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The Eucharist is a sacrifice; a sacrifice made once and for all by our Lord Jesus Christ. Not like the sacrifice of old offered by the priests of the Old covenant, no. Jesus offered himself once and for all for the salvation of man.

The Eucharist is not repeatedly offered as in the old where the priest …stands daily at his service, repeatedly offering the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins (Heb.10:11). The Eucharist’s sacrificial character is completely different, even though it seems the priest of the New Covenant stands daily like the priests of the Old to offer the same sacrifice. The New Covenant sacrifice is the same all the time, for it is written that For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified (Heb. 10:14).

                                                                                                    THE JEWISH LAMB

                                                    THE LAMB OF GOD

The Old Covenant priests offered different animals each time they entered the temple for sacrifice, but the New Covenant priests offer the same ‘Lamb’ each time they enter the house of God to offer sacrifice. Jesus is the Lamb of God that was sacrificed once and for all; he will never die again. That is the mystery of the Eucharist’s sacrificial character that Christ died and will never die again, yet he is offered every day on our Eucharistic table. He has indeed, through this one sacrifice, sanctified his Church.

In the Eucharistic sacrifice, he is the Lamb of the sacrifice, and he offers the sacrifice in the priest’s person. At Mass, therefore, we are privileged to join Christ in offering the sacrifice of himself to the Father just as Mary, the apostle John, and other women had the opportunity to join him at the foot of the cross to offer himself for our salvation.