Just Teach Sheets – Seeker November Week 4 2025

Seeker Track

November Week 4 (2025)
Theme: The Mass & the Eucharist
Focus: Why the Mass Is the Heart of Catholic Worship
Audience: Seekers, Non-Catholics, or Returning Christians

Weekly Goal

To explain why the Catholic Mass stands at the centre of Christian life:

What the Mass really is (not a symbol, but a sacrifice).

Why Catholics call it the “source and summit” of faith.

How it unites heaven and earth, thanksgiving and mission.
The aim is to make the logic of Catholic worship clear, biblical, historical, and beautiful.

What You’ll Need

A Bible

A quiet space for reflection

Optional: attend a Sunday Mass, even just to observe

Journal or notes for questions that arise

Opening Prayer (Daily)

Lord Jesus Christ,
You said, “Do this in memory of Me.”
Help me to understand what You meant —
why this meal became Your sacrifice,
why Your people gather around Your altar,
and why You still feed Your Church with Your own life.
Open my mind to truth,
and my heart to Your presence.
Amen.

Day 1 – What the Mass Really Is

Teaching
At its heart, the Mass is not just a community gathering or memorial; it is the re-presentation of Christ’s one sacrifice on Calvary, made present under sacramental signs.
The same Jesus who died and rose now offers Himself to the Father through the hands of the priest.

Luke 22:19–20 – “This is My Body… This cup is the new covenant in My Blood.”
CCC 1367 – “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.”

Apologetic notes

“Wasn’t the Cross a one-time event?” → Yes — but God makes that one sacrifice present across time; it is not repeated but re-presented (Heb 7:24–27).

“Why can’t we just pray at home?” → We should — but the Mass is corporate worship. Christ’s Body, the Church, must gather; faith is personal but never private.

Reflection
The Cross is eternal love expressed in time; the Mass is that love renewed in every generation.

Day 2 – Why Catholics Call It “Thanksgiving”

Teaching
The word Eucharist means thanksgiving.
Jesus gave thanks before offering His Body — showing that love always begins with gratitude.
When Catholics gather, they join His own thanksgiving to the Father.

1 Corinthians 10:16 – “The cup of blessing we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?”
CCC 1328 – “It is called Eucharist because it is an action of thanksgiving to God.”

Apologetic notes

“Why so many prayers and rituals?” → Because love uses language and gesture. The Mass is heaven’s order, not human fussiness.

“Can we thank God in other ways?” → Absolutely — but in the Eucharist we thank Him with Christ Himself, not just with words.

Reflection
At Mass, humanity’s thanksgiving finally matches God’s generosity.

Day 3 – Real Presence, Not Mere Symbol

Teaching
Catholics believe that at the words of consecration — “This is My Body… This is My Blood” — the bread and wine truly become Christ Himself.
His presence is real, substantial, and abiding.

John 6:51 – “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”
CCC 1374 – “In the most blessed sacrament… Christ Himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner.”

Apologetic notes

“Isn’t that cannibalism?” → No. The outward appearances remain bread and wine; what changes is their inner reality. We receive Christ sacramentally, not physically in a crude sense.

“Isn’t it just a symbol?” → Jesus did not say “This represents My Body.” He said, “This is.” The earliest Christians took Him literally — see St Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 107): “The Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Reflection
If God became man to be with us, it is fitting that He stays with us in a way our senses can approach.

Day 4 – The Mass and the Mission

Teaching
The Mass never ends in itself. After receiving Christ, we are sent forth (missa) to bring His love to others.
Thanksgiving must become mission; worship must become witness.

John 20:21 – “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you.”
CCC 1397 – “The Eucharist commits us to the poor.”

Apologetic notes

“Why does the Church talk about service right after worship?” → Because genuine encounter with Christ always leads to charity.

“Isn’t evangelisation just for priests?” → The whole Church is missionary; every communicant becomes a bearer of Christ’s presence.

Reflection
The same Body received at the altar must be recognised in the suffering neighbour.

Day 5 – Heaven on Earth

Teaching
The Book of Revelation describes heavenly worship — incense, candles, hymns, and the Lamb upon the throne.
The Catholic Mass mirrors that worship because it participates in it.
Every altar is a doorway between earth and heaven.

Revelation 5:11–13 – “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.”
CCC 1326 – “The Eucharist is the pledge of future glory.”

Apologetic notes

“Isn’t liturgy man-made?” → God commanded Israel to worship with ritual (Ex 25–30). The Church, guided by the Spirit, continues that pattern fulfilled in Christ.

“Why so solemn?” → Because the Mass is participation in heaven’s own joy — reverence is the language of love.

Reflection
At every Eucharist, heaven bends down and earth lifts up — and for a moment, they touch.

Weekend Wrap-Up – What We Learned

The Mass makes Christ’s sacrifice present here and now.

“Eucharist” means thanksgiving — humanity’s response to divine love.

Christ is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

The Mass sends us on mission to live what we celebrate.

The liturgy unites us with heaven’s eternal worship.

Summary insight
Catholic worship is not theatre or repetition; it is the living continuation of the Cross and Resurrection — God’s love made tangible until He comes again.

Journal Prompts

“What part of the Mass most surprised me?”

“If the Eucharist is real, how would that change my faith?”

“How might I approach Sunday differently now?”

Apologetic Quick Reference

QuestionCatholic Response
“Why repeat the Last Supper?”Christ commanded, “Do this.” The Church obeys, not invents.
“Isn’t Communion just a symbol of unity?”It creates unity because we all receive the same Christ.
“Why can’t non-Catholics receive?”Communion presumes full unity in faith and doctrine; sharing it without that would contradict its meaning.
“Why so much ritual?”Because love expresses itself with care; worship trains the heart for heaven.
“What proof exists from history?”Early Fathers (Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus) all describe the Eucharist as Christ’s real Body and Blood, offered sacrificially.

Catechism & Documents

CCC 1322–1419 – The Eucharist.

Lumen Gentium 11 – The Eucharist as source and summit.

Ecclesia de Eucharistia – St John Paul II.

Sacramentum Caritatis – Benedict XVI.

Further Reading

The Lamb’s Supper – Scott Hahn.

The Spirit of the Liturgy – Joseph Ratzinger.

The Early Church Fathers on the Eucharist – Jimmy Akin (Catholic Answers).

Catholicism – Bishop Robert Barron.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,
thank You for giving us the Eucharist —
Your life offered for the world.
Teach me to recognise You in the Mass,
to live in thanksgiving,
and to share Your love beyond the church walls.
Amen.