The Mass is the memorial of Jesus Christ. It is a remembrance which means keeping Him fresh in our mind. It is more than a memorial of His death; it is one also of His resurrection.
The desire to offer gifts to God seems to be instinctively deeply rooted in the human being. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we can offer a gift to God that is worthy of Him. The gift is one of infinite value; it is the gift of His Son: a precious and priceless gift God will not refuse.
In the memorial, banquet, sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus is the Priest who offers Himself as the victim as a gift to His Father in behalf of us. And, each time the Mass is offered it is a continuation, a prolongation through time of the once and for all crucifixion of Christ at Calvary. In this reactivation, the Mass makes present for us now, and effective for us, the Sacrifice of Christ. It is as if we were there, present at Calvary for since with God there is no time we enter into this eternal sacrificial offering.
