In this paper I will initially investigate the sacrificial aspect of the Church's Eucharistic worship focusing on the propitiatory nature of the Mass, while also looking at the Mass as the re-presentation of the Paschal Mystery.  Then I will explain how the Mass as a sacrifice relates to our understanding of the Church as the body of Christ; and finally, I will look briefly at the goal or purpose of the Eucharist, that is, the end to which the sacrament is directed.

          In opposition to the Protestant Reformers the decrees issued by the Council of Trent reaffirmed the constant teaching of the Church on the nature of the Mass as a propitiatory sacrifice.  The Fathers of Trent taught that the Mass is not simply a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, but is in fact a propitiatory oblation, and that it is propitiatory precisely because it is one and the same sacrifice with that offered by Christ upon the Cross.  Although, as Fr. James O'Connor points out in his book, The Hidden Manna, the nature of the propitiation in question was not in itself explained in detail, the fact that the Fathers of the council saw the Mass as the re-presentation, in an unbloody manner, of the one offering of Christ on Calvary makes it clear that the propitiation indicated is related to the unity of the Mass and Calvary, that is, to the fact that they are one and the same oblation, only differing in the mode or manner of offering.  As it concerns the propitiatory element in the Mass the Fathers of Trent said, ". . . forasmuch as, in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, that same Christ is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner, who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the Cross; the Holy Synod teaches, that this sacrifice is truly propitiatory, and that by means thereof this is effected, that we obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid, if we draw nigh unto God, contrite and penitent, with a sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence." [1]  Thus the propitiatory nature of the Mass is related to its identification with Christ's one oblation on the Cross.

          It is important to note that the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist is not based on a destruction of the consecrated elements, but is founded upon the act of consecration itself. The double consecration, that is, the consecration of the bread followed by the distinct consecration of the wine, signifies the separation of Christ's body and blood in the crucifixion, and in this way the death of Christ is rendered present to those participating in the Eucharistic synaxis. [2]  Thus Christ's one historical oblation is rendered present as a living reality today through the liturgical act of remembrance (anamnesis).  Now, normally events of the past are irretrievable, but as the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: "[Christ's] Paschal Mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique:  all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past.  The Paschal Mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by His death He destroyed death, and all that Christ is — all that He did and suffered for all men — participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all.  The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life." [3]  Based on what has been said so far, it is clear that Christ does not die again in the Mass, but nevertheless His death is mystically re-presented, because the Paschal Mystery in some mysterious way endures and is accessible to man through the Church's liturgy. 

          The Mass — according to the Church traditional understanding — is the objective repraesentare (i.e., the re-presentation or re-actualization) of the Paschal Mystery in a ritual act.  Now the term repraesentare, which can be translated as re-presentation or re-actualization, can also be translated as  to signify, to stand for something.  So is one to understand this term repraesentare, since it can be translated in different ways?  Fr. O'Connor addresses this question in the book which was mentioned above, for as he explains, the term repraesentare does not mean simply to re-present, but instead can be understood as meaning to signify. [4]  Nevertheless, it is important to note that these two meanings of the term repraesentare complement each other, and that they must not be seen as somehow in opposition to each other, because when the term is translated as to signify, it must be understood as the ancient Church Fathers understood signs and symbols; and this ancient approach was explained nicely by Adolf Von Harnack in his magnum opus on dogma, for as he put it, "the symbol is the mystery and the mystery was not conceivable without a symbol.  What we now-a-days understand by symbol is a thing which is not that which it represents; at that time symbol denoted a thing which, in some kind of way, really is what it signifies." [5]  So even if one were to accept the idea that the term repraesentare means to signify, it does not follow that the Mass is not a re-presentation of the one oblation of Christ mystically rendered present through the sacred rites of the Church; rather, the term — understood in either way — strengthens the Orthodox teaching concerning the liturgy's sacrificial nature.

          In fact, for the Eucharist to be a true sacrifice it must of necessity be one and the same sacrifice as that offered by Christ upon the Cross, only differing in the manner or mode of offering, because no other sacrifice can be acceptable to God the Father.  Thus the term signify, when properly understood, includes the concept of re-actualization, since that is the whole point of the Church's Eucharistic worship.  In the words of Dom Anscar Vonier, "It is the genius of the Christian sacrament and also its very nature that it is an act which may be repeated indefinitely, though the content, or, if you like, the object of the act, be immutable." [6]  So the sacramental action is repeatable, but the sacrifice rendered present in it is immutable and thus unrepeatable.  This idea corresponds well with what Jean Cardinal Danielou said when he wrote that, ". . . the sacrifice of Christ subsists under three different modes”;  it possesses — what he called — an historical, an eternal, and a sacramental existence. [7]  And he went on to say that the sacrifice of the Cross ". . . by a unique privilege, is taken from time in order to subsist eternally,” the purpose of the sacrament being to render present this one unique oblation ". . . at all times and in all places.” [8]

          The sacrificial nature of the Mass also helps one to understand the nature of the unity that exists between Christ and the Church, because just as the Eucharist is the perpetual extension of the Incarnation throughout time, so too, the Church is the extension of Christ in the world.  Cardinal Ratzinger highlighted this idea in his book, God is Near Us, when he said that, "Since the Resurrection, Christ no longer stands alone but is — always caput et corpus:  head and body, open to us all.” [9]  So the Eucharistic worship of the Church is Christ's act of worship, in, with, and through, His mystical body.  In this one act of worship mankind is assimilated to Christ so that all of humanity participates in what He has accomplished.  Thus, the relationship existing between Christ and the Church must not be reduced to a mere metaphor; instead, it must be recognized as an ontological reality.  Christ in the Church form one man, one mystical person, stretching throughout time and space; and so Christ completely identifies Himself with us, and that means that ". . . He does not merely bear with us; rather, He bears us up, He identifies Himself with us to such an extent that our sins belong to Him and His being to us.” [10]  Augustine spoke about this intimate identification between Christ and His Church in his commentary on the psalms, when he said, ". . . it is written in the gospel: ‘Jesus prayed with earnest prayer, and sweated blood.’  What is this blood streaming from His whole body but the martyrdom of the whole Church.” [11]  Clearly then, it is possible to refer to Christ as the One who is Many, for all men are One Man in Christ Jesus. 

          Since the Whole Christ, both head and body, is one man stretching throughout time, it follows, as I indicated above, that the Church's liturgical worship participates in, and is identical with, the sacrifice offered by Christ Himself upon the Cross to the Father.  This mystery makes clear the true nature of man, and the true goal and purpose of the incarnation.  As Augustine of Hippo said, "God became man, so that man might become God." [12]  Thus, deification is the true goal of the mystery of God revealed in Christ.  By the incarnation Christ restores the Divine likeness lost by sin, and this brings me to the final point of the three points I mentioned at the beginning of this paper, that is, to the idea that the mystery of Salvation itself is centered on the elevation of man into the life of the Triune God, and that the Eucharist in particular — as the apex of Christian worship — is the instrumental means to this end.  In as much as the Mass is the mystical representation of the one sacrifice of Christ, that is, the sacrifice that restores man to the Divine likeness, it follows that it has the ability to assimilate man to God.  In other words, through the sacraments, and Eucharist in particular, the human person is incorporated into Christ, and in the process man's full and integral deification is achieved. [13]  Thus, all men become sons of God in the only begotten Son of God, [14] for in Christ's act of worship all of creation is recapitulated and elevated into the life and energy of the Holy Trinity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited:

Catechism of the Catholic Church.  (New York:  Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1994).

The Liturgy of the Hours:  The Office of Readings.  (Boston:  St. Paul Editions, 1983).

Jean Cardinal Danielou.  The Bible and the Liturgy.  (Notre Dame, Indiana:  University of Notre Dame Press, 1956).

Adolph Von Harnack.  History of Dogma.  (New York:  Dover Publications, 1961).  7 Volumes.

James T. O'Connor.  The Hidden Manna:  A Theology of the Eucharist.  (San Francisco:  Ignatius Press, 1988).

Pope John Paul II.  Ecclesia de Eucharistia.  (Boston:  Daughters of St. Paul, 2003).

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.  God is Near Us.  (San Francisco:  Ignatius Press, 2001).

Philip Schaff (Editor).  The Creeds of Christendom.  (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Baker Book House, 1985).  3 Volumes.

Anscar Vonier, O.S.B.  Key to the Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist.  (Westminster:  The Newman Bookshop, 1946).

Works Consulted:

Alexander Roberts (Editor).  Ante-Nicene Fathers.  (Peabody, MA:  Hendrickson Publishers, 1994).  10 Volumes. 

Sacrifice and Deification:  The Goal of Eucharistic Worship

by Steven Todd Kaster

Franciscan University of Steubenville

Theology 516:  Sacraments

Dr. Stephen Hildebrand

29 March 2004

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End Notes:

  [1]  Philip Schaff (Editor), The Creeds of Christendom, (Grand Rapids, Michigan:  Baker Book House, 1985), volume 2, page 179, (Council of Trent, 22nd Session, Doctrine of the Sacrifice of the Mass, Chapter 2).

  [2]  See James T. O'Connor, The Hidden Manna:  A Theology of the Eucharist, (San Francisco:  Ignatius Press, 1988), page 302.

  [3]  Catechism of the Catholic Church, (New York:  Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1994), no. 1085.

  [4]  O'Connor, pages 242-243.

  [5]  Adolph Von Harnack, History of Dogma, (New York:  Dover Publications, 1961), volume 2, page 144.

  [6]  Anscar Vonier, O.S.B., Key to the Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist, (Westminster:  The Newman Bookshop, 1946), page 136.

  [7]  Jean Cardinal Danielou, The Bible and the Liturgy, (Notre Dame, Indiana:  University of Notre Dame Press, 1956), page 138.

  [8]  Danielou, page 138.

  [9]  Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is Near Us, (San Francisco:  Ignatius Press, 2001), page 50.

[10]  Ratzinger, page 50.

[11]  The Liturgy of the Hours:  The Office of Readings, (Boston:  St. Paul Editions, 1983), page 382.

[12]  The Liturgy of the Hours:  The Office of Readings, (Boston:  St. Paul Editions, 1983), page 125.

[13]  See Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, (Boston:  Daughters of St. Paul, 2003), nos. 21-24.

[14]  See Alexander Roberts (Editor), Ante-Nicene Fathers, (Peabody, MA:  Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), volume 1, page 448.  As St. Irenaeus said:  "For it was for this end that the Word of God was made man, and He who was the Son of God became the Son of man, that man, having been taken into the Word, and receiving the adoption, might become the son of God."

Copyright © 2004-2025 Steven Todd Kaster