As Catholics we know and believe as a certain and unshakable truth that the Mass is a sacrifice. Not, of course, that each Mass is a separate sacrifice or that the Mass is a sacrifice other than the one which Christ offered once for all on the Cross; rather, the sacrifice of the Mass is one with that perfect sacrifice of Christ’s flesh, which he offered to his eternal Father.
With utmost clarity, Trent taught that the Mass is a sacrifice, against the protestant heresy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is truly the Catechism of Vatican II, likewise insists that the Mass is a sacrifice and one with the Sacrifice of Calvary.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that many people (and even some Catholics) deny this truth. Either through direct rejection of this doctrine (as in the case of heretics) or through an implicit and indirect rejection manifested by external actions during the Liturgy (as in the case of countless Catholics and even some priests), many people deny that the Mass is a true sacrifice.
However, whatever is at the root of this denial, the problem could perhaps be remedied (at least to a great extent) if more of the faithful knew and understood not merely that the Mass is a sacrifice, but also howthe Mass is a sacrifice. For, although a good number of Catholics believe in the sacrificial nature of the Mass, very few indeed are able to explain what makes the Mass to be one with the Cross. Moreover, I would submit that certain prominent ways of understanding the Real Presence (especially among devout Catholics) have led to a serious confusion which has ultimately obscured the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist.
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