Today while driving, I heard a bit of Fr. Corapi’s radio show. He was explaining how Catholics don’t believe that each Mass is a repetition of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary or that Christ dies anew at each Mass (a charge often leveled at us by Protestants), but rather that the Mass is one with Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary.
I knew that, but I don’t remember hearing it put the way he did on that show — that at Mass, God "makes the sacrifice of Jesus present" to us.
Or maybe I did, but I had always thought of "present" in the sense of "in our presence." I guess that is true, but now I see there’s something more to it.
Fr. Corapi went on to explain to his audience that Christ did the same thing at the Last Supper — made his sacrifice on Calvary "present" to those in the room. The sacrifice on Calvary hadn’t happened yet. Obviously that wasn’t a repetition! Obviously then Jesus didn’t "die anew!" And, of course, we believe that at Mass, God through the priest does the same thing that He did at the Last Supper.
What He did then was make that sacrifice on Calvary "present" — instead of future. And today at Mass He makes it "present" — instead of past.
Yes, here instead of there, but also now instead of then. God transcends time. Past, present, and future are one to Him. And so He can do this for us.
bearing blog 