Charles Journet, the great Swiss theologian and cardinal of the Church, first wrote this work on the Mass over 40 years ago; yet his ever-ancient-ever-new insights into the sacrificial nature of the Mass are most needed today, when this aspect of the sacrament is so often misunderstood or neglected.
The Mass is the "unbloody presence of the one unique bloody sacrifice of the Cross". This is the fundamental principle upon which Journet develops his theology of the Mass. Guided by the teachings of the Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas and the Magisterium of the Church, and supported by his own rich spiritual life, Journet plumbs the depths of this unfathomable Mystery and presents It to the reader with a clarity rarely equaled.
Journet also presents an historical survey of explanations of the Mass - both orthodox and heterodox; and against this backdrop he brings out in bold relief the identity of the sacrifice of Calvary with that of the altar. Such an identity, Journet notes, is perfectly expressed in the Church's own liturgical prayer: "As often as the memorial of this Victim is celebrated, the work of our redemption is wrought."
> The translator, Fr. Victor Szczurek, is a Norbertine priest from St. Michael's Abbey in Orange Country, California. He is presently on the faculty of St. Michael's Abbey Seminary and is the Dean of Students of St. Michael's Preparatory School. He recently also published an English translation of Journet's Theology of the Church.