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The Mass, the holy Eucharist is the central and most solemn act of Christian worship. On the night of his betrayal, Jesus instituted the Mass and the Sacrament of the Eucharist, commanding His disciples that they should celebrate and use Eucharist in His memory. It was to be offered for the glory of God in memory of the redemptive sacrifice of His son. While the Eucharist adds nothing to the Sacrifice of the Cross, it does prolong it and extend it until the end of the world. "The renewal in the Eucharist of the covenant between the Lord and man draws the faithful into the compelling love of Christ and sets them on fire. From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, as from a font, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God ...is achieved in the most efficacious possible way" (Vat. II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy). |
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