What is the Mass?

The Catholic Mass is an hour-long service where Christ’s life on earth is reenacted right up to the point where He gave up His body and blood as a sacrifice. The Mass, therefore, is a ‘re-sacrifice’ of Christ performed repeatedly.

According to the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, the Mass is defined as follows:

The Mass is. . .the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated
(Paragraph 1382).

The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross. . .and because it applies its fruit. . . the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit. The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: The victim is one and the same. In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner
(Paragraph 1366, 1367)

When the doctrine and practice of the Mass are compared against the word of God, we can find severe fallacies and errors in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

• Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper as a memorial, not a sacrifice (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24).
• Jesus was never a “victim”, as the Roman Church purports, but He committed Himself to the cross as a sign of humble obedience to His Father (Philippians 2:8).
• When Jesus said to eat His flesh and drink His blood, His words were spiritual and not literal (John 6:63). Consuming blood was forbidden under Old Testament laws (Leviticus 17:10–14), and those who did so were cutoff. And so, Jesus would not have asked the Jews to break the law.
• The alleged change of bread and wine into flesh and blood is a “hoax miracle” because there is no change in its appearance, substance, and taste. Biblical miracles were real and observable.
• The Roman Church claims the Mass is a “bloodless sacrifice,” but a sacrifice without blood cannot atone for sins (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22).

Mass is considered more important than all other sacraments by the Catholic Church. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, there are 9 paragraphs devoted to the subject of ‘justification’ and 84 paragraphs devoted to the Mass.

Pope Benedict said, “The Mass is the sum and substance of our faith.”

John O’Brien, a Catholic priest, in his book titled “The Faith of Millions: The Credentials of the Catholic Religion”, wrote concerning the importance of the Mass to help Catholics understand its significance.

“When the priest announces the tremendous words of consecration (the sacrament of Eucharist performed during the Mass), he reaches up into the heavens, brings Christ down from His throne and places Him upon our altar to be offered up again as the victim for the sins of man.  It is a power exercised by the priest greater than that of saints and angels, greater than that of seraphim and cherubim.  Indeed, it is a power greater even than the power of the Virgin Mary.  While the Blessed Virgin was the human agency by which Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal victim not once but a thousand times.” 

“The priest, speaks, and lo, Christ the eternal and omnipotent God bows His head in humble obedience to the priest’s command.” 

As funny as this quote is, it is blasphemous to suggest that a priest has so much authority even to have Christ come down as a butler in service of our needs.

Here’s another quote from Mother Teresa, a Catholic saint.

“It is beautiful to see that humility of Christ in His permanent state of humility in the tabernacle,” where Christ has reduced Himself to such a small particle of bread that a priest can hold Christ in two fingers.”

As we can see, the Mass is a mere spectacle where Christ is the center, not because of what He ‘achieved’ for us but rather because of what He is still ‘required’ to do to finish His work.

The ritual of the Mass has no foundation in scripture, but has its roots in Paganism. It is common for pagan religions to develop some form of symbolism to create an illusion of mystery, higher power, transcendence, and magic, all of which are incorporated into the Catholic Mass.

Pastor John MacArthur, in his sermon titled “Explaining the Heresy of the Catholic Mass”, said the following concerning the deception of the Mass;

But at the very outset, the Mass is a deception because, as I said, there are no more sacrifices, there are no more altars.  There is no more temple in which God dwells, no more tabernacle, and there is no more priesthood.  It is therefore a false sacrifice on a false altar in a false temple by a false priest.  

At heart, it is a denial of the singular sacrifice of Christ on the cross, because the Mass is an offering of Christ repeatedly by an illegitimate priesthood on an illegitimate altar for a useless and ungodly purpose. 

According to J.C. Ryle, an English Anglican bishop, theologian, and author, in one of his writings, he highlighted the dire consequences of believing Christ is physically present in the Eucharist;;

“Whatever men please to think or say, the Romish doctrine of the real presence if pursued to its legitimate consequences obscures every leading doctrine of the gospel and damages and interferes with the whole system of Christ’s truth.

Grant for a moment that the Lord’s Supper is a sacrifice and not a Sacrament, grant that every time the words of consecration are used the natural body and blood of Christ are present on the communion table under the forms of bread and wine, grant that everyone who eats that consecrated bread and drinks that consecrated wine does really eat and drink the natural body and blood of Christ, grant for a moment these things and then see what momentous consequences result from these premises.

You spoil the blessed doctrine of Christ’s finished work when He died on the cross. A sacrifice that needs to be repeated is not a perfect or complete thing. You spoil the priestly office of Christ. If there are priests that can offer an acceptable sacrifice to God besides Him, the great High Priest is robbed of His glory. You spoil the scriptural doctrine of the Christian ministry.

You exalt sinful men into the position of mediators between God and man. You give to the sacramental elements of bread and wine an honor and veneration they were never meant to receive. You produce an idolatry to be abhorred by faithful Christians. Last but not least, you overthrow the true doctrine of Christ’s human nature.

If the body born of the Virgin Mary can be in more places than one at the same time, it is not a body like our own and Jesus was not the last Adam in the truth of our nature.”

It is obvious from the Catholic Mass that the church implies that Christ’s atonement on the cross is insufficient. In many ways, the Mass sacrifice resembles the Old Testament animal sacrifices which had to be repeated to cleanse the people from their sins.

But we need to look at the scriptures which clearly state that Christ’s salvation is secure for the believer, and His work on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice once and for all.

Hebrews 9:12 (NKJV)

Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Hebrew 9:28 (NKJV)

so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Transubstantiation

Transubstantiation is a term used by the Catholic Church to explain how the elements of communion (bread and wine) become the actual body and blood of Christ through their transformation.

Catholic doctrine holds that the elements become Christ’s body and blood through a ‘real’ and ‘actual’ change despite the fact that they physically still appear the same. Due to this false understanding, they also believe that the elements themselves are worthy of worship.

The Mass is simply a ceremony to re-sacrifice Christ, and the entire show climaxes with the Eucharist, where His literal body and blood are served to the followers.

There is no doubt that this practice is unbiblical and does not come from a sound understanding of the Scriptures.

Biblically, communion commemorates what Jesus Christ has done for us through His atoning sacrifice, bringing us into spiritual unity with Him.

Roman Catholics, of course, disagree and have taken a strong stance against those who disagree with their beliefs. As a result of the Council of Trent, session 13, held on October 1551, the following doctrines were formulated;

CANON I.-If any one denieth, that, in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, are contained truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but saith that He is only therein as in a sign, or in figure, or virtue; let him be anathema.

CANON lI.-If any one saith, that, in the sacred and holy sacrament of the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and wine remains conjointly with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and denieth that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood-the species Only of the bread and wine remaining-which conversion indeed the Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation; let him be anathema.

CANON VIII.- lf any one saith, that Christ, given in the Eucharist, is eaten spiritually only, and not also sacramentally and really; let him be anathema.

So, here’s the question for Catholics: Do you truly believe that the bread and wine are the literal body and blood of Christ, or are they simply a memorial of His sacrifice? The Bible teaches that communion is a remembrance of what Jesus has done, not a re-sacrifice of Him. Are you trusting in the ritual itself, or in the finished work of Christ on the cross? It’s a critical difference with eternal consequences.

What is the biblical stance on the re-sacrifice of Christ?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes the Catholic Church’s view of Christ’s sacrifice during the Mass;

“The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.  The victim is one and the same.  The same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered Himself on the cross, only the manner of offering is different.  In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered Himself once on the altar of the cross is offered in an un-bloody manner…”
(Paragraph 1367 Page 344)

The book of Hebrews outlines clearly what Jesus’ sacrifice was, and how it is the one sufficient sacrifice for cleansing our eternal sins.

Hebrews 7:26-28 (NKJV)
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;  who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.  For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

The general theme of the above verses is around the word once, making daily sacrifices a redundant practice.

Hebrews 10:9-11 (NKJV)
then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

It is clear in the above verse that the one perfect sacrifice and offering that Christ made cannot ever be repeated and that His offering alone can forgive sins for those who believe. Furthermore, it contrasts the priests’ need to make multiple sacrifices in biblical times that were not able to remove sins.

(Additional scripture references Hebrews 9:11-12 / Hebrews 9:24).

But aren’t priestly sacrifices recorded in the Old Testament scriptures?

It is true that the Old Testament records the priestly sacrifices that were continuously required to be offered. However, the whole purpose of the offerings was to develop a passionate desire / longing to see Christ’s final sacrifice come, which would ultimately wipe away the sins of the people.

The priestly sacrifices foreshadowed and anticipated the ultimate sacrifice that would come with Christ.

In 70 A.D., a significant event occurred that many theologians interpret as a divine demonstration of the finality of Christ’s sacrifice: the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This event marked the end of the traditional sacrificial system practiced in the Temple.

With the destruction of the Temple and its altars, as well as the disruption of the priestly genealogies, the Old Testament sacrificial system effectively ceased. This event is often viewed as a symbolic confirmation of the New Testament teachings that Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient and final.

Hebrews 10:11-12 (NKJV)
And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”

The book of Hebrews, for instance, emphasizes the completeness and finality of Christ’s sacrifice in contrast to the repeated and temporary nature of the Old Testament offerings.

Hebrews 10:14 (NKJV)
”For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

In light of these events and teachings, the focus for contemporary believers is on the singular sacrifice of Christ. This means that any attempts to replicate or continue the practice of sacrificial offerings are not only unnecessary but also unbiblical. The efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice is seen as complete and all-encompassing, rendering all other sacrifices redundant in terms of our salvation.

In conclusion, while the Old Testament sacrifices are a significant part of biblical history, they are to be understood as precursors to and fulfilled in Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

The mass is nullified if the priests sin?

Something that is even more troublesome for the Catholic believer is that even if the priest fulfills all the requirements of the Mass, but does so with an ‘impure’ intention or a wrong attitude, the whole Mass is deemed invalid, null and void.

CANON XI.-If any one saith, that, in ministers, when they effect, and confer the sacraments, there is not required the intention at least of doing what the Church does; let him be anathema.
(Council of Trent, Session 7)

Pope Pius IV also said;

“If there is a defect in any of these, namely the due matter, the form with intention, or the sacerdotal order of the celebrant, it nullifies the sacrament.”  

Cardinal Bellarmine also said;

“No one can be certain with the certainty of faith that he has received a true sacrament, since no sacrament is conformed without the intention of the ministers and no one can see the intention of another.”  

Knowing another person’s intentions is extremely difficult. Since humans have limitations, we can never guarantee that the mass conducted by a priest will be acceptable.

Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic Church has found a way to gain financially despite this limitation. In what way? By making the followers pay for the Mass.

Most Mass services are dedicated to the dead by mentioning their names during the service. Families can either pay for inexpensive Masses performed by the priests or really expensive ones by a Bishop or Cardinal.

Also, there are other types of Masses that are priced differently based on the requirements of the Catholic believer. Examples include the Votive Mass (offered for routine life requirements), the Requiem Mass (for the souls of the dead), the Nuptial Mass (for a wedding), and the Super Mass (offered by a hierarchical figure).

What is troublesome is that regardless of the number of Masses a person attends, they could still leave this life not fully purified and therefore end up in purgatory, where they must wait for more Mass services to be dedicated on their behalf by their loved ones. Even then, the prayers offered on their behalf may not be effective due to the attitude and intentions of the priests. Thus, the cycle continues.