I am Fr. Herman, Pastor of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church. I want to welcome you to our parish website and for Sunday Mass. I am here to help you spiritually. You are welcome to share your spiritual concerns with me, and the Lord will inspire me to help you with spiritual advice.
     A couple of months ago, a Catholic visitor from New York questioned me about my statement that the Mass is a Holy Sacrifice. Apparently, the person had never been taught that the Mass is a Holy Sacrifice, but rather that the Eucharist is a "meal" or "banquet." I would like to share with you some of the things I explained to him that day. 
     During these modern hedonistic times, the essential characteristic of the Mass as a "sacrifice" has, to a great extent, been ignored or obscured. Perhaps the reason for this is that secularized modern men are not familiar with the idea of sacrifice the way the ancients, both pagans and Israelites were. The idea of sacrifice is not easy to define. Fr. John Hardon, in his Modern Catholic Dictionary, gives the following definition: "Sacrifice, the highest form of adoration, in which a duly authorized priest in the name of the people offers a victim as an acknowledgment of God's supreme dominion and of total human dependence on God" (page 480).
     The Council of Trent, in 1562, defined as a dogma of faith that the Holy Mass is a true and proper sacrifice. Kindly read Denzinger No. 1751. The word itself is composed of two Latin words, sacrum and facere, which literally mean to make sacred. Hence, in Latin, sacrificium means to make something holy or sacred. It is clear from the Gospels and in St. Paul, and especially in the Letter to the Hebrews, that Jesus' violent death on the Cross on Calvary 2000 years ago was a true sacrifice. Jesus was both victim and priest, and it was a bloody offering and sacrifice of Himself. What takes place at Mass seems very different from the brutal and bloody slaying of Christ on Calvary. During the Last Supper, Jesus gave His body and blood to the apostles and then said to them, "Do this in memory of Me." He made them priests and gave them the supernatural power to change bread and wine into His body and blood. Jesus remains the principle offerer and the victim in the Mass. It is a mystery because, by the power of God working through the priest as His instrument, bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ in a way that re-presents the sacrifice of Calvary long ago. According to the Council of Trent, the purpose of the Holy Mass is the glorification of God in the sacrifice and the sanctification of men in the Holy Eucharist. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist has three aspects.  The first is sacrifice, the second is Communion, and the third is the Real Presence. One sacrament is expressed in three different ways, of which the key element is the sacrifice. The third commandment requires, as does the Church, that we attend Mass on Sundays but she doesn't require the faithful to receive Communion. Here the Church is trying to point out that the primary importance of the Sacrifice of the Mass is for the glory of God.
     May the energizing power and spirit of the Holy Eucharist so fill and empower us that we become evangelizers of our city of Boulder, promoting Christian and pro-life values. May Our Blessed Mother of evangelization inspire us and lead us to bring many people to her Son.
Sincerely yours in the Hearts of Jesus & Mary,

Fr. Hermanagild Jayachandra, S.T.D.                      

Pastor                            
HermJchand@aol.com

Are you afflicted? Fr. Herman is committed to helping those in need of healing and prayer, and those who are oppressed by the world of evil and darkness, and is available to help discern your spiritual needs.
Please call Fr. Herman for an appointment at 303.499.7744