Last year I wrote an eight-part series for my parish about the Catholic Mass. For the Catholics in my audience, or anyone who wants to know more about why Catholics do what they do, these articles and videos are a great resource!
The first video, Why the Mass, explains the reason behind why Catholics celebrate Mass in the first place.
When we think about Catholic worship, the Mass is the first thing that comes to mind. But many of us show up at Mass every Sunday without thinking much about why we worship God the way we do.
In Luke 22:19, at the Last Supper, Jesus tells the Apostles to “do this in remembrance of me”. The Last Supper was the first Mass, and we’ve been doing it ever since. One of the earliest Christian writings, the Didache, written somewhere around AD 50, said “On the Lord’s Day, when you have been gathered together, break bread and celebrate the Eucharist.”
By about the 4th century, the form of the Mass developed into essentially the same form that was used until the time of the Second Vatican Council when the current Ordinary form of the Mass was developed. When we celebrate the Mass we are connected to our Christian ancestors who have worshiped in nearly the same way for 2,000 years.
The primary reason we celebrate the Mass is because it is a sacrifice that we offer in Thanksgiving to God. It is properly called “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass”.
How is it a sacrifice? Sacrifice has been a basic element of worship for millennia. The Jewish people expressed thanksgiving, atonement, and praise to God through animal sacrifice. This earlier form of sacrifice was completed and surpassed by Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.
At the Mass, Jesus’ sacrifice transcends time and is made present for us under the appearance of bread and wine miraculously transformed by the Holy Spirit, through the priest, into the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus is not sacrificed again at Mass, but that same once-for-all sacrifice is made present for us today. The Mass is much more than a simple remembrance of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for us. He is truly present.
The Mass is also a communal form of worship. By gathering together, we live a Christian community that supports one another in the hard times and celebrates each other’s joys. It is important to remember, though, that the communal meal symbolism of the Mass does not outweigh or overshadow the sacrificial aspect of the Mass.
The Mass is a sacred encounter with the Risen Christ, made sacramentally present to us. At Mass, Catholics are united with Christ and with one another, nourished spiritually, and strengthened. If you are interested in going deeper into the history and meaning of the Mass, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1322-1347. Scott Hahn’s book The Lamb’s Supper is also an excellent resource. You will be amazed by how much of the Mass is straight out of the Bible.
The other videos in the series:
#2 – Why Churches Look Like They Do
#3 – The Structure of the Mass