Sunday School: On the Sacrifice of the Mass

Over the last two weeks, in Lesson Twenty-Second and Lesson Twenty-Third of the Baltimore Catechism No. 2, we discussed the Holy Eucharist, including the nature of the sacrament, how Christ instituted it, and the reasons why He did so. This week, we conclude this discussion by looking at the context in which the Eucharist takes place: the sacrifice of the Mass.

The bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ when the priest utters the words of institution at the consecration during Mass. The words are not a magic formula; they are part of the ritual of the Mass, through which the sacrifice of the Cross is made present to us again. Christ offered Himself on Calvary for the glory of God, in thanksgiving for all that God has done for us, and in satisfaction for our sins.

During the Mass, the priest acts in persona Christi—in the person of Christ. He offers the Body and Blood of Christ just as Christ Himself did. And just as Christ gained for us great graces through His sacrifice, the Holy Eucharist becomes a font of graces for those who believe and approach the sacrament in a state of grace.

While the sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice as that offered by Christ on the Cross, there is a difference: Christ cannot die again but lives and reigns forever. Thus the sacrifice of the Mass is called an "unbloody" sacrifice. Under the Old Covenant, a worthy sacrifice required blood; but in the New Covenant, Christ's Blood was shed once for all who believe. We receive Christ's Body and Blood in Holy Communion, but the priests of the New Covenant no longer shed blood when they offer the sacrifice of the Mass.

Lesson Twenty-Fourth from the Confirmation Catechism has 9 questions. Note that the lesson begins with Question 262, continuing with the numbering from Lesson Twenty-Third.

The parallel lesson this week in the First Communion Catechism is Lesson Twentieth. It includes 4 questions drawn from Lesson Twenty-Fourth of the Confirmation Catechism.

Check out this week's lesson, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or ask them in the Catholicism Forum!

• Welcome to Sunday School!
• On God and His Perfections
• On the Unity and Trinity of God
• On Creation
• On Our First Parents and the Fall
• On Sin and Its Kinds
• On the Incarnation and Redemption
• On Our Lord's Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension
• On the Holy Ghost and His Descent Upon the Apostles
• On the Effects of the Redemption
• On the Church
• On the Attributes and Marks of the Church
• On the Sacraments in General
• On Baptism
• On Confirmation
• On the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Ghost
• On the Sacrament of Penance
• On Contrition
• On Confession
• On the Manner of Making a Good Confession
• On Indulgences
• On the Holy Eucharist
• On the Ends for Which the Holy Eucharist Was Instituted