May 21 - 22, 2005, Most Holy Trinity

 

Eucharist as Offering

 

continued - Last week I wrote that in the Eucharist Jesus Christ offers Himself
to the Father. The Offerer is the Offering. The people present join with the ordained priest who is acting in the person of Christ to co-offer the Lord’s Body and Blood to the Father for the life of the world.

There is another dimension to the Eucharistic offering which is secondary to this, but still very important. In addition to offering the Body and Blood of Christ to the Father, there is something else that the priest and people need to do. We need to offer ourselves: our lives, our work, our hearts. This, of course, is a most unworthy offering considering our many failures. But if we join the offering of ourselves to the Lord’s self-offering in the Eucharist, then our self-offering becomes acceptable.

This is symbolized very beautifully in the procession of gifts or “offertory procession” which takes place at Mass. Members of the assembly bring to the altar bread, wine and perhaps also monetary donations. They present them to the priest who then places the bread and wine on the altar. The bread and wine, which are the “work of human hands”, symbolize our work, our lives and they will become the Body and Blood of Christ which is offered to the Father in the course of the Eucharist.

                                                                        - Msgr. David A. Lockard