At the Last Supper, on the night when he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us (Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 47).
The Intentions of the Mass
There are four purposes for which the Holy Mass is especially offered: to adore, thank, satisfy, and supplicate the Divine Majesty. In the Mass, therefore, through the offering of the Divine Victim, we intend to give glory to God and to obtain peace and salvation for humanity. There can be many other special intentions.
In the Mass there are also four fruits: one is universal, for all the faithful, both living and deceased; one is general, for all who in some way participate in the Sacrifice; one is special, for the person for whose
intentions the Mass is celebrated; one is very special, for the priest.
Avoid being a mere spectator at Mass. It is necessary to be an active participant together with the priest-celebrant and Jesus Christ, the principal minister.
Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist
The principal parts of the Mass are the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In them—in union with Christ, Way, Truth, and Life—we give glory to the Father in the Holy Spirit.
In the Liturgy of the Word, we devoutly listen to the Father, who revealed himself in many ways and who in these latter times has revealed himself in Christ-Truth (see Heb 1:1). We offer God the homage of our mind, giving him the full consent of our intellect and will, firmly convinced that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16–17).
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, in union with Christ-Way, who freely offers himself to the Father as
a Victim of praise, we offer ourselves. We freely make the commitment to follow Christ—chaste, poor, and obedient to the point of death on the cross—in order to enjoy with him his glorious resurrection. He is the one sure Way through whom we reach the Father and through whom our “Eucharist” reaches him.
By conforming ourselves on this earth to Christ, our divine model, and by desiring to be with him, we look forward to the future kingdom. Strong in the faith, we wait “for our blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Ti 2:13).
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we also receive Christ our Life, whom the Father gives us. His divine life flows in us just as sap flows from the vine to the branch, and it revivifies us so that we may bring forth lasting fruits of love for God and for our brothers and sisters, whom we serve with the apostolate.
Nourished at the same table with the same Bread of Life, our union with our brothers and sisters becomes ever more intimate and the desire expressed by Christ in his prayer to the Father is fulfilled: “That all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (Jn 17:21).
The Eucharist: Ever-Present Mystery.
The Sacrifice of the Mass is offered every day, and in substance it is always the same. However, for one who practices devotion to Jesus Christ the Master, Way, Truth, and Life, it always offers some new insight, some new way, some new spiritual comfort.
The first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word sets out before us, over a three–year cycle, the principal truths and moral precepts by means of texts taken from the Old and the New Testament.
Dogmas, virtues, and counsels are set forth in the inspired words of sacred Scripture. Day by day, our faith is nourished, and we are directed along the path of eternal salvation.
Jesus Master teaches in the Church; the faithful docilely open their minds and hearts to his words of eternal life. To follow the Mass means to assure ourselves of thinking more and more in accord with Jesus Christ and with the Church. The faithful thus render to Jesus Christ the homage of their intelligence.
Jesus-Host
In the sacrificial part, it is always the same Victim-Christ, Christ-Host, who becomes present and
p. 38immolates himself upon the altar in the hands of the priest. It is Jesus Christ who shows his wounds to the Father and adores, thanks, atones, and prays, not only with sighs, words, and tears, but also with the fullness of his sacrifice, perpetuated as it is from Calvary to the end of time. Jesus is present to the Father; together with him in the Mass, we fulfill the same duties: with him, through him, and in him, in union with the Holy Spirit, we give the Father honor and glory.
Adore, thank, pray
We can adore God in his infinite attributes and in his various manifestations; we can thank him for general favors and for special graces; we can make reparation to him for the sins of humanity or for some particular fault of our own; we can pray to him for all general needs and for our own special needs. In the various Masses during the liturgical year, it is well that one’s spiritual aspirations be directed toward the teachings that stem from the instructive (didactic) part.
Jesus Christ is always the way to reach God; each person makes a commitment to love him with all the strength of his or her will.
Preparation and thanksgiving for Communion can vary according to the Mass: they will be different
at Christmas, during Lent, at Easter, at Pentecost, on the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary or of the saints.
By following the Mass, according to the specific instruction in the Liturgy of the Word, one asks those particular graces contained in the collect.
In brief: Jesus Christ in the Mass presents himself to us: in the first part as Truth—the Truth we must believe with our whole mind; in the second part as Way and Life—the Way we must follow with all our strength, and the Life to whom we must unite ourselves with our whole heart.