medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
The idea of the Mass as "unbloody sacrifice" seems to originate with second
century thinkers. Justin Martyr is esp. noted. Augustine also elaborated on
the idea. The doctrine was reaffirmed by the council of Trent in an
anti-Protestant stance: There is one and the same victim, the Same who
offers himself today through the ministry of the priests, and who offered
himself on the cross; it is only the manner of offering that is different".
(Session XXII, De sanctissimo Missae Sacrificio, ch. 2.)
Two ideas developed around this notion: most important is that the sacrifice
of Christ on the Cross is an "infinite" act; it is eternally existent and so
exists outside of time. When the mass ritual "remembers" that sacrifice, the
eternal sacrifice is "made present": comes into time and space in the
context of the mass and the infinite saving grace of Calvary becomes, not
more available or again redemptive, but "present". So Calvary does not
happen again, but in its remembrance in the mass it is re-presented in its
eternal efficacy.
The second idea argues that the sacrifice on Calvary as not simply
"redemptive" (and in that sense the single act was sufficient for all
persons and all times: the Protestant stance), but also an "atonement" (the
exact meaning of this term of course is a famous issue, eloquently if
incompletely analyzed by R. W. Southern in The Making of the Middle Ages.).
It is the sacrificial self-giving of the Church in the mass, made possible
and reciprocated by the self-giving of Christ in the sacrament (sign) of the
Eucharist that is stressed here. This eternal reciprocal" sacrifice" is the
"communion" (communio) of the Mass symbolized by the reception of the
species by the faithful.
(It might be worth noting here that the 1995 "Encyclopedia of Catholicism"
ed. R. O'Brien, a somewhat left-leaning post Vatican II summation,
emphasizes the "rich notions of memorial" that the modern Catholic Church is
recovering, which allows for "increasing ecumenical agreement" on the
meaning of the mass. i.e. downplaying the traditional Catholic notion of
sacrifice in favor of the more Protestant-favored idea the mass as
'memorial'.
John B. Wickstrom
Kalamazoo College
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-----Original Message-----
From: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Phyllis Jestice
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 11:39 AM
To: John Wickstrom
Subject: Re: abominable heresy of the mass
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Many thanks for the responses to my question---both on- and offlist.
I think John Wickstrom's post came especially close to the heart of
my puzzlement:
"When my reasonably tolerant Lutheran wife attends mass, she always
chokes when the
congregation rises for the "orate fratres" (Pray, brethren, that our
sacrifice may be acceptable to God the almighty Father...)"
In other words, the point that the Anglican communion and the
Lutherans both believe in the Real Presence, but still find the RC
mass offensive. Where DID this idea of the mass "as a propitiatory
sacrifice for sin" come from? When did it appear in western
Christianity? Is it present in eastern Christianity?
Phyllis
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