The fourth sip from the cup of Babylon is here A named "The Mass," which plays an important part in the life of every true Roman Catholic. This institution is used more effectively than any other to bind the communicants to that church. In their own language:
"The holy eucharist is the greatest and most wonderful of the seven sacraments. It is the divine center of all [Roman] Catholic worship. It is the greatest of the mysteries of our faith, a compendium of all the other mysteries.... It further differs from the other sacraments and excels them."[1]
The mass, from beginning to end, is so dramatic that it impresses forcibly those who are present, whether learned or unlearned. As those in the audience watch the expressive actions and gestures of the officiating priest, from the moment he bows at the foot of the altar until he leaves, they are so captivated with such sacerdotal performances that they do not think to question their authenticity. The fact that this service is in Latin gives it an air of mystery, elegance, and scholarship, which the common intellect is incapable of comprehending or explaining. There is nothing left undone to appeal to the senses and dazzle the eye. The lights, that illuminate the altar and cause the handiwork of man to sparkle, the rich vestments, and the smoke of the incense are all designed to charm and yet subdue the spectator.
To explain more fully the mystery of the mass and the liturgical objects and the part each one plays in the great drama, I give this list:
"The altar represents Mount Calvary on which our Lord died. The crucifix represents our Lord hanging on the cross. The altar-cloths represent the linen in which the dead body of our Savior was wrapped. The lighted candles represent our Lord as the light of the world; and are also an emblem of Christian faith, hope and charity. The sanctuary lamp represents the star of Bethlehem pointing out the humble abode of the King of kings. The tabernacle represents the cave of Bethlehem, the abode of the divine Savior. The tabernacle veil reminds us of the hidden presence of our Lord in the blessed sacrament. The chalice represents the cup in which our Lord consecrated at the Last Supper. The corporal, a square piece of linen, commemorates the winding-sheet in which our Savior was buried. The missal is the book in which the prayers and ceremonies of the mass are contained. The bell, rung at certain times during mass, gives notice of the most solemn parts of the sacrifice. Incense is a symbol of, prayer rising to heaven. The vestments of the priest remind us of the sufferings of our Savior whom the priest represents. The amice represents Christ blindfolded and buffeted. The alb represents the white garment which Herod put on our Lord. The cincture represents the cord with which our Lord was bound. The maniple is a symbol of sorrow, and recalls the tears and disfigured countenance of our Lord. The stole is the sign of priestly power, and recalls the cord with which our Lord was bound during the passion. The chasuble represents Jesus Christ clothed by Pilate in a purple garment. White vestments symbolize purity. Red vestments symbolize fortitude. Purple vestments symbolize penance. Green vestments symbolize hope. Black vestments symbolize sorrow."[2]
One searches the Holy Scriptures in vain to find mention of the liturgy of the mass. The objects which the Roman Catholic Church deems necessary in the performance of the mass are foreign to the word of God, for Christ made no such ostentatious display. To the people in general the ceremonies of the mass are both mystifying and awesome. They tend to fill the worshiper with reverential fear. Here is a word picture of the mass as it is performed by the officiating priest. Note carefully the eleven steps in the drama:
"1. The priest first prays with heartfelt sorrow, and profoundly bowing, at the foot of the altar; then having ascended the steps, he kisses it reverently, reads the Introit, and prays again in the spirit of humility to God, by reciting alternately with the server the 'Kyrie eleison' (Lord, have mercy on us).
2. He intones joyfully the Hymn of the Angels (Gloria), and turns then towards the people, to wish them the divine blessing.
3. He prays at the side of the altar, in the name of all who are present, to God for the necessities of all. After that, he reads two portions of the Holy Scripture, the Epistle and the Gospel, the latter, however, at the other side of the altar, to intimate that the evangelical doctrine, rejected by the Jews, passed over to the heathens.
4. The Gospel is followed, on certain days, by the Nicene Creed. This is the preparation for the sacrifice. It was anciently called the Mass of the Catechumens--i.e., of those who were still in the first rudiments of Christianity, because they were permitted to assist at it thus far before they were baptized. Next begins,
5. The sacrifice itself by the Offertory: the priest, united with the people, offers bread and wine, and then washes his hands, to show the purity of heart with which we should assist at the holy sacrifice.
6. He invites all to fervent prayer, and, praising God, he joins with the choirs of angels, saying: 'Holy, holy, holy,' etc.
7. Next follow prayers, said in a low voice, for the church, her rulers, and all the faithful, under the invocation of the blessed virgin and all the saints.
8. Then he pronounces the mysterious words of consecration, adores, making a genuflection, and elevates the sacred body and the sacred blood above his head. At the ringing of the bell the people adore on their knees, and strike their breasts in token of repentance for their sins.
9. The priest begs of God graciously to accept the sacrifice, to have mercy on all mankind, also on the souls in purgatory, and concludes with the Lord's Prayer, which contains the substance of all petitions.
10. After a preparatory prayer, during which, at solemn masses, the kiss of peace is given, follows the holy communion of which all those who are present should partake, at least spiritually.
11. The communion being over, the whole concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving, the blessing of the people, and the reading of the gospel of St. John."[3]
Thus one can see that it is in the mysterious words of consecration that the priest goes to great excesses when he assumes the role of transmuting a wafer ,(which is made of flour and water, and baked) into the real body of Christ. So says a papal priest:
"The bread and wine, the consecrated stone, a priest, is all that is needed now, for 'at any moment it is in his power to call the Lord of glory with holy words down upon the earth, to bless Him with his lips, to hold Him in his hands, to receive Him into his mouth, and to distribute Him to the faithful, whilst at the same time the angels stand about him in reverent awe to honor Him who is sacrificed. 'The power of the priest,' exclaims St. Bernardine of Sienna, 'surpasses the power of the blessed virgin; Mary brought the Son of God only once into this world, the priest can do so daily.' The moment of consecration comes, the priest's head is bowed as the awful words fall from his lips: 'This is My body.' With the swiftness of light, the Lord of hosts has 'leaped down from His throne on high,' the substance of the bread has gone, and in his hands, which he has striven to render 'holy and undefiled,' the Melchisedeck of the new law holds his Creator, Redeemer and judge. A moment more and by the second words of consecration, 'This is My blood,' the Lamb of God lies 'mystically slain,' for the sacrifice of Calvary and the altar are the same.'[4]
"'Marvelous dignity of priests!' exclaims St. Augustine; 'in their hands, as in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary, the Son of God becomes incarnate.' . . . Behold the power of the priest! The tongue of the priest makes God from a morsel of bread! It is more than creating the world. Someone said, 'Does St. Philomena, then, obey the cure of Ars?' Certainly, she may well obey him, since God obeys him. The blessed virgin cannot make her divine Son descend into the host. A priest can, however simple he may be."[5]
The doctrine of transubstantiation, like many other doctrines of the papal church, was a controversial question for centuries before it received final adoption. It was Paschasius Radbertus, a Benedictine monk (786-860), who first advocated the doctrine of the "real presence" (transubstantiation) by the changing of the elements into the "body and blood of Christ." From the publishing of his treatise in A. D. 831 on the "real presence" until the fourth Lateran Council in A. D. 1215, at which time the doctrine was adopted as a dogma, many fierce verbal battles were fought by the bishops against the teaching of Paschasius.[6]
The question that should come home to us now is, does the Sacred Bible agree with Paschasianism?
The sacrifice of the mass is not supported by the word of God, although it is the center of Roman Catholic worship.
Let us turn our minds to the upper room where Christ and the twelve disciples were eating the Passover supper. "And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. And He said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. (Luke 22:14,15)
This was the last valid Passover that was to be kept, for the true Passover Lamb was to die the next afternoon. The slaying of the Passover lamb by the Jews for 1,500 years had pointed to the death of Christ. Desiring to leave a memorial of His death, one that would ever keep in mind the two great events, the fact of His death and the promise of His second coming, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper.
The unfermented wine and the unleavened bread were on the table. He took the bread and "blessed it," or, as Luke says, "gave thanks," and then broke it, saying, "Take, eat; this is My body." (Matthew 26:26; Luke 22:19) It was Thursday night, according to modern reckoning of the days, when the Lord broke the bread and gave it to His disciples. If it were true that He gave them His real body, then He died that night instead of on the following afternoon of Good Friday. As he did on a previous occasion, Peter would have uttered some word of surprise if Jesus had meant that then He was to suffer and be killed by His own hands. The Lord did not state that He was then taking His own life. (Matthew 16:21,22) How absurd to think for one moment that Jesus handed them His own flesh to eat! There is more truth than poetry in the words of the old Arabian sage Averroes (died c.1198): "I have traveled over the world, and seen many people; but none so sottish and ridiculous as Christians, who devour the God they worship."[7]
The Roman Catholic, Church claims that by the statement, "This is My body," is meant the real body of Christ. But there are other texts in the Holy Bible that mention the body of Christ. For instance, the church is called the "body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12; 1:22,23) No one could ever be mistaken here as to the meaning of the term: "He is the head of the body, the church." (Colossians 1:18)
According to the reasoning of the papal church on the words "This is My body," one can just as logically hold that in the service of the mass the people who comprise the church are transmuted into the wafer as the real body and blood of Christ.
Christ, when He spoke of Himself as being the bread, was not teaching the doctrine of transubstantiation. It is absurd to charge the Son of God with creating Himself out of a literal piece of bread. If what the Roman Catholic Church teaches were true concerning Christ's use of the term "bread," would it not equally apply to the other words by which He referred to Himself, such as "the door," (John 10:9). "the vine," (John 15:1) "the light", (John 8:12) "the root", (Revelation 22:16). "the rock," (1 Corinthians 10:4) and "the bright and morning star"? (Revelation 22:16) If we apply the logic of the papacy for interpreting Christ's statement, "I am that bread of life," (John 6:48) is it not possible by the same mode of interpretation to say that Christ is changed into a door, a vine, a light, a root, a rock, and a star? If it holds good in one instance, it must of necessity hold good in others.
The bread that the Roman Catholic Church gives to her laity is not broken. It is a round, disk shaped wafer, that is served completely whole. By thus administering the wafer whole, they spoil the import of the figure which Jesus left to represent His broken body. He broke the bread when He gave it to His disciples.
Why the roundness of the wafer, it may be asked. Moses, who was instructed by God to tell the He brew s to prepare the unleavened bread for the Passover feast, has left nothing on record to indicate the form or shape of the bread. The question may arise, Where did the thin, round wafer of the papal mass originate? It probably came from sun worship. "Almost every jot or tittle in the Egyptian worship had a symbolical meaning. The round disk, so frequent in the sacred emblems of Egypt, symbolized the sun."[8] Our Lord was careful to guard His people from anything that would relate to sun worship. He regarded sun worship as a "greater" abomination than the other forms of idolatry committed by the Israelites. (Ezekiel 8:3,16) Would the Lord permit the sacred ordinance given as a memorial of His Son's death to be copied from pagan worship? Never!
The giving of the cup is an essential part of the Lord's Supper. "And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink you all of it." (Matthew 26:27) Here it is stated that Jesus gave thanks as He passed to His disciples the cup. Can we fancy Jesus giving them His own real blood to drink? Would they not be counted among the rankest of cannibals, by drinking the blood of their divine Redeemer? Nevertheless, we have this statement: "The [Roman] Catholic Church has always believed and taught that Jesus gave the apostles His true and real body and blood."[9] Such teaching is not in harmony with the Bible. Let us now see what the Sacred Scriptures say, whether or not it is a case of transubstantiation or one of commemoration.
"And He [Christ] took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me." (Luke 22:19) The word "remembrance" is given in the Douay Version, as "commemoration." In their revised New Testament the term "remembrance" is used by the Roman Catholic translators. Therefore, the Lord's Supper was instituted as a reminder, or memorial, of the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ, just as the seventh-day Sabbath is the memorial of the creation of the world by God. Twice in the following texts the apostle Paul quotes Christ as saying that the communion service was instituted "in remembrance" of Himself. "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread. And when He had given thanks, He brake it and said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My blood: this do you, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." (1 Corinthians 11:23-25) It not only points backward to His death but also points forward to His second coming.
The wine used by Christ at the Last Supper was unfermented. "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." (Matthew 26:29) Why was it the "fruit of the vine"? Because ferment is a type of sin, and as there was "no sin" in the life of the Son of God; so the wine, which represented His blood, must be without ferment. It was "the pure blood of the grape," in which there was a blessing." (Deuteronomy 32:14; Isaiah 65:8) The bread used was unleavened, like that used at the Passover feast. (Exodus 12:8,15,18,39; Numbers 9:11) Leaven, like ferment, is a type of sin, as Paul clearly points out: "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Corinthians 5:7,8)
The Roman Catholic Church uses the unleavened bread, but the wine which she uses is fermented. By so doing she makes it appear as though there were sin in the life of Christ. Some Protestant churches use leavened bread and unfermented wine.
The repetition of the mass is another thing that strikes at the very heart of the atonement which Christ made on the cross. If the following statements are true, Christ is continually sacrificed on the altars of the Roman Catholic Church. The teaching of this church is thus:
"On the altars of the [Roman] Catholic Church, whose zone of chalices encircles the world, the mass is celebrated every day. Since time changes from continent to continent, this morning sacrifice is at every moment, taking place somewhere."[10]
"The world, in fact, since the redemption, is ail immense temple where at each moment of time, as the sun advances over a hemisphere, the Victim of Calvary is uplifted between heaven and earth by thousands of priests, to the glory of the Most High. ... After the consecration, the good God is there as in heaven!"[11]
Does the Book of God furnish any light on this matter?' Yes, the Lord, who knew that such a doctrine would be propagated, has made every provision to refute it. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Hebrews 9:28) Note that "Christ was once offered." That once was sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole human family, for " we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)[12]
The priests that offer "oftentimes the same sacrifice," God declares, can never take away sin. "And every priest stands daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. ... for by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:11-14) Christ, after He had offered one sacrifice for sin, "sat down."[13] The priests of the Roman Catholic Church teach that they bring Christ down each time that mass is offered.
The following text is sufficient to refute all claims of the act of transubstantiation: "I am He that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." (Revelation 1:18)[14] He is alive for evermore. No human being has the power to put Christ to death again. Paul speaks of Christians as "knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once." (Romans 6:9,10)[15] Christ has been raised from the dead, and the Divine Word says that He "dies no more; death hath no more dominion over Him." Christ has gone beyond the power and dominion of man to sacrifice Him, and death cannot touch Him.
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost." (John 19:30) On the cross Jesus said, "It is finished." Thus He acknowledged before the universe that His sacrifice was complete, "for by one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14) "One offering" is all that is necessary for our perfection.
According to the evidence here submitted from the Holy Scriptures, it is beyond the power of human beings to take Christ from heaven and put Him to death by sacrifice. Every spark of human feeling left our in our being recoils at the very thought of putting blessed Lord to death again. The doctrine of transubstantiation never should have become a church dogma. It is an error and is devoid of support from the Written Word of divine revelation. It strikes at the very foundation of the plan of salvation, and depreciates the value of the supreme sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
At a certain part of the mass the wafer, which the priest claims is the real Christ, is elevated or held up before the congregation to be worshiped. Soon after the doctrine of transubstantiation was indorsed at the Fourth Lateran Council, in A. D. 1215, by Innocent III, the elevation of the host (from Latin, hostia, meaning " victim "), at a certain part of the mass, was introduced by Honorius III. After the priest has pronounced the mysterious words "Hoc est corpus meum" (This is My Body), he elevates the host. At this juncture, when the altar boy rings the bell, the people fall on their knees and adore the consecrated wafer. The following quotation clearly reveals this doctrine:
"Then he [the priest] pronounces the mysterious words of consecration, adores, making a genuflection, and elevates the sacred body and the sacred blood above his head. At the ringing of the bell the people adore on their knees, and strike their breasts in token of repentance for their sins."[16]
Such adoration paid to a wafer-god is really idolatry. God says: " Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shall not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity .of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:4,5)
The Lord never intended to have His Son fashioned into a wafer or any other object and worshiped. God asks this question: " To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare unto Him?" (Isaiah 40:18) Is there anything fashioned by man that can be likened to Jesus? Nothing! "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." (Acts 17:29) Man has sought out many ways to fashion objects for worship, but in the case of the mass it takes only a few Latin words spoken by a priest to make the wafer the veritable center of the papist's devotion. He says: "The tongue of the priest makes God from a morsel of bread."[17] If the Godhead cannot be likened to pure metal such as gold and silver, surely He cannot be likened to "a morsel of bread."
Thus we can clearly see that the papal sacrament, of the mass is not supported by the Sacred Scriptures. The mass exerts an enchanting influence upon those who participate in it. Knowing what Holy Writ teaches concerning the holy communion, why should anyone hesitate to refrain from further sipping from Babylon's cup of error?
Notes: