Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 617

Let us begin with the sacrifice of the Cross. The outpouring of Christ's

blood is the source of the Church's life. Saint John, as we know, sees in the

water and blood which flowed from our Lord's body the wellspring of that

divine life which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit and communicated to us in

the sacraments.2 The Letter to the Hebrews draws out, we might say, the

liturgical implications of this mystery. Jesus, by his suffering and death, his

self-oblation in the eternal Spirit, has become our high priest and "the med-

iator of a new covenant".3 These words echo our Lord's own words at the

Last Supper, when he instituted the Eucharist as the sacrament of his body,

given up for us, and his blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant

shed for the forgiveness of sins.4

Faithful to Christ's command to "do this in memory of me",5 the Church

in every time and place celebrates the Eucharist until the Lord returns in

glory, rejoicing in his sacramental presence and drawing upon the power

of his saving sacrifice for the redemption of the world. The reality of the

Eucharistic sacrifice has always been at the heart of Catholic faith; called into

question in the sixteenth century, it was solemnly reaffirmed at the Council

of Trent against the backdrop of our justification in Christ. Here in England,

as we know, there were many who staunchly defended the Mass, often at

great cost, giving rise to that devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist which has

been a hallmark of Catholicism in these lands.

The Eucharistic sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ embraces in

turn the mystery of our Lord's continuing passion in the members of his

Mystical Body, the Church in every age. Here the great crucifix which towers

above us serves as a reminder that Christ, our eternal high priest, daily unites

our own sacrifices, our own sufferings, our own needs, hopes and aspirations,

to the infinite merits of his sacrifice. Through him, with him, and in him, we

lift up our own bodies as a sacrifice holy and acceptable to God.6 In this sense

we are caught up in his eternal oblation, completing, as Saint Paul says, in

our flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body,

the Church.7 In the life of the Church, in her trials and tribulations, Christ

2 Jn 19:34; cfr. 1 Jn 1:7; 5:6-7. 3 Heb 9:15. 4 Cfr. Mk 14:24; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:20. 5 Lk 22:19. 6 Cfr. Rom 12:1. 7 Cfr. Col 1:24.