| Devotion to Our Lady |
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THE HISTORY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS
Part 1
Ancient Blood-Shedding Sacrifices
Part 1
Ancient Blood-Shedding Sacrifices
Devotion to the Precious Blood goes back to the very foundations of the Church, the divine Blood of Christ shed upon the Cross always recognized by Her as the price paid for man’s redemption. Prefigured by the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, the Blood of the Lamb and Its power to purify us from sin, are discussed innumerable times in the Epistles of the New Testament.
The shedding of blood in sacrifice goes back to the time of Adam and Eve―where Abel, by shedding the blood of a first born lamb, offered a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice to God: “Abel was a shepherd, and it came to pass after many days, that Abel offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings” (Genesis 4:2-4).
This sacrifice by Abel was to be a type, or prefiguration, or forerunner of both the Paschal Lamb in the time of Moses, and of the Lamb of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who would shed His blood for our salvation. Abel himself would also have his own blood shed due to the envy and anger of his brother Cain, who slew Abel because God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but rejected Cain’s―thus Abel also became a a type, or prefiguration, or forerunner of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the shedding of his blood by family, as Jesus was killed by ‘family’ (His own nation).
There are certain conditions He expects to see in a sacrifice before He will accept it. The Old Law required five conditions with regard to the victims which were to be offered to God, so as to make them agreeable to him. These five conditions were (1) sanctification, (2) oblation or offering, (3) immolation or destruction, (4) consumption, and (5) participation.
1. Sanctification
The victim had to be sanctified, or consecrated to God, so that there might not be offered to him anything that was not holy, nor unworthy, of his majesty. Hence, the animal destined for sacrifice had to be without stain, without defect; it was not to be blind, lame, weak, nor deformed, according to what was prescribed in the Book of Deuteronomy (15:21). This condition indicated that such would be the Lamb of God, the victim promised for the salvation of the world; that is to say, that he would be holy, and exempt from every defect. We are thereby instructed that our prayers and our other good works are not worthy of being offered to God, or at least can never be fully agreeable to him, if they are in any way defective. Moreover, the animal thus sanctified could no longer be employed for any profane usage, and was regarded as a thing consecrated to God in such a manner that only a priest was permitted to touch it.
This shows us how displeasing it is to God if persons consecrated to him busy themselves, without real necessity, with the things of the world, and thus live in distraction and in neglect of what concerns the glory of God. Sanctification is our target and goal in life—yet many neglect it, scorn it, mock it and pay little or no attention to obtaining it. Woe to those people, for God says in Holy Scripture: “I am the Lord your God! Be holy because I am holy! Defile not your souls … You shall be holy, because I am holy!” (Leviticus 11:44-46). Our Lord echoes this in the New Testament, saying: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48).
This holiness is stressed in the very title of the sacrifice that Christ left behind for us—the HOLY Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the PERFECT Sacrifice, and which is meant to make us HOLY and PERFECT. Is that how we see the Mass? Do we seek to fulfill this condition of HOLINESS and SANCTIFICATION?
2. Oblation or Offering
The victim had to be offered to God; this was done by certain words that the Lord himself had prescribed. The sacrifice was to be totally God’s, with nothing held back. We all make a morning offering as a part of our prayers, but is it true offering, a true oblation? Or do we hold something back? “Jesus, I give you this, but I cannot bear to give you that!”
This reminds of the offering Jesus requested of the rich young man: “And behold one came and said to Jesus: ‘Good master! What good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Who said to him: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!’ The young man saith to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:16-22).
He was prepared to give up some things, but not everything—yet everything he had, was ultimately given to him by God! God was the real owner of the young man’s great possessions! Alas, are we not of the same type? God wants all and that is why the first Commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy WHOLE heart, and with thy WHOLE soul, and with thy WHOLE mind, and with thy WHOLE strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). Whole means total—total offering, total sacrifice!
3. Immolation or Destruction
It had to be immolated, or put to death; but this immolation was not always brought about by death, properly so called; for the sacrifice of the loaves of proposition, or show-bread, was accomplished, for example, without using iron or fire, but only by means of the natural heat of those who ate of them.
Our Lord seems to ask for this immolation or destruction from us, as reported by all of the Evangelists in one form or another, when He says: “For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it” (Matthew 16:25) … “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it” (Mark 8:35) … “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it” (Luke 9:24) … “Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it, shall preserve it” (Luke 17:33) … “Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, [25] Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25). “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).
Is that how we see our life? Is that how we are prepared to live our Faith? A total immolation for Christ’s sake? Few there are who do this—but few there are who are saved! Is there a connection? Most probably!
4. Consumption
The victim had to be consumed. This was done by fire. The sacrifice in which the victim was entirely consumed by fire was called holocaust. The latter was thus entirely annihilated in order to indicate by this destruction the unlimited power that God has over all his creatures, and that as he created them out of nothing, so he can reduce them to the nothingness from which they came. In fact, the principal end of the sacrifice is to acknowledge God as a sovereign being, so superior to all things that everything before him is purely nothing; for all things are nothing in presence of him who possesses all things in himself. The smoke that came from this sacrifice and arose in the air signified that God received it as a sweet odor, that is to say, with pleasure, as is written of the sacrifice of Noe : “Noe ... offered holocausts upon the altar; and the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Genesis 8:20).
Our spiritual consumption is a consumption by a fire of a different kind—the fire of love! God is love—“God is charity” (1 John 4:8)—and we are told: “Love the Lord thy God, with thy WHOLE heart, and with thy WHOLE soul, and with thy WHOLE mind, and with thy WHOLE strength!” (Mark 12:30). God has often chosen fire to symbolize Himself: the fire of the burning bush that Moses saw; the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the desert by night; the fire that set the mountain top ablaze in those desert wanderings; the fire that ignites the sacrifice of Elias on Carmel; the tongues of fire manifesting the Holy Ghost at the first Pentecost; the fire emanating from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, etc. We even ask to set ablaze when we pray to the Holy Ghost: “Come O Holy Ghost and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!” But do we really mean it? Do we want to be consumed with love, by love, for love?
5. Participation
All the people, together with the priest, had to be partakers of the victim. Hence, in the sacrifices, excepting the holocaust, the victim was divided into three parts, one part of which was destined for the priest, one for the people, and one for the fire. This last part was regarded as belonging to God, who by this means communicated in some manner with those who were partakers of the victim.
Do we participate properly, not only in the Sacrifice of the Mass, but in all our sacrifices? The Mass has three essential parts—the Offertory (Oblation), the Consecration (Immolation) and Communion (Consumption). Do we participate fully in the Mass so that it really can bring about our sanctification? Or are we just there in body, but not really in spirit. Do we just go through the motions? The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass screams out “Salvation” every time it is offered—yet it seems that those screams are not loud enough to wake up most people to the purpose of the Mass.
The Paschal Lamb
These five above conditions ― sanctification, oblation, immolation, consumption and participation ― are found reunited in the Old Testament Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, which was a prefiguration of the Holy Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary and in the Mass. The Lord had commanded Moses (Exodus 40:3) that, on the tenth day of the month on which the Jews had been delivered from the slavery of Egypt, a lamb of one year and without blemish should be taken and separated from the flock; and thus were verified the conditions enumerated above, namely:
1. The separation of the lamb signified that it was a victim consecrated to God;
2. This consecration was succeeded by the oblation, which took place in the Temple, where the lamb was presented;
3. On the fourteenth day of the month the immolation took place, or the lamb was killed;
4. Then the lamb was roasted and divided among those present; and this was the partaking of it, or communion;
5. Finally, the lamb having been eaten, what remained of it was consumed by fire, and thus was the sacrifice consummated.
The shedding of blood in sacrifice goes back to the time of Adam and Eve―where Abel, by shedding the blood of a first born lamb, offered a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice to God: “Abel was a shepherd, and it came to pass after many days, that Abel offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their fat: and the Lord had respect to Abel, and to his offerings” (Genesis 4:2-4).
This sacrifice by Abel was to be a type, or prefiguration, or forerunner of both the Paschal Lamb in the time of Moses, and of the Lamb of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who would shed His blood for our salvation. Abel himself would also have his own blood shed due to the envy and anger of his brother Cain, who slew Abel because God had accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but rejected Cain’s―thus Abel also became a a type, or prefiguration, or forerunner of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the shedding of his blood by family, as Jesus was killed by ‘family’ (His own nation).
There are certain conditions He expects to see in a sacrifice before He will accept it. The Old Law required five conditions with regard to the victims which were to be offered to God, so as to make them agreeable to him. These five conditions were (1) sanctification, (2) oblation or offering, (3) immolation or destruction, (4) consumption, and (5) participation.
1. Sanctification
The victim had to be sanctified, or consecrated to God, so that there might not be offered to him anything that was not holy, nor unworthy, of his majesty. Hence, the animal destined for sacrifice had to be without stain, without defect; it was not to be blind, lame, weak, nor deformed, according to what was prescribed in the Book of Deuteronomy (15:21). This condition indicated that such would be the Lamb of God, the victim promised for the salvation of the world; that is to say, that he would be holy, and exempt from every defect. We are thereby instructed that our prayers and our other good works are not worthy of being offered to God, or at least can never be fully agreeable to him, if they are in any way defective. Moreover, the animal thus sanctified could no longer be employed for any profane usage, and was regarded as a thing consecrated to God in such a manner that only a priest was permitted to touch it.
This shows us how displeasing it is to God if persons consecrated to him busy themselves, without real necessity, with the things of the world, and thus live in distraction and in neglect of what concerns the glory of God. Sanctification is our target and goal in life—yet many neglect it, scorn it, mock it and pay little or no attention to obtaining it. Woe to those people, for God says in Holy Scripture: “I am the Lord your God! Be holy because I am holy! Defile not your souls … You shall be holy, because I am holy!” (Leviticus 11:44-46). Our Lord echoes this in the New Testament, saying: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Matthew 5:48).
This holiness is stressed in the very title of the sacrifice that Christ left behind for us—the HOLY Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the PERFECT Sacrifice, and which is meant to make us HOLY and PERFECT. Is that how we see the Mass? Do we seek to fulfill this condition of HOLINESS and SANCTIFICATION?
2. Oblation or Offering
The victim had to be offered to God; this was done by certain words that the Lord himself had prescribed. The sacrifice was to be totally God’s, with nothing held back. We all make a morning offering as a part of our prayers, but is it true offering, a true oblation? Or do we hold something back? “Jesus, I give you this, but I cannot bear to give you that!”
This reminds of the offering Jesus requested of the rich young man: “And behold one came and said to Jesus: ‘Good master! What good shall I do that I may have life everlasting?’ Who said to him: ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments!’ The young man saith to Him: ‘All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me?’ Jesus said to him: ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come follow Me!’ And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:16-22).
He was prepared to give up some things, but not everything—yet everything he had, was ultimately given to him by God! God was the real owner of the young man’s great possessions! Alas, are we not of the same type? God wants all and that is why the first Commandment is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy WHOLE heart, and with thy WHOLE soul, and with thy WHOLE mind, and with thy WHOLE strength. This is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). Whole means total—total offering, total sacrifice!
3. Immolation or Destruction
It had to be immolated, or put to death; but this immolation was not always brought about by death, properly so called; for the sacrifice of the loaves of proposition, or show-bread, was accomplished, for example, without using iron or fire, but only by means of the natural heat of those who ate of them.
Our Lord seems to ask for this immolation or destruction from us, as reported by all of the Evangelists in one form or another, when He says: “For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it” (Matthew 16:25) … “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it” (Mark 8:35) … “For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it; for he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it” (Luke 9:24) … “Whosoever shall seek to save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose it, shall preserve it” (Luke 17:33) … “Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, [25] Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal” (John 12:24-25). “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).
Is that how we see our life? Is that how we are prepared to live our Faith? A total immolation for Christ’s sake? Few there are who do this—but few there are who are saved! Is there a connection? Most probably!
4. Consumption
The victim had to be consumed. This was done by fire. The sacrifice in which the victim was entirely consumed by fire was called holocaust. The latter was thus entirely annihilated in order to indicate by this destruction the unlimited power that God has over all his creatures, and that as he created them out of nothing, so he can reduce them to the nothingness from which they came. In fact, the principal end of the sacrifice is to acknowledge God as a sovereign being, so superior to all things that everything before him is purely nothing; for all things are nothing in presence of him who possesses all things in himself. The smoke that came from this sacrifice and arose in the air signified that God received it as a sweet odor, that is to say, with pleasure, as is written of the sacrifice of Noe : “Noe ... offered holocausts upon the altar; and the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Genesis 8:20).
Our spiritual consumption is a consumption by a fire of a different kind—the fire of love! God is love—“God is charity” (1 John 4:8)—and we are told: “Love the Lord thy God, with thy WHOLE heart, and with thy WHOLE soul, and with thy WHOLE mind, and with thy WHOLE strength!” (Mark 12:30). God has often chosen fire to symbolize Himself: the fire of the burning bush that Moses saw; the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the desert by night; the fire that set the mountain top ablaze in those desert wanderings; the fire that ignites the sacrifice of Elias on Carmel; the tongues of fire manifesting the Holy Ghost at the first Pentecost; the fire emanating from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, etc. We even ask to set ablaze when we pray to the Holy Ghost: “Come O Holy Ghost and enkindle in us the fire of Thy love!” But do we really mean it? Do we want to be consumed with love, by love, for love?
5. Participation
All the people, together with the priest, had to be partakers of the victim. Hence, in the sacrifices, excepting the holocaust, the victim was divided into three parts, one part of which was destined for the priest, one for the people, and one for the fire. This last part was regarded as belonging to God, who by this means communicated in some manner with those who were partakers of the victim.
Do we participate properly, not only in the Sacrifice of the Mass, but in all our sacrifices? The Mass has three essential parts—the Offertory (Oblation), the Consecration (Immolation) and Communion (Consumption). Do we participate fully in the Mass so that it really can bring about our sanctification? Or are we just there in body, but not really in spirit. Do we just go through the motions? The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass screams out “Salvation” every time it is offered—yet it seems that those screams are not loud enough to wake up most people to the purpose of the Mass.
The Paschal Lamb
These five above conditions ― sanctification, oblation, immolation, consumption and participation ― are found reunited in the Old Testament Sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, which was a prefiguration of the Holy Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary and in the Mass. The Lord had commanded Moses (Exodus 40:3) that, on the tenth day of the month on which the Jews had been delivered from the slavery of Egypt, a lamb of one year and without blemish should be taken and separated from the flock; and thus were verified the conditions enumerated above, namely:
1. The separation of the lamb signified that it was a victim consecrated to God;
2. This consecration was succeeded by the oblation, which took place in the Temple, where the lamb was presented;
3. On the fourteenth day of the month the immolation took place, or the lamb was killed;
4. Then the lamb was roasted and divided among those present; and this was the partaking of it, or communion;
5. Finally, the lamb having been eaten, what remained of it was consumed by fire, and thus was the sacrifice consummated.
THE HISTORY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS
Part 2
Sacrifice & Blood
Part 2
Sacrifice & Blood
What is a Sacrifice?
A sacrifice is the offering of a victim by a priest to God alone, and the destruction of it in some way to acknowledge that He is the Creator of all things. The strongest instincts of human nature prompt us to offer sacrifice to the Deity as an essential and acceptable act of religion. By his very nature man wants to adore and thank his Creator. Hence, from the commencement of the world, all nations, even the most barbarous and illiterate, have offered sacrifice of one kind or another to the divinities they worshiped. Men mistaken at times about the nature of the true God have offered false worship; but they have always recognized the obligation of adoring the Supreme Being. As far back as the history of man is recorded, there is evidence that men acknowledged their dependence on the Supreme Being by offering sacrifices to Him.
Old Testament Sacrifices
Before the coming of Christ, in the Old Testament Law, sacrifices of different kinds were frequently offered to God.
The patriarchs and Jewish priests at the command of God offered fruits, wine, or animals as victims. Cain, for example, offered fruits; Abel offered some sheep of his flock; Melchisedech offered bread and wine. The destruction of these offerings, removed them from man’s use, they were destroyed and offered to God and thereby signified that God is the Supreme Lord and Master of the entire created universe and that man is wholly dependent upon Him for everything. Sacrifice, therefore, is the most perfect way for man to worship God.
Yet all these different sacrifices of the Old Law were only figures of the sacrifice which Christ was to make of Himself. His offering of Himself on the cross was the greatest sacrifice ever offered to God. All the sacrifices of the Old Law derived their efficacy, or value, from the sacrifice which Christ was to offer on the cross.
● Abel offered sacrifice of “the firstlings of his flock” (Genesis 4:4). Abel is shown to be a type of Christ in that he was the first one to suffer for righteousness sake: “Behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes―and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:34-35). The hostility that Cain directed toward his brother was ultimately meant for God. Abel died because he worshiped God rightly. Jesus died because He always did the will of His Father in Heaven. Abel was the first martyr. Jesus is the anti-typical martyr. St. Paul tells us that “the blood of Jesus speaks better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 11:4; 12:24). So Abel was a type of Christ by way of comparison and contrast. He is compared with Christ in that he was martyred for righteousness; he is contrasted with Christ in that his blood cried out for vengeance while Christ’s blood cries out for mercy.
● Noe building his ark was a symbol of both the Temple of Old Testament and the Tabernacle in the New Testament. God dwelt in the Temple (and the Holy of Holies) and Christ dwells Eucharistically in the tabernacle of the new temple, the church. Noe also built an altar of sacrifice after the Great Flood: “And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts upon the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Genesis 8:20-21).
● The priest and king, Melchisedech, sacrifices bread and wine, symbols of the future Eucharist: “Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God” (Genesis 14:18). Melchisedech was both king and priest, as we know Christ to be. He was the king of Salem (later to be called Jerusalem) and also a priest of God most high, who offered bread and wine and blessed Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) when he was returning from having rescued Lot from captivity. Melchisedech is both king and priest, as we know Christ to be. The name Melchisedech means, “my king of justice” or “my king of righteousness.” Jesus is truly the just king, the truly righteous One. Melchisedech is the king of the city of Salem, which would later be called Jerusalem. Jesus would make his triumphal entry into Jerusalem as king and be proclaimed a king and admit to being a king. “Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass” (Matthew 21:5). Asked by Pontius Pilate if He was a king, Jesus replied: “Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world!” (John 18:37). It is in Jerusalem that Jesus would come to be mocked by the words, “Hail, King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:29). It is here, in Jerusalem, that as King and Priest he would offer gifts of bread and wine, consecrating them into His own Body and Blood, during the Passover at the Last Supper. Then, as King and Priest, He would offer the sacrifice of His life, thus blessing all of humanity and the descendants of Abram.
● Abraham “came to the place which God had shown him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood, and he put forth his hand, and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. And, behold, an Angel of the Lord from Heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham ... Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him; now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only-begotten son for my sake. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son” (Genesis, chapter 22).
● Elias, too, built an altar to the name of the Lord ... “and laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood. .. .And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias, the prophet, came near, and said: ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, show this day that Thou art the God of Israel, and I Thy servant: and that according to Thy commandments I have done all these things!’ ... And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and said: ‘The Lord He is God, the Lord He is God!’” (3 Kings, chapter 18)
The sacrifices of the Old Law were, some of them, bloody; others unbloody. The bloody sacrifices consisted chiefly of lambs, oxen, and goats. Sometimes, as in the case of our Lord’s presentation, the victims were birds: “They carried him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ... And to offer sacrifice, according as it is written in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:22-24).
The unbloody sacrifices were mainly of flour, and wine, and oil, etc. These ancient sacrifices, though offered up by the hands of the holy Patriarchs, had no internal value of their own. They were but poor and weak elements, quite incapable of cancelling sin, quite incapable of conferring God’s grace upon those who offered them, or upon those for whom they were offered. “For it is impossible,” says St. Paul, “that with the blood of oxen and goats, sins should be taken away” (Hebrews 10:4). Those sacrifices were but mere types and figures of the true Sacrifice yet to come―that is, of the holy Mass―and it was only as such that they were in any sense acceptable to God. Compared with the Sacrifice of the Mass, they were but as vague shadows, compared to the solid substance.
A sacrifice is the offering of a victim by a priest to God alone, and the destruction of it in some way to acknowledge that He is the Creator of all things. The strongest instincts of human nature prompt us to offer sacrifice to the Deity as an essential and acceptable act of religion. By his very nature man wants to adore and thank his Creator. Hence, from the commencement of the world, all nations, even the most barbarous and illiterate, have offered sacrifice of one kind or another to the divinities they worshiped. Men mistaken at times about the nature of the true God have offered false worship; but they have always recognized the obligation of adoring the Supreme Being. As far back as the history of man is recorded, there is evidence that men acknowledged their dependence on the Supreme Being by offering sacrifices to Him.
Old Testament Sacrifices
Before the coming of Christ, in the Old Testament Law, sacrifices of different kinds were frequently offered to God.
The patriarchs and Jewish priests at the command of God offered fruits, wine, or animals as victims. Cain, for example, offered fruits; Abel offered some sheep of his flock; Melchisedech offered bread and wine. The destruction of these offerings, removed them from man’s use, they were destroyed and offered to God and thereby signified that God is the Supreme Lord and Master of the entire created universe and that man is wholly dependent upon Him for everything. Sacrifice, therefore, is the most perfect way for man to worship God.
Yet all these different sacrifices of the Old Law were only figures of the sacrifice which Christ was to make of Himself. His offering of Himself on the cross was the greatest sacrifice ever offered to God. All the sacrifices of the Old Law derived their efficacy, or value, from the sacrifice which Christ was to offer on the cross.
● Abel offered sacrifice of “the firstlings of his flock” (Genesis 4:4). Abel is shown to be a type of Christ in that he was the first one to suffer for righteousness sake: “Behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes―and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:34-35). The hostility that Cain directed toward his brother was ultimately meant for God. Abel died because he worshiped God rightly. Jesus died because He always did the will of His Father in Heaven. Abel was the first martyr. Jesus is the anti-typical martyr. St. Paul tells us that “the blood of Jesus speaks better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews 11:4; 12:24). So Abel was a type of Christ by way of comparison and contrast. He is compared with Christ in that he was martyred for righteousness; he is contrasted with Christ in that his blood cried out for vengeance while Christ’s blood cries out for mercy.
● Noe building his ark was a symbol of both the Temple of Old Testament and the Tabernacle in the New Testament. God dwelt in the Temple (and the Holy of Holies) and Christ dwells Eucharistically in the tabernacle of the new temple, the church. Noe also built an altar of sacrifice after the Great Flood: “And Noe built an altar unto the Lord: and taking of all cattle and fowls that were clean, offered holocausts upon the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savor” (Genesis 8:20-21).
● The priest and king, Melchisedech, sacrifices bread and wine, symbols of the future Eucharist: “Melchisedech the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God” (Genesis 14:18). Melchisedech was both king and priest, as we know Christ to be. He was the king of Salem (later to be called Jerusalem) and also a priest of God most high, who offered bread and wine and blessed Abram (later to be renamed Abraham) when he was returning from having rescued Lot from captivity. Melchisedech is both king and priest, as we know Christ to be. The name Melchisedech means, “my king of justice” or “my king of righteousness.” Jesus is truly the just king, the truly righteous One. Melchisedech is the king of the city of Salem, which would later be called Jerusalem. Jesus would make his triumphal entry into Jerusalem as king and be proclaimed a king and admit to being a king. “Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass” (Matthew 21:5). Asked by Pontius Pilate if He was a king, Jesus replied: “Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world!” (John 18:37). It is in Jerusalem that Jesus would come to be mocked by the words, “Hail, King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:29). It is here, in Jerusalem, that as King and Priest he would offer gifts of bread and wine, consecrating them into His own Body and Blood, during the Passover at the Last Supper. Then, as King and Priest, He would offer the sacrifice of His life, thus blessing all of humanity and the descendants of Abram.
● Abraham “came to the place which God had shown him, where he built an altar, and laid the wood in order upon it: and when he had bound Isaac his son, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood, and he put forth his hand, and took the sword, to sacrifice his son. And, behold, an Angel of the Lord from Heaven called to him, saying: Abraham, Abraham ... Lay not thy hand upon the boy, neither do thou anything to him; now I know that thou fearest God, and hast not spared thy only-begotten son for my sake. Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw behind his back a ram amongst the briers, sticking fast by the horns, which he took and offered for a holocaust instead of his son” (Genesis, chapter 22).
● Elias, too, built an altar to the name of the Lord ... “and laid the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it upon the wood. .. .And when it was now time to offer the holocaust, Elias, the prophet, came near, and said: ‘O Lord, God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Israel, show this day that Thou art the God of Israel, and I Thy servant: and that according to Thy commandments I have done all these things!’ ... And when all the people saw this, they fell on their faces, and said: ‘The Lord He is God, the Lord He is God!’” (3 Kings, chapter 18)
The sacrifices of the Old Law were, some of them, bloody; others unbloody. The bloody sacrifices consisted chiefly of lambs, oxen, and goats. Sometimes, as in the case of our Lord’s presentation, the victims were birds: “They carried him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ... And to offer sacrifice, according as it is written in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:22-24).
The unbloody sacrifices were mainly of flour, and wine, and oil, etc. These ancient sacrifices, though offered up by the hands of the holy Patriarchs, had no internal value of their own. They were but poor and weak elements, quite incapable of cancelling sin, quite incapable of conferring God’s grace upon those who offered them, or upon those for whom they were offered. “For it is impossible,” says St. Paul, “that with the blood of oxen and goats, sins should be taken away” (Hebrews 10:4). Those sacrifices were but mere types and figures of the true Sacrifice yet to come―that is, of the holy Mass―and it was only as such that they were in any sense acceptable to God. Compared with the Sacrifice of the Mass, they were but as vague shadows, compared to the solid substance.