The Language Of Sacrifice In The Offertory of Divine Worship

Mass - Bloodless Synonym for Christ's Eternal Sacrifice for the Salvation of Souls

The first offertory prayer of Divine Worship discloses the sacrifice of the Mass as an act in which Christ’s once‑for‑all oblation is made present and lovingly offered to the Father through the Church’s hands. Its language emphasizes that the gifts set upon the altar—“holy bread” and “chalice of salvation”—are not merely symbolic tokens but the very matter through which the faithful join themselves to Christ’s self‑giving. The prayer frames the offering as both propitiatory and participatory: propitiatory, because it looks to the Cross as the singular source of reconciliation; participatory, because the faithful unite their intentions, labours, and lives to Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

This offertory thus reveals the Mass as a living movement of ascent, in which earthly gifts are taken up into the heavenly worship. It also underscores the priest’s mediating role, asking that the sacrifice be accepted “for our sins, and for the sins of the whole world.” In this way, Divine Worship preserves the deep continuity between the Church’s liturgy and the sacrificial language of Scripture, presenting the Eucharist as the Church’s entry into Christ’s eternal offering.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST Divine Worship: the Missal

As the altar and offerings are prepared, the Offertory Chant may be sung or said. Meanwhile, if the chalice is not already on the altar, the Deacon or another Minister takes the corporal, the purificator, the chalice, and the pall to the altar. The Priest may receive the offerings of bread and wine the faithful bring to the altar, together with other gifts for the needs of the Church and the relief of the poor. Assisted by the Deacon or another Minister, the Priest prepares the offerings (...).

THE OFFERTORY (FORM I)

Standing at the altar, the Priest takes the paten with the bread and holds it slightly raised above the altar with both hands, saying in a low voice: 

Receive, O holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, this spotless host, which I, thine unworthy servant, now offer unto thee, my living and true God, for my numberless sins, offences, and negligences; for all here present; as also for the faithful in Christ, both the quick and the dead, that it may avail for their salvation and mine, unto life everlasting.  Amen.

Then making a cross with the paten, he places the paten with the bread upon the corporal. The Deacon pours wine and a little water into the chalice, the Priest first blessing with the Sign of the Cross the water to be mixed in the chalice, saying in a low voice:

O God, who didst wondrously create, and yet more wondrously renew the dignity of man’s nature: grant that by the mystery of this water and wine we may be made partakers of his divinity, as he vouchsafed to become partaker of our humanity, even Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

At a Mass for the Dead, the Sign of the Cross is omitted.

Then he takes the chalice, and offers it, slightly elevating it and saying in a low voice:

We offer unto thee, O Lord, the chalice of salvation, beseeching thy mercy, that it may ascend in the sight of thy divine majesty as a sweet smelling savour for our salvation, and for that of the whole world. Amen.

He makes the Sign of the Cross with the chalice and places it upon the corporal, and covers it with the pall. Then with hands joined upon the altar, bowing he says in a low voice: 

In a humble spirit, and with a contrite heart, may we be accepted of thee, O Lord, and so let our sacrifice be offered in thy sight this day, that it may be pleasing unto thee, O Lord our God.

Standing upright, he extends his hands, raises them and joins them, and lifting his eyes to heaven and then lowering them, says in a low voice: 

Come, O thou Sanctifier, Almighty, Everlasting God, and bless this sacrifice, made ready for thy holy Name. 

If incense is used, the Priest places some in the thurible, saying in a low voice:  

Through the intercession of blessed Michael the Archangel standing at the right hand of the altar of incense, and of all his elect, may the Lord vouchsafe to bless this incense, and to receive it for a sweet smelling savour; through Christ our Lord. Amen.   

And receiving the thurible, he censes the offerings, the cross, and the altar in the customary manner. A Deacon or other Minister then censes the Priest, the Ministers, and the People. 

The Priest, standing at the side of the altar, washes his hands, saying in a low voice:

Psalm 26:6-12

I will wash my hands in innocency, O Lord; and so will I go to thine altar: that I may show the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honour dwelleth. O shut not up my soul with the sinners, nor my life with the blood-thirsty: in whose hands is wickedness, and their right hand is full of gifts. But as for me, I will walk innocently: O deliver me, and be merciful unto me. My foot standeth right; I will praise the Lord in the congregations. (Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.)         

Then bowing in the middle of the altar, with hands joined upon it, the Priest says in a low voice:

Receive, O Holy Trinity, this oblation which we offer unto thee in memory of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ; in honour of blessed Mary ever-Virgin, of blessed John the Baptist, of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, that it may be to their honour, and for our salvation; and that like as we remember them on earth, so in heaven they may plead for us. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Priest kisses the altar and, turning towards the People, extending and then joining his hands, says aloud:

Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable unto God, the Father Almighty.

The People stand and respond:

May the Lord accept the sacrifice at thy hands, for the praise and glory of his Name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.

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Closing thoughts.

In Catholic sacrificial theology, the Eucharist is seen as the Church’s genuine sharing in Christ’s once‑for‑all sacrifice, magnificently conveyed in Divine Worship through the unique rhythms of the English spiritual and liturgical heritage.

At its core is the conviction that the Mass is the re‑presentation—not repetition—of Calvary, in which Christ the High Priest offers Himself to the Father and draws the faithful into that self‑offering. The Ordinariate’s Divine Worship texts make this participation unusually explicit: the Offertory prayers speak of “this sacrifice” offered “for our sins, and for the sins of the whole world,” echoing both Roman and Anglican patrimonial language.

Three features stand out.

1. Propitiatory meaning — the Mass applies the fruits of Christ’s atonement to the faithful here and now.
2. Participatory offering — the faithful unite their lives, intentions, and sufferings to Christ’s perfect oblation, symbolized in the bread and wine.
3. Priestly mediation — the priest stands at the head of the people, offering the sacrifice on their behalf, a role emphasized by the traditional Offertory and frequent ad orientem celebration.

The Ordinariate preserves a richly sacrificial understanding of the Mass—biblical, patristic, and deeply consonant with the older Roman tradition.

1. Divine Worship: the Missal http://www.covert.org/dwm/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLNaT1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFic1Uxa2txZ05EV1k0VkNtAR4gb8f1RQ9cDVYLVAwZRJLb7m_fZHM_c8rpczyrXK2kLxK38TxSf7AADyah8A_aem_NggURAffTljaLTFLSFrtmA
2. https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis.html