THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

The Sacrifice of the Mass and the Eucharist

"Christ's own association of what he did at the Last Supper with what he was to do on Good Friday has been the Church's own norm for intimately relating the two. The sacrifice of the altar, then, is no more empty commemoration of Calvary, but a true and proper act of sacrifice, whereby Christ the high priest, by an unbloody immolation offers himself a most acceptable victim to the eternal Father, as he did on the cross. Only the manner of offering is different."

"How does the Mass apply the merits of Christ's passion and death? During the period of the Reformation, this was one of the most vexing issues that faced the Church, whose priests were told that they were wrong to claim that Masses were a source of divine grace. Either they were wrong, or St. Paul was mistaken that when he wrote that when Christ died, 'He, on the other hand, has offered one single sacrifice for sins, and then taken his place forever, at the right hand of God' (Heb. 6:10). The dilemma seemed insoluble: Either Christ died once for all and his death is sufficient for all mankind, or in spite of his death, Masses must be said to somehow shore up what was presumably inadequate in the passion of the Saviour. After the definition rendered by the Council of Trent (1551 AD), the Roman Catholic Church teaches "is that, while the blessings of salvation were merited for mankind on the cross, they are still to be applied to us, principally through the Mass.
Between the two ideas of merit and application stand the towering facts of faith and human freedom: faith to believe that God wants us to use such channels as the Mass, and freedom to unite ouselves in spirit with Christ's self-immolation - he on the cross, which he endured, and we on our cross, which he bade us to carry daily if we wish to be his disciples."Hardon, John A. S.J. The Catholic Catechism New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1974 Imprimatur: James P. Malone, D.D., Nihil Obstat: Daniel V. Flynn, J.C.D. Pp. 467-468

Therefore, according to Rome, without the "unbloody" sacrifice of the Mass continually applying atonement for my sins to me, I am not forgiven even after receiving the Lord JesusChrist as my Lord & Saviour.
Roman Catholic Encyclopedia: Sacrifice of the Mass
Roman Catholic Encyclopedia: The Eucharist

THE TRADITIONS OF MEN

"In the absence of Scriptural proof, the Church finds a warrant for, and a propriety in, rendering Divine worship to the Blessed Sacrament in the most ancient and constant tradition, though of course a distinction must be made between the dogmatic principle and the varying discipline regarding the outward form of worship.

While even the East recognized the unchangeable principle from the earliest ages, and, in fact, as late as the schismatical Synod of Jerusalem in 1672, the West has furthermore shown an untiring activity in establishing and investing with more and more solemnity, homage and devotion to the Blessed Eucharist. In the early Church, the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was restricted chiefly to Mass and Communion, just as it is today among the Orientals and the Greeks.

Even in his time Cyril of Jerusalem insisted just as strongly as did Ambrose and Augustine on an attitude of adoration and homage during Holy Communion (cf. Ambrose, De Sp. Sancto, III, ii, 79; Augustine, In Ps. xcviii, n. 9). In the West the way was opened to a more and more exalted veneration of the Blessed Eucharist when the faithful were allowed to Communicate even outside of the liturgicalservice. After the Berengarian controversy, the Blessed Sacrament was in the eleventh and twelfth centuries elevated for the express purpose of repairing by its adoration the blasphemies of heretics and, strengthening the imperiled faith of Catholics. In the thirteenth century were introduced, for the greater glorification of the Most Holy, the "theophoric processions (circumgestatio), and also the feast of Corpus Christi, instituted under Urban IV at the solicitation of St. Juliana of Ličge. In honor of the feast, sublime hymns, such as the "Pange Lingua" of St. Thomas Aquinas, were composed. In the fourteenth century the practice of the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament arose. The custom of the annual Corpus Christi procession was warmly defended and recommended by the Council of Trent (Sess. XIII, cap. v). A new impetus was given to the adoration of the Eucharist through the visits to the Blessed Sacrament (Visitatio SS. Sacramenti), introduced by St. Alphonsus Liguori; in later times the numerous orders and congregations devoted to Perpetual Adoration, the institution in many dioceses of the devotion of "Perpetual Prayer", the holding of International Eucharistic Congresses, e.g. that of London in September, 1908, have all contributed to keep alive faith in Him Who has said: "behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Matt., xxviii, 20).

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The Scriptural Response to these

"traditions of men"

No unbloody sacrifice for sin was ever offered in the Old Testament from the time of Adam and Eve's departure from the Garden of Eden through the Mosaic Law. Hebrews 9:22 "And almost all things are purged by blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission." To teach or even suggest that a continuous sacrifice of the mass is needed to effectuate Christ's saving grace on believers is heresy. There were 5 sacrifices listed under the Old Testament (we are under the New Covenant): In Leviticus 8, Levitical priests were instructed in these 5 sacrifices that the people made: the burnt offering, the meal offering and the peace offering were voluntary. The sin and trespass offering were not. These two sacrifices called for the blood of slain animals, imperfect sacrifices which looked ahead to the perfect offering made by the Lamb of God, who is not of the Levitical priesthood but a more perfect priesthood Hebrews 7:11-21. To even quote from Levitical sacrifices in the Old Testament and use them under the New Covenant betrays a complete lack of understanding of the Word of God on the part of these "Theologians" so-called who use God's Word only to support their human traditions

Jesus, referring to His completed work of atonement at the cross, said "It is finished"- John 19:30

The Scripture referred to above by The Catholic Catechism is Hebrews 6:10 which reads" "for God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." This is an obvious error by the author that apparently was not corrected during the Catholic reviews of Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat.

Hebrews 10:12 "But this man (Jesus), after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down on the right hand of God."
Hebrews 10:10 "By the which we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look upon him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

THE EUCHARIST

The Church of Rome teaches that we should take Jesus' words literally when He says in John 6:51"I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of thi bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
John 6:53 "Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."In John 4:10 Jesus refers to Himself as "living water", as the light of the world- John 8:12 and as the door of salvation - John 10:9.
It should be obvious that, although we are to interpret the Scriptures literally wherever possible, Jesus is using descriptive metaphors in regard to His person since He is not literally a loaf of bread, a literal river, a literal light, or a literal door.

The answer to Jesus statement in John 6:53("Then Jesus said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you, except ye eat of the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.") is found in John 6:63 where Jesus explains to His disciples "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
The Roman Church quickly quotes from Matthew 26:26-28 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

This can be placed within Scriptural context by 1 Corinthians 11:23-26:"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it,in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. The Lord makes it very clear that the bread and wine were to serve inmemorial to Him in remembrance of His sacrificial death at the cross until He returns. Jesus in no way commissioned these disciples to change bread and wine into His flesh and blood in transubstantiation so that His completed sacrifice at Calvary could be re-enacted by men who claim to be leading people to Christ through the ministration of the Eucharist.

The teaching that the "bloodless" sacrifice of the mass is necessary for the atonement of any punishment due to sin, or that such "continual sacrifice" is needed for one's salvation is heresy. It holds the traditions of men higher than the Word of God which Jesus warned the Pharisees not to do: Mt 15:9 "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."

Leaven of the Pharisees
The ECCLESIA
More Writings on the Sacrifice of the Mass & the Eucharist

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JESUS-IS-LORD Ministries of Monroe,Inc.
March 1, 2000