It perfectly captures the most extraordinary event in all of history: Christ’s sacrifice of Calvary. An endless, continual sacrifice that transcends time and space itself, blending the supernatural world with the natural world.
When we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s Sacrifice of the Cross is renewed, and we become present to that very same timeless sacrifice which occurred 2,000 years ago.
Through the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist by the miraculous process of transubstantiation, Christ offers himself for humankind in the same way he offered himself on the Cross as a Spotless Victim, Pure Victim and Holy Victim.
Just as though the Virgin Mary, the beloved disciple St. John, St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Mary of Clopas stood by the Cross of Jesus 2,000 years ago to witness the extraordinary moment where Christ conquered death by sacrificing Himself once and for all.
During the consecration of the bread and wine in the Mass, the entire congregation also become spiritually present at the foot of the Cross on Calvary.
Although not visible to us, according to Christian tradition, from the moment of the consecration, heaven opens, and a vast multitude of Angels, saints and the faithful departed are also present during the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar to adore Christ as the Sacrificial Lamb.
St. John Chrysostom said, “When Mass is being celebrated, the sanctuary is filled with countless angels who adore the divine victim immolated on the altar.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1085) states:
“In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. During his earthly life, Jesus announced his Paschal mystery by his teaching and anticipated it by his actions.
“When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father ‘once for all.’
“His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past.
“The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is – all that he did and suffered for all men – participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.”
By partaking in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are invited to receive many extraordinary and efficacious graces and blessings.
St. Jerome, a Doctor of the Church said, “Without doubt, the Lord grants all favors which are asked of Him in Mass, provided they be fitting for us; and, which is a matter of great wonder, often He also grants that also which is not demanded of Him, if we, on our part, put no obstacle in the way.”
