Sacrifice of the Mass

Objection: Why do Catholics refer to the Mass as a sacrifice? There is only one sacrifice for Christians- that which was accomplished by Christ on Calvary. Scripture is clear that Christ died "once for all" (Heb 10:10), and therefore "there is no longer any offering for sin" (cf. Heb 10:18). Would not referring to the "sacrifice of the Mass" be blasphemous then?

I. A Couple Misconceptions

Before discussing the Scriptural roots for the doctrine of the "sacrifice of the Mass", it is helpful to first clear up a couple misunderstandings that are common among many non-Catholics. A few non-Catholics, for instance, have the impression that Catholics believe Christ dies at every Mass. This is not the case. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, "For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him." (Rom 6:9). Jesus only died once, on Calvary, and now lives forever more in His glorified resurrected body, never to die again.

Other non-Catholics, who understand that Catholics acknowledge this, nevertheless wonder how any Christian can refer to any "sacrifice" for sins other than that of Calvary. As mentioned above, that seems to contradict the letter to the Hebrews.

To resolve this apparent contradiction, it should be kept in mind that Catholics do not believe that the "sacrifice of the Mass" is a "separate" sacrifice from that of Calvary, but rather that it is a participation in the sacrifice of Calvary, an application of the merits of that one sacrifice to us today, two thousand years later. In other words, the Mass is simply the one sacrifice of Calvary re-presented in the here and now. That being the case, there is no contradiction. In order to understand the reasons for why Catholics believe that, however, we must first do a brief Scriptural overview of Christ's sacrifice of Calvary itself, focusing especially on what is taught concerning it in the letter to the Hebrews. Afterwards, we shall see how Scripture in general teaches that the Mass fits into this picture.

II. The Nature of Christ's One Sacrifice

So let us examine what Christ's sacrifice actually entailed. All Christians, of course, know that Christ died on Calvary for their sins. But what many fail to realize is that Scripture indicates that Christ's sacrifice of Calvary didn't end there, as we shall see. There was an earthly phase to His sacrifice, but there is also a heavenly phase that is ongoing. And it is the latter phase (described in the letter to the Hebrews) that is of particular interest to our discussion. [1]

In Hebrews we see Christ presented as our great High Priest. Drawing on the Old Testament background of the Day of Atonement (cf. Lev 16), the author of Hebrews argues that Christ fulfilled perfectly the reality, of which the Day of Atonement was only a shadow.
Under the Old Covenant, once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered beyond the second veil of the tabernacle, into the "Holy of Holies", but "not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people" (Heb 9:7). But as the author of Hebrews continues:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (Heb 9:11-12)

In other words, Christ's Ascension, in which he entered "not into a sanctuary made with hands, a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf" (Heb 9:24) was also a part of His "securing an eternal redemption" for us. It was a necessary part of the sacrifice of Calvary. Just as under the Old Covenant the shedding of blood was only one part of the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement, which nevertheless required the high priest to still enter into the Holy of Holies to make intercession for the people with the blood that had been shed, so too Hebrews indicates that Christ's sacrifice required His Ascension into heavenly glory, in order to present His blood to the Father, thereby resulting in our redemption.

"Once for All"

All of this seems straightforward enough. Jesus died and was raised, and then at His Ascension entered into the heavenly sanctuary to offer His sacrifice before the Father, according to Hebrews. But doesn't the author also indicate that this was done "once for all" (9:25)?

Yes, he does. This is because Christ only had to die once. Christ's blood was more than sufficient, in contrast to the sacrifices of the old law. "For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins" (Heb 10:4). But taking away sins is possible with the blood of Christ, whose blood is of infinite value. After all, if it had been otherwise, then He "would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world" (Heb 9:26). But, as it is, His death being of infinite value, He only had to die once. Therefore, we read that "He appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Heb 9:26). All of this a Catholic would give a hearty "Amen!" to.

The question, however, is what does the phrase "once for all" mean in relation to Christ's offering of Himself to His Father? For while many people interpret it as meaning "once and done" (a quite different proposition), Catholics have a different perspective. Taking into account what other parts of Scripture, especially passages in Hebrews itself, state, they interpret "once for all" as referring to the perpetual nature of Christ's one perfect offering in the heavenly sanctuary. (After all, a perpetual offering, by definition, cannot be repeated. It is indeed "once for all".)

In other words, Christ's priesthood is ongoing. And this is in fact what the author of Hebrews also teaches. Christ is "a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek" (Heb 7:17, quoting Ps 110:4). Again, Christ "holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:24-25).

But if Christ's priesthood continues forever, then we must ask ourselves: what is the essence of priesthood itself? The author of Hebrews also answers that question. "For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer." (Heb 8:3- notice the present tense.). So we see that Christ's priesthood that continues "permanently" of necessity consists of Him making an offering for just as long as His priesthood lasts (that is to say, "forever"), an offering that allows him to "make intercession" and to "save those who draw near to God through him". What sacrifice did Christ make (a sacrifice that Scripture indicates is perpetually offered since Christ is "a priest for ever") that is able to "save those who draw near to God through him"? The answer to that, of course, is the Sacrifice of Calvary. It is what Christ in Heaven perpetually offers to His Father.

Just as the priest on the Day of Atonement (prefiguring Christ's sacrifice) offered in the Holy of Holies the blood that had first been shed outside of it, as a necessary continuation of the sacrifice, so Christ as our eternal high priest, in the true Holy of Holies, Heaven itself, continually offers to the Father as a necessary continuation of His sacrifice of Calvary the blood which He shed for us. It is how our one Mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2:5) reconciles us to the Father today through His sacrifice of Calvary. Unlike the sacrifices under the Old Covenant, however, since Christ's blood is more than sufficient, no new sacrifices need be offered, year after year. His offering to the Father of His sacrifice on Calvary can be perpetual, and hence "once for all". That is why, as we saw earlier, Hebrews states that Christ entered into heaven "now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf." (Heb 9:24)

Of course, Christ's blood cannot be shed again (as we saw earlier from Romans). But the living Christ can present His wounds to His Father continually, recalling His blood shed on Calvary, and thereby intercede for us. (In Heaven, His offering is now an unbloody one) That also helps to explain what the Apostle John writes when describing his vision of Heaven in the book of Revelation: "I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain..." (Rev 5:6). There is also, significantly, an "altar" (in other words, a place for offering sacrifice) described in his vision of Heaven (Rev 8:3).

III. The Mass

The reader by this point may be willing to grant all of the above, but still wonder where the Mass comes into play. It is all well and good to acknowledge that Christ continues a priest for ever in the heavenly sanctuary, as Hebrews teaches, but how does that relate to the Mass?

The brief answer is because the Bible teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice. And since (as has already been established) the Bible also teaches that Christ has been sacrificed "once for all", then that can only mean that the Mass is a sacrifice by being a participation on earth of the one eternal sacrifice of Calvary that is perpetually offered to the Father in Heaven by Christ, our great High Priest.

Now, let's unpack that a little.

"Do this in remembrance of me."

The Mass, of course, is simply the fulfillment of Christ's command at the Last Supper to "do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). At this point, one may object that this very command of Christ's argues against the "Lord's supper" being itself a "sacrifice" in any sense, but that it is rather simply a "meal" by which we remember the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. That there is a "meal" aspect in addition to the sacrificial aspect is fully granted (after all, the Passover sacrifice itself, of which this is the fulfillment, required eating the paschal lamb- which, incidentally, Catholics also see as being fulfilled at the Last Supper- more on that below). But that is not in opposition to it also being a sacrifice. However, many people are misled by the English word "remembrance", which does usually have a connotation of simply recalling to mind a past event, and nothing more. But that is not the case with the original Greek word, which it is difficult to translate adequately. David Currie observes:

This idea of Mass as sacrifice also explains best why 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 quotes Jesus as saying during the Last Supper, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." As Scripture scholar Father Mitchell Pacwa, S.J., has pointed out, the Greek word for "remembrance" in this passage is a very technical word. Interestingly, it is also a relatively rare word in Scripture. Outside of its uses in the Last Supper, it is used only one other time in the New Testament. This is in Hebrews 10:3, where the remembrance is the act of carrying out a sacrifice. "Those sacrifices are an annual reminder [remembrance] of sins." If an Evangelical were to check his Greek Old Testament, he would find the word used only twice. Both times the remembrance is actually a sacrifice: "Put some pure incense as a memorial ...to be an offering" (Lev 24:7) and "Sound the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, and they will be a memorial for you"(Nb 10:10). (This word occurs two other times in the Old Testament- in the headings to Psalms 37 and 69. These were added later by commentators and so are obviously not actual scripture, but they can indicate the meaning of the word Jesus used. Both speak of that Psalm as being used in conjunction with a memorial sacrifice [...] 

This Greek word "remembrance" is more than just "think about me by recalling this event to mind." It is a word fraught with sacrificial overtones, used in the Bible to mean "remind yourself of something by participating in a sacrifice. In fact, Jesus' choice of this rather rare word is unexplainable if he did not view the Last Supper as a sacrifice. [2]

So Jesus's use of sacrificial language suggests that He viewed the Last Supper as a "sacrifice" in which His disciples partook of His body and blood (under the sacramental forms of bread and wine). Just as the Passover sacrifice in the Old Covenant which prefigured Christ's sacrifice was also a meal in which the participants ate the sacrificial victim (cf. Ex 12:8), in this sacrifice Christ gives His body and blood to His disciples, strengthening communal bonds, thus fulfilling His words found in John 6:48-71 (spoken significantly, when the Passover was at hand; cf. v. 4). This "sacrificial meal" was to be observed by His apostles in the future as well (cf. 1 Cor 11:26).

Melchizedek

Now, of which Old Testament figure does such a sacrifice of "bread" and "wine" call to mind? The priest Melchizedek, of course. In Genesis, after Abraham ("Abram") returned from rescuing his nephew Lot from the four kings, we read:

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. (Gen 14:18)

We see that Melchizedek brought bread and wine, and immediately afterwards is described as being "priest of God Most High", as if in explanation for why he brought such. (Certainly there are no other materials ever associated with Melchizedek’s priesthood in Scripture.) Thus, being a priest, he would be offering a sacrifice of bread and wine. After this, he proceeded in the next verses (vv. 19-20) to bless Abraham, and Abraham in turn gave him a tithe.

Now, we have already seen that Christ is a priest forever "after the order of Melchizedek". That being the case, it should be recalled that only in one context did Christ offer anything resembling a sacrifice in which bread and wine were involved. As was just discussed, at the Last Supper, Christ offered "bread" and "wine" (according to appearances, that is, though He declared them to actually be His body and blood, signifying they had undergone a change of substance, which Catholics describe with the term transubstantiation). He did so while also using sacrificial language and connecting this sacrifice with that of Calvary the next day.

And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying "Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." (Matt 26:27) [3]

"Blood of the Covenant"

Speaking of sacrificial language, the "blood of the covenant" is significant. Jesus, at the Last Supper, uses language that recalls the sacrificial offerings that occurred at the inauguration of the Old Covenant. In Exodus 24 we read:

And Moses took the blood [i.e., of the sacrifices referred to in verse 5] and threw it upon the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." (Exodus 24:8).

So, too, at the time of the inauguration of the New Covenant, during the Last Supper, Jesus repeats these words. There is a reason for this. Jesus’s blood, offered in sacrifice, is to be "thrown" (so to speak) upon us of the New Covenant. What the mob in the presence of Pilate said in rejecting Christ is, in fact, what Christians say in accepting Him: “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matt 27:25).

The New Passover

In addition, recall that the Last Supper was a Passover meal (cf. Matt 26:17), and yet there is no mention of the Passover lamb that was sacrificed. Why not? No doubt because the Evangelists were emphasizing the fact that during this Passover sacrifice, there was a new Passover Lamb, Jesus himself. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

For Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival..."(1 Corinthians 5:7b-8a)

At the Last Supper, Jesus did not abolish the Passover sacrifice, which God had commanded to be kept "for ever" (Ex 12:14), but rather He fulfilled it (cf. Matt 5:17), by transforming it into the sacrifice of the true Paschal lamb, of which the lambs of the Old Covenant were only shadows, not the reality (cf. Heb 10:1). This sacrifice is simply the participation in the here and now of His sacrifice of Calvary.

"A Pure Offering"

This also explains a prophecy of the prophet Malachi. Malachi prophesied:

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. (Mal 1:11)

Notice how the prophet makes reference to an "offering" that is offered to God "in every place" among the nations. What "offering" is he referring to? The "sacrifice of the Mass" answers that question, as it is indeed offered everywhere, but is itself simply the one, single offering of Christ in Heaven perpetuated on earth. As a matter of fact, this prophecy was universally understood by the early church (as shown by documents dating back to the first century) to refer to the sacrifice of the Mass [4].
Now, I could continue giving passages from Scripture indicating the sacrificial nature of the Mass, such as how the Apostle Paul compares it with Jewish and pagan sacrifices (cf. 1 Cor 10:16-21). However, in order to keep this piece (too long as it is) from being any longer, I will stop here.

IV. Conclusion

As we have seen above, Catholics, when referring to "the sacrifice of the Mass", are not referring to some sacrifice which is separate from that of Calvary, but rather a participation in the one sacrifice of Calvary itself. Christ, being "a priest forever", by that very fact must be making a perpetual offering (cf. Heb 8:3). And the offering which He makes to His Father perpetually in the heavenly sanctuary is that of His sacrifice of Calvary. Just as under the Old Covenant, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest after shedding the blood of the animal sacrifices, had to enter the earthly sanctuary to present their blood before the Lord, so too we are taught by Hebrews that Christ had to enter the heavenly sanctuary and present His sacrifice to the Father. However, in contrast to the blood of animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant, Christ's offering of Himself was of infinite value. Thus, the offering He presents before His Father is one that can be perpetually offered "once for all"; He never need die again. This is how He intercedes for us today.

However, He has so willed to allow us to participate in this perpetual heavenly offering here on earth, applying its merits in the here and now, in a particularly powerful way. As a result, at the Last Supper, he instituted the Mass, employing sacrificial language, and thus fulfilling the prophecy of the prophet Malachi of a divinely approved "offering" that is made to God among all nations. That such is in fact the case was the universal understanding of the early church as well. At Mass, we see the intersection of Heaven and earth, as we participate in the one offering that our great High priest, Jesus Christ, perpetually presents before His Father, so as to continually make intercession for us.

Thus, in the context of the Mass, one could say (to use the title of an '80's song) that "Heaven is a place on earth."

Notes

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[1] One objection that should be addressed is that Christ on the cross, right before He died, stated that "It is finished" (John 19:30). Many assume that this refers to the death of Jesus having accomplished all that was necessary for our salvation, and therefore His sacrifice was complete. That this is not the correct understanding of His words, however, is indicated in other parts of Scripture. For instance, Paul mentions that Christ "was raised for our justification" (Rom 4:25), indicating that it was more than the crucifixion that was necessary for our salvation. (For a compelling theory as to what the phrase does refer to, the book The Fourth Cup by Scott Hahn is recommended reading.)

[2] Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, David Currie, pp. 47-48

[3] It is interesting that Christ uses the present tense ("is poured out") in connection with the chalice during the Last Supper. This is strange if the Last Supper was simply symbolic. But, on the other hand, insofar as the Mass is a participation in the sacrifice of Calvary, then it makes much more sense.

[4] See https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-sacrifice-of-the-mass

In this piece, I have restricted myself to looking at the Scriptural aspects of the question. However, I would strongly encourage looking at what the early Christians taught. That they universally understood the Mass to be a sacrifice tells us that such was taught by the Apostles.