Go deeper, for parents
The Mass as a sacrifice
How the Mass makes the Cross present without repeating it.
What your child reads
The gift Jesus made of himself on the Cross becomes present right here on the altar.
From The gifts are brought up, The Consecration, Mystery of Faith and the Great Amen
What the Church teaches
The Eucharist is “the memorial of Christ’s Passover, the making present and the sacramental offering of his unique sacrifice” (CCC 1362). It “re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross” (CCC 1366). Teaching
A memorial is more than remembering
In the Bible a memorial “is not merely the recollection of past events”: every time Israel celebrates Passover, the Exodus is “made present to the memory of believers” (CCC 1363). So at Mass “the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present” (CCC 1364). Teaching
One sacrifice, not a new one
“The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different” (CCC 1367). Jesus offered himself “once for all” (Hebrews 7:27). The Mass doesn’t add to the Cross or repeat it: there the offering was bloody, at Mass it is “unbloody” (CCC 1367). Teaching
We offer ourselves too
“The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church”: our “praise, sufferings, prayer, and work” are joined to Christ’s offering (CCC 1368). Our work, family life and even hardships “become spiritual sacrifices”, offered at Mass “along with the body of the Lord” (CCC 901). The Church wants the faithful “not only [to] offer this spotless Victim but also learn to offer themselves” (GIRM 79f). Teaching
For the living and the dead
The Mass is offered for the whole Church, including “the faithful departed who ‘have died in Christ but are not yet wholly purified’” (CCC 1371). Teaching
Sacrifice and banquet
The Mass is “at the same time, and inseparably” the sacrificial memorial and “the sacred banquet of communion” (CCC 1382). Neither half is the whole story. Teaching
Questions children ask
- Is Jesus killed again at every Mass?
- No. He died once for all (Hebrews 7:27). The one sacrifice is made present, in an unbloody way (CCC 1366–1367).
- Why call it a sacrifice if nobody dies?
- Because it is the very same offering as the Cross, made present (CCC 1367). Even the word “Host” comes from the Latin for a sacrifice (Catholic Encyclopedia).
Words to avoid
“Jesus dies again” or “re-sacrificing Jesus”; “just a reminder”; “only a meal”.