280. In what way is the Eucharist a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ? (part 1)
(Comp
280) The Eucharist is a memorial in the sense that it makes present and actual
the sacrifice which Christ offered to the Father on the cross, once and for all
on behalf of mankind. The sacrificial character of the Holy Eucharist is
manifested in the very words of institution, “This is my Body which is given
for you” and “This cup is the New Covenant in my Blood that will be shed for
you” (Luke 22:19-20). The sacrifice of the cross and the sacrifice of the
Eucharist are one and the same sacrifice. The priest and the victim are the
same; only the manner of offering is different: in a bloody manner on the
cross, in an unbloody manner in the Eucharist.
“In
brief”
(CCC 1362)
The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the making present and the
sacramental offering of his unique sacrifice, in the liturgy of the Church
which is his Body. In all the Eucharistic Prayers we find after the words of
institution a prayer called the anamnesis
or memorial.
To deepen and
explain
(CCC 1103) Anamnesis. The liturgical celebration
always refers to God's saving interventions in history. "The economy of
Revelation is realized by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with
each other.... [T]he words for their part proclaim the works and bring to light
the mystery they contain" (DV 2). In the Liturgy of the Word the Holy
Spirit "recalls" to the assembly all that Christ has done for us. In
keeping with the nature of liturgical actions and the ritual traditions of the
churches, the celebration "makes a remembrance" of the marvelous
works of God in an anamnesis which may be more or less developed. The Holy
Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires thanksgiving and
praise (doxology). (CCC 1363) In the
sense of Sacred Scripture the memorial
is not merely the recollection of past events but the proclamation of the
mighty works wrought by God for men (Cf. Ex 13:3). In the liturgical
celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real.
This is how Israel understands its liberation from Egypt: every time Passover
is celebrated, the Exodus events are made present to the memory of believers so
that they may conform their lives to them.
On
reflection
(CCC 1985)
The New Law is a law of love, a law of grace, a law of freedom. (CCC 1364) In
the New Testament, the memorial takes on new meaning. When the Church
celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ's Passover, and it is made
present: the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever
present (Cf. Heb 7:25-27). "As often as the sacrifice of the Cross by
which 'Christ our Pasch has been sacrificed' is celebrated on the altar, the
work of our redemption is carried out" (LG 3; cf. 1 Cor 5:7). [IT
CONTINUES]
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