The sacrifice of the Holy Mass is the same sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is the highest form of glory and atonement to God for the forgiveness of our sins and that of the whole world.
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26
Each time the Mass is celebrated (Mass as a communion; eating this bread and drinking this cup), humanity acquires forgiveness of sin by His sacrifice of the Cross. Basically, the Holy Mass is celebrated round the whole world at different times. That means it is celebrated 24 hours in a day, 730.49 hours in a month and 8765 hours in a year, round the whole world. By this flow of thought, we can say that at every hour, the Sacrifice of Jesus is re-enacted and the corresponding forgiveness of our sins is acquired. Thus, the Holy Mass is the reason why humanity is still in existence.
The term “Holy Mass” cannot be seen in the bible. Rather, the meaning of Holy Mass (Mass as Sacrifice, as sacrament, and as communion) is prevalent both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Church teaches that the Holy Mass is the re-enactment of the Sacrifice of Calvary. It is a Sacrifice, a Sacrament and a communion where Jesus, our Lord is present in His word, in His priest, in the gathering of His people and most importantly in the Eucharistic. The Holy Mass is instituted by Jesus Himself at His last supper with the apostles. Regarding the institution, Vatican II Council states:
“At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 47).
The Mass obtains for us the very greatest graces, blessings, and favors, spiritual and temporal – graces that we could not possibly receive in any other way. It saves us from countless dangers and delivers us from the evils that threaten us.
Mass is infinite in value whereas all the prayers and good works of the Angels and Saints, though of exceeding great merit and, though they give unspeakable glory to God, yet are finite, and therefore bear no comparison with the infinite Sacrifice of the Mass. – St. Alphonsus
Just as all creation, the heavens and the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars, the mountains and oceans, all men and angels are nothing in comparison with God, so no good works, however holy, are equal to one Mass.
St. Hanon, Bishop of Cologne, once saw a globe of extraordinary beauty and brilliance circle round the Chalice at the Consecration and then enter the sacred vessel. He was so filled with amazement that he feared to go on with the Mass. But God revealed to him that what he saw, though not visible to our human eyes, happens every time the Priest celebrates the Mass.
The efficacy of the Mass is so wonderful, God’s mercy and generosity are then so unlimited, that there is no moment so propitious to ask for favors as when Jesus is born on the altar. What we then ask we shall almost certainly receive, and what we do not obtain in the Mass we may scarcely hope to receive by all other prayers, penances, or pilgrimages. The Angels know this full well and come in multitudes to adore God and make their petitions at this hour of mercy.
One day when I was assisting at the Holy Sacrifice, I saw an immense number of Holy Angels descend and gather around the altar, contemplating the priest. They sang heavenly canticles that ravished my heart; Heaven itself seemed to be contemplating the great Sacrifice. And yet we poor, blind, and miserable creatures assist at the Mass with so little love, relish and respect! Oh, if God would open our eyes, what wonders should we not see! – St. Bridget
In the Mass the Son of God becomes man again, so that in every Mass the stupendous Mystery of the Incarnation, with all its infinite merits, is repeated as truly as when the Son of God first took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
What a sublime dignity is that of the priest, in whose hands Christ once more becomes man! – St. Augustine
The Mass is the birth of Jesus Christ. He is really born on the Altar each time that Mass is said, as He was born in Bethlehem.
If anyone wishes to know how the bread is changed into the Body of Jesus Christ, I will tell him. The Holy Ghost overshadows the priest and acts on him as He acted on the Blessed Virgin Mary. – St. John Damascene
God, when He descends upon the altar, does no less than He did when He became man the first time in the womb of the Virgin Mary. – St. Bonaventure
The Mass is the same as the Sacrifice of Calvary. In it God dies as He died on the first Good Friday. It has the same infinite value of Calvary, and brings down on men the same priceless graces. The Mass is not an imitation, or a memory of Calvary, it is identically the same Sacrifice and differs from Calvary only in the offering. In every Mass the Blood of Jesus is shed for us again. When Jesus dies in the Mass and when the Blood of Jesus is shed in the Mass it refers to an unbloody and mystical renewal of His death and blood-shedding since, as regarding physical death, “Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now no more, death shall no more have dominion over Him.” (Romans 6:9)
In the Mass the Blood of Christ flows anew for sinners. – St. Augustine
The Mass has just the same value as Calvary. – St. John Chrysostom
Nothing on this earth, nothing in Heaven itself, gives more glory to God and obtains more benefits for us than a single Mass.
The Mass is a compendium of all God’s love, of all His benefits to men, and each Mass bestows the World a benefit not less than what was conferred on it by the Incarnation. – St. Bonaventure
The World would have been destroyed long ago because of the sins of men, had it not been for the Mass. – St. Timothy of Jerusalem
No human tongue can describe the immense favors and blessings which we receive from the Mass. The sinner obtains pardon, the good man becomes more holy, our faults are corrected, and our vices uprooted by hearing Holy Mass. – St. Lawrence Justinian
By one Mass which we hear in the state of grace, we give God more pleasure and obtain for ourselves more benefits and favors than by the longest and most painful pilgrimages. – St. Fornerius
By the Mass we offer to God the greatest praise, the greatest glory He could possibly desire. We give Him most perfect thanks for all the benefits He has bestowed on us. We make more reparation for our faults than by the severest penances.
If we were to offer to the Holy Trinity all the penances, all the prayers, all the good works of all the Saints, if we were to offer the torrents of blood, all the sufferings of the twelve apostles and the millions of martyrs, all would give Him less glory and pleasure than one Mass! Why? Because the Mass is truly and really the Sacrifice of Mount Calvary. In the Mass Jesus Christ offers to His Eternal Father all the pains, humiliations and infinite merits of His Passion and Death. – St. Marchant
The happiness of the World comes from the Sacrifice of the Mass. – St. Odo of Cluny
We can do nothing better for the conversion of sinners than offer for them the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
If mothers would only hear and get Masses said for their erring children, and wives for their husbands, how happy their families would be!
Even God Himself could do nothing holier, better, or greater than the Mass. – St. Alphonsus
There is nothing that appeases the anger of God so much, nothing that obtains for us so many blessings as the Mass. – St. Timothy of Jerusalem
No prayers, no suffrages, no matter how fervent, can help the Holy Souls as the Mass.
Oh, let us think of the Souls in Purgatory! Among them may be our dear father, mother, and friends. We can help them most easily, we can relieve their awful pains most efficaciously by hearing Mass for them.
There is no prayer or good work so great, so pleasing to God, so useful to us as the Mass. – St. Lawrence Justinian
The Eucharist which is the center and summit of Christian life was instituted by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper and it is truly and really the body of Christ. During Mass, this Last Supper of Jesus where He gave the Church His body, is re-enacted through the Priest who functions in the person of Christ. At this time, Jesus acts through the priest, who is ordained (shares in the priesthood of Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Orders), and the miracle of transubstantiation takes place after the prayers of Consecration. So, Jesus is not only present at Mass in the form of Body and Blood, He offers the sacrifice of the cross through His Priest. The bread is converted and transformed into the true Body Itself of the Lord, which was born in Bethlehem of the ever-Virgin, was baptized in the Jordan, suffered, was buried, rose again, ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of the God the Father, and is to come again in the clouds of Heaven; and the wine is converted and transformed into the true Blood Itself of the Lord, which as He hung upon the Cross, was poured out for the life of the world. This can only be felt with our spiritual eyes when we believe and accept this teaching of Jesus regarding the mystery of the Holy Mass.
The host used for Mass is nothing less than the great Eternal, Omnipotent God who fills Heaven with His Majesty.
This is why the Holy Mass is the highest form of prayer and a stupendous mystery. The Mass is God Himself.