Like the children of Israel in Egypt, Christians are covered by the blood of the Lamb, protected from eternal death. In the Gospel of John, Jesus is called “the Lamb of God,” and as the Lamb of God, he elevates the Paschal sacrifice as his blood is spilled on the cross. In the New Testament, Jesus elevates the Passover sacrifice no longer is it only Israel that is saved, but the entire world, and not merely from political and physical slavery, but slavery to sin.

Even later generations understood their Passover sacrifices to be in commemoration for what the Lord did for me when he brought me out of Egypt. It wasn’t just a remembrance, but a participation in the first Passover. In Jewish tradition, the continual celebration of the Passover made the original Passover liturgically and mystically present. God then commanded the Israelites to celebrate the Passover continually, that they may remember the salvation brought to them by God. In this first Passover, the lamb’s blood marked the houses of the Israelites, saving them from the death that God wrought for the firstborn sons of the Egyptians (Exodus 11). The flesh of the lamb was to be eaten entirely, alongside wine and unleavened bread, and its blood was to be painted onto the wooden doorposts of the Israelites.

Through Moses, God instructed them to sacrifice unblemished male lamb in the prime of its life. When the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt, God sent Moses to rescue them. The Mass emerged out of Jewish sacrificial customs, instituted in the Old Testament. We must look to the Old Testament to provide a backdrop for the development of the liturgy. The Bible provides the foundational witness for the beginnings of the Catholic liturgy. It is difficult to discuss the development of the Mass without making reference to its scriptural origins. While there have been changes and development over the centuries, the Mass has stayed constant in its essential substance from the beginning.

When one looks at the historical record, especially through the witness of the early Church, this fact becomes evident. In fact, the early Church was remarkably similar to what we Catholics believe and practice today. What is a Catholic to do when faced with an accusation like this? Fear not! The truth is, the Church did not invent the Mass hundreds of years after Christ but was given the Eucharist by Christ himself. One common accusation was that “the early Church looked nothing like Catholicism and that things like the Mass were invented centuries after Christ.” They would ask questions and make accusations which, at first, I had a difficult time answering. When I was in high school, I had frequent dialogues with my non-Catholic friends about Christianity.

Liturgy of the word vs mass