Your Part in the Sacrifice
A Guide to the Royal Priesthood
More Than a Spectator
Have you ever felt like you are just a spectator at Mass? The Second Vatican Council called for all of us to have "full, conscious, and active participation" in the liturgy. This is because every baptized Catholic has a special role. You are not just watching, you are a "co-offerer."
This guide explores what that means and how you can live out this beautiful calling.
Your Priestly Role
There are two types of priesthood in the Church that work together. Both come from Christ, but they have different jobs.
Our Common Priesthood
This is the priesthood we all receive at Baptism. Its main area of action is the world. Our job is to take all our daily activities, our family life, our work, and our relationships, and "consecrate" them, or make them holy, by offering them to God. We bring the world to God.
The Ministerial Priesthood
This is the priesthood of ordained priests, received through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Their main area is the sanctuary. By acting "in the person of Christ," the priest makes the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross present for us on the altar. He brings God to us in the Sacraments.
The ministerial priesthood makes it possible for our common priesthood to be offered perfectly. The priest makes the sacrifice present, so we can unite our own sacrifices to it.
What Is "Your" Sacrifice?
St. Paul tells us, "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).
This "living sacrifice" is the "raw material" of your offering. It is your entire life. Click on the tabs below to explore the four parts of this offering.
1. Your Prayers
This is the most straightforward part of your offering. It includes your personal prayers, your Rosaries, your time in Adoration, and your family prayers. When you come to Mass, you bring all these prayers with you and unite them to the perfect prayer of Christ. You are also offering your intentions, for your family, your friends, the Church, and the world.
2. Your Works
This is your daily life in action. It is your job, whether you are a student, a parent, an office worker, or a skilled labourer. It includes changing diapers, writing reports, driving a bus, or caring for a sick relative. When you do your work with intention and love, it becomes a sacrifice. You offer your effort, your successes, and even your frustrations to God.
3. Your Joys
This might seem strange. Why would we "sacrifice" something good? Offering your joys is an act of gratitude and humility. It is a "sacrifice of praise." When you experience a moment of pure joy, like the laugh of a child, a beautiful sunset, or a success at work, you can offer it back to God. You are acknowledging that He is the source of all good things. This protects joy from becoming pride and makes it an act of worship.
4. Your Sufferings
This is the most powerful, and most difficult, part of your offering. This includes your physical pain, your emotional sorrows, your anxieties, your small daily annoyances, and your big, heavy crosses. By themselves, these things can seem meaningless. But when you consciously unite them to the suffering of Jesus on the cross, they gain incredible redemptive power. This is what it means to "offer it up." (We will explore this more later).
How Your Sacrifice Meets Christ's at Mass
The Mass is the "source and summit" of our faith. It is the place where our small, daily "living sacrifices" are brought to be perfected. This happens in a few key moments.
1. The Offertory (Preparation of the Gifts)
As the bread and wine are brought to the altar, this is your cue. This is the moment to mentally "place" your sacrifices on the paten (the small plate) and in the chalice. You consciously gather up all your prayers, works, joys, and sufferings from your week and put them on the altar, uniting them with the simple gifts of bread and wine.
2. The Key Dialogue ("Orate Fratres")
Right after the Offertory, the priest turns to you and says a line that is the key to understanding your role. This is what he says:
"Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father."
This is not a mistake. He says "my sacrifice" (his ministerial act) "and yours" (your "living sacrifice" that you just placed on the altar). And what is your response?
"May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands..."
In this moment, you acknowledge both sacrifices. You affirm that it is through the priest's hands that the sacrifice will be made present, and that your own sacrifice is part of the offering.
3. The Eucharistic Prayer (The Consecration)
During the Eucharistic Prayer, the miracle happens. Christ's one, perfect sacrifice from Calvary is made present on the altar. At this moment, your "living sacrifice" (your life) is united with His perfect sacrifice. His perfect offering swallows up your imperfect ones, making them holy, perfect, and "acceptable to God." Your small gifts, now united to His, become part of the great offering that saves the world.
Your Daily "How-To": The Morning Offering
How can you remember to offer everything throughout the day? The Church gives us a beautiful tool: the Morning Offering.
This simple prayer, said when you first wake up, sets your intention for the whole day. You are "pre-offering" every prayer, work, joy, and suffering that will come your way. You consciously unite your entire day to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is being celebrated somewhere in the world at every moment. This way, no part of your life is wasted. Even a difficult commute or a boring task becomes a holy act.
"O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month."
The Special Power of "Offering It Up"
The hardest part of our offering is our suffering. But it is also the most powerful.
St. Paul wrote a mysterious line in his letter to the Colossians (1:24): "In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church."
This does not mean Jesus's sacrifice was incomplete. His sacrifice was perfect and saved us completely. The "lack" is not in its power, but in our participation. Christ, in His love, left "space" for us to join our sufferings to His.
When you are in pain, or sad, or anxious, and you consciously say, "Jesus, I offer this to you, for the salvation of souls," your suffering is transformed. It stops being a meaningless burden and becomes a powerful, priestly work. Your pain, united to His, can help your neighbour, a family member, or a stranger on the other side of the world. This is the profound mystery of "redemptive suffering."
Living as a "Co-Offerer"
Your royal priesthood is not just a nice idea. It is a real vocation. Your life, with all its messiness and beauty, is the sacrifice you bring.
The priest, acting in the person of Christ, brings the sacrifice of Jesus down to the altar. You, acting as a "co-offerer," bring your life and the world up to the altar.
At the Mass, these two offerings meet, are fused into one, and are presented to the Father. This is your "full, conscious, and active participation." This is your part in the sacrifice.