The Eucharistic Sacrifice is also Offered for the Faithful departed who "have died in Christ but are not yet wholly purified," 191 so that they may be able to enter into the light and peace of Christ:

The chosen people was constituted by God as "a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation." 6 But within the people of Israel, God chose one of the twelve tribes, that of Levi, and set it apart for liturgical service; God himself is its inheritance. 7 A special rite consecrated the beginnings of the priesthood of the Old Covenant. the priests are "appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and Sacrifices for Sins." 8

Instituted to proclaim the Word of God and to restore Communion with God by Sacrifices and Prayer, 9 this Priesthood nevertheless remains powerless to bring about Salvation, needing to repeat its sacrifices ceaselessly and being unable to achieve a definitive sanctification, which only the sacrifice of Christ would accomplish. 10

Everything that the Priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the "one mediator between God and men." 15 The Christian tradition considers Melchizedek, "priest of God Most High," as a prefiguration of the priesthood of Christ, the Unique "high priest after the order of Melchizedek"; 16 "holy, blameless, unstained," 17 "by a single Offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified," 18 that is, by the unique Sacrifice of the Cross.

The redemptive Sacrifice of Christ is Unique, accomplished once for all; yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Church. the same is true of the one Priesthood of Christ; it is made present through the ministerial priesthood without diminishing the uniqueness of Christ's priesthood: "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers." 19

In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high Priest of the redemptive Sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in perSona Christi Capitis: 23

The ministerial Priesthood has the task not only of representing Christ - Head of the Church - before the assembly of the Faithful, but also of acting in the name of the whole Church when presenting to God the Prayer of the Church, and above all when Offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice. 31

"It is in the Eucharistic cult or in the Eucharistic assembly of the Faithful (synaxis) that they exercise in a supreme degree their sacred office; there, acting in the perSon of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive Offerings of the faithful to the Sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord, the Unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the Father." 49 From this unique sacrifice their whole Priestly Ministry draws its strength. 50

In the Latin Rite the Celebration of marriage between two Catholic Faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ. 120 In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself for ever to the Church, his beLoved bride for whom he gave himself up. 121 It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the Offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ, they may form but "one body" in Christ. 122

The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's perSonal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the Sins committed. It can consist of Prayer, an Offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, Sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the Cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him." 63

Eucharist and Penance. Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the Sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. "It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal Sins." 35

St. Augustine admirably summed up this doctrine that moves us to an ever more complete participation in our Redeemer's Sacrifice which we celebrate in the Eucharist:

"Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church: 195 in his word, in his Church's Prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name," 196 in the poor, the sick, and the impriSoned, 197 in the sacraments of which he is the author, in the Sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species." 198

The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the Sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of Communion with the Lord's body and Blood. But the Celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the Faithful with Christ through communion. To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has Offered himself for us.

The altar, around which the Church is gathered in the Celebration of the Eucharist, represents the two aspects of the same mystery: the altar of the Sacrifice and the table of the Lord. This is all the more so since the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of his Faithful, both as the victim Offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us. "For what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?" 212 asks St. Ambrose. He says elsewhere, "The altar represents the body [of Christ] and the Body of Christ is on the altar." 213 The liturgy expresses this unity of sacrifice and Communion in many Prayers. Thus the Roman Church prays in its anaphora:

It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the Faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive Communion each time they participate in the Mass. 219 As the Second Vatican Council says: "That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the Priest's communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same Sacrifice, is warmly recommended." 220

Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can radiate a fruitfulness of charity, of hospitality, and of Sacrifice.

The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's end, in order to surrender him "into the Father's hands." She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in Glory. 184 This Offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic Sacrifice; the blessings before and after Mass are sacramentals.

As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham, "who had received the promises," 13 is asked to Sacrifice the Son God had given him. Abraham's faith does not weaken (“God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt Offering."), for he "considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead." 14 and so the Father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the Father who will not spare his own Son but wiLl deliver him up for us all. 15 Prayer restores man to God's likeness and enables him to share in the power of God's Love that saves the multitude. 16

For the People of God, the Temple was to be the place of their education in Prayer: pilgrimages, feasts and Sacrifices, the evening Offering, the incense, and the bread of the Presence (“shewbread") - all these signs of the holiness and Glory of God Most High and Most Near were appeals to and ways of prayer. But ritualism often encouraged an excessively external worship. the people needed education in faith and conversion of Heart; this was the mission of the prophets, both before and after the Exile.

After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in the Word of God and confirms her faith by his urgent Prayer: God brings the widow's child back to life. 33 The Sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith of the People of God. In response to Elijah's plea, "Answer me, O Lord, answer me," the Lord's fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the evening oblation. the Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah's plea in the Eucharistic epiclesis. Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides "in a cleft of he rock" until the mysterious presence of God has passed by. 34 But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; "the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ," crucified and risen. 35

The Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of Prayer: it is "the pure Offering" of the whole Body of Christ to the Glory of God's name 131 and, according to the traditions of East and West, it is the "Sacrifice of Praise."

Christian Tradition rightly calls this Prayer the "Priestly" prayer of Jesus. It is the prayer of our high priest, inseparable from his Sacrifice, from his passing over (Passover) to the Father to whom he is wholly "consecrated." 44

Jesus fulfilled the work of the Father completely; his Prayer, like his Sacrifice, extends until the end of time. the prayer of this hour fills the end-times and carries them toward their consummation. Jesus, the Son to whom the Father has given all things, has given himself wholly back to the Father, yet expresses himself with a sovereign freedom 46 by virtue of the power the Father has given him over all flesh. the Son, who made himself Servant, is Lord, the Pantocrator. Our high Priest who prays for us is also the one who prays in us and the God who hears our prayer.

The first series of petitions carries us toward him, for his own sake: thy name, thy kingdom, thy will! It is characteristic of Love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of the three petitions do we mention ourselves; the burning desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for his Father's Glory seizes us: 64 "hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done...." These three supplications were already answered in the saving Sacrifice of Christ, but they are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all. 65

Finally, in Jesus the name of the Holy God is revealed and given to us, in the flesh, as Savior, revealed by what he is, by his word, and by his Sacrifice. 75 This is the Heart of his Priestly Prayer: "Holy Father . . . for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth." 76 Because he "sanctifies" his own name, Jesus reveals to us the name of the Father. 77 At the end of Christ's Passover, the Father gives him the name that is above all names: "Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father." 78

The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These perSons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the Sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

If morality requires respect for the life of the body, it does not make it an absolute value. It rejects a neo-pagan notion that tends to promote the cult of the body, to Sacrifice everything for it's sake, to idolize physical perfection and success at sports. By its selective preference of the strong over the weak, such a conception can lead to the perversion of human relationships.

The Christian family is a Communion of perSons, a sign and image of the communion of the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. In the proCreation and education of children it reflects the Father's work of creation. It is called to partake of the Prayer and Sacrifice of Christ. Daily prayer and the reading of the Word of God strengthen it in charity. the Christian family has an evangelizing and missionary task.

The Eucharistic Sacrifice. When the Celebration takes place in Church the Eucharist is the Heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death. 189 In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious Communion with the departed: Offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his Sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom. 190 It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the Faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who "has fallen asleep in the Lord," by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him.

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. the virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and Sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my Song." 70 "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 71

Christian hope takes up and fulfills the hope of the chosen people which has its origin and model in the hope of Abraham, who was blessed abundantly by the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac, and who was purified by the test of the Sacrifice. 86 "Hoping against hope, he believed, and thus became the Father of many nations." 87

It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, 126 The Sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our Sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.

Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the Sacrifice of Christ, all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal dignity.

The moral life is spiritual worship. We "present (our) bodies as a living Sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God," 73 within the Body of Christ that we form and in Communion with the Offering of his Eucharist. In the liturgy and the Celebration of the sacraments, Prayer and teaching are conjoined with the grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity. As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the Eucharistic sacrifice.

It is right to offer Sacrifice to God as a sign of Adoration and gratitude, supplication and Communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true sacrifice." 16

Outward Sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit...." 17 The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the Heart or not coupled with Love of neighbor. 18 Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice." 19 The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ Offered on the Cross as a total Offering to the Father's love and for our Salvation. 20 By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.

This petition is astonishing. If it consisted only of the first phrase, "and forgive us our trespasses," it might have been included, implicitly, in the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer, since Christ's Sacrifice is "that Sins may be forgiven." But, according to the second phrase, our petition will not be heard unless we have first met a strict requirement. Our petition looks to the future, but our response must come first, for the two parts are joined by the single word "as."

To the Offering of Christ are united not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the Glory of heaven. In Communion with and commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, the Church offers the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the Cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ.

In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behaviour: in their Prayers, Sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being:

Fire. While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. the Prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from heaven on the Sacrifice on Mount Carmel. 37 This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." 38 Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" 39 In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself 40 The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions. 41 "Do not quench the Spirit." 42

Missionary paths. the Holy Spirit is the protagonist, "the principal agent of the whole of the Church's mission." 345 It is he who leads the Church on her missionary paths. "This mission continues and, in the course of history, unfolds the mission of Christ, who was sent to evangelize the poor; so the Church, urged on by the Spirit of Christ, must walk the road Christ himself walked, a way of poverty and obedience, of service and self-Sacrifice even to death, a death from which he emerged victorious by his resurrection." 346 So it is that "the Blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians." 347

"Hence the laity, dedicated as they are to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvellously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit maybe produced in them. For all their works, Prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit - indeed even the hardships of life if patiently born - all these become spiritual Sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the Celebration of the Eucharist these may most fittingly be Offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord. and so, worshipping everywhere by their holy actions, the laity consecrate the world itself to God, everywhere Offering worship by the holiness of their lives." 434

This teaching is also based on the practice of Prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin." 607 From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and Offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. 608 The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:

"Accordingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that they might preach the Gospel to every creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection had freed us from the power of Satan and from death and brought us into the Kingdom of his Father. But he also willed that the work of Salvation which they preached should be set in train through the Sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire liturgical life revolves." 9

"To accomplish so great a work" - the dispensation or communication of his work of Salvation - "Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical Celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the perSon of his minister, 'the same now Offering, through the Ministry of Priests, who formerly Offered himself on the Cross,' but especially in the Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised 'where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."' 11

The epiclesis is also a Prayer for the full effect of the assembly's Communion with the mystery of Christ. "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" 28 have to remain with us always and bear fruit beyond the Eucharistic Celebration. the Church therefore asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit to make the lives of the Faithful a living Sacrifice to God by their spiritual transformation into the image of Christ, by concern for the Church's unity, and by taking part in her mission through the witness and service of charity.

The Cross is the Unique Sacrifice of Christ, the "one mediator between God and men". 452 But because in his incarnate divine perSon he has in some way united himself to every man, "the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery" is Offered to all men. 453 He calls his disciples to "take up [their] cross and follow (him)", 454 for "Christ also suffered for (us), leaving (us) an example so that (we) should follow in his steps." 455 In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. 456 This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering. 457 Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven. 458

The Council of Trent emphasizes the Unique character of Christ's Sacrifice as "the source of eternal Salvation" 449 and teaches that "his most holy Passion on the wood of the Cross merited justification for us." 450 and the Church venerates his cross as she sings: "Hail, O Cross, our only hope." 451

It is Love "to the end" 446 that confers on Christ's Sacrifice its value as redemption and reparation, as atonement and satisfaction. He knew and loved us all when he Offered his life. 447 Now "the love of Christ controls us, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died." 448 No man, not even the holiest, was ever able to take on himself the Sins of all men and offer himself as a sacrifice for all. the existence in Christ of the divine perSon of the Son, who at once surpasses and embraces all human persons, and constitutes himself as the Head of all mankind, makes possible his redemptive sacrifice for all.

The Letter to the Hebrews, in its great eulogy of the faith of Israel's ancestors, lays special emphasis on Abraham's faith: "By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go." 4 By faith, he lived as a stranger and pilgrim in the promised land. 5 By faith, Sarah was given to conceive the Son of the promise. and by faith Abraham Offered his only son in Sacrifice. 6

The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all the rituals and Sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First Covenant". 195 He announces him through the mouths of the prophets who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the Hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming.

Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 258 He invites them to that conversion without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his Father's boundless mercy for them and the vast "joy in heaven over one sinner who repents". 259 The supreme proof of his Love will be the Sacrifice of his own life "for the forgiveness of Sins". 260

The Son of God, who came down "from heaven, not to do (his) own will, but the will of him who sent (him)", 413 said on coming into the world, "Lo, I have come to do your will, O God." "and by that will we have been sanctified through the Offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." 414 From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine Salvation in his redemptive mission: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." 415 The Sacrifice of Jesus "for the Sins of the whole world" 416 expresses his loving Communion with the Father. "The Father Loves me, because I lay down my life", said the Lord, "(for) I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." 417

The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his Sacrifice. 431 Jesus includes the apostles in his own Offering and bids them perpetuate it. 432 By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as Priests of the New Covenant: "For their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth." 433

Christ's death is both the Paschal Sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world", 439 and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to Communion with God by reconciling him to God through the "Blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of Sins". 440

This Sacrifice of Christ is Unique; it completes and surpasses all other sacrifices. 441 First, it is a gift from God the Father himself, for the Father handed his Son over to sinners in order to reconcile us with himself. At the same time it is the Offering of the Son of God made man, who in freedom and Love Offered his life to his Father through the Holy Spirit in reparation for our disobedience. 442

The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic Sacrifice and the sacraments. 29 There are seven sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. 30 This article will discuss what is common to the Church's seven sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What is common to them in terms of their Celebration will be presented in the second chapter, and what is distinctive about each will be the topic of the Section Two.

The celebrating assembly is the community of the baptized who, "by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated to be a spiritual house and a holy Priesthood, that . . . they may offer spiritual Sacrifices." 9 This "common priesthood" is that of Christ the sole priest, in which all his members participate: 10

The Eucharist is a Sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through Creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."

The Eucharist is also the Sacrifice of Praise by which the Church sings the Glory of God in the name of all Creation. This sacrifice of praise is possible only through Christ: he unites the Faithful to his perSon, to his praise, and to his intercession, so that the sacrifice of praise to the Father is Offered through Christ and with him, to be accepted in him.

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.

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. 183 "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." 184

Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a Sacrifice. the sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution: "This is my body which is given for you" and "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my Blood." 185 In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the Cross, the very blood which he "poured out for many for the forgiveness of Sins." 186

The Eucharist is thus a Sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the Cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:

The Sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the Ministry of Priests, who then Offered himself on the Cross; only the manner of Offering is different." "In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a Bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner." 188

The Eucharist is also the Sacrifice of the Church. the Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the Offering of her Head. With him, she herself is Offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. the lives of the Faithful, their Praise, sufferings, Prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering.

The Eucharist, the sacrament of our Salvation accomplished by Christ on the Cross, is also a Sacrifice of Praise in thanksgiving for the work of Creation. In the Eucharistic sacrifice the whole of creation Loved by God is presented to the Father through the death and the Resurrection of Christ. Through Christ the Church can offer the sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving for all that God has made good, beautiful, and just in creation and in humanity.

We carry out this command of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his Sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he has himself given us: the gifts of his Creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and Blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.

In the epiclesis, the Church asks the Father to send his Holy Spirit (or the power of his blessing 178 ) on the bread and wine, so that by his power they may become the body and Blood of Jesus Christ and so that those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit (some liturgical traditions put the epiclesis after the anamnesis). In the institution narrative, the power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ's body and blood, his Sacrifice Offered on the Cross once for all.

Signs of the Covenant. the Chosen People received from God distinctive signs and symbols that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely Celebrations of cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of God's mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant are circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and Priests, laying on of hands, Sacrifices, and above all the Passover. the Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the sacraments of the New Covenant.

The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross, 59 from which the sacraments of the Paschal mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the Church, the Sacrifice of the Cross is made present under sacramental signs. the altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited. 60 In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).

The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal Priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lord's own Sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.

"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages 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.'" 133

The memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection. The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church's Offering. the terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, "sacrifice of Praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, 148 since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church's whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the Celebration of this sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred Mysteries. We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of sacraments. the Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle are designated by this same name.

In the Old Covenant bread and wine were Offered in Sacrifice among the first fruits of the earth as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator. But they also received a new significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel eats every year at Passover commemorates the haste of the departure that liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God; 154 their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God's Faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing" 155 at the end of the Jewish Passover meal adds to the festive joy of wine an eschatological dimension: the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup.

The presentation of the Offerings (the Offertory). Then, sometimes in procession, the bread and wine are brought to the altar; they will be Offered by the Priest in the name of Christ in the Eucharistic Sacrifice in which they will become his body and Blood. It is the very action of Christ at the Last Supper - "taking the bread and a cup." "The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator, when she offers what comes forth from his Creation with thanksgiving." 175 The presentation of the offerings at the altar takes up the gesture of Melchizedek and commits the Creator's gifts into the hands of Christ who, in his sacrifice, brings to perfection all human attempts to offer sacrifices.

The whole Church is united with the Offering and intercession of Christ. Since he has the Ministry of Peter in the Church, the Pope is associated with every Celebration of the Eucharist, wherein he is named as the sign and servant of the unity of the universal Church. the bishop of the place is always responsible for the Eucharist, even when a Priest presides; the bishop's name is mentioned to signify his presidency over the particular Church, in the midst of his presbyterium and with the assistance of deacons. the community intercedes also for all ministers who, for it and with it, offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice: