Every Mass is a memorial of that one sacrifice and that passover which restored life to the world. Every Mass puts us into intimate communion with her, the mother, whose sacrifice 'becomes present' just as the sacrifice of her Son 'becomes present' at the words of consecration..... At the root of the Eucharist is the virginal and maternal life of Mary
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the significance of the Mass in Christian faith as a commemoration of Christ's sacrifice, highlighting the role of Mary in this sacred event.
Pope John Paul II expresses that every Mass serves as a memorial for the singular sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which restored life to humanity. By celebrating the Eucharist, believers enter a deep and personal connection with Mary, who is revered as the mother whose own sacrifice is spiritually made present during the Mass, paralleling the presence of her Son’s sacrifice. The quote reflects on the profound way in which the Christian faith intertwines the lives of Christ and Mary in the mystery of salvation.
In practice
During a sermon about the significance of the Mass, the priest can quote John Paul II to illustrate the role of Mary in the celebration.
True freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which confuses freedom with license to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace.
Like so many pilgrims before us, we kneel in wonder and adoration before the ineffable mystery which. was accomplished here... In This Child - the Son who is given to us - we find rest for our souls and the true bread that never fails - the Eucharistic Bread foreshadowed even in the name of this town: Bethlehem, the house of bread. God lies hidden in the Child; divinity lies hidden in the Bread of Life
And everything else will then turn out to be unimportant and inessential except this: father, child, and love. And then, looking at the simplest things, we will all say, Could we have not learned this long ago? Has this not always been embedded in everything that is?
Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.
Man matures through work which inspires him to difficult good.
United with the angels and saints of the heavenly Church, let us adore the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Prostrate, we adore this great mystery that contains God's new and definitive covenant with humankind in Christ.
Faith, and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withered and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom, and fruitage in prayer.
I am a Christian, not because someone explained the nuts and bolts of Christianity, but because there were people willing to be nuts and bolts.
Jesus intercedes for us each day. Let us pray: Lord, have mercy on me; intercede for me!
A single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after death.
In the Church of Jesus Christ there can and should be no non-theologians.
Our Christian identity is belonging to a people: the Church. Without the Church we are not Christians.
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