First, in a way trivial but in a way not: Sacraficere means "to do a holy thing, as I have done said before. I've said it three times now, so it's true.
Of COURSE, the Holy thing we're doing usually is giving something up, like a man running to first base or an unblemished ram a year old either from our sheep or from our goats.
Second, the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary is THE sacrifce par excellence. All sacrifices up until then point to it.
Because it was a Sacrifice offered by the Christ, it is at once temporal and eternal. And once you hit eternal, the normal rules of time change.
Therefore in the Mass, we are, so to speak invoking or otherwise contacting the eternal. Calvin (!) says, (I read this a LONG time ago -- it may even be true) that when we sing the Sanctus, the hymn of the Seraphs, we are taken up into heaven - or something like that.
It is not some NEW sacrifice, some repetition, that we are doing. It is THE sacrifice, brought into the now.
At one point in my life I had a very great grief. (The cause was small, not a great tragedy at all. I'm a sap.) I have read about grief and ministered to those in grief, so I had some clue about what was happening to me. But what was happening was that I lost all sense of where and when I was in time and space. Really. I was driving and not only did I not know where I was, though I'd been on the road many many times before, I didn't know WHEN I was. Was I in my 50's or was I in my 20's? I was uncertain and confused. The new loss trashed my memory for a few minutes.
When we "remember" in the mass, we "remember" big time. We do some SERIOUS remembering.
What was THEN is NOW, what was THERE, is HERE.
Now, of giving-up-type sacrifices there are many kinds. Some are to propitiate an angry person, as one might give some money to someone one had injured. Some are to procure the release of a bond, as one pays off the debt and gets title to the pickup.
And some are to get to where you can crunch the bad guys. One sends a small weak unit to distract the enemy's big and strong one, while one's own big and strong unit gets behind the enemy. All these are sacrifices in the "Giving something up, like for instance your life" sense.
And every parent knows that he or she has taken on some burden and given up some ease to show the little ones that, yes, Papa can, from time to time, be disciplined so they can too.
In these and possibly other ways I, without benefit of the Magisterium looking over my shoulder with the lighter fluid nearby, think we can properly call the Mass a sacrifce and what Jesus did on Calvary (but also with his whole life) a sacrifice.
Once again, rushing in where other fools fear to tread, I remain your most humble and verbose servant ....
Dawg. What about Jesus' statement "it is finished" and the fact that the sacrifice is done "once for all?"
Well done. Especially the explanation of eternal - outside time, kinda.
I think the Saints in Heaven with us is the kind of thing.
"Therefore in the Mass, we are, so to speak invoking or otherwise contacting the eternal. Calvin (!) says, (I read this a LONG time ago -- it may even be true) that when we sing the Sanctus, the hymn of the Seraphs, we are taken up into heaven - or something like that.
It is not some NEW sacrifice, some repetition, that we are doing. It is THE sacrifice, brought into the now."
Indeed it is. The following explains what we are about during the Divine Liturgy; from the Holy Anaphora:
"Deacon:
Let us stand well. Let us stand in awe. Let us be attentive, that we may present the holy offering in peace.
People:
Mercy and peace, a sacrifice of praise.
Priest:
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
People:
And with your spirit.
Priest:
Let us lift up our hearts.
People:
We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest:
Let us give thanks to the Lord.
People:
It is proper and right.
Priest (in a low voice):
It is proper and right to sing to You, bless You, praise You, thank You and worship You in all places of Your dominion; for You are God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding, existing forever and always the same; You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You brought us into being out of nothing, and when we fell, You raised us up again. You did not cease doing everything until You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom to come. For all these things we thank You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit; for all things that we know and do not know, for blessings seen and unseen that have been bestowed upon us. We also thank You for this liturgy which You are pleased to accept from our hands, even though You are surrounded by thousands of Archangels and tens of thousands of Angels, by the Cherubim and Seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring with their wings,
Priest:
Singing the victory hymn, proclaiming, crying out, and saying:
People:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled with Your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to God in the highest.
Priest (in a low voice):
Together with these blessed powers, merciful Master, we also proclaim and say: You are holy and most holy, You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You are holy and most holy, and sublime is Your glory. You so loved Your world that You gave Your only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. He came and fulfilled the divine plan for us. On the night when He was delivered up, or rather when He gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread in His holy, pure, and blameless hands, gave thanks, blessed, sanctified, broke and gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying:
Priest:
Take, eat, this is my Body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins.
People:
Amen.
Priest (in a low voice):
Likewise, after supper, He took the cup, saying:
Priest:
Drink of it all of you; this is my Blood of the new Covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.
People:
Amen.
Priest (in a low voice):
Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior, and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious coming,
Priest:
We offer to You these gifts from Your own gifts in all and for all.
People:
We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks to You, and we pray to You, Lord our God.
Priest (in a low voice):
Once again we offer to You this spiritual worship without the shedding of blood, and we ask, pray, and entreat You: send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here presented.
And make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ.
(He blesses the holy Bread.)
Deacon (in a low voice):
Amen.
Priest (in a low voice):
And that which is in this cup the precious Blood of Your Christ.
(He blesses the holy Cup.)
Deacon (in a low voice):
Amen.
Priest (in a low voice):
Changing them by Your Holy Spirit.
(He blesses them both.)
Deacon (in a low voice):
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Priest (in a low voice):
So that they may be to those who partake of them for vigilance of soul, forgiveness of sins, communion of Your Holy Spirit, fulfillment of the kingdom of heaven, confidence before You, and not in judgment or condemnation. Again, we offer this spiritual worship for those who repose in the faith, forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and for every righteous spirit made perfect in faith."
Blogger, I haven't forgotten your question. I'll attend to it after the Liturgy as it will involve pulling out volumes from the Ante and Post Nicene Fathers set and that is a bit cumbersome.