Dear Catholic Exchange,
No longer is there daily sacrifice [i.e. the Sacrifice of the Mass] — we have a better covenant, a once for all sacrifice by Jesus. How do I answer this question when asked by a Protestant?
Ms. Hanlon
Dear Ms. Hanlon,
Peace in Christ!
Many Christians misunderstand the Book of Hebrews’ teaching regarding Jesus’ once-for-all Sacrifice and consequently the Church’s teaching on the Mass. I will attempt to address your question herein. I also suggest that you read the FAITH FACT 'An Ordinance Forever' — The Biblical Origins of the Mass.
In a nutshell, when Jesus entered the heavenly sanctuary to complete His Self-Offering, His Sacrifice culminated in everlasting glory because it was offered in timeless heaven; it is thus a perpetual offering. At Mass, we don’t re-crucify Christ; we re-present or make present His glorified offering at Mass. The Sacrifice of Calvary encompasses His suffering, death, Resurrection and Ascension, because it is only at the Ascension that Christ enters into the heavenly sanctuary, perfecting the Day of Atonement Sacrifice (Heb. 9:23-24). The suffering aspect of Christ’s Sacrifice clearly was finished on the Cross (cf. Jn. 19:30), but His Sacrifice considered as a whole was not.
We can make this claim precisely because Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary follows the pattern and fulfills the Old Covenant Day of Atonement sacrifices. There were two distinct aspects of the sacrifices of a bull and a goat on this special day. The sacrifices didn’t end when the victims were slaughtered in the holy place. Rather, the high priest had to enter the most holy place, i.e., within the veil (Lev. 16:12-15; cf. Ex. 26:33-35) to offer the slaughtered sacrificial victims to God, communing with Him via making contact with the mercy seat (Lev. 16:11-19). The Book of Hebrews clearly illustrates the same two-part pattern in the New Covenant. In fulfilling the Day of Atonement sacrifices, the Sacrifice of Calvary could not have begun and ended with the suffering and death of Jesus. Rather, Jesus had to enter the heavenly holy place and offer Himself to the Father (Heb. 9:23-28). In short, without His Ascension and associated Offering, there would be no fulfillment of the Day of Atonement sacrifices and no completion of the Sacrifice begun on Calvary.
Realizing that the Sacrifice of Calvary has two crucial aspects helps us better understand how the Mass can be re-offered or re-presented time and again. Because it culminates in glory in timeless heaven, Christ’s Sacrifice is necessarily a perpetual, ongoing Sacrifice. Again, the earthly, historical aspect (suffering, death, Resurrection) is indeed done and over with as events never to be repeated, i.e., lived out again a second, third, fourth time, etc. However, the heavenly, eternal aspect of His Sacrifice, which encompasses and completes what He did on the Cross — thus the image of the Lamb in heaven standing as though it were slain (Rev. 5:6, 11-14) — never ends! (cf. Heb. 8:3, 7:23-25). Therefore, we can speak of this heavenly Sacrifice as “Calvary completed,” for the Mass is not a re-crucifixion of Jesus but rather, again, a making present of His one, completed, yet everlasting Sacrifice.
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Again, because the Sacrifice culminates in heaven, it has a perpetual quality. Scripture affirms this because priests must have something to offer, given the nature and role of the priesthood. Indeed, Hebrews 8:3-4 says Jesus must have something to offer (present tense), and indeed He does — His Sacrifice that culminated in everlasting glory in the heavenly sanctuary. The perpetual, everlasting quality of this Sacrifice is affirmed by the author of Hebrews, because Christ holds his priesthood permanently, always living to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:23-25). Indeed, He is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:9-10). So, again, the Mass is not Calvary repeated, as if Christ were crucified again, but rather it is the re-presentation or making present of Calvary completed, a miraculous event in which heaven and earth intersect, in which Christ’s heavenly work is made present on earth according to the order of Melchizedek (bread and wine), for Catholic priests act in the person and power of Christ.
For further reading and explanation on this subject, I recommend The Lamb’s Supper by Scott Hahn, as well as Catholic for Reason III: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mass edited by Scott Hahn and Regis Flaherty.
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