The Source and Summit of the Christian Life
The Roman Catholic Mass – the Holy Eucharist – has been described as the source and summit of the Christian life, and the most sacred expression of Christian worship. Its celebration has continued day and night all over the globe, ever since Jesus first celebrated his Last Supper some 2,000 years ago. It is a ritual that possesses profound richness, meaning and depth, and yet so many people do not understand it.
The following paper is my own modest attempt to bring together a number of insightful ideas from a variety of sources, to help others better understand what the Mass is all about. It does not pretend to be academic or even exhaustive, but it does seek to reveal some of the extraordinary beauty and meaning that is embedded in every eucharistic celebration.
Let’s begin by first considering the difference between biological and spiritual life.
Bios and Zoe
In his book Mere Christianity, CS Lewis tells us that the ancient Greeks recognised two different kinds of life: Bios (biological life) and Zoe (spiritual life). We are all born with Bios, but not Zoe. Why? Because of Adam and Eve’s Original Sin. They lost their (and our) spiritual life when they turned away from God by eating that forbidden fruit.
Biological life does not last forever, for we are mortal beings. However, spiritual life does last into eternity. And yet, so many people seem to put all their energies into nurturing their biological selves – by going to the gym, watching what they eat and preening their outward appearance – while largely ignoring their spiritual lives. This is not a good way to prepare for eternal life.
Can we regain the zoe that was lost to us? Yes, through the Sacrament of Baptism. This is how we begin our spiritual life in the Christian context.
However, baptism on its own is not sufficient to give us the fullness of spiritual life. It’s only the beginning, when the Holy Spirit gives us the first seeds of the graces we need to sustain us on a long journey. Like all seeds, these early graces need to be nourished and nurtured by growing our spiritual hearts and developing our personal relationship with God.
How do we do that? Through regular prayer (which is talking to God), by living according to the Gospel (in which Jesus shows us what to do), and by regularly participating in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist.
The Bread of Angels
St Thomas Aquinas said that the spirit and power of Jesus Christ are embedded in all the sacraments, including the Holy Eucharist. However, in the Eucharist we also receive something extra – we receive Jesus himself: his body, blood, soul and divinity.
St Thomas called the Holy Eucharist the ‘Bread of Angels.’ He took this name from Psalm 77:25: ‘man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.’
The Eucharist is the ‘Bread of Angels,’ St Thomas said, ‘because of what is hidden deep inside it: Jesus Christ himself.’ That is why the Eucharistic Jesus serves as spiritual food for the angels, and both physical and spiritual nourishment for us.
But what is the Eucharist?
It’s an encounter with the most profound form of love – Jesus Christ himself. (Therefore, it should involve our hearts.)
It’s also an encounter with Truth – the truth of God and his loving nature, the truth of our own deepest identity, and the truth of the most fundamental meaning of life. (So, it should also involve our brains – and our whole lives.)
And it’s a Memorial, through which we remember. Why? Because Jesus told us to. At the Last Supper, he said, ‘Do this in memory of me’ (Lk.22:19).
In the Holy Eucharist, what Jesus asks us to remember are five significant events in his life: the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden, the betrayal by Judas, and his crucifixion and resurrection. These events are fundamental to the Christian story; they are pivotal to our eternal lives, and they are all embedded in the Eucharist.
Now, it’s important to note that the Mass is not just a re-enactment of past events, and our remembering is not simply a process of casting our minds back to something that happened long ago.
Rather, it’s a mystical reality where we are transported to the Last Supper itself, to the Garden of Gethsemane, and to the foot of the Cross on Mount Calvary.
As Bishop Barron explains in his book Eucharist, those who are gathered around the altar of Christ are not simply recalling the Last Supper or Calvary; the Last Supper and Calvary have become present to them in all of their spiritual power.
In the same way, the Last Supper becomes present to us in all of its spiritual power, too.
To understand this, it helps to know that time does not exist for God, for whom there is no past, present or future. In the divine realm, things just are. (Recall that in Exodus 3, God describes himself as ‘I Am Who Am’).
It also helps to understand the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time. In that culture, to remember is not just to recollect or think about what happened long ago. To remember is to actually make present that which is being remembered. It means bringing the reality of the past into the present, so that we can personally and spiritually participate in these same events (ccc.1362-1363).
Why does Jesus want his sacrifice re-presented? Why does he want us to participate in these momentous events? It’s because he wants us to be part of it, to share in the experience and to be transformed by it.
The image above is of the fresco of the Last Supper, from the northern wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. It shows Jesus and his disciples sitting at the table of the Last Supper, where he first instituted the Holy Eucharist. Jesus is telling his followers that he will soon die. They all seem shocked, except for Judas, who is wearing dark clothes and sitting with his back to the viewer. He has a bag over his shoulder, filled with the silver coins he received for betraying Jesus.
There are wine decanters in the foreground, and a chalice next to Jesus.
Above and in the background, are three windows. Each depicts one of the three big events that are about to occur: the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal by Judas, and the crucifixion.
All these events are embedded in the Holy Eucharist, and through the course of every Mass we are spiritually transported to each one.
The Mass therefore is a powerful expression of our Christian faith, as it represents our direct participation in the most important moments in Jesus’ life.
If we only see ourselves through the lens of our Bios – our biological life – such ‘time travel’ to these remarkable events seems impossible. But when we acknowledge that time does not exist for God, and when we see things through the lens of our Zoe – our spiritual life – we can see that it is possible to step outside of time and into the life of Christ, in the Holy Mass.
Who celebrates the Mass?
We often say that the priest ‘says the Mass’ or ‘celebrates the Mass.’ But in fact, he ‘presides over the Mass.’ That’s because the Mass is ultimately the work of Jesus Christ and the whole assembly, and not just the priest.
Jesus is the principal agent of the Eucharist. He is the high priest of the New Covenant who presides invisibly over every Mass. (In fact, Jesus is the only High Priest. Every other validly ordained priest simply shares in the priesthood of Christ.)
In celebrating the Mass, Jesus Christ is praying in his Body the Church, through the Holy Spirit, to his Father. The priest celebrant represents Christ, and that’s why we call him the ‘presider’. And because the assembly’s role is critical, it’s important that we don’t sit back as spectators.
Imagine yourself sitting at the table of the Last Supper, or standing at the foot of the Cross on Calvary. Would you be a mere spectator idly standing by, or would you be gripped by the passion and importance of the moment?
That’s why the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium emphasises the need for our full, active and conscious participation in the liturgy. This means being consciously present, praying, singing and acting in union with the whole assembly.
It also means engaging in communal silence and being open to receiving the grace of God.
The House of God
Now, before we begin exploring the Rite of the Mass, it’s worth our spending a moment considering the dynamics of the place where Mass is typically celebrated – the church.
Most people don’t often think about this, but every church is a House of God, and there are many similarities between the dynamics of God’s house and our own domestic homes. Architecturally, churches tend to look rather different to our houses, but they do commonly share features like doors, roofs, walls, chairs and sometimes even kitchen facilities, although God’s house has many more chairs than we have at home because God’s family is so much bigger than ours.
Importantly, too, just as family and friends tend to gather around the table and/or food preparation areas in our homes, so we in church gather around the table of the Lord – the altar.
And just as conversation typically flows back and forth as we share our stories with others at home, so the Holy Mass serves as a dialogue between God and the faithful who are gathered around his table. We hear the stories of God the Father and his Son Jesus in the readings, and we respond with our hearts, minds and voices.
The Power of a Good Meal
The food we eat is another important consideration. Many people give little thought to the food they eat; they think that it simply stops them feeling hungry, but food does so much more than that.
Good food is nourishing; it helps us grow and become healthy. It can be healing, too, and it’s comforting in times of fear, uncertainty and sadness.
Food is also a wonderful way to express love, and it’s often used to seal business deals, for food brings people together. We create a family when we share our table; and we even create a community when we have a street barbecue.
In every culture, food is always meaningful. That’s because growing, preparing and serving food always involves both sacrifice and heart.
Jesus knows this. He knows how families and communities are formed, and that breaking bread brings people together. That’s why he so often eats with all sorts of people, including social outcasts. He eats with tax collectors and sinners (Mt.9:10–11); with Pharisees and lawyers (Lk.11:37-54), and with lepers (Mk.14:3). He receives a shady woman at a men’s dinner (Lk.7:36-39), and he invites himself to Zacchaeus’ place for a meal (Lk.19:1-10).
Jesus is criticised for this (Lk.7:34), but he understands the power of food, and that’s why he gave us the Holy Eucharist. It’s a grace-filled family meal, hosted by Jesus in God’s own house. Its purpose is to bring us together as one family, to heal, nourish and inspire us, and then to send us back out into the world as his ambassadors.
What, then, is the Mass?
- It’s a multi-faceted diamond, encapsulating the mystery of Christ’s presence among us.
- It’s a personal encounter with Christ himself. He really is present to us spiritually through our faith, and physically, through the Holy Eucharist.
- It’s a divine dance, an encounter and a dialogue between God and ourselves, expressed in words, symbols, gestures and movement that together plumb the depths of human emotion.
- It involves both the natural and the supernatural, and is an experience that is literally timeless.
- It’s the ‘source and summit of the whole Christian life’ (Lumen Gentium 11) because all the sacraments are bound up with it and oriented towards it.
- It’s a family meal, drawing together all the people of God.
- It’s based on Jewishritual, expressing our identity as Church and containing the core elements of our Christian life.
- It’s the ultimate sacred activity, celebrating Christ’s priesthood in all its fullness, glorifying God and sanctifying the assembly.
- It’s thanksgiving for all the blessings we have received from God.
- It’s Anamnesis, as we recall the saving events of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, and the past is actualized in the present.
- It’s Epiclesis, as the Holy Spirit transforms the people and their gifts into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and this leads to diakonia, Christian service of others.
- It’s Biblical, because the Mass text comes almost entirely from the Bible. It quotes from 50 different books of the Bible. (If you attend Mass every Sunday over the 3 year cycle, you will cover the entire Bible.)
The Four Parts of the Mass
The structure of the Mass is ancient – it has been in place for around 2,000 years, and much of it is based on Jewish synagogue worship. Justin Martyr wrote about the Mass in c.150AD.
The Mass has four parts. Each part signifies different spiritual truths and helps us to enter more deeply into the paschal mystery. The four parts are:
- The Introductory Rite
- The Liturgy of the Word
- The Liturgy of the Eucharist, and
- The Concluding Rite
It is sometimes said that the four parts of the Mass mirror the life of Jesus:
- The Introductory Rite mirrors Jesus’ birth and growth within his family
- The Liturgy of the Word reflects Jesus’ public ministry.
- The Liturgy of the Eucharist encompasses his Passion, Death and Resurrection, and
- The Concluding Rite represents his brand-new life, after his Resurrection at Easter.
We will now go on to explore each of the four parts of the Mass.