(Please read the passage cited above first.)
My sisters and brothers,
We are coming to the end of the letter to the Hebrews. The letter discusses the priesthood of Jesus Christ who is our high priest and the sacrifices under the older covenant.
Jesus Christ our high priest offered himself once and for all in his one and only sacrifice. Those other sacrifices could not take away sins, but the one sacrifice of our high priest made people perfect and sanctified them once for all. The priests of old used to stand while sacrificing, but our high priest has taken his seat at the right hand of God and is always interceding for us. He is seated because his work is done.
In 2017, Disney produced a film called Coco. Its theme is the Day of the Dead. Coco[DV1] says that the dead are always alive so long as their family remembers them. When their family no longer remembers them, the dead are totally dead. The family memory of them keeps them alive.
This is a very Christian notion because we believe that our deceased loved ones are always in the eternal memory of God, and besides, God never forgets them. Therefore, our deceased loved ones are going to live forever with God through Christ our Lord.
The sacrifice of Christ, our high priest is once and for all. This sacrifice has made us perfect and pardoned our sins. We need no other sacrifice because Jesus our high priest is now seated at the right hand of God to intercede for us.
What about the Mass, then? Is the Mass something other than the sacrifice of Christ? By no means. It is the remembering, the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice. When we celebrate Mass, we are calling to mind, remembering, the saving passion of our high priest, the Son of God. This remembering is what makes us united with Christ in the saving action of our high priest. The Mass is not a different sacrifice. Nor is it a repetition of the action of Christ, but it is the remembering of the sacrifice of our high priest. This remembering is what makes us united with Christ in his saving action.
At Mass, we exercise our baptismal priesthood. Along with the ordained priest we are united to Christ high priest. We have a share with Christ in his priesthood.
We need our bodies to keep this memory, presence, and work of our high priest in today’s world alive.