Jesus Offers a Blood Sacrifice in Heaven

Jesus Offers a Blood Sacrifice in Heaven: The Sacrifice of the Mass in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition

By: Joe Moreaux

The Bible explicitly teaches that Our Lord and High Priest, Jesus Christ, offers a blood sacrifice in Heaven to the Father for our sins. This confirms the truth of the Catholic Mass, which says that the sacrifice of the Cross has perpetual merit and is represented as an offering to the Father daily on the altars of the Mass in an unbloody manner for our sins.

The Council of Trent, Session 22 Chapter 2, teaches, "And forasmuch as, in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the mass, that same Christ is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner, who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross; the holy Synod teaches, that this sacrifice is truly propritiatory and that by means thereof this is effected, that we obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid, if we draw nigh unto God, contrite and penitent, with a sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence. For the Lord, appeased by the oblation thereof, and granting the grace and gift of penitence, forgives even heinous crimes and sins."

Let us examine Hebrews 9:22-24 to see this truth expounded in Sacred Scripture.

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf."

Verse 22 reveals that the shedding of blood is necessary for the forgiveness of sins, and that the two concepts are interconnected, which is why "under the law" of the Old Covenant, purification with blood was needed through animal sacrifice.

It then links this truth to verses 23 and 24, which teach that the "copies of the heavenly things" (the Old Covenant liturgical rites and celebrations which would be fulfilled in the New Covenant) had to be purified with blood sacrifices (animal sacrifices which were also prefigurements pointing towards their fulfillment in the New Covenant).

But it goes one step further and teaches that the "heavenly things themselves" (the New Covenant fulfillment of the copies and prefigurements) needed to be "better sacrifices" than the ones in the Old Covenant. This is because New Covenant fulfillments are always superior to their Old Covenant copies. For example, Jesus is greater than Adam, Moses, and David. Mary is greater than Eve and the Queens of the Old Covenant Kingdom. The Papacy is greater than the office of Prime Minister in the Old Covenant. Baptism is greater than circumcision, etc.

The reason why the term "sacrifices" appears in the plural in verse 23 is because, even though Christ's sacrifice was done once and for all historically, and never needs to be physically repeated since it is eternal and infinite, it is represented to the Father in an unbloody manner at every single Catholic Mass daily.

Our Lord appears "now in the presence of God for us." The reason the Father needs to see this oblation again and again is because man continues to commit sin. And insofar as man sins, the Sacrifice of Calvary, which is one and the same with the Sacrifice of the Mass, is offered to appease the Father for those sins. And it carries the power and ministry of intercession, since it is Christ is in the presence of His Father "for us."

This is truly what happens at every single Mass, every single day. Our Lord represents the work of the Cross to the Father in Heaven on our behalf. And in turn, the Father is appeased, and grace is offered to us to grow in holiness. This is why Catholic theology has always maintained that the Mass is primarily for the Father in Heaven. Everything is aimed towards Him, and this is why the priest stands ad orientem in the Tridentine Mass. He faces the Father, not the congregation.

Verse 23 speaks about "sacrifices" which are being offered in Heaven, and then immediately says in verse 24, "For Christ entered into heaven itself," showing that the sacrifices being spoken of are directly connected to Christ Himself. They are one and the same as the sacrifice of Calvary. And then it concludes by saying that Christ entered into Heaven to "appear in the presence of God on our behalf."

To recap, Hebrews 9:22-24 shows that shedding of blood is needed for sins to be forgiven, which is why animals were sacrificed in the Old Covenant. However, those sacrifices were just mere shadows and copies of what was to come. They were fulfilled in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, the perfected sacrifice, which Hebrews calls "sacrifices" since it is represented every day. It is singular insofar as Christ only had to die once, and yet it is plural insofar as that same sacrifice is truly represented to the Father in Heaven for our sins at every single Mass. As these sacrifices are offered, Christ is appearing in the presence of the Father on our behalf to intercede for us.

The sacrifice of the Cross transcends time and space. This is why it is offered once historically, and yet simultaneously is ongoing and timeless perpetually from the perspective of Heaven.

The early Church picked up on this without falter.

St. Theodore of Mopsuestia writes, "The sacrifice of the new covenant was a memorial of the one true oblation, and image or representation of the eternal liturgy which is celebrated in heaven, where Christ, our high-priest and intercessor, now fulfils His ministry. What he offers to the Father in the eucharist is His very self, once delivered to death on behalf of us all."

St. Jerome notes, "The victim of the Church’s daily sacrifice is the Saviour Himself."

St. Ambrose teaches, "The oblation consists in His perpetual intercession for us before the Father, ‘offering his death on behalf of us all’. He is also immolated on the altar, so that what we receive in communion is the paschal lamb slain on the cross."

Notice too in Hebrews 13:10 how it uses the term altar to describe the worship of Christians: "We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat." It is saying that the Jews have no right to partake of the Eucharist, and it uses the word "altar" to conote that a sacrifice is being offered there.

Hebrews 8:3 says, "For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices." So the role of a high priest is to offer sacrifices to God. Hebrews 4:14 teaches us that Jesus is our High Priest: "We have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven." So Jesus, who is in Heaven, is appointed to offer sacrifices. And we know from Hebrews 9:23-24 that the sacrifices being offered are the daily representations of His sacrifice at Calvary to the Father on behalf of us. Again, this theology is right in line with the Council of Trent.

We see this taught as well in Apocalypse 5:6, "And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain."

St. John is having a vision of Heaven, and there He sees a Lamb standing. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. But then notice what St. John records for us. It was as though the Lamb had been slain. So in Heaven, he sees the Lamb as though slain. This again powerfully demonstrates that Heaven still sees the merit of the Cross. The Father sees the Lamb that is slain, and this is decades after the actual crucifixion happened historically. Thus, a blood sacrifice shown in Heaven, right in the final book of the Bible.

We also have the prophecy of Malachi 1:10-11 in the Old Testament, where Malachi is given a vision of the Mass when he writes, "Because even among you the doors shall be shut, and one will not kindle the fire of mine altar for nothing, I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord Almighty, and I will not accept a sacrifice at your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down thereof my name has been glorified among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord Almighty."

He sees a pure offering being presented by the Gentiles, in every place, from the rising of the sun to its setting. And this will replace the Jewish sacrificial system which no longer pleases God. Again, we see the clear connection to Hebrews 9:23-24 and also Apocalypse 5:6. The sacrifice of Christ is being presented "in every place." These are the "sacrifices" of Hebrews 9:23. It is the "Lamb slain" of Apocalypse 5:6. It is the Catholic Mass. It is a blood sacrifice being offered for us in Heaven to the Father. It is the one sacrifice of Calvary, represented because it is timeless and perpetual.

St. Justin Martyr even makes this connection in 155 AD to the Mass and the prophecy of Malachi:

"God speaks by the mouth of Malachi, one of the twelve [minor prophets], as I said before, about the sacrifices at that time presented by you: ‘I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord, and I will not accept your sacrifices at your hands; for from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name is great among the Gentiles (Mal. 1:10–11). He then speaks of those Gentiles, namely us Christians who in every place offer sacrifices to him, that is, the bread of the Eucharist and also the cup of the Eucharist."

Notice his application of "sacrifices" in the plural to the Eucharistic offering as a fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy. The only reason some, like the Protestants, can not see this is because their theology does not allow them to see it. But it is clear as day in the Bible and the Fathers.

St. Irenaeus makes the exact same connection in 180 AD to the prophecy of Malachi and the Eucharist, which he calls a sacrifice.

“Jesus took from among creation that which is bread, and gave thanks, saying ‘This is my Body’. The cup likewise, which is from among the creation to which we belong, He confessed to be his Blood. He taught the new sacrifice of the new covenant of which Malchias, one of the twelve prophets, had signified before hand: ‘You do not My will’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will not accept a sacrifice at your hands. For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name is glorified among the gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure sacrifice; for great is My name among the gentiles, says the Lord.’ By these words He makes it plain that the former people will cease to make offering to God; but that in every place sacrifice will be offered to Him, and, indeed, a pure one.”

Justin Martyr and Irenaeus trace back to the teaching of the Apostolic era from within a generation. Each one of them bears witness to Malachi 1:10-11 being a prophecy that was fulfilled with the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass in the New Covenant.

The Fathers continued to teach this in unison as the centuries moved onward.

St. Cyprian in 253 AD: "If Christ Jesus, our Lord and God, is himself the high priest of God the Father; and if he offered himself as a sacrifice to the Father; and if he commanded that this be done in commemoration of himself, then certainly the priest, who imitates that which Christ did, truly functions in place of Christ."

St. Serapion in 350 AD: "Accept therewith our hallowing too, as we say, ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth is full of your glory.’ Heaven is full, and full is the earth, with your magnificent glory, Lord of virtues. Full also is this sacrifice, with your strength and your communion; for to you we offer this living sacrifice, this unbloody oblation."

St. Cyril in 350 AD: "We beseech the merciful God to send forth his Holy Spirit upon the gifts lying before him, that he may make the bread the Body of Christ and the wine the Blood of Christ, for whatsoever the Holy Spirit has touched is surely sanctified and changed. Then, upon the completion of the spiritual sacrifice, the bloodless worship, over that propitiatory victim we call upon God for the common peace of the churches, for the welfare of the world, for kings, for soldiers and allies, for the sick, for the afflicted; and in summary, we all pray and offer this sacrifice for all who are in need."

St. Gregory in 383 AD: "Cease not to pray and plead for me when you draw down the Word by your word, when in an unbloody cutting you cut the Body and Blood of the Lord, using your voice for a sword."

St. John Chrysostom in 387 AD: "When you see the Lord immolated and lying upon the altar, and the priest bent over that sacrifice praying, and all the people empurpled by that precious blood, can you think that you are still among men and on earth? Or are you not lifted up to heaven?"

So Malachi 1:10-11 being a prophecy that is fulfilled in the New Covenant harmonizes with the teaching of Hebrews 9:23-24 and the vision of Apocalypse 5:6. Taken together as a whole, these clearly show that Jesus is presently representing His sacrifice to the Father in Heaven, and that is through the Eucharistic offering of the Mass.

One final point to draw out from Old Testament prophecy comes from Daniel 12:11, which is speaking in the context of the Antichrist and the tribulation to take place towards the end of the world. Daniel writes, “And from the time of the removal of the perpetual sacrifice, when the abomination of desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

This is also very telling since Daniel is speaking of the removal of the “perpetual sacrifice” in the future. Notice that he uses the word “sacrifice.” This again further demonstrates that the New Covenant fulfillment of the Old Covenant animal sacrifices is itself a Sacrifice, which we all identify to be the cross of Calvary. And yet it is called the “perpetual” sacrifice. Other translations render it as the “daily sacrifice.” So it is one sacrifice and yet it is being offered “perpetually” or “daily” or “regularly” or “continually,” depending on which translation you are reading.

If one ties this in to Malachi's prophecy about the pure oblation offered everywhere by the Gentiles in the New Covenant, and then connects this to Hebrews and Apocalypse which reveal “sacrifices” being offered in Heaven with the slain Lamb, then again, we have clear testimony that the daily Mass is truly one and the same with Calvary, and that it is connected directly to what takes place in Heaven.

So we see that the Old Testament, the New Testament, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium all speak harmoniously and testify that Our Lord is presently intercepting for us to the Father in Heaven by means of His once-for-all sacrifice which is timeless and perpetual.