Fr. Matthias Gaudron

Chapter 7 on the New Mass begins with this installment. To understand what the New Mass did, it is first necessary to know what the essential nature of the traditional Mass is–a sacrifice. The preliminary questions examine Luther's rejection of the sacrificial nature of the Mass.

54) What is the holy Mass?

The holy Mass is the renewal and the representation of the sacrifice of the Cross. By the intermediary of the priest, Christ offers to His Father in an unbloody manner His Body and Blood, which He offered on the Cross. Thus the Mass is a true sacrifice by which the merits of the sacrifice of the Cross are applied to us.

Where is the Church’s teaching on the holy sacrifice of the Mass to be found?

The Council of Trent teaches:

He, therefore, our God and Lord...at the Last Supper, on the night He was betrayed, so that He might leave to His beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands), whereby that bloody sacrifice once to be completed on the Cross might be represented, and the memory of it remain even to the end of the world and its saving grace be applied to the remission of those sins which we daily commit...offered to God the Father His own Body and Blood...."1

Is it certain that the Mass is a true sacrifice strictly speaking?

The Council of Trent is explicit: "Canon. 1. If anyone says that in the Mass a true and real sacrifice is not offered to God...let him be anathema."2 The same Council declares that by the words "Do this in commemoration of me," Christ constituted the apostles priests of the New Testament and gave them power to celebrate this sacrifice.3

What precisely is the relation between the sacrifice of the Mass and that of the Cross?

The sacrifice of the Mass has the same victim, the same priest, and the same intentions as that of the Cross; it is the same sacrifice but offered in a different manner.4

What victim is offered in the sacrifice of the Mass?

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the victim of the sacrifice of the Mass as He is of the sacrifice of the Cross; it is He who is essentially offered at Mass, and not the bread and wine, which cease to exist during the consecration.

Might it be said that our Lord is present in the holy Eucharist as victim?

Yes, it is as victim that our Lord Jesus Christ is present in the holy Eucharist.

How can our Lord, whose body is henceforth glorious, be present in a state of victimhood?

Our Lord is in a state of victimhood in the holy Eucharist because in it His Body and Blood are sacramentally separated in order to represent the physical separation effected by the Passion.

Yet isn’t our Lord entirely present–Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity–under the appearances of both the bread and the wine?

Since our Lord Jesus Christ is now living (risen and glorious), the presence of His Body or His Blood necessitates the presence of His whole person (body, blood, soul, and divinity); His Body and Blood can no longer be separated physically. And yet, per se, merely by the power of the consecratory words, it is the Body that is made present under the appearances of the bread, and the Blood under the appearances of wine; the Body and Blood of Christ are in a certain way separated by the sacrament (because of the double consecration).

Does this sacramental separation of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ constitute immolation?

The sacramental separation of the Body and Blood of our Lord constitutes an immolation in that it represents the physical separation that took place during His Passion, and, by the Savior’s will, applies its fruits.

In the Mass, then, there really is an immolation?

In the Mass there is an immolation, a sacramental immolation. The Council of Trent affirms that in the Mass, Christ "is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner."5

Who is the priest of the sacrifice of the Mass?

The true priest of the sacrifice of the Mass is our Lord Jesus Christ, as He was on the Cross. The only difference is that Christ offered Himself on the Cross, whereas in the Mass He makes use of a human priest, who acts as Christ’s instrument.

What are the intentions of the sacrifice of the Mass?

Like the sacrifice of the Cross, the sacrifice of the Mass is offered by our Lord Jesus Christ for four great intentions: to adore God, to thank Him for His favors, to make reparation for the offenses committed against Him (in this sense, the sacrifice is called propitiatory or satisfactory), and to obtain graces for men.

In what way is the sacrifice of the Mass offered differently from that of the Cross?

On the Cross, Christ was sacrificed in a bloody manner, while in the Mass He is sacrificed in an unbloody manner.

Is this the doctrine of the Fathers of the Church?

St. Augustine teaches that "Christ was sacrificed once in Himself, and yet He is sacrificed daily in the sacrament"6; and St. Ambrose teaches that "just as what is offered everywhere is one body, and not many bodies, so also is it but one sacrifice."7

55) Who has denied that the Mass is a sacrifice?

For more than a thousand years, no one dared to deny that the Mass is a sacrifice. Catholics enjoyed peaceful possession of this truth. It was not until the 12th century that some sects began to attack it. But it was especially Martin Luther and Protestantism that induced numerous Christians to reject this dogma.

How did God reveal to us that the Mass is a sacrifice?

The fact that the Mass is a sacrifice emerges clearly from Sacred Scripture. In the Old Testament, God, through the prophet Malachias, announced a future sacrifice in these terms:

From the rising of the sun even to the going down my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts. (Mal. 1:11)

What is noteworthy in this prophesy of Malachias?

The Jews had the right to offer sacrifice in only one place: the Temple at Jerusalem. Yet the prophet foretells a clean oblation that will be celebrated in every place. From the beginning, Christians recognized in this statement the sacrifice of the Mass.

Are there any other prophecies of the sacrifice of the Mass in the Old Testament?

In the Old Testament, Christ’s priesthood is figured by Melchisedech’s (St. Paul says that Jesus Christ is "a high priest according to the order of Melchisedech"8). Melchisedech is only mentioned in the Bible for having offered a sacrifice of bread and wine (Gen. 14:18). This was a figure of the sacrifice of the Mass, instituted by Christ and offered under the species of bread and wine.

Do the Gospels speak of the Mass as a sacrifice?

During the institution of the Mass on Holy Thursday, Christ used words expressive of a sacrifice: "This is my body, which shall be delivered for you" (I Cor. 11:24); "this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins" (Mt. 26:28).

Are there other passages of Sacred Scripture that can be cited?

In the first Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul opposes "the table of devils" and "the table of the Lord" (10:18-21). As the expression "the table of devils" designates the sacrifices pagans offer to idols, the expression "the table of the Lord" thus designates the Christian sacrifice. Similarly, the Epistle to the Hebrews affirms: "We have an altar, whereof they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle [Jewish worship]" (Heb. 13:10). Now, by definition an altar is made for the offering of sacrifice.

What do the early Fathers of the Church say about the Mass?

The most ancient ecclesiastical writings speak of the Eucharist as a sacrifice. One might cite, among others, the Didache (c. A.D. 100), Pope St. Clement (d. 101), and St. Cyprian of Carthage.

What does the Didache teach?

The Didache, one of the first Christian writings, declares:

But every Lord’s day do ye gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.9

What does Pope St. Clement teach?

St. Clement of Rome (pope from 92–101) wrote:

The Lord prescribed that sacrifices and liturgical actions be accomplished at specific seasons and times.10

How does St. Cyprian speak about the sacrifice of the Mass?

St. Cyprian of Carthage (+258) devotes his Letter 63 to the sacrifice of the Mass. In it he states that Christ offered His Body and Blood in sacrifice to the Father (n. 4), that He commanded that this sacrifice be celebrated in memory of Him (n. 14), and that the priest acts as Christ’s representative.

Can you cite another Father of the Church on the sacrifice of the Mass?

St. Gregory Nazianzen (+390) exhorts a priest thus:

But, most reverend friend, cease not both to pray and to plead for me when you draw down the Word by your word, when with a bloodless cutting you sever the Body and Blood of the Lord, using your voice for the glaive.11

What do we observe in this passage of St. Gregory Nazianzen?

St. Gregory very clearly mentions the unbloody sacrifice of Christ effected by the separation of His Body and Blood by means of the double consecration.

What can we conclude from all these passages from Sacred Scripture and the Fathers?

The passages cited and many others plainly show that one cannot deny that the Mass is essentially a sacrifice without betraying Christ’s teaching.

Is this truth about the sacrifice of the Mass very important?

All the truths revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ are important, and none of them can be neglected with impunity. But the sacrifice of the Mass is truly at the heart of the whole Christian life. An error on this point would have disastrous consequences.

How is the sacrifice of the Mass at the heart of Christian life?

The Jewish religion of the old Testament was already centered on the sacrifices offered in the Temple. It would be surprising if these numerous sacrifices had no counterpart in the new Testament. In fact, our Lord essentially came on earth to offer Himself in sacrifice to His Father. In the name of all mankind, He offered this perfect sacrifice of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation for sin, and petition. The essential of our Christian life must be to unite ourselves, day after day, to this sacrifice. It is precisely by the Mass that we do this.

Thus Christianity without the Mass is inconceivable?

Even in the natural order, sacrifice is an essential element of the worship due to God. All the ancient religions have their sacrifices (one of the proofs of the caducity of the Jewish religion is the very fact that since the year 70, date of the destruction of the Temple, its sacrificial rites can no longer be performed). In the modern era, the Protestants tried to invent a Christianity without the Mass; the result was a complete denaturing of Christian faith and morals, which led rather rapidly to contemporary humanism. When man ceases offering sacrifices to God, he quickly tends to take himself for God.

Isn’t it especially the real presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament that is denied by the Protestants?

Luther did not deny some kind of real presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist, even if he understood it in an heretical way. However, he rejected the teaching on the sacrifice of the Mass and proffered scurrilous insults against it.

What did Luther say about the holy sacrifice of the Mass?

Luther announced clearly that he wanted to destroy the Mass in order to strike at the heart of the Church. For example, he said:

Once the Mass has been overthrown, I say we’ll have overthrown the whole of Popedom. It is indeed upon the Mass as on a rock that the whole Papal system is built, with its monasteries, its bishoprics, its collegiate churches, its altars, its ministries, its doctrine, i.e., with all its guts. All these cannot fail to crumble once their sacrilegious and abominable Mass falls.12

But doesn’t Luther admit that the Mass can, in a sense, be called a sacrifice?

Luther admits and sometimes employs the term sacrifice to designate the Mass, but only in a broad sense ("a sacred thing"). He obstinately refuses to believe that the Mass is literally a sacrifice:

The principal element of their worship, the Mass, exceeds every impiety and abomination; they make of it a sacrifice and a good work.13

What is the Mass, then, for Luther?

For Luther, the Mass is simply a memorial of the Passion. His goal is to instruct the faithful, to remind them of the sacrifice of Calvary in order to prompt an interior act of faith. If he speaks of sacrifice, it is solely in the sense of a sacrifice of praise or thanksgiving without redemptive value.

What does Luther absolutely refuse in the Catholic doctrine of the Mass?

Luther absolutely refuses the doctrine that the Mass has a propitiatory or satisfactory value, that is, that it really and effectively applies to our souls the fruits of the sacrifice of the Cross, thereby acquitting the debt we have incurred towards God because of our sins.

What exactly do the words propitiatory and satisfactory mean?

The sacrifice of the Mass is said to be propitiatory because it renders God propitious, favorably inclined, towards us by destroying the reasons for the wrath He may bear towards us because of our sins. It is called satisfactory because it satisfies divine justice, that is, it does enough (satis facere = to do enough) to appease it.

What does Luther have to say on this subject?

Luther teaches:

The Mass is not a sacrifice or the action of a sacrificer. Let us regard it as a sacrament or a testament. Let us call it benediction, Eucharist, or remembrance of the Lord.14

The blessed Sacrament was not instituted to be made into an expiatory sacrifice...but to serve to awaken faith in us and to console consciences; ...the Mass is not a sacrifice offered for others, whether living or dead, for the remission of their sins, but...a communion in which priest and faithful receive the sacrament, each for himself.15

It is a blatant and blasphemous error to offer or to apply the Mass for sins, in satisfaction for them, or on behalf of the deceased....16

What were the liturgical consequences of Luther’s errors on the Mass?

For Luther, the "liturgy of the Word" must hold the first place and communion, second. By progressively modifying the traditional rites and ceremonies of the Mass, Luther intended to induce the faithful gradually to change their faith. He advised his co-revolutionaries not to go too fast:

To reach the goal safely and successfully, certain ceremonies of the ancient Mass must be kept for the sake of the weak, who might be scandalized by too sudden a change.17

Did the Protestants deliberately introduce their new belief in a calculated way, by changing the liturgy little by little?

The Anglicans in particular adopted this cunning strategy,18 but Luther had articulated it very clearly:

The priest can very well manage so that the man of the people is still unaware of the change that has taken place, and can assist at Mass without finding anything to scandalize him.19

What changes did Luther introduce into the liturgy?

Luther attacked the Offertory, which he eliminated, and the Canon, which he modified considerably. He kept the general outline of the Mass, but skillfully erased the essential. At Christmas, 1521, the Lutheran worship service comprised the Confiteor, Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Epistle, Gospel, sermon, no Offertory, the Sanctus, narration of the institution of the Supper recited aloud in the popular language, Communion under both kinds (in the hand and from the chalice) with no preliminary confession, the Agnus Dei, and Benedicamus Domino. Latin would only disappear little by little.

What can be said of the hatred with which Luther pursued the Catholic Mass?

Luther was right about one thing: the whole Christian life rests upon the sacrifice of Calvary renewed in an unbloody manner on the altar. Denaturing the Mass is one of the most effective ways of destroying the Church. Several Catholic authors have remarked that this would be the work of Antichrist.

Can you quote some of these authors?

St. Alphonsus Liguori alerts us:

The Mass is the best and most beautiful thing in the Church....That is why the devil has always sought to deprive the world of the Mass through the actions of heretics, making them precursors of Antichrist.20

Dom Guéranger gives the same warning:

...were the Mass to be done away with, we should quickly fall again into the state of depravity in which pagan nations are sunk: and this is to be the work of Antichrist. He will take every possible means to prevent the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so that this great counterpoise being taken away, God would necessarily put an end to all things, having now no object left in their further subsistence.21

Does Sacred Scripture foretell that the Antichrist will attack the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?

Concerning Antichrist, the Prophet Daniel says: "And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice, because of sins (Dan. 8:12)."

Translated exclusively for Angelus Press from Katholischer Katechismus zur kirchlichen Kriese by Fr. Matthias Gaudron, professor at the Herz Jesu Seminary of the Society of St. Pius X in Zaitzkofen, Germany. The original was published in 1997 by Rex Regum Press, with a preface by the District Superior of Germany, Fr. Franz Schmidberger. This translation is based on the second edition published in 1999 by Rex Regum Verlag, Schloß Jaidhof, Austria. Subdivisions and slight revisions made by the Dominican Fathers of Avrillé have been incorporated into the translation.

1 Council of Trent, Session XXII, Chap. 1, DS 1740 (Dz. 938).

2 Ibid., DS 1751 (Dz. 948).

3 Ibid., DS 1740.

4 Ibid., DS 1743 (Dz. 940).

5 Ibid., DS 1743 (Dz. 940). See also DS 1741.

6 St. Augustine, quoted by St. Thomas in the Summa Theologica, III, Q. 83, Art. 1.

7 Statement attributed to St. Ambrose, cited by St. Thomas, ibid., ad 1: "Sicut enim quod ubique offertur unum est corpus et non multa, ita et unum sacrificium."

8 Hebrews 6:20.

9 The Didache, Chapter 14 [English version: available online at www.newadvent.org/fathers].

10 St. Clement of Rome, First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 14.

11 Letter 171, to Amphilochium [English version: available online at www.newadvent.org/fathers].

12 Luther, Contra Henricum regem Angliæ (1522), Werke, X, 220. [English version: Michael Davies, Cranmer’s Godly Order (Ft. Collins, Colorado: Roman Catholic Books, 1995), p.55-56.]

13 Luther, De votis monasticis judicium (1521), Werke, VIII, 651.

14 Luther, Sermon for the First Sunday of Advent, Werke, XI, 774.

15 The Confession of Augsburg, Art. 24, "Of the Mass."

16 Luther, De Captivitate Babylonica (1520), Werke, VI, 521.

17 Ibid., XII, 212.

18 See Cranmer’s Godly Order by Michael Davies. The first Anglican Book of Prayer (1549) suppressed the Offertory, altered the Canon, and adopted the Lutheran version of the Institution narrative: no mention is made of the propitiatory sacrifice, but it is not explicitly denied. This was but the first stage: once it was widely adopted, a second Prayer Book was published (1552), which more closely resembled the Calvinist Supper.

19 Luther, quoted by Jacques Maritain in Three Reformers (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934), p.181-2.

20 Oeuvres du B. Alphonse de Liguori (Avignon: Seguin, 1827), p.182.

21 Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B., Explanation of the Holy Mass (1885; reprint: Loreto Publications, n.d.), p.109.