Is the Mass a Eucharistic Banquet or a Holy Sacrifice
By Paul Dion, STL
1. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2. a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3. a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4. a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5. a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6. a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7. a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8. a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace
(Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3)
There is also a time for naming things and a time for remembering what the name was before the name we now use. I am giving you the opportunity to participate in this exercise in the following manner.
What is the name that defines our central act of worship, the Mass? Is the Mass a Sacrifice or is it a Banquet?
Tell us what you think and please elaborate on your answer.
The Mass is both a Holy sacrifice and a Eucharistic banquet. Christ did and continues to offer His entire being as a sacrifice to God for the sins of humanity. By remembering and consuming Him, we are at the greatest banquet of all time--a banquet for the body, mind and soul. We offer our small sacrifice of a half hour each day to receive the banquet that lasts forever!
ReplyDeleteI believe the Mass is both a Sacrifice and a banquet. You cannot have a Mass without the Eucharist and the Eucharist is a sacrifice because it re-represents the sacrifice of the cross. (CCC 1366)God is timeless "I am the Alpha and the Omega the one who is, who was, and is to come, the Almighty. Thus His sacrifice is ongoing, but now in an unbloody manner. We continue to sin and are sins are continually forgiven as long as we repent. The Mass is also a banquet. When we participate in the Eucharist we participate in the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood. (CCC 1382)
ReplyDeleteAh, two folks (above) who really KNOW they're faith, in this age of confusion... AMEN! The Mass is a Sacrifice of Praise (Worship), Thanksgiving, and Propitiation (Reparation for our Sins)... as well as the "breaking of the bread" spoken of very abundantly in the NT.
ReplyDelete-Laurence