There are two or three objections that I commonly hear to the Sacrifice of the Mass, and I wanted to create something short and easy to memorize, so that you’ll know what to say if people ask you (or, if these are questions you have, so you’ll have an easy-to-remember answer). The objections are:
Objection 1: Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary is Once-for-All (Hebrews 7:27), so the Sacrifice of the Mass denies the efficacy of Christ’s Sacrifice, and effectively re-Sacrifices Him.
Objection 2: Catholics and Orthodox sometimes describe the Sacrifice of the Mass as the “Unbloody Sacrifice,” but “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22), so the Sacrifice of the Mass doesn’t do anything (and certainly doesn’t forgive sins).
Objection 3: How can Catholics and Orthodox call the Sacrifice of the Mass the “Unbloody Sacrifice” and still claim to be consuming His Blood?
Tag: Mass
The Catholic Mass in Scripture, the Early Church, and Today
In Luke 24:13-35, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus have a surprise encounter with the risen Lord, Jesus Christ. There are basically four “stages” of communion in this encounter, and it’s the same four stages, in the same order, that we find in the earliest Christian worship, and that we see in the Mass today. So let’s look at each of the four stages, and then consider why it matters that they should all follow the same structure and pattern….
A Biblical Walk Through the Mass
Think Mass if boring? You might change your mind after considering these 8 parts of the Mass, and their connection to Sacred Scripture.
7 Mysteries of the Faith Unlocked by the Eucharist
The scroll and seven seals of the Book of Revelation couldn’t be opened without the Lamb standing as though slain, the Eucharistic Christ. Here are seven other mysteries of the faith that we need the Eucharist to unlock: (1) the New Covenant; (2) the Old Covenant; (3) the Mass; (4) Early Christianity; (5) the Church; (6) the lives of the Saints; and (7) your own spiritual life.
What Should You Wear to Mass?
I’m on a silent retreat this week (this is being auto-posted), so it seemed like a good idea to post a nice, non-controversial post since I won’t be around to respond to the comments for a few days. Instead, I wrote this one on wearing proper attire to Mass. Let’s start with Scripture, Matthew 22:1-14:… Continue reading What Should You Wear to Mass?
The Satanic Case for Catholicism
Philipp Schumacher, Elevation of the Host (1920),from a Catholic children’s book. By now, you’ve might have heard all about this. As I write this,* the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club is hosting a Black Mass (a Satanic mockery of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass) performed by the Satanic Temple. They announced that they would… Continue reading The Satanic Case for Catholicism
The Two Liturgical Rules I Wish Everyone Would Follow
There are lots of fights over the way that the Mass is celebrated, and about liturgical beauty more broadly. I think it would help to bear in mind two rules, both of which are borne out a simple reality: the Mass is the place in which we encounter Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. With that… Continue reading The Two Liturgical Rules I Wish Everyone Would Follow
Five Senses in which the Eucharist is the Host
Pope John XXIII elevating the Host Ever wonder why we refer to the Eucharistic species as “the Host”? The Latin hostia means “sacrifice,” and it is from this definition that the Eucharistic Host takes the name, as a reminder that in the Eucharist, Christ is the Sacrifice for our sins. But the Latin word hostia comes from hostis, which… Continue reading Five Senses in which the Eucharist is the Host
Consecrating Our Lives to God
Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman For those of us prone to daydream, the Offertory seems to be the slowest part of the Mass. After the proclamation of the Gospel and the homily, but before the Eucharistic Prayer, there’s a pause in the action, in which the priest stops to receive the bread and wine, and… Continue reading Consecrating Our Lives to God
Do Scripture and the Church Fathers Depict the Eucharist as a Sacrifice?
A Protestant reader wrote to me, asking how we Catholics could rectify the Sacrifice of the Mass with Hebrews 10:8-14, which describes Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary as once-for-all: When he said above, “Thou hast neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he… Continue reading Do Scripture and the Church Fathers Depict the Eucharist as a Sacrifice?