We offer Christ as He offered Himself for us on Calvary. He signified His self-oblation for us at the Last Supper when He gave us His body to eat and His blood to drink. The Council of Trent, Doctrine on the Sacrifice of the Mass: “Because His priesthood was not to end with His death, at the Last Supper…He offered His body and blood under the species of bread and wine to God the Father…and ordered the disciples and their successors to offer, saying Do this as a memorial of Me.”
On Calvary, Christ offered not only Himself, but also all mankind in union with Him, especially the members of His mystical body, the Church. He renews that offering in every Mass, and we do the same. We offer ourselves to God: our adoration, praise, thanksgiving, and petitions; our prayers, works, sufferings, all the activities of our daily life, our entire selves. In union with Christ, the faithful offer themselves and every aspect of their lives that they may be given over completely to God, and thus be made sacred to Him (sacrum-facere).
We offer all creation to God, thereby consecrating the world itself to Him. But what does it mean to offer creation to God, seeing that it already belongs to Him? It means we acknowledge God as creator and Lord of all things, and commit ourselves to direct our use of creatures and the activities of our human world to Him, their final end. We thank God for the gift of creation and praise Him for His glory revealed in creatures. We offer God our labors directed to the transformation of the world to His glory, and implore His assistance that we may cooperate in causing His goodness, beauty, and wisdom to shine forth in creation, and His justice, peace and love to reign in our world.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching
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