is:

Priest: Oráte fratres: ut meum ac vestrum sacrifícium acceptábile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipoténtem.
People: Suscípiat Dóminus sacrifícium de mánibus tuis ad laudem et glóriam nóminis sui, ad utilitátem quoque nostram, totiúsque Ecclésiæ suæ sanctæ.

The accurate English translation we’ll adopt eventually is:

Priest: Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.
People: May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and for the good of all his holy Church.

So, what does “my sacrifice and yours” refer to? What is the priest’s sacrifice, and what is ours?

A good answer to this question is found in the 1947 encyclical on the liturgy Mediator Dei from Pope Pius XII. Paragraphs 80-104 explain how all the baptized exercise their priesthood at the Mass. While we offer the Eucharist to God, in a manner of speaking, by means of our intentions and the hands of the priest who actually does the offering, we offer something distinct to God: our very selves.

“[A]ll the faithful should be aware that to participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice is their chief duty and supreme dignity, and that not in an inert and negligent fashion, giving way to distractions and day-dreaming, but with such earnestness and concentration that they may be united as closely as possible with the High Priest … [a]nd together with Him and through Him let them make their oblation, and in union with Him let them offer up themselves.” (Mediator Dei 80)

So our sacrifice is made in two ways: first, the bread and wine on the altar represent us (which is made more clear when members of the faithful present them to the priest); second, once that bread and wine have been consecrated and have become the Body and Blood of our Lord, we unite our selves to the Lord, in the Eucharist, as the priest offers the Eucharist to the Father (in the second part of the Eucharistic Prayer).

 

[japhy]

Why, they are approved texts after all, complete with a recognito from Rome. Are you saying that a bishop cannot allow texts to be used in Mass that have been approved by the local Synod of Bishops and subsequently approved by Rome?

I take the Bishop’s Committee on Divine Worship at its word:
9. When will this be implemented for liturgical use?
The approved text of the Order of Mass has been released as a text for study and formation, but is not intended for liturgical use, that is to say it cannot be used in the celebration of the Mass. The intention of the Congregation for Divine Worship and of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is to enable and encourage a process of preparation and catechesis for both priests and the faithful, as well as to make the texts available to composers of liturgical music who can begin to set the texts, especially the acclamations, to music in anticipation of the implementation of the texts for liturgical use. It is hoped that when the time comes to use the texts in the celebration of the Mass, priests will be properly trained, the faithful will have an understanding and appreciation of what is being prayed, and musical settings of the liturgical texts will be readily available. The revised translation of the Order of Mass will be permitted only when the complete text of the Roman Missal (Third Edition) is promulgated.

I’ll point out that the USCCB CDW has started compiling formational and catechetical resources on the new translation!

 

[passus]

Why, they are approved texts after all, complete with a recognito from Rome.

Are you saying that a bishop cannot allow texts to be used in Mass that have been approved by the local Synod of Bishops and subsequently approved by Rome?

What Canons do you base that on?

You are mistaken. The complete translation is still in the hands of the USCCB and has yet to be submitted to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for its recognitio.

From the most recent Newsletter of the USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship:The Committee agreed that with the present timetable, the remote preparation for the reception of the new translation would go into effect upon the completion of the review of the Gray Books by the Bishops at the end of 2010. The more immediate preparation would happen once the *recognitio *was received from Rome. It will take publishers about one year from the time of the *recognitio *to prepare the materials for publication (Nov-Dec 2008, Vol. XLIV, p. xliii).

 

[ASD]

Why does the priest say, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, “pray, my brothers and sisters, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God,” and then the people respond, “may the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands”? I don’t understand why these possessives are used; how is it our sacrifice, at the priest’s hands?

In the Latin version of the NO/OF Mass, which is the standard, the words are

P: Orate, fratres: ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile…

That means:

P: Pray, brethern, that my and yours sacrifice [be] acceptible…

The reasonable translation given is:

P: Pray, brethren, that our sacrifice may be acceptable…

Obviously, that’s reasonable; but, it’s less precise, too, right?

Response:

R: Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium…

Which is rendered:

R: May the Lord accept the sacrifice…

Response to OP: The priest is making a sacrifice. The fundamental way for us to assist at Mass or participate in the Mass is to add our own personal sacrifice to his. Our additions aren’t a separate sacrifice; they’re added to the Priest’s sacrifice. And, ultimately, only the ordained Priest celebrant can offer the sacrifice.

More specifically, an ordained Priest can renew or make present THE sacrifice of Calvary. What should we add? japhy argues convincingly above that it should be ourselves. Perhaps that’s it, period. But, whatever it is, it’s got be something precious, something that costs us, something that hurts.

Foregiveness and obedience are good examples.

From B16: a good sacrifice for a layman in pews to add to the sacrifice of the Priest: foregiveness. In tort law, someone who has been injured is entitled to be “made whole” by the perpetrator who injured him. When we forgive, by constrast, we forego what we feel is our due; we make a gift of it, you might say. We burn it in our hearts for God.

Anyway, I think you’re quite right to notice that changing meum ac vestrum or “my and yours” to “our” bleaches out some meaning. It’s less clear that the Priest is making THE sacrifice in persona Christi while we assist by adding our sacrifice to his.

Extremist Reactioanry Dicta: I suspect that it’s typical manipulative, sleight of hand. When “my and yours sacrifice” is changed to “our sacrifice,” translation of the liturgy is being used to drill a particular ecclesiology into us.

Notice I didn’t say NO/OF makes the change; it’s the translation that does it. And that, my friends, is the real reason to stick to Latin, NO/OF and TLM/EF.

ASD​

Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar

 

[Digitonomy]

My recent thread also covers a few points related to this topic:

What exactly is my role as a member of the priesthood of all believers?

 

[japhy]

More information on the Orate, Fratres, from the early 20th century book The Glories of the Catholic Church. The rubrical information pertains to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, but the theological information remains true today.
C. What is the “Orate Fratres”?

P. “Orate Fratres” are the first two words of an address which at this part of the Mass the priest makes to the faithful present and they signify “pray brethren”. The whole prayer is as follows “Pray brethren that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty”. Of this prayer the first two words only are said aloud towards the people the rest in secret towards the altar. Thus the priest distrusting his own merits and knowing himself to be compassed with infirmities invites those present to join their prayers with his own to the end the Sacrifice he is to offer for himself and for them may be well pleasing in the sight of their common Father.

C. I observe that the priest speaks of the Sacrifice as in some sense the act of the people as well as his own.

P. He does so. As we proceed you will see that the Church regards the faithful present as in some sort joint offerers with the priest. There is a singular beauty in the priest reminding the people of their common interest in the Sacrifice while he is asking for their prayers.

C. Do the people respond to this appeal of the priest?

P. They do so through the minister and should themselves either employ the same words or at least join in their sentiment. …

 

[japhy]

The priest is making a sacrifice. The fundamental way for us to assist at Mass or participate in the Mass is to add our own personal sacrifice to his. Our additions aren’t a separate sacrifice; they’re added to the Priest’s sacrifice. And, ultimately, only the ordained Priest celebrant can offer the sacrifice.

More specifically, an ordained Priest can renew or make present THE sacrifice of Calvary. What should we add? japhy argues convincingly above that it should be ourselves. Perhaps that’s it, period. But, whatever it is, it’s got be something precious, something that costs us, something that hurts. Foregiveness and obedience are good examples.

More from Pope Benedict, from his address on January 7, 2009 (speaking of Romans 12:1):
Conduct of this type is classified by Paul as “living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” It is here where we find precisely the term “sacrifice.” In prevalent use, this term forms part of a sacred context and serves to designate the throat-splitting of an animal, of which one part can be burned in honor of the gods and another part consumed by the offerers in a banquet. Paul instead applied it to the life of the Christian. In fact he classifies such a sacrifice by using three adjectives. The first – “living” – expresses a vitality. The second – “holy” – recalls the Pauline concept of a sanctity that is not linked to places or objects, but to the very person of the Christian. The third – “pleasing to God” – perhaps recalls the common biblical expression of a sweet-smelling sacrifice (cf. Leviticus 1:13, 17; 23:18; 26:31, etc.).

Immediately afterward, Paul thus defines this new way of living: this is “your spiritual worship.” Commentators of the text know well that the Greek expression (tçn logikçn latreían) is not easy to translate. The Latin Bible renders it: “rationabile obsequium.” The same word “rationabile” appears in the first Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon: In it, we pray so that God accepts this offering as “rationabile.” The traditional Italian translation, “spiritual worship,” [an offering in spirit], does not reflect all the details of the Greek text, nor even of the Latin. In any case, it is not a matter of a less real worship or even a merely metaphorical one, but of a more concrete and realistic worship, a worship in which man himself in his totality, as a being gifted with reason, transforms into adoration and glorification of the living God.
I would say, ASD, that if we are offering ourselves as Paul tells us to, we should offer all of ourselves, “warts and all”, but also that which we are not yet: being disobedient sinners, we learn mercy and obedience.

As the bread and wine (which we offer to the priest and he offers to the Father to become the Eucharist) represent us, so too the transubstantiation which they undergo is a sign of the change that comes upon us.

 

[EphelDuath]

Thanks for all these in-depth answers.

 

[AmbroseSJ]

I suggest that you read Pope Benedict’s “Spirit of the Liturgy”

First of all, the sacrifices being offered by the Minsterial Priest and the Common Priest are different.

The English translation being used now does not reflect that distinction, which is present in Latin, and as mentioned above, in the new translation.

The Ministerial Priest, and he alone, offers the Eucharist. We, the Common Priests, offer ourselves, our obedience and our good works along with, but distinct from, the Sacrifice of the Altar.

A Priest may only sacrifice what he is in possession of. The Minsiterial priest, as persona Christi, IS Christ and may therefore offer the person of Christ. We are not Christ, so we may not offer Him.

But we are creations of God and inspired by Him to do His Will on Earth, so we are to offer that ourselves, our bodies and souls and all the faculties thereof; the simple offering we can.

So, in reference to the original question, the possessive nouns differ because the translation stinks and it’s in the process of being corrected.

From Pius XII’s Mediator Dei:

1. Moreover, the rites and prayers of the eucharistic sacrifice signify and show no less clearly that the oblation of the Victim is made by the priests in company with the people. …

1. … Now the faithful participate in the oblation, understood in this limited sense, after their own fashion and in a twofold manner, namely, because they not only offer the sacrifice by the hands of the priest, but also, to a certain extent, in union with him. It is by reason of this participation that the offering made by the people is also included in liturgical worship.

1. Now it is clear that the faithful offer the sacrifice by the hands of the priest from the fact that the minister at the altar, in offering a sacrifice in the name of all His members, represents Christ, the Head of the Mystical Body. Hence the whole Church can rightly be said to offer up the victim through Christ. …

1. In order that the oblation by which the faithful offer the divine Victim in this sacrifice to the heavenly Father may have its full effect, it is necessary that the people add something else, namely, the offering of themselves as a victim.

This is in reply to your statement:

A Priest may only sacrifice what he is in possession of. The Minsiterial priest, as persona Christi, IS Christ and may therefore offer the person of Christ. We are not Christ, so we may not offer Him.