Bring Your Gift to the Altar – Our Participation in the Offering Made at Mass

St. Justin Martyr, in about the year 155 A.D. described the practice of the faithful bringing bread and wine to the altar in order to present them to the priest for the celebration of the Mass (St. Justin, Apol., 65-67). St. Hippolytus also mentions this holy custom in the third century. Other gifts such as oil, honey, fruit, wax or flowers were also presented. The bread and wine were used in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The other gifts were given to the priests and the poor.

The offering of bread and wine in sacrifice to God has an even earlier origin. We read in Genesis, chapter 14, about the priest king Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine. “And Melchizedek, King of Salem, brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. And he blessed him (Abram) and said, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand’” (Gen. 14:18-20). Commentators on Sacred Scripture tell us that Melchizedek was seen also as a messianic figure in Psalm 110, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Then in the sixth and seventh chapters of the Letter to the Hebrews Jesus Christ is presented as the great High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Christ’s priesthood is not according to the law of bodily descent, but because He has the power of “an indestructible life” (Heb. 7:16). He is a priest not because of His heritage but because of His identity. The offering of bread and wine is also taken up by the Lord Jesus Himself.

Jesus offered bread and wine during the Passover Supper on the first Holy Thursday. He took the bread and blessed it saying a prayer probably very similar to the prayer the priest says at Mass at the offering of the bread. The priest says “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you; fruit of the earth and work of human hands. It will become for us the bread of life.” Following that prayer, the priest says a prayer again probably very similar to the one Jesus prayed at the Last Supper. Taking the chalice containing wine the priest says. “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you; fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.” A few minutes later at Mass the priest prays the words of consecration that Lord Jesus said over the bread, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is My Body, which will be given up for you.” And then the priest says the words of consecration over the chalice, “Take this , all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of My Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal Covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of Me.”

Bread and wine used at Mass carry on the long tradition of offering bread and wine to God as a sacrifice. The difference is that at Mass the bread and wine do not remain bread and wine , rather, become Jesus Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Jesus shares His Sacrifice with us and invites us to be united with it. Let’s take a look at the other prayers of the Preparation Rite at Mass to understand this more clearly.

For example, the comingling of the wine with a tiny amount of water in the chalice symbolizes for us how we truly are called to share in the divinity of Christ, who became a man like us. The priest prays, “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.” This indicates to us the mystery of the Incarnation, God becoming man, and our being called to share in His divine nature. This happens by the Sacrifice of Jesus which is made present for us at Mass. We are united with Him with His Sacrifice at Mass in a powerful way.

The priest also prays quietly, “With humble spirit and contrite heart, may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight be pleasing to you, Lord God.” This prayer begs the Lord God to accept all present at Mass along with the offering of the bread and wine, which will become the Body and Blood of Christ in His Sacrifice. We become immersed in this Sacrifice, which is offered to God by the hands and ministry of the priest, who is configured to Christ by His ordination. How awesome it is to believe in and enter into this great mystery of Christ’s Sacrifice!

The tremendous mystery is then further exposed when the priest speaks to the faithful present, “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.” The priest’s sacrifice is the sacrifice of Jesus Himself. In it, the priest offers himself in his humanity and all of the faithful along with their sacrifices together with the Sacrifice of the great High Priest.

As the priest asks the people present that his offering and theirs may become acceptable to God the Father, they respond, “May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his holy Church.”

We could say that the response of the people to this prayer explains why the Mass is so important to us, why it is at the very heart of our life and the life of the Church. We come to Mass to enter into the Sacrifice of Christ, to praise and glorify the name of God, to adore Him, and to pray for all of our needs and the needs of the Church. We come to seek our salvation and the salvation of all. At Mass we discover who we are, how much God loves us, and what life is all about.

Dear Friends, when we come to Mass, let us be attentive to all of the prayers offered to God and to the message that these prayers speak to our hearts. Let us offer ourselves, our lives, our all with and in the Sacrifice of the Lord!

Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid

Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh