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R e v i e w
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This Rock
Volume 15, Number 10
 December 2004 
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Worthy Is this Book
Thomas Nash and I have found something in common beyond our common love of the faith: a contempt for lima beans. What does this have to do with the Mass, you wonder? Read what he has to say:
"When I first heard about the story of Cain and Abel as a young boy, I thought I understood why God preferred Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s. Abel’s real, living lamb was certainly far more valuable than Cain’s fruits and vegetables, I thought, especially if the offering included lima beans. You see, I didn’t fully understand it then, but I knew enough about the Mass to know that sacrifices were often eaten, and I also knew that lima beans were one of my least favorite foods. If Cain offered lima beans, little wonder God wasn’t pleased. Something tells me that lima beans started growing after the Fall. Original sin must have permeated the soil somehow" (36).
Nash goes on to talk about his youthful concerns about how God treated Cain’s offerings versus Abel’s. "But I also knew from faith and reason that God can do only good, so I never lost faith over the issue, although I wish I could have somehow lost out on some lima beans during my youth" (37).
That was my wish too. But how does he resolve this? That will be left to your reading to find out. And I advise that you do so, because I have never before seen anyone relate so much Scripture to the eucharistic liturgy as Nash has done.
In a systematic presentation that is not too scholarly, Nash shows us how the Mass is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and symbols. We learn how the eucharistic prefigurements of the Old Testament—Abel, Melchizedek, Abraham and Isaac, the Passover—are fulfilled in the New Covenant. Why, for instance, do we not use lamb but instead use what Melchizedek used, bread and wine?
Nash does not stick with only these main figures; he brings an amazing amount of the Old Testament to bear on the Eucharist—even books such as Leviticus. I recall hearing a seminarian complain that a Scripture professor had presented the book of Leviticus in all of twenty minutes, and it was done in a flippant manner as if it was of no importance at all.
I have to agree that Leviticus is not the most exciting reading to the twenty-first-century mind (though that has more to say about the twenty-first-century mind than it does about the book). But it comes alive with meaning with Nash’s treatment. For instance, we learn that when Jesus says, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20), this "‘pouring out’ parallels the actions of the Old Covenant priests, who ‘poured out’ the blood of animal offerings in the wilderness tabernacle and later the Temple (Lev. 4:16–20; Deut. 12:26, 27)" (152).
Not only are the Old Testament fulfillments made known, but there are some mysteries revealed in the New Testament that may have been in the back of our minds but never articulated, such as the fact that Jesus gives his body and blood to his apostles before his Crucifixion and Resurrection. Here, it seems, time comes to a standstill, with the effects of Jesus’ death coming into play before it even happens. We relive this in the celebration of the Paschal Triduum, from the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper to Easter Sunday, which the Church sees as one long liturgical celebration, almost one single day. It’s seen more famously in the Immaculate Conception—Mary being given the fruits of redemption well before they have been brought about in time.
Nash spends considerable space talking about the various actions of sacrifice and how they are fulfilled in Christ’s life and in the Eucharist. Sacrifice is a word that has long been out of circulation in liturgical and sacramental elite circles. It became taboo to talk about the Eucharist as a sacrifice since, according to the elite, the connection between the Eucharist and the sacrifice of the Lord was not something that was actually real.
But without sacrifice, the meaning of the Eucharist is hollow. Meeting for fellowship, breaking bread, and drinking wine while collectively thinking about a nice man who did nice things 2,000 years ago do not a meaningful ceremony—or life—make.
The book is written in a helpful format. Nash assumes that his audience is comfortable with footnotes, but the style is not so scholarly that it cannot be read easily by those who do not have a theological background. This comes no doubt from his experience as a senior information specialist at Catholics United for the Faith, where he fields many calls helping the average layperson understand the faith.
There are passages in which he explains a particularly difficult concept—such as how Christ can be present in the Eucharist and at the same time present in heaven—that the language can be a bit laborious. But he does come up with useful examples to help the reader grasp the concept more readily.
At the beginning of each chapter, Nash gives Scripture readings as background for the reader to have in mind while reading the chapter. He also has questions at the end of each chapter to help more fully process what has been said.
If you’re tired of tired explanations of the Eucharist, and you want to learn more about how God has been working throughout history to bring about this precious gift, then buy this book. It’s money far better spent than on lima beans.
—Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz
Worthy Is the Lamb
By Thomas Nash
Ignatius Press
248 pages
$15.95
ISBN: 0898709946
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