WHAT NOT TO MISS AT MASS

This Pure Victim

The Oblation

What Not to Miss

  • Oblation means the same thing as offering.
  • Jesus presented himself as an offering to the Father on the Cross. His offering has just been re-presented on the altar at the consecration.
  • As Christ's Body, the Church makes his offering our own. Thus, the Mass is a sacrifice—the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ that we get to offer ourselves!
  • We are offering Christ to the Father in the oblation, but we are also offering ourselves in union with Christ.
  • Everyone gathered for Mass, plus all other members of the Church throughout time and space, make this offering together.
  • We ask God the Father to accept this offering knowing that he will! After all, this is his perfect Son whom he loves, and he also loves us, who are united with his Son.
  • What do we receive in return for this offering? In the words of the Roman Canon, "eternal life" and "everlasting salvation"!

Next Time You Go to Mass...

  • In spirit, place your life on the altar with Christ.
  • Give the Father your body, mind, and soul, your possessions and relationships, your past, present, and future, and everything else you can call your own.
  • Unite your offering with that of everyone else in the church, and with the whole communion of saints.
  • Ask God to give you the answer to this question: "How can I live my life as a perpetual offering to God?"

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

This collect prayer begins the Mass for Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Jesus is calling us to "take up battle against spiritual evils." We'll explore fasting itself in a few weeks; during the week of Ash Wednesday, we're going to dig into an important set of weapons the Lord gives us to fight evil: sacramentals.

What's a sacramental? Well, if you attend Mass on Ash Wednesday, you're probably going to receive one on your forehead.