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The Mass Our Eucharistic Sacrifice

The Liturgy, especially the Mass, is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed, and it is the fountain from which all her power flows. The goal of all the Apostolic works of the Church is to bring it about that all who are baptized and have received the virtue of faith should come together to praise God in His Church, to take part in her sacrifice, and to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. But in order that the sacred liturgy may produce its full effect, it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper dispositions. The pastors of the Church try to make it possible that the faithful take part in the Mass with a good knowledge of what they are doing, and to participate actively, and thus to receive all the fruits of the Mass.  Sacrifice The simple word sacrifice has two completely different meanings. The first meaning is used where we speak of Lenten sacrifices. In this meaning, sacrifice means giving up something which would give us an innocent pleasure. We do this to strengthen our will and to gain control of our appetites. The second meaning of the word sacrifice is the meaning we use when we speak of the Mass as a sacrifice. In this meaning we refer to the central act of worship in which we join with Christ our Great High Priest. The meaning of sacrifice as worship can be found in the Sacrifice of the Old Covenant. In the Old Testament we find various kinds of sacrifices. One example of a sacrifice in the Old Testament is the sacrifice of Melchizedek. He was the priest-king of Salem. Melchizedek brought out bread and wine as a sacrifice, and blessed Abram. Jesus was raised up as our Great High Priest after the likeness of Melchizedek. As Psalm 110 said “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”. In the Old Covenant, the priests performed their acts of worship in the Temple. They would go into the Holy Place to burn incense on the altar, and to place loaves on the table of the bread of offering each week. Once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would offer a ram for a holocaust, a whole burnt offering. These Old Testament sacrifices were mere symbols of the present time. The gifts and sacrifices that were offered could not perfect the worshipper in conscience. The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ came as the Great High Priest. He did not offer His sacrifice in the Temple, but He entered once and for all into the sanctuary, the presence of God. His sacrifice was not with the blood of goats and calves but with His own blood, and thus He attained eternal redemption for us. The blood of Christ, who offered Himself unblemished to God, was powerful enough to cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.