Only ordained priests and bishops are called to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice to the Father, with Christ, in the Holy Spirit, for the living and the dead, and for the Salvation of all. Christ commanded His Apostles to celebrate this sacrifice when He said, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). This is a sacred task: to act …

The Mass is the one sacrifice of Christ because His one sacrifice on the Cross is made present to men in every celebration of Mass.

The Mass is both a sacrifice and a sacred meal because it is an unbloody representation of the sacrifice of the Cross; in application of its sacred power, the Lord is immolated in the Sacrifice of the Mass. When the words of consecration are said, this immolation (sacrifice of Christ) becomes present in a sacramental form under the appearances of …

Lay people participate in the Mass by the reception of Holy Communion, and by fully exercising their status as members of the priesthood of the faithful. For example, they offer the Victim, Jesus Christ, and themselves, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him.

The Holy Mass is offered to give adoration and glory to God the Father, to give praise and thanks for Christ’s immeasurable love for us, to intercede for those in need, and to obtain forgiveness of sins and the remission of the punishment for sins.

The two principal parts of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are: (1) the Liturgy of the Word and (2) the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Word includes the Scripture readings together with the homily, the Profession of Faith, and the Prayer of the Faithful. The Liturgy of the Eucharist has three stages: (1) the Offertory rite; …

The most important form of all Christian liturgy is the Mass. Within the setting of a Jewish Passover meal, the Lord instituted the Eucharistic sacrificial meal of the New Covenant. It was from this rite that the New Testament liturgy was born. The Passover meal was a ritual. It called for certain foods, including bread and wine, as well as …

The liturgy is seen as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. It involves the presentation of man’s sanctification under the guise of signs which can be perceived by the senses, and its accomplishment in ways appropriate to each of these signs. In the liturgy, full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that …

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not only a ritual which reminds us of the sacrifice of Calvary, but through the ministry of ordained priests, Christ continues, until the end of time, His sacrifice of the Cross in an unbloody manner. The Holy Mass is the sacrifice by which the Church not only remembers Jesus Christ, but really brings …

Our Lord Jesus Himself, true God and true man, is really and substantially present, in a mysterious way, under the appearances of bread and wine. After the priest speaks the words of consecration, the appearances of bread and wine remain, meaning that bread and wine appear to be there but are not really there substantially. At the Last Supper, when …