The Lamb’s Supper, Lesson 5.4

The Lamb's Supper: The Bible and the Mass

Lesson Five: Heaven On Earth: The Liturgy of the Eucharist

Lesson Objectives

  1. To understand the deep biblical foundations for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
  2. To see how the Book of Revelation describes the liturgy of heaven.
  3. To understand how the Mass we celebrate on earth is a participation in the liturgy of heaven.

IV. Study Questions

1. Name two or three examples of how the Creed we profess at Mass quotes or evokes the Bible.
2. What is the biblical "precedent" for making a confession of faith following the hearing of God's word?
3. When we "lift up our hearts" in the Mass, where are lifting them up to?
4. Name some examples of how the Book of Revelation reveals the heavenly liturgy?
5. How do the Eucharistic Prayers and their prefaces function in the Mass?
6. What is the summit of salvation history, as that history is recounted and summarized in the Eucharistic Prayers?

For prayer and reflection:

Do we listen intently to the words of the Mass? Do we hear the story of our own sin and redemption in the preface? Do we remember the story of our salvation in the Eucharistic prayer?

Begin Lesson 6

Lesson Outline

  1. The Bible in Action
    1. Lift Up Your Hearts
    2. The Bible Ends in the Mass
    3. What We Believe
  2. The Liturgy in Heaven
    1. Caught Up in the Spirit
    2. The Mass Revealed in Revelation
  3. Worship in the New Jerusalem
    1. With the Angels and Saints
    2. Praying Salvation History
    3. Salvation History and Covenants
    4. In Remembrance of Him
  4. Study Questions

Other Lessons

  • Lesson One: A Biblical Introduction to the Mass
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. 1. To understand basic Catholic beliefs about the relationship between the Bible and the Liturgy.
    2. To understand the biblical basis for the Mass.
    3. To understand how in the Mass, the written text of the Bible becomes Living Word.

    Begin Lesson One

  • Lesson Two: Given for You - The Old Testament Story of Sacrifice
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the biblical background to the Penitential Rite and the Gloria in the Mass.
    2. To understand how God is worshipped in the Old Testament.
    3. To understand the biblical notion of sacrifice as it is presented in the Old Testament.

    Begin Lesson Two

  • Lesson Three: One Sacrifice for All Time
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as a sacrifice.
    2. To see the parallels between the Old Testament sacrifices and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
    3. To understand how that sacrifice is re-presented to us in the Mass.

    Begin Lesson Three

  • Lesson Four: Fulfilled in Your Hearing: The Liturgy of the Word
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand Scripture as the living Word of God.
    2. To understand the place of Scripture at the center of the liturgy.
    3. To see Scripture as an encounter with Christ, the living Word of God.
    4. To see how the Liturgy of the Word prepares us for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

    Begin Lesson Four

  • Lesson Six: Memory and Presence: Communion as the Coming of Christ
    • Lesson Objectives
    1. To understand the deep biblical foundations of Jesus’ command that the Eucharist be celebrated “in memory of Me.”
    2. To see how Scripture portrays Jesus as the Passover Lamb and how that portrayal is reflected in the Mass.
    3. To understand the Eucharist as parousia, the “coming” of Christ, and as the “daily bread” we pray for in the Our Father.

    Begin Lesson Six