The Unbloody Sacrifice of the Altar

Article I—The Truth and Reality of the Eucharistic Sacrifice

11. The New Covenant of Grace Requires a Perpetual Sacrifice—And That the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ

1. The offering of the bloody Sacrifice of the Cross constitutes the conclusion and crowning of the earthly, as well as the foundation of the heavenly, activity and efficacy of Christ for the salvation of mankind. — In the Sacrifice of the Cross all sacrifices prior to the coming of Christ have their fulfilment and by means of it have attained their end. “On the Cross there was but one sacrifice (hostia singularis) offered to God for the redemption of the world, and the death of Christ, the true sacrificial Lamb, announced so many centuries in advance, placed the children of promise in the liberty of faith. Then also was the New Covenant sealed, and the heirs of the eternal kingdom were inscribed with the blood of Christ. Then was evidently effected the transition from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from the many legal sacrifices to the one Sacrifice (a multis sacrificiis ad unam hostiam), in such a manner that, when the Lord gave up His spirit, the mystical veil which concealed the innermost part of the Temple and its holy mystery from view, was suddenly and violently rent in twain from top to bottom. Then truth abolished the figures (figuras veritas auferebat), and the prophecies became superfluous after their fulfilment.”¹1St. Leo, The Seventeenth Discourse on the Lord’s Passion. The tearing asunder of the veil before the entrance to the Holy of Holies of the Old Dispensation was a sign that the Old Covenant ceased when the New and eternal Covenant of grace had been instituted in the blood of Christ. With the ending of the Old Covenant, the ancient sacrifices also ceased, because they had become useless.²2Quoniam veritate superveniente cessat umbra, et figura praenuntians sortitur finem intentum, quo habito, cessare debet ejus usus et actus: hinc est, quod gratia superveniente, vetera sacramenta et signa impleta sunt pariter et sublata (S. Bonav. Brevil. P. 6, c. 2). For when the reality appears, the shadow vanishes; at the rising of the sun, night disappears. Umbram fugat veritas—Noctem lux eliminat. — The Sacrifice of the Cross was a transient act, and as such it was accomplished but once, in one place—upon Golgotha—at a stated time—on that memorable and first Good Friday. Only a few persons stood at the foot of the Cross and assisted at this most affecting sacrificial drama; for all others the Sacrifice of the Cross is an historical fact: a thing of long ago and of the past. — Now was there to be no further sacrifice after the death of Christ? Was Christendom to be without a perpetual sacrifice? Was Christ, the author and finisher of faith (Heb. 12, 2), not to bequeath to His beloved Church a permanent sacrifice as a heritage? To say that Christ left the religion He founded without a perpetual sacrifice, is an assertion which of itself appears improbable and will later on be proved utterly false. But before we give proofs from the written and traditional word of God, from which it is as clear as the noon-day sun that the Catholic Church possesses in the celebration of the Eucharist a permanent sacrifice, we will prove how exceedingly proper, yea, how necessary, in a certain sense, for the Christian religion and Church is a perpetual sacrifice, and that precisely the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ.

a) The offering of sacrifices for the purpose of divine worship, if not of absolute necessity, is, nevertheless, in the highest degree in accordance with human nature and the natural law. Man, being composed of body and soul, cannot express his interior religious life by anything better, cannot give it more powerful and emphatical proof than by sacrifice. Grace does not destroy nature, but improves and sanctifies, ennobles and transforms it; hence man requires, even in his condition as a child of God and in the kingdom of grace, namely, in Christianity, a visible sacrifice in order to comply with his religious obligations in a manner most consonant with his nature. “Human nature,” as the Church says, “requires a visible sacrifice;” hence God, whose providence arranges all things with so much power and gentleness, would assuredly not leave Christians without a permanent sacrifice which so greatly accords with the inmost wants of a religious heart.

b) Since sacrifice is so well suited to human nature, it is always and everywhere found recorded in history. In the Old Dispensation sacrifices constituted the essence and centre of the entire service. Hence the New Covenant cannot be without sacrifice, since it is the fulfilment and completion of the Old. Now, if the Old Law, which was transient, was invested with so much glory, how much more must the New Law, which is to remain forever, be glorious, that is, endowed and distinguished among other things by a p. 74corresponding sacrificial worship.³3Si enim, quod evacuatur, per gloriam est, multo magis, quod manet, in gloria est (2 Cor. 3, 11). — In the Old Law there were daily not only bloody, but unbloody sacrifices also. Both kinds were figures of the New Law. Now, as the bloody sacrifices found their fulfilment in the death of Christ on the Cross, in like manner can the figures of the unbloody sacrifices, daily offered, find their realization alone in the fact that in the New Law there exists a perpetual unbloody sacrifice.⁴4In promptu est, sacrificia incruenta non minus ac sacrificia cruenta imaginem gerere novi Testamenti; sacrificia nempe cruenta praesignabant cruentam Christi oblationem in cruce, incruenta vero sacrificium incruentum celebrationis eucharisticae, et ideo sane sacrificia tum cruenta tum incruenta in lege dicta sunt sancta sanctorum (Lambrecht, De ss. Missae sacrif., P. 1, cap. 4, 5). — In the Old Testament there were sacrifices which prefigured to the Israelites the future Sacrifice of Redemption, placing it before their eyes, thus becoming to them a means of gathering in advance the fruits of the tree of the Cross: hence it is highly proper that the New Law also should have a sacrifice, whose object it is to represent to all generations the Sacrifice of the Cross, accomplished once for all, and evermore to apply to them its graces. — Consequently, we may draw the conclusion that by the New Law Christ did not simply abolish the imperfect sacrificial worship of the Old Law, but changed it into one that was more perfect.

c) The religion instituted by Christ is most perfect and most complete, for it possesses the plenitude of divine truth and grace. In Christianity supernatural revelation has found its consummation, so that a richer and more copious outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not to be expected here below. The Church of Christ is placed in the middle, between the figurative shadow of the Old Law and the final completion of the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Old Dispensation was the preparation and the breaking of the ground for Christianity; and Christianity forms the direct entrance and vestibule leading to the revealed and beatific vision of the eternal truth and beauty to come. — But the perfection of religion necessarily demands a perfect divine worship, that is, the offering of sacrifice; for sacrifice is the chief and the most excellent act of religion. If the Christian religion had not a perpetual sacrifice, it would not have a perfect divine worship and it would not be complete in every respect; but it would in an essential point be incomplete and insufficient; but this is inadmissible. Since the Christian religion is the most perfect, it must possess the most excellent and the most sublime and worthy form of worship, namely, the worship of sacrifice. Where there is no sacrifice, there is no priesthood and no altar: what would Christianity be without sacrifice, priest and altar?⁵5Cum tres intentiones et praecipui actus sint cultus divini ac verae religionis, videlicet honorificentia Dei, impetratio veniarum et adeptio gratiarum, multum deesset cultui Dei, si durante tanta transgressione ac culpa, desit advocatus et sacerdos, ad impetrandum cunctis veniam ac gratiam efficax, utpote Christus (Dion. Carthus., De sacr. altar., art. 10).

d) Christianity is founded on and takes its root in the Sacrifice of the Cross. The holy Sacrifice is the source whence the New Law has emanated with its blessings and graces. As the New Law was instituted and confirmed by sacrifice, it must of necessity be sustained and maintained by a perpetual sacrifice; since the preservation of an object is equivalent to a continued creation, it is dependent upon the same cause as that of its creation. Hence it is not sufficient that the Christian religion and the Church should have as its foundation a sacrifice which was offered once; it must possess a sacrifice which is perpetually repeated as the fundamental support of its permanent existence.

2. The Sacrifice of the New Testament neither can nor may be independent of the Sacrifice of the Cross. From this sacrifice salvation flowed forth to mankind before and after Christ; it, therefore, constitutes the centre point to which all other sacrifices are referred. — The object of the perpetual Sacrifice of the New Covenant cannot be a means of acquiring for us additional merit or of rendering fresh satisfaction for the sins of men, but its sole purpose can be no other than to apply individually to men in need of help and salvation the satisfaction and merits of the Sacrifice of the Cross. — Sacrifice forms the centre point of exterior divine worship and with regard to its perfection stands on a par with it. Now since the New Law so immeasurably excels the Old Law, the former must possess a sacrifice incomparably more noble and more efficacious than did the latter.⁶6Sacrificium est primarium religionis munus vel potius complementum. Itaque decebat, ut excellentissima religio, qua nulla alia perfectior aut sublimior esse potest (quae quidem naturae humanae sit accommodata) nobilissimum haberet sacrificium, quale est sacrificium Eucharistiae, a quo ipsa religio praecipuam suam excellentiam habet (Lessius, De perfect. divin., l. 12, c. 14, n. 99). The difference between the two Testaments must be impressed principally on their respective sacrifices. In the Old Law the exterior and the carnal, the spirit of fear and of bondage prevailed; therefore, the bloody sacrifices offered up by unregenerate man with the consciousness and acknowledgment of unatoned guilt were altogether appropriate;—they appealed to an irritated and avenging God, who punishes sin with death. But for the New Testament is suited not a bloody, but an unbloody sacrifice; for in the New Law the interior and spiritual prevails, we have there the grace and joy of redemption, the spirit of love and of divine adoption.⁷7Dicitur lex mosaica differre ab evangelica, quia illa figurae, haec veritatis (Hebr. 10, 1); illa lex poenae, haec gratiae (Rom. 5, 20–21); illa litteralis, ista spiritualis (2 Cor. 3, 6); illa occidens, ista vivificans; illa timoris, ista amoris; illa servitutis, ista libertatis (Gal. 4, 31); illa oneris et ista facilitatis (S. Bonavent. Brevil. P. 5, c. 9). — This unbloody sacrifice must correspond to the perfection of the New Law, which possesses the unfathomable riches and treasures of the grace of Christ, that is, the unbloody Sacrifice must not only represent figuratively the Sacrifice of the Cross, as did the Sacrifices of the Old Testament, but it must really and truly show forth and render present, the Sacrifice once accomplished upon Calvary. Now such a presenting anew of the Sacrifice of the Cross becomes possible only when the offering upon our altars is in no way inferior to the Sacrificial Victim immolated on the Cross—that is, only when in the sanctuary of the Church the Body and Blood of Christ are continually and mystically offered.⁸8Congruebat, ut (homines quotidianis peccatis implicati) haberent oblationem exteriorem; sed Dominus unica oblatione offerendo se omnes alias oblationes evacuaverat: ergo si non debuit reficere (to restore again), quod destruxerat, debuit dare nobis illam eandem, quam obtulit, et non aliam. Ergo sicut corpus Christi verum fuit oblatum in cruce, ita sacrificatur in altari (S. Bonav. 4, dist. 10, p. 1, art. 1, q. 1). — Quoniam tempus gratiae revelatae requirit, quod jam non offeratur oblatio qualiscumque, sed pura, placida et plenaria; et nulla alia oblatio est talis, nisi illa, quae in cruce fuit oblata, scilicet Christi corpus et sanguis; hinc est, quod necessario oportet in hoc sacramento (Eucharistiae) non tantum figurative, verum etiam veraciter corpus Christi tamquam oblationem huic tempori debitam contineri (S. Bonavent., Brevil. P. 6, c. 9). — Cf. Alger., De sacrament., l. 2, c. 3.

3. But how can Christ, who has risen from the dead, who dieth now no more and over whom death shall have no more dominion (Rom. 6, 9), be the gift offered and sacrificed? To all appearances the immortality and glory of our Saviour, who has ascended into heaven, seem insuperable obstacles to a sacrifice: still what is impossible to man is possible with God. His infinite wisdom discovered never suspected means and the way to accomplish what to men was apparently impossible. By virtue of manifold and dazzling miracles our Lord conceals under the appearance of bread and wine upon the altar the grandeur of His glorified humanity, uniting in His adorable person life and death, uniting the condition of a Victim in sacrifice with the possession of heavenly glory in His adorable person.⁹9Sacrificium Missae quotidie pro vestra reconciliatione, purificatione et salute in ecclesia Deo Patri offertur: nempe tam ardentissime vos dilexi, tam liberalissimum ad vos animum habui, quod non suffecit mihi semel vobis conferri et semel pro vobis offerri, sed in fonte et abysso infinitae sapientiae meae hunc mysterialissimum modum inveni ac statui, quo vobis indesinenter adsim et conferar, pro vobisque offerar et ita a vobis manducer, modo vobis tolerabili ac proportionato sub tegumentis panis et vini, non in specie carnis et sanguinis, nec in quantitate propria, ut in ea subsisto, quamvis simul cum ea accipiar (Dion. Carthus., De sacr. alt., art. 7).

Since “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”—and since “the Lord was seen upon earth and conversed with men” (John 1, 14; Bar. 3, 38), His dwelling among us and His association with us have never ceased. When He ascended into heaven, He would not leave us orphans, He would not deprive us of the joy and consolation of His bodily presence (which is of course perceptible only by the light of faith, because His bodily presence with us is sacramental). He made good His parting words in a marvellous manner: “Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Matt. 28, 20). — Jesus wishes to remain in our p. 77midst as a perpetual sacrifice. He is the Head of the triumphant Church above, as well as of the Church militant here below: as He is in heaven, so likewise does He desire to be and abide here upon earth, even in His holy humanity. His presence accords perfectly with the state of the heavenly, as well as with that of the earthly Church here below: therefore, is He bodily present in a different way after the condition of each: in heaven He sitteth at the right hand of God, full of majesty and of glory; upon earth, on the contrary, He abides under the appearances of bread and wine, as a Sacrificial Victim in lowliness and obscurity. So long as the Church continues here below combating and suffering, in labor and tribulation, will Christ abide as a perpetual sacrifice with her; for He Himself will ever be the bright model and inexhaustible source of that life of sacrifice which the Church militant, as a true and worthy Spouse of the Crucified, leads upon earth and will lead unto the heavenly nuptial-day, whose happy dawn will usher in endless joy, crown us with victory and end all suffering. Amid the combat of mortal life, we will, full of consolation and confidence, have recourse to the holy altar, to implore there strength, courage and victory from the Divine Victim.¹⁰10Magna fiducia adeundus est magnus Pontifex noster, Jesus Filius Dei, qui in aris nostris tamquam in throno gratiae sedet (Hebr. 4, 14–16). Regnat quidem apud coelitos, ex quo devicta morte coelos penetravit, Rex regum et Dominus dominantium; quotidie tamen velut hostia pacifica, quae imis summa reconciliet, ad instaurandum perficiendumque nostrae redemptionis opus offertur. Quae quidem oblatio inexhaustos in nostrum usum et commodum divinae misericordiae thesauros in se continet neque praesentis tantum vitae limitibus circumscribitur ejus fructus et utilitas, sed futuram etiam, alterumque, qui humanis oculis cerni non potest, mundum complectitur (Coll. Lac. 3, 493).

12. The Prophecies of the Old Law Prove the Truth and Reality of the Eucharistic Sacrifice

Already in the Old Law God announced and predicted by the mouth of His Prophets the unbloody Sacrifice of the New Law.

1. In the first place, we have the figurative priesthood and sacrifice of Melchisedech. The kingly priest Melchisedech appears suddenly in the pages of Holy Writ as a mysterious personage and as suddenly disappears; God conferred upon him the honor of prefiguring the priesthood and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, inasmuch as both are perpetuated in the New Covenant. — Christ is called “a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech” (Ps. 109, 4). These words signify that Melchisedech, by the order of his priesthood, that is, by the nature of his sacrifice and by the manner of his offering sacrifice, prefigured the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ. The eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ must, therefore, correspond to the figurative priesthood of Melchisedech and be similar to it in the nature and manner of its sacrifice. In other words, Jesus Christ must at all times offer His sacrifice in the same manner as Melchisedech offered his. The peculiar characteristic of the sacrifice, and, consequently, of the priesthood of Melchisedech consisted merely in this, that he offered bread and wine to the Most High (Gen. 14, 18). Accordingly Christ, as the true and eternal Melchisedech, must also offer a similar sacrifice, and that not merely once, but continually throughout all ages until the consummation of time. But this can be the case only if the daily celebration of the Eucharist under the species of bread and wine is a true and real sacrifice. Christ is “eternal priest according to the order of Melchisedech” only in so far as He, by changing the elements of bread and wine into His body and blood, offers perpetually to the Most High an unbloody sacrifice. — Thus the human figure Melchisedech harmonizes most beautifully with the Divine Original Jesus Christ, saving that the Sacrifice of Christ must be infinitely more perfect than was that of Melchisedech. In fact, Christ offers upon the altar not ordinary bread nor earthly wine, but “the holy bread of eternal life and the chalice of everlasting salvation.” “Who,” exclaims St. Cyprian, “is more a priest of God, the Most High, than our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered to God the Father a sacrifice, and offered the same as Melchisedech, that is bread and wine—His body, namely, and His blood.”¹¹11Ep. ad Caecilium, c. 3. — Sacerdos in aeternum Christus Dominus secundum ordinem Melchisedech, panem et vinum obtulit (Antiph. in festo Corpor. Christi).

2. On the eternal priesthood and sacrifice of Christ, according to the order of Melchisedech, a marvellously clear light is cast by the grand prophecy of Malachias—the last of the Prophets:—“I have no pleasure in you—saith the Lord of hosts—and I will not receive a gift of your hand. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, My name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is offered to My name a clean oblation” (Malachias 1, 10–11).¹²12Non est mihi voluntas in vobis, dicit Dominus exercituum, et munus non suscipiam de manu vestra. Ab ortu enim usque ad occasum magnum est nomen meum in gentibus, et in omni loco sacrificatur et offertur nomini meo oblatio munda, quia magnum est nomen meum in gentibus, dicit Dominus exercituum (Malach. 1, 10–11). The words magnum est, sacrificatur et offertur do not relate to the present, but to the future, and to the Christian future, as is evidenced by the context; the Prophets frequently use in their prophecies the present tense instead of the future, because they were accustomed to behold as present the event which, according to time and distance, was to happen in the future. The expressions ab ortu solis usque ad occasum, in omni loco, in gentibus (hebr. gojim—not Israelites, but pagan nations), designate the universality or Catholicity of the promised worship and sacrifice, such a universality as is found only in the Christian Church.

The Fathers unanimously teach and the Church herself has formally declared, that the Holy Mass is that “clean oblation”, which cannot be sullied by any unworthiness or depravity in him who offers it, and of which the Lord predicted by Malachias, that it would be offered in all places to His name, which would be great among the nations.”¹³13Counc. of Trent, Session 22, Chap. 1. — In the above prophecy (verse the tenth) the annulment and the rejection of the sacrificial worship of the Old Law are clearly and emphatically expressed; then, in verse the eleventh a new worship is foretold and therewith an oblation that is new, unbloody, ineffably pure and to be partaken of, is promised to be offered in all places. By this nothing else can be meant than the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the Catholic Church.

a) The severe and bitter complaint of the Lord: “I have no pleasure in you,” refers to the priests of Levi, who after their return from exile, “as despisers of the divine name,” were very careless and irreverent in offering sacrifices; for God complains by the Prophet, that, contrary to the Law, they offered to Him what was “lame and blind and sick.” The Lord, therefore, expresses His displeasure at the defective and unclean sacrifices of the priests of Levi; taking an opportunity, at the same time, to announce the total cessation of the sacrificial worship of the Old Testament in these words: “From your hands (that is, from the hands of the priests of Levi) I shall accept no more sacrifices.” The true reason why the Lord rejects the Mosaic sacrifices, is not because they were carelessly offered, but because of the fact that an entirely different and new sacrifice was to be offered to Him from the rising to the setting of the sun. “He taketh away the first (the sacrifice of the Old Covenant), that He may establish that which followeth (the Sacrifice of the New Covenant)” (Heb. 10, 9).

b) The ancient sacrificial worship is to be annulled and replaced by a new and better worship. By the worship promised “the name of God will be made great,” that is, worshipped and glorified, and that not only in Jerusalem, but “from the rising to the setting of the sun,” namely, throughout the entire world; not merely among the Jews, but “among the nations” of the whole earth: in short—“in all places.” In contrast to the Mosaic worship, which was confined to one nation and to one place, the new worship is represented as being spread among all nations and throughout the whole world, that is, a true Catholic worship, which is found nowhere but in the Church of Jesus Christ. Hence only Christian worship could have been meant; for the prophecy refers to that time when Christ, as the Prince of Peace, would “rule from sea to sea and from river unto the ends of the earth”—and when “all kings of the earth shall adore Him, when all nations shall serve Him” (Ps. 71, 8, 11).

c) This new, this Christian worship is more minutely characterized as being true and peculiar divine worship. A true and real Sacrifice is promised for the New Dispensation, to replace those offerings which the Lord will no longer accept from the hands of the priests of Aaron, and which, nevertheless, were also real sacrifices. “Not that sacrifice in itself was rejected; for sacrifices were to be found among the Jewish nation and in the Church—but only the manner of offering sacrifice has been changed” (non genus p. 80oblationum reprobatum est . . . . sed species immutata est tantum).¹⁴14S. Iren. Adv. haeres., l. 4, c. 18, n. 2. The words promising the new Sacrifice are as follows: “In all places there shall be offered a clean oblation (mincha purum) to My name.”¹⁵15Et in omni loco sacrificatur et offertur nomini meo oblatio munda. — The original text is emphatic; translated literally it reads thus: Et in omni loco suffimentum oblatum nomini meo, et (incruentum) sacrificium mundum. The words of the Vulgate sacrificatur et offertur are in the Hebrew muctar muggasch = sacrificium (incruentum) oblatum. Muctar is the participle of hofal and the meaning of it is rendered in the sense of sacrificium in genere or rather sacrificium incruentum; for according to its etymology it signifies the sacrificium incensi thuris vel thymiana = incense-offering. The other participle muggasch = oblatum expresses the presentation. An explanatory addition to the preceding forms the two concluding words oblatio munda, which in the original text are mincha tehora = (incruentum) sacrificium mundum. The word mincha has in the Old Testament one hundred and fifty-four times the specific signification of unbloody sacrifice. All three words—muctar, muggasch, mincha—occurring in the original text are often found employed in the liturgical language of the Old Testament, but always only to signify real sacrifice, never to signify interior acts of worship, or such exterior oblations as are not real sacrifices. The sense of the entire text is therefore: Et in omni loco offertur nomini meo sacrificium, mincha (= incruentum sacrificium) mundum (Cf. Franzelin, De sacrif. th. 10. — Lambrecht, De ss. Miss. sacrif., Pars 2, cap. 3, 2. — Corluy S. J., Spicilegium dogmatico-biblicum, 2, 398–408. — Knabenbauer S. J., Commentar. in Prophet. minor. 2, 430–445). These words can by no means be figuratively understood of an oblation not essentially and really a sacrifice, as that of prayer or any other good work; for the words clearly and emphatically express a true and real sacrifice, whether we consider the context or the words in themselves. — And here the clean oblation of the New Dispensation is placed in contrast to the unclean sacrifices of the Old Dispensation; but the contrast is complete only when there is question in both cases of sacrifice in its strict sense. — Each word is so chosen as to designate, not only a real sacrifice in general, but more particularly and strictly an unbloody sacrifice. This is especially the case with the word mincha, which in the holy (liturgical) mode of speech is invariably employed to indicate the unbloody sacrifices of eatables. — With the prophecy of this sacrifice is connected the announcement of a new and special priesthood, destined to offer the new sacrifice; and with regard to their priestly office the new ministers of the altar are designated as Levites by the same Prophet Malachias (3, 3–4). Since the new sacrifice is to be celebrated everywhere, its priests, unlike the Jewish priesthood, do not belong to one tribe or people, but are chosen by the Lord from all nations, and by supernatural consecration are fitted and sanctified for their office. After the Prophet Isaias (66, 18–21) had described the conversion of the pagan nations and their entrance into the Christian Church, he continues: “And I will take of them to be priests and Levites, saith the Lord”—Et assumam ex eis in sacerdotes et levitas, dicit Dominus.

d) From the prophecy just quoted and explained it is now no longer difficult to prove the truth of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The Prophet announces that there shall be offered in the Christian era throughout the whole earth an unbloody but real sacrifice. — This can mean nothing else than the celebration of the Eucharist: were it not a real sacrifice, then we should be forced to admit that the divine prediction has not been accomplished,—a conclusion that is inadmissible. — The words of the Prophet can not be applied to the Sacrifice of the Cross; for it was offered only in one place and then in a bloody manner, while the sacrifice foretold is an unbloody one and offered everywhere. On the other hand, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and in it alone, are found united all those marks by which the Prophet characterizes the promised Sacrifice of the New Law. The new sacrifice is an unbloody oblation of food: is not the Eucharist such, in a marvellous sense? — The sacrifice announced is universal, that is, offered in all places and among all nations: the Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated wherever the sun shines and the Catholic Church exists—in the Old and in the New World, in the South and at the North, on the hills and in the plains, in the sumptuous cathedral and in the poor village church. — The new sacrifice magnifies the name of the Lord, that is, it contains in itself the most worthy adoration and glorification of the Divine Majesty: it is indeed upon the altar that “all honor and glory” is rendered unto the Holy Trinity. — Finally, the sacrifice in prospective vision is praised, with particular emphasis, as perpetual and perfectly clean: where is this prerogative found in a higher degree than in the Eucharistic Sacrifice? This sacrifice appears not only as exceedingly clean in its exterior celebration and offering, but it is in its very nature and essence so absolutely spotless as to be untarnishable even by the unworthy dispositions of those who offer it; for Christ, the Holy of Holies, is not only the Sacrificial Victim, but also preeminently the Sacrificer at the altar.¹⁶16Sacrificium consistit partim in actione offerendi, partim in re oblata. Ergo ut sit omnino purum et mundum, non satis est, quod res oblata sit pura, sed praeterea requiritur, ut persona offerens sit pura: quia alioquin actio offerendi non esset omnino pura. Huc refertur illud Malach. 1, 11: “In omni loco sacrificatur et offertur nomini meo oblatio munda” non solum ex parte rei oblatae, sed etiam ex parte principalis offerentis, non tamen ex parte aliorum hominum offerentium (Becanus, Summa theolog. de Sacrific. Miss. p. 1, quaest. 9).

3. Already the figurative sacrifice of bread and wine of Melchisedech, as well as the prophecy of Malachias, intimated that the perpetual Sacrifice of the New Dispensation would be a food oblation, and, consequently, that a sacrificial banquet would be connected therewith. This Eucharistic sacrificial repast is beautifully described and clearly announced in an exceedingly mysterious, venerable and affecting Psalm. We allude to Psalm 21. According to the testimony of Holy Scripture, of the Church and of the Fathers, this Psalm is Messianic; and furthermore that it is not only indirectly, but also directly and exclusively Messianic, is taught and clearly and most satisfactorily proven by almost all Catholic commentators. The Psalm contains a prophetic Gospel relative to the passion of the Lord, and admits of two divisions or parts; the first part, from verse first to the twenty-second, expresses sorrow, suffering and lament, and unfolds a painful picture of the Crucified Saviour; while the second part, from verse twenty-third to the thirty-second, presents in consoling and bright imagery the abundant fruits of sacrifice and benediction that flow from the passion of the Lord upon Christ Himself and upon those whom He has redeemed. In so far as the latter part of the Psalm refers to our subject, it reads thus:

These words find their full and true meaning only when applied to the Eucharistic Sacrifice and banquet. While the Lord on the Cross is immersed in the lowest depths of torment in body and soul, there gushes forth from His Heart that suffering and agonizing prayer of our Psalm. Then the dark clouds lift at once and disappear; the morn of the Resurrection dawns clear and brilliant upon His gaze; all the blessings and glorious results of His passion and death reveal themselves, the future bright and consoling, full of salvation and glory stretches out before Him. With this blessed perspective presenting itself to His view, the Lord utters the above verses of the Psalm, wherein He predicts a sacrifice and a sacrificial banquet, to which all the inhabitants of the earth are invited.

Verse 23. All, that have been redeemed by the Sacrifice of the Cross, are “brethren” of Christ and children of God; as such they constitute the great family of God, namely, the Church, which has been gathered from all nations. “In the midst of this Church” (in medio ecclesiae) Christ, the risen Saviour, abides mystically, perpetually, as the author and source of the joyful tidings that herald to the regenerated “brethren” of Christ the “name” of the triune God. In the Sanctuary of this Church the glorified Redeemer dwells and lives forevermore, His Eucharistic presence being there as an unfailing source of endless praise to the Almighty.

Verse 26. After this manner does the Lord promise to glorify His Father “with praises in the great assembly” of the Catholic Church (in ecclesia magna). The crown of this praise is to consist in this that He “would discharge in full His vows” (vota mea reddam),¹⁷17Vota—Offering of Vows, that is, peace-offerings made in thanksgiving in fulfilment of a promise made, in case the petition were granted, when the favor was implored of God. Along with the peace-offerings were joined banquet-offerings, to which widows and orphans, the poor and needy were invited. that is, that He would uninterruptedly offer a public vow—or thank-offering.¹⁸18Vota mea, i. e. sacrificium N. L., videlicet sacrificium corporis et sanguinis mei, reddam, i. e. per sacerdotes meos offerri faciam Domino in conspectu timentium eum, i. e. praesentibus atque cernentibus populis Christianis (Dion. Carthus. In Ps. 21, 26). By this offering is understood and meant the Eucharistic peace-offering offered “in presence of those who fear the Lord,” who worship His Divine Majesty by faith, love and devotion. Our Lord here announces that in grateful acknowledgment of His deliverance from suffering and death, He would continually offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is not only the eternal and unbloody continuation, but also the sweet fruit of the bitter Sacrifice of the Cross.¹⁹19Vota mea reddam in conspectu timentium eum: per vota intelligenda videntur hoc loco vota sacrificiorum et oblationum juxta illud Is. 19, 21: “Colent eum in hostiis et muneribus; vota vovebunt Domino et reddent.” Christus enim cum videret holocaustum mortis suae gratissimum Deo fuisse, videtur quodammodo promisisse, se holocaustum illud per ministros suos frequentissime oblaturum eo quo deceret modo, atque hoc est, quod nunc dicit: “Vota mea reddam in conspectu timentium eum” i. e. per ministros meos, sacerdotes novi Testamenti, assidue immolabo sacrificium Deo gratissimum, idque “in conspectu timentium”, i. e. colentium eum ac per hoc verorum fidelium (Bellarminus, In Ps. 21).

Verse 27. In connection with this Sacrifice there is spread a banquet—the Communion of the admirable Body and Blood of Christ. To partake of this food of God, to sit at this banquet of love, all indeed are invited; but among the attending guests, the p. 84honored and preferred are the “poor” in spirit, the humble and the lowly,—in short, all that have emptied their hearts and divested them of the love of the goods of this earth, and who, therefore, hunger and thirst after the imperishable food of heaven. These “poor in spirit will eat” at the table of the Lord and be “filled,” that is, they will be strengthened and consoled, be replenished with joy and be loaded with graces; refreshed and regaled with heavenly nourishment, “they will sing praise to the Lord whom they sought,” and of whose unspeakable sweetness they have tasted. Therefore, their hearts will live eternally; for whosoever eats of the living and life-giving bread of the Eucharist “will not die forever” (John 6).²⁰20Edent pauperes, i. e. humiles manducabunt sacramentum altaris, non solum sacramentaliter, sed etiam spiritualiter, et ideo saturabuntur, i. e. mentaliter impinguabuntur caritate, gratia, consolatione ac donis Spiritus Sancti, et laudabunt Dominum Jesum Christum, qui est in hoc sacramento dator ac donum, qui requirunt eum affectu, fide et opere sequendo vestigia ejus; vivent corda eorum spirituali vita in saeculum saeculi, i. e. sine fine. Nunc enim vivunt per fidem et caritatem, consummatoque cursu praesentis exilii vivent per contemplationem et gloriam. Vivent enim quoniam fontem vitae, sc. Christum, digne recipiunt (Joan. 6, 51 et 52). Dion. Carthus. in Ps. 21, 27.

Verse 28. Unto this sacrifice and banquet of grace not only is Israel summoned, but from “the ends of the earth” all peoples are thereunto invited. Aroused by the sound of Apostolic preaching, heathen nations, hitherto forgetful of God and estranged from Him, wandering about in error, like lost sheep, shall “be reminded”—shall be renewed in the faith of God and by penance “shall be converted” to God (reminiscentur et convertentur); the heathens, at one time “without grace,” but “now partakers of it” (1 Peter 2, 10) and belonging to the kingdom of God, will adore “the Lord in spirit and in truth.”

Verse 29. The Church of God, the kingdom of grace, which the Lord conquered by His blood, comprises all “nations” and embraces the ends of the earth; for “Christ hath conquered, Christ reigns, Christ governs” by reason of the Sacrifice of His life. Regnavit a ligno Deus.

Verse 30. Still, not only the poor, but also the rich, the great and the powerful of the earth (pingues terrae) are called to partake of this sacrificial banquet and to adore; yes, every mortal, whose lot it is to return into the “dust” of the earth, will “fall down” in profound reverence before the altar, upon which the majesty of the Eucharistic Redeemer is offered and hidden.

4. During the period of the Old Dispensation a mysterious obscurity hung over all such prophecies; but in the light of Christianity they are made plain. Who does not recognize their glorious fulfilment in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and Communion, which the Catholic Church celebrates in all places and at all times? These prophecies are full of consolation, for they guarantee the truth and divinity of our daily Sacrifice. “Not to themselves, but to you the Prophets have ministered” (1 Peter 1, 12), inasmuch as, urged on and enlightened by the Spirit of God, they foretold the salutary Sacrifice and the heavenly banquet of the Eucharist. How great our happiness and how great a grace for us to be able to behold and to enjoy in the bosom of the Church all these promised goods of the Lord! Those enlightened men of ancient times “not receiving the promises, beheld and saluted them from afar off” (Heb. 11, 13): we are in the possession and the enjoyment of all the treasures of Redemption. Hence these words addressed by the Lord to His Apostle are also applicable to us: “Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them” (Luke 10, 23–24).