I decided to do a several-part series involving the Catholic Mass. This is for several reasons: 1) I want Catholics to learn more about the Mass, especially those Catholics that may very well be 'going through the motions'. 2) I want those who are not Catholic to learn more about the Mass and how rich in the Scriptures it is. And 3) for myself. A bit selfish admittedly, but I myself know that I have a lot more to learn about God and my own faith then I realize, and this is a pretty awesome way to do it.
So without any further wait, here we go!
...But first a bit of a preface. We need to, after all, define what we mean by the Mass, and while we are at it, we might as well see where the Mass is found in the Holy Scriptures. ;)
So what is the Catholic Mass? Well, the Mass, also referred to as the Eucharistic Celebration, is a sacrifice; but not just any sacrifice, but THE sacrifice, the very sacrifice that Jesus made for the human race. (How so? Read on to find out ;) ). It is also considered by Catholics to be in and of itself the most perfect prayer on Earth.
To understand this more fully, let us turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "The command of Jesus [at the Last Supper] to repeat his actions and words 'until he comes' does not only ask us to remember Jesus and what he did. It is directed at the liturgical celebration, by the apostles and their successors, of the memorial of Christ, of his life, of his death, of his Resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the Father...
...From that time on down to our own day the celebration of the Eucharist has been continued so that today we encounter it everywhere in the Church with the same fundamental structure. It remains the center of the Church's life. Thus from celebration to celebration, as they proclaim the Paschal mystery of Jesus 'until he comes,' the pilgrim People of God advances, 'following the narrow way of the cross,' toward the heavenly banquet, when all the elect will be seated at the table of the kingdom." (CCC 1341, 1343, 1344)
So what does all of this stuff mean? It means that the Catholic Church views the Mass as having originated from Jesus himself, having continued down through the ages, is a celebration of the memorial of Christ (the whole life of Christ as it was, is, and will be), is the center of the Church, leads people toward salvation, and will continue until Jesus comes (i.e. until the end of time).
How is this all truly possible? Well to answer this, we must ultimately turn to the Scriptures. And the best place to start is the very place that was brought up by the Catechism: The Last Supper, the night before Jesus was crucified and died.
"When the day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread arrived, the day for sacrificing the Passover lamb, he sent out Peter and John, instructing them, 'Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover'....Then they went off and found everything exactly as he had told them, and there they prepared the Passover. When the hour came, he took his place at table with the apostles. He said to them, 'I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God....' Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.'" (Luke 22: 7-20).
Here we see something truly unique. The night before his suffering and death, Jesus sits at table with his apostles (this is clearly more then just any regular meal). He describes how he has been wanting to have this Passover meal with them before his suffering. Then he takes the bread and says the words that are said at Mass every day, "This is my body, which will be given for you," and similarly, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you." Based on what Jesus says, it seems that the bread and wine are united to the suffering and death that he will experience on Good Friday ('my body...given up', 'my blood...shed for you'). He takes the bread and wine and presents them to his apostles as his body and blood 'which will be given for you', thus showing that, like the death on the cross that he will experience the next day, he is currently, at this Passover meal, making a very real sacrifice. the connection between the Last Supper and Jesus' death we would similarly not say that they are two different sacrifices, but one in the same sacrifice.
What should be looked at as well is Jesus' words to his apostles, "Do this in memory of me." Jesus commands them to do what Jesus is doing in his memory. THAT is what Catholics do, we DO, purely by the grace and power of God, what Jesus did so long ago. Thus, that is what the Mass is, the very same Last Supper that Jesus had with his apostles. The Mass is Jesus' command and desire come to life.
The Last Supper is shown in the other Gospels (Mark 14: 17-24, Matthew 26: 26-28). However, St. Paul also addresses the words of Jesus, stating to the Corinthians, "For I received from the Lord what I also hand on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, 'This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me'" (I Corinthians 11: 23-24).
There are even numerous passages in the Old Testament that give prophecy to the Mass. For instance, in the book of Malachi we see God say to the Levite Priests, "I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept any sacrifice from your hands, for from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; and everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering; For great is my name among the nations, says the Lord of hosts" (Malachi 1: 10-11). Indeed, as Catholic Encyclopedia explains, God brings up how a 'sacrifice' will be made by everyone in all nations, even amongst the Gentiles (non-Jewish people). Such a sacrifice is clearly not going to be done during Malachi's time, greatly implying a future time in which a 'sacrifice' will be made 'everywhere,' a 'pure offering.'
There are more scriptural references to the Mass, but this serves as a good start in showing the basis for the most holy Eucharistic Celebration.
I hope that the next few posts will help you to learn even more about the Catholic Mass and I pray that it can in some way bring you that much closer to God.
I give my thanks in advance to Logos Bible Software which has made it significantly easier to find and use the Bible, and to a succinct play-by-play of the Mass here.
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