The Mass: History

The Paschal Sacrifice of Christ is foreshadowed in many places in the Old Testament, especially in the sacrifice of the spotless lamb at the Israelite's exodus from Egypt. The blood of that lamb, sprinkled on the doorposts of the Hebrew people, signalled the angel of death to "pass over" their houses, as the firstborn of every household was killed in the final plague. This final plague convinced Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to "pass over" from slavery in Egypt to freedom.

The New Testament, especially the Letter to the Hebrews, explains how the Christian people are saved from destruction and eternal death by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus enables us, by his sacrifice on Calvary, to "pass over" from the slavery of sin and Satan into the freedom of the sons and daughters of God. The "Christian Passover" or Paschal mystery - the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus - is made present to us in the sacrament every time Catholics celebrate the Mass.

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