The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Shrine of Our Lady of Knock; Consecration in the Traditional Latin Mass

It is, the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven. It came forth out of the grand mind of the Church and lifted us out of the earth and out of self, and wrapped us round in a cloud of mystical sweetness and the sublimities of a more than angelic liturgy, and purified us almost without ourselves, and charmed us with celestial charming so that our very senses seemed to find vision, hearing, fragrance, taste and touch more than ear can give. (Father Frederick Faber)

What we call ‘The Mass’ is in fact called ‘The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass’ and has been understood as such from first century Christendom. In the Mass, we enter into the Heavenly worship, in the presence of Almighty God and His Son Jesus, the lamb appearing as if slain (Rev 5:6). The image of the lamb standing on the altar appeared in the apparition of Our Lady of Knock on August 21, 1779 in Ireland. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus Christ is both the High Priest offering the sacrifice and the sacrifice being offered. St Paul’s letter to the Hebrews chapter 7 explains the idea of Jesus as High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The Real Presence

So what is the Mass and what is actually happening there? We are told by the witness of the apostles that on Holy Thursday, Jesus made the astounding pronouncements ever uttered by human lips “This is my Body, which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). He did this showing to the twelve a broken piece of bread. He said of the wine “This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you” (Luke 22:20). The first testament/ covenant between God and His people had been held about 1400 years before, where a lamb was slain, the blood was used to mark the doorposts and the meat was eaten. At the second Passover, the man Jesus announced that indeed he was the replacement of this Passover lamb. As St Paul says in Hebrews 9:22 - 28, Jesus Christ as the High Priest offered once this everlasting sacrifice in His own blood, after which He entered Heaven (the holy of Holies not made by human hands) and while there He offers sacrifices.

The Catholic Mass, does not purport to sacrifice Jesus over and over, but rather it is a re-presentation in an ‘unbloody’ manner of the one and only sacrifice of Calvary. The Catholic Mass is a sacrifice primarily and a banquet of the lamb to which we are invited. This is why there is a Priest, not a pastor and an Altar not a table. In Exodus 20:24-26, Almighty God defines the use of the altar as a place to offer holocausts to God. The Catholic encyclopaedia^[i] describes the term Priest to mean a (male) person called to the immediate service of the Deity and authorized to hold public worship, especially to offer sacrifices. This is why it is not so important for a Catholic priest to be very good at public speaking or to talk as to move the hearts, his role is to open the gate of Heaven so the faithful may join together with the angels and the saints in the work of adoring God. St Padre Pio set a record as one who rarely gave homilies, but his Mass offerings moved the hearts of all who came to San Giovanni Rotondo.

The Mass as a sacrifice has been replaced in our day with the idea of a meal. The reverence once offered to God in Catholic Churches has all but gone and its place has been taken by irreverent noises before, during and after. The solemnity that once characterised the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is now replaced by the idea of a community gathering where parishioners wear anything from beach shots and T-shirts to the most outrageous skimpy outfits. It is fitting at this point to remind each other of the words of Our Lady of Fatima that many styles and fashions will be introduced which gravely offend God. At the time this was said people did not understand, many still wore jackets to Mass and women dressed in modesty and covered their heads.

I believe all the faithful have a duty to remind each other of the simple things we can do to bring back the reverence to the House of the Lord. Such things as refusing to chat at Mass, receiving on the tongue, wearing modest clothing and perhaps a little reminder to others. True, this will make you unpopular and you will be regarded as ‘not a nice person’ but then again as members of the Church devoted to the Sacred Heart, we are called to a deeper union with the bleeding heart of the Beloved Saviour and He never promised that all will ‘like’ you for such things.

[i] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/