“When we say that the Mass commemorates Christ’s death, we mean that in a Mysterious Way, Christ really offers Himself as the eternal priest and that His oblation is not only a psychological remembrance but a mystical reality. When we say that the Mass is a memorial of His Resurrection, this too is not merely a mental recollection. After all, the Christ Who is now in heaven and the principal priest at the altar is the risen Savior. His Resurrection is not only an event that took place once, but a continuing fact of salvation history. To call the Mass a memorial of the Resurrection may conjure up the image of a pleasant memory that swiftly crosses the mind. It should rather tell us that in the Mass the risen Lord is present in our midst and bids us unite ourselves, still mortal, with Him Who is our Resurrection.” ~ Fr. John Hardon, SJ, The Catholic Catechism
