The scriptures clearly teach us, particularly in the book of Hebrews, that Christ died once for all and that He, the Priest and the Victim, offers himself once and for all until the end of the world. St. John beholds Him in the book of Revelation as "The Lamb once slain who lives forever." The Mass is the representation of His sacrifice which He made once for all. At every Mass, Calvary is revealed to the eyes of faith. He offered Himself that night before His sacrifice on Calvary. He continues to offer Himself after the sacrifice of Calvary at every mass. The sacrifice of Calvary transcends time and space.

We offer Christ with the priest at mass since we are His Mystical Body and are joined to Him as our head. We are united with Christ and His representative, the priest who in offering Mass is offering Christ to the Father. Our action is one with Christ. We can say as His Mystical Body that it is "not so much I who live as it is Christ who lives in me". Christ is offering Himself through us and in us. We offer ourselves through Christ to the Father. Our unity with Christ in His church makes His sacrifice ours. "All that I am, all that I do, all that I ever have, I offer, Lord to You". This should be our theme at every mass. The Holy Spirit invites us to unite ourselves with Christ in the sacrifice of the mass in order to present our offering which is pleasing to the Lord. As we continuously offer every thing we can to the Father, through the sacrifice of His Son, the Holy Spirit will perfect the oblation of ourselves.

May we at every mass see and find the opportunity to give back to the Father through His Son all that He has given us. May we see in this action the exchange of love which gives us life. "We love Him because He first loved us". We offer back our love which is our will, our minds, our hearts, our bodies, our all to Him who offered Himself out of love for us upon the cross of Calvary, the cross of the Altar. Divine love given and received and returned in some measure in the Mass gives us life forever.