“Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to you I offer praise.”
When the Lord took the cup, he gave thanks (Mt 26:27). This can remind us of the words of blessing, which certainly express thanksgiving to the Creator, but we also know that Christ was in the habit of giving thanks every time he raised his eyes to the heavenly Father (Jn 11:41) before working a miracle. He gave thanks because he knew ahead of time that he would be heard. He gave thanks for the divine power that he carried in himself and through which he was to manifest before the eyes of men that the Creator is all-powerful. He gave thanks for the work of redemption, which was given him to do, and he gave thanks through that work, which is itself the glorification of the Triune God, whose disfigured image it renews through its pure beauty.
Thus, Christ’s eternally present sacrifice on the cross during Holy Mass and in the eternal glory of heaven can be understood as one single immense thanksgiving – that is what the word “eucharist” means – thanksgiving for creation, for redemption, and for the final fulfillment. He offers himself in the name of the whole created universe, of which he is the original model and to which he descended so as to renew it from the inside and to lead it to its fulfillment. But he also calls this whole created world to come with him to give the Creator the homage of thanksgiving, which is his due.