Why are Catholics so fixated on the "Mass?"

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I’ve read elsewhere here how important the Mass is, and I understand that’s what Catholics do every Sunday. But why?

The Bible is a thick book. Even the New Testament alone is pretty thick. So from all of that material, and of all the things that Jesus did, why the fixation with repeating the Last Supper over and over? Why that specific event?

There are SO many things in the Bible that could be the basis of regular organized worship services, but why of all things is the Last Supper the basis for the Catholic Mass? What is so important about the Last Supper that takes precedent over everything else that Jesus did/said?

FriendlySkeptic
 
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FriendlySkeptic:
There are SO many things in the Bible that could be the basis of regular organized worship services, but why of all things is the Last Supper the basis for the Catholic Mass? What is so important about the Last Supper that takes precedent over everything else that Jesus did/said?
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I’m sure you’ll get lots of answers but let me give you a simple one.

We Christians NEED the Eucharist. And Jesus knew we would need it so he commanded us to, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”

In this case ‘rememberance’ is not some kind of head knowledge. If I may be so bold as to steal terms from science, it’s more of a time/space warp where we join with Jesus at the Last Supper and at Calvary. And it’s even more that just being with him. We are supernaturally united with Him. We become one with Him.

We believe that Jesus truly becomes present (under the appearances of bread and wine). We Catholics need that close union with Christ (the closest posible union we can acheive on this Earch) in order to have the graces, strength, etc. to do all those other things that you mention that the Bible tells us.
 
The mass is an Earthly participation in the heavenly Eucharist. Christ who is the high priest, eternally presents to the Father His sacrafice on Calvery.
 
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FriendlySkeptic:
The Bible is a thick book. Even the New Testament alone is pretty thick. So from all of that material, and of all the things that Jesus did, why the fixation with repeating the Last Supper over and over? Why that specific event?
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I think if you read the Gospels you’ll see why it is so important, and if you read Acts and St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians you’ll see that the Eucharist was central to the early Church from very early on.
 
The Mass is the unbloody re-presentation of Christs sacrifice at Calvary AND a remembrance of the Last Supper. Many people, including many Catholics today either don’t remember that the Mass is also a sacrifice or never knew it in the first place.

In the Mass, the Priest, acting in the place of Christ re-presents the sacrifice. Through the consecration, Christ is fully present under the appearance of bread and wine. When Catholics receive Holy Communion we receive the actual body and bnlood of Christ, not a symbol. We don’t know exactly how this done and is a mystery of the faith. We do know that God, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, exist outside of time and that is why this miraculous change is possible. I always thought of it that way anyway. We believe this to be the core of the Catholic faith.

To say that he Mass is a remembrance only of the Last Supper is completely wrong and is in fact the way most Protestants that have such a ceremony perceive it.

I hope that in a very simple way this explains why the Mass is the central aspect of Catholic worship.
 
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FriendlySkeptic:
I’ve read elsewhere here how important the Mass is, and I understand that’s what Catholics do every Sunday. But why?

The Bible is a thick book. Even the New Testament alone is pretty thick. So from all of that material, and of all the things that Jesus did, why the fixation with repeating the Last Supper over and over? Why that specific event?

There are SO many things in the Bible that could be the basis of regular organized worship services, but why of all things is the Last Supper the basis for the Catholic Mass? What is so important about the Last Supper that takes precedent over everything else that Jesus did/said?

FriendlySkeptic
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Do you eat on a regular basis? If so, why? Do you breath on a regular basis? If so, why?

For Catholics (and this goes for the Orthodox as well) the Sunday gathering to celebrate the Eucharist is a time for us to breath the Holy Spirit, to eat our God who sacrificed Himself for us. It is, as St. Peter says, a “participation in the Divine life.”

Why would one not want to do this?

Deacon Ed
 
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FriendlySkeptic:
I’ve read elsewhere here how important the Mass is, and I understand that’s what Catholics do every Sunday. But why?

The Bible is a thick book. Even the New Testament alone is pretty thick. So from all of that material, and of all the things that Jesus did, why the fixation with repeating the Last Supper over and over? Why that specific event?

There are SO many things in the Bible that could be the basis of regular organized worship services, but why of all things is the Last Supper the basis for the Catholic Mass? What is so important about the Last Supper that takes precedent over everything else that Jesus did/said?

FriendlySkeptic
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Not just on Sundays, But everyday of the year except Good Friday. Some Churches (Such as my own) have multiple daily Masses.
 
QUICUMQUE VULT:
Not just on Sundays, But everyday of the year except Good Friday. Some Churches (Such as my own) have multiple daily Masses.
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And also around the world, from sunrise to sunset.
Malachi 1:11 - The Mass is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
 
Catholic clergy, unless dispensed by the Order or Diocesan Bishop, are required to pray a daily liturgy called The Divine Office.

Some churches will have public celebration of one or more of the Hours of the Office.

Pope John Paul II asked the laity to join with the clergy in trying to pray Hours of the Office frequently. Many of the posters on this Forum own copies of the Divine Office, and some pray sporadically, perhaps Morning Prayer on Sunday, and some pray every Hour, every day.

The Divine Office, although it is considered the prayer of the Church, is a liturgy all of its own, focused on Psalms and Scriptures. While the Eucharist is certainly the life of the Church, the Office is a liturgy that is completely accessible to the entire Church regardless of whether its prayed privately or publicly. This liturgy is perhaps what the OP was looking for with their post.
 
In reading We Worship: A Guide to the Catholic Mass by Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, I have been particularly struck by one of his arguments for regularly participating in the Mass.

It is the only thing Jesus ever asked us specifically to do for Him.

Everything else He asks of us, He asks us to do for each other, for our Father in Heaven, or even for ourselves. Celebrating the Eucharist is the only thing He asked us to do specifically for Him, “Do this in memory of Me.”
 
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FriendlySkeptic:
I’ve read elsewhere here how important the Mass is, and I understand that’s what Catholics do every Sunday. But why?

The Bible is a thick book. Even the New Testament alone is pretty thick. So from all of that material, and of all the things that Jesus did, why the fixation with repeating the Last Supper over and over? Why that specific event?

There are SO many things in the Bible that could be the basis of regular organized worship services, but why of all things is the Last Supper the basis for the Catholic Mass? What is so important about the Last Supper that takes precedent over everything else that Jesus did/said?

FriendlySkeptic
Click to expand...
The Last Supper established the core elements of the Mass and the institution of the Eucharist in which Christ Himself gives us Himself and mystically invites us to participate in the Heavenly banquet. At Mass we are at the foot of the Cross and at the Heavenly Banquet table. The Eastern Divine Liturgy (Mass) presents this so clearly, the meeting of Heaven and earth.
 
In addition to the great posts that have been given thus far it is also important because it is in and through the Liturgy that we participate in the patristic forms that express the totality of Divine Revelation. It is the liturgy where we find our primary encounter with the fullness of the teachings of Christ. There is an error in the OP’s statement. It seems to imply that the Mass is an extention of scripture. However, the liturgy pre-dates the New Testament and in a sense both Scripture and Tradition are contained within the Liturgy. This being the case it is obvious why this singular act of Worship is the apex of importance.
 
I read a great story on the weight of the Mass today. And it was simply called the weight of the Mass. For young children yet the 5th graders I think got the most out of it. Everytime I read it I got goose bumps.

To receive the body of Christ everyday I could ask for no greater gift.

Christ did tell the apostles “Do this in memory of me”

The greatest gift you can ever receive. The Eucharist has always given me the grace to go on, in the worst of storms.🙂
 
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FriendlySkeptic:
What is so important about the Last Supper that takes precedent over everything else that Jesus did/said?
Click to expand...
John 6:48-58 explains this very well:
I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
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The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
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