What Are Spiritual
Sacrifices?
Come to him, a
living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of
God, 5 and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a
spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.[1]
I want to speak of “spiritual
sacrifices” and what they are; but, in order to see it more clearly, I think it
is important to look at something else first.
St. Peter tells us to “let [ourselves] be built into a spiritual house…” He says, “…let yourselves…” He does not tell us to make ourselves into a
spiritual house; he says, “Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…” This “let” means we must submit, to become
pliable. Someone else is going to do the
building, but we must allow ourselves to become something that we are not. Who are we to submit to?
The Apostle says, “Come to Him, a
living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of
God…” How do we come to Him? The way to know for certain is to go to where
He is at, where He is located physically.
He is located in the Catholic Church, in the Eucharist—body, blood,
soul, and divinity. Therefore, we
understand that our submission is going to be to the Church, since He is the
Head of the Church.
The Apostles tells us, “…Like living
stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…” Note, he does not say, “Like living stones,
let yourselves be built into spiritual houses…”
There is one house, and we must allow the Builder to utilize us in the
way He desires, putting us where He desires.
“…to
be a holy priesthood…” The Catholic
Church as a whole is a holy priesthood in that it is interceding for all of
humanity and offering The Sacrifice daily for itself and the entire world. However, we must not infringe upon the duties of others. “Everyone [must] remain in that rank which is
appointed him, and do not transgress his proper bounds, for they are not ours,
but God’s.”[2] This is expounded on in the Vatican II
documents: “The Lord Jesus, ‘whom the Father has sent into the world’ (Jn
10:36) has made his whole Mystical Body a sharer in the anointing of the Spirit
with which he himself is anointed. In him all the faithful are made a holy and
royal priesthood; they offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ,
and they proclaim the perfections of him who has called them out of darkness
into his marvelous light. Therefore, there is no member who does not
have a part in the mission of the whole Body; but each one ought to hallow
Jesus in his heart, and in the spirit of prophecy bear witness to Jesus.
The
same Lord, however, has established ministers among his faithful to unite them together
in one body in which, ‘not all the members have the same function’ (Rom 12:4). These ministers in the society of the faithful
are able by the sacred power of orders to offer sacrifice and to forgive sins,
and they perform their priestly office publicly for men in the name of Christ. Therefore, having sent the apostles just as he
himself been sent by the Father, Christ, through the apostles themselves, made
their successors, the bishops, sharers in his consecration and mission. The office of their ministry has been handed
down, in a lesser degree indeed, to the priests.”[3] What the Apostle is referring to is our
participation in the Mass and also offering up of personal “spiritual
sacrifices.” What are these spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ?
St. Paul goes a long way in
explaining this when he tells us: “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing
to God, your spiritual worship. Do not
conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and
perfect. For by the grace given to me I
tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to
think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God
has apportioned. For as in one body we
have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though
many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we
have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise
them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if
one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one
contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does
acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let
love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another
with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow
slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer. Contribute to the
needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them. Rejoice
with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not
be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be
concerned for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, on your part, live at peace with
all. Beloved, do not look for revenge
but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, says the Lord.” Rather, “if your
enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for
by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil
with good. Let every person be subordinate to the higher
authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist
have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what
God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves.”[4]
We could leave it there, and it
would suffice. However, the result could
be—from what God told St. Catherine of Siena in the Dialogue—a “mercenary love,”
a love where “one [flees] sin from fear of punishment or to embrace virtue from
the motive of one's own advantage. Sin
should be abandoned because it is displeasing to [God], and virtue should be
loved for [His] sake.”[5] So, let’s look further for clarity.
When we look at the early Church
fathers, when they refer to “spiritual sacrifice,” they refer to the Sacrifice
of the Mass and the Eucharist. From
Eusibius Pamphilus of Caesarea in Palestine we learn: “Inasmuch as
[Melchisedech], a priest of the pagans, never was known to offer flesh in his
sacrifices, but only wine and bread; and inasmuch as he blessed Abraham, he is
surely by this token our first Lord and Savior—He from whom all the priests
sent out to all peoples offer a spiritual sacrifice in accord with
ecclesiastical regulations, representing by wine and bread the mysteries of His
Body and of His saving Blood. Melchisedech had by divine inspiration a prior
knowledge of these mysteries, and of things employed as figures of things to
come.”[6] St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in his Catechetical
Lectures, taught: “Then, after the spiritual sacrifice, the bloodless service,
is completed, over that sacrifice of propitiation we entreat God … for all who stand
in need of succor we all pray and offer this sacrifice.”[7] In Paragraph 1369 of the Catechism, we read: “The whole Church is united with the offering
and intercession of Christ…Through the ministry of priests the spiritual sacrifice (emphasis added) of
the faithful is completed in union with the sacrifice of Christ the only
Mediator, which in the Eucharist is offered through the priests’ hands in the
name of the whole Church in an unbloody and sacramental manner until the Lord
himself comes.”[8]
Because we are “living stones” of the
spiritual house, which is God (see “What Are These Dwelling Places, Rooms, or
Mansions…”) and we are participating in the Mass, we are assisting in offering
the spiritual sacrifice, not for ourselves only, but for humanity itself, for
the entire world. Since this is the case,
what St. Paul was referring to in Romans is our offering ourselves for
humanity, the whole world.
Eusibius reminds us: “[Christ] took
upon Himself the toils of the suffering members, and He made our ills His own,
and in accord with the laws of the love of mankind, He endured exceeding pain
and toiled beyond measure for all of us. Not this only did the Lamb of God do, but He
also endured chastisement and punishment on our behalf, which He did not
Himself deserve. It was, rather, on
account of our many errors that He made Himself the source of the remission of
our sins, even undergoing death for us.”[9] Since we are “living stones” of the Body of
Christ, this is our mindset also, and we offer prayers and fastings (giving up
things) of ourselves for the sake of others.
“The greatest spiritual sacrifice and worship we can offer is our very
lives.”[10]
In the Youth Catechism, the Catholic
Church teaches its youth: “Why is the
Mass sometimes referred to as a “worship service”? A
worship service is in the first place a service that God performs for us—and
only then is it our service offered to God. God gives himself to us under the
form of holy signs—so that we might do the same: give ourselves unreservedly to
him. [1145–1192] Jesus is there in
Word and → sacrament—God is present. That is the first and most important thing
about every liturgy. Only then do we enter the picture. Jesus sacrifices his
life for us so that we might offer to him the spiritual sacrifice of our life. In the → Eucharist, Christ gives himself to
us, so that we might give ourselves to him. Thus, we take part in the redeeming
and transforming sacrifice of Christ. Our little life is burst open and led
into the kingdom of God. God can live his life in our lives.”[11] In short, we give ourselves to God by being
transformed into the image of Christ and living our lives for others, our
neighbors.
As we have seen, this does not take
place by our might or wisdom but by allowing ourselves, by our will, to be
utilized by God. “Thy will be done.” Because it is God who is doing, we praise
Him. We praise God not because He is
giving us things—as if we were receiving gifts and thanking someone—but we are
praising Him for this transformation, making us into the image of His Son, that
His love may overflow onto others. We
are dirt, unable to do anything on our own.
However, He has given us a will, that we may desire that He make us into
the image of His Son, who willed to become one of us, making dirt glorious,
sharing His divinity with us.
In essence, spiritual sacrifices are
offered when we live the Life of Christ.
This is what we see occurring in Romans.
When we live our Baptismal lives, we will be offering continuous
spiritual sacrifices, for we will constantly be living our lives for others out
of love for God and neighbor. These are
the spiritual sacrifices acceptable to
God through Jesus Christ.
[1] New American Bible,
Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, 2011), 1 Pe 2:4–5.
[2]
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe, Eds., Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries:
Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and
Constitutions, Homily, and Liturgies, 1886, 7, 499.
[3]
Catholic Church, Vatican II Documents,
Presbyterorum ordinis 2, 2011.
[4] New American Bible,
Revised Edition., (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic
Bishops, 2011), Ro 12:1–13:2.
[5] Catherine of Siena, Saint. The Dialogue of Saint
Catherine of Siena (Kindle Locations 1660-1661). Kindle Edition.
[8]
Catholic Church, Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 2nd Ed., (Washington, DC: United States
Catholic Conference, 2000), 345.
[10] Tim
Gray, The Luminous
Mysteries: Biblical Reflections on the Life of Christ,
(Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2004), 121.
[11]
Christoph Schönborn, Ed., Youcat English:
Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, (San Francisco: Ignatius
Press, 2011), 108–109.
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