Mass and Transubstantiation

 

SOME COMMENTS ON THE MASS

The Catholic doctrine of the Mass, established by the Council of Trent, affirms that it is a propitiatory sacrifice which is offered to atone for the sins of the living and the dead in Christ.

The Bible teaches instead that Jesus Christ offered himself as the " one sacrifice for sins " of those who believe (Hebrews 10:12; see also Romans 6: 9-10), and that there is no need for further sacrifices or repetitions, because " this He did once and for all when he offered himself " (Hebrews 7: 25-27; 9: 22.25-28).
Therefore it is not possible to renew his sacrifice to help the souls in purgatory (note that the Bible does not speak at all of purgatory, but only of heaven and hell). Furthermore, very importantly, the need for repeated sacrifices gives the idea that Christ's sacrifice was not sufficient for the atonement of our sins, but that it needs to contribute to it with numerous other complementary sacrifices. God says, on the contrary, that Christ's sacrifice cannot be repeated because it is sufficient for all time for the remission of our sins: "I will remember no more of their sins and their iniquities. Now, where is remission of these. things, there is no longer a place for sin offering " (Hebrews 10: 17-18)."The blood of Jesus ... cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1: 7).

Alongside the Catholic doctrine of daily sacrifice, there is the Catholic tradition according to which the substance of bread and wine is effectively changed into the body and blood of Christ; this is called transubstantiation .
This tradition introduced itself into the Catholic Church around 380 AD, became dogma in 1215 and began to kneel before the host in 1226.

The Catholic Church, accepting this tradition, tries to support it with the words of Jesus: "This is my body", but these words do not teach that the bread undergoes a change by becoming literally the flesh of Christ. Jesus, after saying "this is my body", calls bread in the same passage three times "bread" (1 Corinthians 11: 24-28). We find the same thought regarding wine, which is called "fruit of the vine" (Mark 14:25), when instead it should have already been changed into blood. So in order to literally interpret the three times it is called bread, it is necessary to figuratively interpret the words "this is the body" in the same way we interpret the words of Christ: "

In the mass there is no change ⁽¹⁾ , while in the miracles of Christ this was evident. For example, when Christ changed water into wine, it became clear to everyone that it was no longer water, but wine (John 2: 9-10). This so-called change is also impossible because Christ is bodily in heaven in the present age.
This is explained by Peter in Acts 3:21 and reaffirmed in Hebrews 10:12: "This one, having offered one sacrifice for sins, and for ever, sat down at the right hand of God." Christ taught his disciples to make the holy supper in remembrance of him and of what he did for us: "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24).

¹⁾   In the epistle to the Hebrews, the apostle Paul reminds us that visible things are only an image (shadow) of invisible, spiritual things; they have the sole task of bringing to our spirit realities otherwise incomprehensible to reason. Indeed, the way to reach God does not start from reason, but from the revelation freely given by God to believers.
So when Jesus says: "This is my body, this is my blood", in fact the meaning is: As I have done the will of my Father and have put my life on the altar of sacrifice, so it is fitting that also you do the same thing.
In saying this, Jesus sets himself as an example of life to follow. It will certainly not be our purifying blood of anyone, because no one can put his blood before the justice of God, and like Jesus, claim the salvation of anyone; certainly, God welcomes our spiritual sacrifice offered on his altar entirely, and does not accept partial sacrifices.
If we want to present ourselves before the symbols of bread and wine, let us remember that Christ's sacrifice is not rational, and neither can interpretation be.