The Institution of the Mass

What the Church teaches

Critics misunderstand the Mass. Jimmy Swaggart claimed Catholics believe Christ is sacrificed anew on the cross, and Loraine Boettner called the Mass "medieval superstition." Vatican II teaches that at the Last Supper Christ instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross until he comes, entrusting to the Church a memorial of his death and resurrection, a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity and a paschal banquet (Sacrosanctum Concilium 47).

"This is my body"

At the Last Supper Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and said, "This is my body" (Luke 22:19; Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; 1 Corinthians 11:24). The Greek estin, "is," usually means "is really." Some say Aramaic had no word for "represents," but Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman showed it has about three dozen. A figurative reading is ruled out by Paul (1 Corinthians 11:23-29) and by John 6, where "flesh" (sarx, John 6:54) means physical flesh and "eats" (trogon) means gnawing or chewing.

Re-presentation, not re-crucifixion

The Mass re-presents Calvary. Christ does not suffer or die again. As John A. O'Brien explains, on the cross Christ really shed his blood and died; in the Mass there is no real bloodshed or death, but the separate consecration of bread and wine signifies his death, offers him anew to God, and applies the fruits of the cross to souls. All the Mass's power comes from Calvary. Christ's death is once for all; in heaven and in the Mass he continues to offer himself to the Father "in an unbloody manner."

A telling omission

Boettner quotes 1 Corinthians 11:27-28 to show the bread remains bread, but leaves out the words that whoever eats unworthily "will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:27). To be guilty of someone's body and blood is to sin against the person, not a symbol. Paul adds that eating without discerning the body brings judgment, and many had become ill and died (1 Corinthians 11:29-30). We truly participate in Christ's body and blood (1 Corinthians 10:16).

After the manner of Melchizedek

Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest, offered bread and wine (Genesis 14:18), and Psalm 110 foretold that Christ would be a priest after his order, that is, his manner, offering bread and wine. Calvary was not under the form of bread and wine, so another sacrifice is needed: the Mass. Some say the Last Supper was sacrificial but not to be continued, which concedes it was a sacrifice. But Christ said, "Do this in memory of me" (Luke 22:19), which can be rendered "Offer this as my memorial sacrifice." Anamnesis, "remembrance," always occurs in a sacrificial context in the Protestant Bible, as in Numbers 10:10. The Eucharist is a memorial offering pleading Christ's merits.

How old is the doctrine?

Some say it began with Innocent III, who only insisted on an ancient doctrine being doubted in his day, or with Cyprian (d. 258). But Irenaeus taught it earlier, Clement of Rome in the first century spoke of bishops who "offered its sacrifices," and the Didache (about A.D. 70) tells Christians to confess their sins so their sacrifice may be pure. That is New Testament times, when the apostle John was still alive.

The "once for all" objection

Boettner argues that a bloodless sacrifice cannot remit sin, since without bloodshed there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22) and Christ's blood cleanses us (1 John 1:7). But Hebrews 9 contrasts the Old Covenant, in which Moses used blood again and again (Hebrews 9:19-21; see Exodus 24:6-8), with Christ, whose blood was shed once but is continually offered to the Father. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8): what he did is present to God, and God can make Calvary present at Mass. Each time we eat this bread and drink the cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). Christ offers himself not as a bleeding, dying victim but, having shed his blood once for all, as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).