How can I help my wife understand why we proclaim Christ’s death at Mass, even though he rose from the dead?
Question:
My wife’s Baptist parents believe that we worship a "dead" Christ and that we "re-sacrifice" him every day. She wonders why we say, "We proclaim your death until you come again in glory." If Christ is risen, why are we proclaiming his death?
Answer:
It may help your wife to know that this statement from the Mass is a rephrasing of what Paul says about the Eucharist: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
We proclaim his death because it was by his death that we are redeemed. We had better jolly-well proclaim it—and from the rooftops until he comes in his glory!
Christ is not dead; he is risen (1 Cor. 15:12–20)! Jesus is presently alive in heaven along with all who have died in him. The sacrifice we offer at Mass is not a new sacrifice. It is the same sacrifice of Calvary that transcends all time, liberating those who lived before it and those who came after it.
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