The crucifix and Mass' sacrifice

	Bishop Robert J. Banks

Styles change, even in the Church. I guess I should not use the word "styles," since the subjects we deal with are so important. So let's use the word "emphases."

One example leaped out at me a week ago. I ran across a prayer in our present Roman Missal that had been written by contemporary liturgists or scholars back in the early 70's. Presumably it expressed the feelings of that time.

The prayer asked that our eyes be opened to the wonders of this life, so that we might address God as our Father. It is a good prayer, but, while it might have been "in" back in the early 70's, it is not "in" today. A number of today's Catholics do not like to use the title "Father" when praying. I pray that may change real soon.

Two other changes of emphasis also concern the Mass. The first has to do with the cross or crucifix. Back in the 60's, there was a new and deserved emphasis on the Resurrection of our Lord. We were invited to reflect more on the Risen Life won for us by Jesus' death on the cross. On that first Easter, the Risen Christ breathed upon the Apostles the Holy Spirit, who brought forgiveness of sin and newness of life to them and to all of us. The fruits of the Holy Spirit have been central to my own preaching these past 12 years: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Crucifix disappeared

In my opinion, that laudable emphasis on the Resurrection resulted in the disappearance of the traditional crucifix from the sanctuary of many of our churches. Instead of a crucifix - a cross with the nailed body of Jesus - there was often a plain cross or a cross with the resurrected body of Christ. Either one still speaks of the love of Christ which is central to the mystery of his crucifixion, but also suggests, in a way, the new life won for the believer.

The new General Instruction of the Roman Missal seeks a balance. It does not require us to return to what used to be the familiar large crucifix dominating the sanctuary. But it does say, "There is also to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation." That crucifix may be the one that is carried in procession at the beginning of Mass.

In my mind, this requirement that there be a crucifix in the sanctuary area, and also in the procession, is a welcome development. Besides calling our attention visually to the fact that the Mass is the sacramental recall and re-presentation of Jesus' death, the crucifix is an eloquent reminder that Jesus did suffer and die for each one of us.

It also is a consolation when we experience, in our own lives, the crosses that inevitably come. Finally, the crucifix says to us that living the Christian life is a struggle, but a worthwhile struggle and one in which we can always call on the Lord for strength.

A second change has to do with a re-emphasis among theologians and liturgists on the fact that the Mass is a sacrifice. Catholics my age remember using the expression "the sacrifice of the Mass." But that terminology slipped away during the past 40 years. Instead, the emphasis has been more on the fact that the Mass is a banquet. And that is an important emphasis. We truly are, or should be, nourished both by the Word of Scripture and by Holy Communion.

Losing sight

Why would there now be a re-emphasis among writers on the fact that the Mass is also a sacrifice? In my opinion, it is an understandable reaction to the increased use of Communion Services. We may be losing sight of the vast difference between the Mass and a Communion Service. A significant part of that difference is the fact that the Mass is a sacrifice.

Sacrifice and worship

But "sacrifice" is not an easily explained reality. We moderns are not used to sacrifice as a way to worship God. That is for pre-modern peoples. So how can we explain sacrifice for a 21st century Catholic?

I shall borrow one explanation from an article by Fr. Robert Daly, S.J. in a recent issue of Theological Studies.

First of all, Fr. Daly acknowledges that, beginning with the New Testament, early Christians referred to the Eucharist in sacrificial terms. But he adds that they meant something different from the sacrifices offered by other religions of that time. In other religions, sacrifice was about offering something to God by destroying it.

Fr. Daly says that, for Christians, it was different. Sacrifice in New Testament understanding was, in the first place, the self-offering of the Father who gave us his Son.

In second place was the response of the perfectly free, self-giving, en-Spirited love of the Son to the Father. This encompassed Jesus' whole life, including the Resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit; but, at the center, was his death on the cross.

In third place is the radical self-offering of believers in and with Christ to the Father. This response - our response - is our commitment to repeat, in our own lives, the way Jesus lived his life. We do not and cannot do that on our own; we can only do so in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that was in Jesus.

The Prayer says it

All of this is some pretty heavy theology, but it is what we bishops, priests and people pray every time we celebrate Mass. Pay attention to the Eucharistic Prayer, that part of the Mass that begins, "The Lord be with you, Lift up your hearts ..." and ends with the great Amen before the Our Father.

What are we doing in that prayer? Praying to the Father and thanking him for the gift of his Son who offered himself on the cross for us. We pray that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine may become the Body and Blood of Christ offered on the cross. We also pray that, by the power of the same Holy Spirit, we believers may be made the Body of Christ, offering ourselves to the Father.

That three-fold offering in love is what we miss when we have Communion Services that bring us the fruit of the Mass.