How we can receive more from the Mass - 20 (Offertory/Self-sacrifice)

In a recent homily, our parish priest explained why he allows the collection to proceed before he prepares the altar, and then stands as the collection is taken to the sanctuary.  These are his gestures of respect to our own self-giving to God, made through the daily sacrifices we embrace to live in the light of the Gospel, and symbolised in our offerings. 

As we reflected last time, true sacrifice is humbly submitting ourselves to God.  Our offering at the collection is necessary for the practical needs of our parish, but its significance is so much more.  It is a symbol of our life, our work, our labours.  And, in recognition that all comes from God, we offer our life and our labours to God in humble sacrifice.  Our financial offering is, in a very real way, an offering of ourselves.  And this is part of the priestly role that, as baptised Christians, we share with Jesus the Christ.

“Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.”

We Catholics can too easily think of the sacrifice of Christ as being only on the Cross.  But the reality is that his whole life, his entire existence on earth is a sacrifice, a self-giving to the Father.  The Crucifixion is the necessary culmination of this self-giving. 

“May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his holy Church.”

At its heart, all sin is a failure of self-offering to our eternal God.  By offering ourselves to God through the celebration of Holy Mass, we do so in solidarity with the sacrifice of Jesus; so we may again celebrate our redemption through his Death and Resurrection.

“O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ!  O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!” (Exsultet)