Just Teach Sheets – Seeker November Week 2 2025

Seeker Track

November Week 2
Theme: The Mass & the Eucharist
Focus: Why Catholics Believe the Mass Is a True Sacrifice, Not Just a Symbolic Meal
Audience: Seekers, non-Catholics, returning Christians

Weekly Goal

To understand why the Catholic Church teaches that the Mass is the same sacrifice as Calvary — truly made present, not repeated — and how it unites believers with Christ’s saving act.
This week explains the biblical, historical, and theological foundations of the Eucharistic sacrifice, addressing the most common questions and misunderstandings.

What You’ll Need

Bible

Notebook for reflections or questions

Optional: Watch or attend part of a Catholic Mass to observe the prayers of the altar

Opening Prayer (Daily)

Lord Jesus,
You offered Yourself once for all on the Cross.
Help me to understand this mystery of love,
that every Mass makes Your sacrifice present to us today.
Teach me to recognise You in the breaking of the bread.
Amen.

Day 1 – Jesus’ Command: “Do This in Memory of Me”

Teaching:
At the Last Supper, Jesus didn’t simply ask us to remember Him — He commanded an action:

“Do this in memory of Me.” (Luke 22:19)

In the Bible, memory (Hebrew zikkaron) means more than recalling the past. It means making present again the saving act of God.
At every Mass, the Church obeys Jesus’ command and the sacrifice of the Cross is made truly present — not symbolically, but sacramentally.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 – St Paul describes the Eucharist as a real participation in Christ’s death and return.

Apologetics:

Objection: “Jesus said to remember Him, not re-sacrifice Him.”
→ The Church agrees. The Mass doesn’t add to Calvary; it makes Calvary present through time. Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice is eternal and effective for every generation.

Reflection:
If God can make the events of salvation reach every age through Scripture and grace, why not also through the Eucharist?

Day 2 – The Eucharist and the Cross Are One Sacrifice

Teaching:
Catholics believe that the sacrifice of the Cross and the sacrifice of the Mass are one and the same — the same Priest (Christ), the same Victim (Christ), and the same Offering (His Body and Blood).
The difference is in the manner of offering: on the Cross, Jesus offered Himself in suffering and death; at Mass, He offers Himself in a sacramental and unbloody way.

Hebrews 9:24–26 – Christ entered heaven itself to appear before God for us. His sacrifice is eternal.
CCC 1367: “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.”

Apologetics:

Objection: “If the sacrifice is finished, why offer it again?”
→ Because Christ’s sacrifice is eternal; the Mass unites us to that one act. We don’t repeat it — we join it.

Objection: “There’s no altar in the New Testament Church.”
→ Hebrews 13:10 says, “We have an altar.” The Eucharist is that altar worship of the new covenant.

Reflection:
The Cross is not repeated, but its grace is extended to every believer at every Mass.

Day 3 – The Passover Key: From Old to New Covenant

Teaching:
At the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated the Passover and gave it new meaning. In the Old Covenant, a lamb was slain, and its flesh eaten to seal the covenant with God (Exodus 12).
In the New Covenant, Christ Himself is the Lamb of God who offers His Body and Blood. The Mass is the new Passover — the sacrifice and the meal joined together.

John 1:29 – “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Exodus 12:8 – The lamb had to be eaten; sacrifice and communion belonged together.

Apologetics:

Objection: “Christ’s death was enough — why a meal?”
→ In every biblical covenant, sacrifice and communion go together. We share in the fruits of His sacrifice by eating the true Paschal Lamb — the Eucharist.

Objection: “It’s just bread and wine.”
→ Jesus said, “This is My Body… This is My Blood.” (Luke 22:19–20) The same God who turned water into wine can make His Body present under the appearance of bread.

Reflection:
The Eucharist is the fulfilment of the Passover — God feeding His people with the Lamb who saves them.

Day 4 – The Early Church and the Language of Sacrifice

Teaching:
From the beginning, Christians described their worship as sacrifice. The word Mass comes from Missa — “sending” — but the heart of that worship was always sacrificial offering.

Malachi 1:11 – “From the rising of the sun to its setting, a pure offering will be made to My name.” Christians saw this prophecy fulfilled in the Eucharist.

Historical Witness:

St Ignatius of Antioch (AD 107): “They abstain from the Eucharist because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ.” (Smyrn. 7)

St Justin Martyr (AD 155): “We have been taught that the food which is blessed… is the Flesh and Blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.” (Apology I, 66)

Didache (1st century): “On the Lord’s Day, gather together, break bread and give thanks (eucharistēsate).”

Apologetics:

Objection: “The early Church didn’t call it sacrifice.”
→ Every early writer calls it offering, oblation, or sacrifice. It was central to Christian worship long before Scripture was formalised.

Reflection:
If the first generations of Christians believed the Eucharist was sacrifice, then Catholic teaching is not innovation but faithfulness.

Day 5 – Living the Sacrifice: From Altar to Life

Teaching:
The Mass doesn’t end with “Go in peace.” Those words are a sending. Having participated in Christ’s self-giving love, we are called to live it out.
Every Mass sends us as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), offering daily acts of love, forgiveness, and service.

John 13:14–15 – “If I, your Lord, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
CCC 1397: “The Eucharist commits us to the poor.”

Apologetics:

Objection: “If Christ saves us, why must we do good works?”
→ Because grace transforms us to love as He loves. Our good works are not replacements for grace — they are the fruit of grace.

Objection: “Why kneel, bow, or genuflect?”
→ Because we are standing before the living God. Worship is love expressed through body and soul.

Reflection:
The Eucharist is not only something to believe in — it’s something to become.

Weekend Wrap-Up – The Catholic Understanding of Sacrifice

Jesus’ death on the Cross was once for all.

The Eucharist makes that one sacrifice present in every age.

The Mass is both sacrifice and sacred meal.

The early Church always called it an offering.

To receive Christ is to join in His self-giving and be sent out to love.

Summary Apologetic Point:
The Catholic view is not “re-sacrificing Christ,” but participating in His eternal offering — the same love, made present for every believer, every time.

Journal Prompts

“What part of the Mass reminds me most of the Cross?”

“What does it mean that the same Jesus who died for me is present at Mass?”

“How might I live more sacrificially this week?”

Quick Apologetic Responses

ObjectionCatholic Response
“The Mass repeats Christ’s death.”It makes His one sacrifice present, not repeated (Hebrews 9:24–26).
“The early Christians only had meals.”The earliest writings call the Eucharist an offering and participation in Christ’s Body and Blood.
“God doesn’t need our sacrifice.”True — but love offers. We unite ours to Christ’s for the world’s salvation.
“Why call it an altar?”Hebrews 13:10: “We have an altar.” The altar is where heaven and earth meet.
“Isn’t this idolatry?”We adore not bread, but Christ Himself, really present under the form of bread and wine.

Catechism Extension

CCC 1362–1372 – The Eucharist as sacrifice.

CCC 1366–1367 – The one sacrifice of Christ.

CCC 1391–1397 – Communion and mission.

CCC 1416 – The fruit of sacrificial love.

Further Helps

Mysterium Fidei – Pope Paul VI.

Ecclesia de Eucharistia – John Paul II.

The Lamb’s Supper – Scott Hahn.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist – Brant Pitre.

The Spirit of the Liturgy – Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI).

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ,
You offered Yourself once for all upon the Cross,
and in every Mass You make that love present again.
Help me to see Your sacrifice not as history, but as living reality.
May my life become a Eucharist of praise,
poured out for the love of God and neighbour.
Amen.