St. Michael's Lent 2026 - Reading #25 - Worship
Reading
Priest and Victim are one. Augustine gathers the week of worship into Christ Himself.
"And hence that true Mediator, in so far as, by assuming the form of a servant, He became the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, though in the form of God He received sacrifice together with the Father, with whom He is one God, yet in the form of a servant He chose rather to be than to receive a sacrifice, that not even by this instance any one might have occasion to suppose that sacrifice should be rendered to any creature. Thus He is both the Priest who offers and the Sacrifice offered."
He chose rather to be than to receive — so no creature would be mistaken for the end of worship.
Augustine adds, "And He designed that there should be a daily sign of this in the sacrifice of the Church, which, being His body, learns to offer herself through Him. Of this true Sacrifice the ancient sacrifices of the saints were the various and numerous signs; and it was thus variously figured, just as one thing is signified by a variety of words, that there may be less weariness when we speak of it much. To this supreme and true sacrifice all false sacrifices have given place."
All false sacrifices give place here.
Reflection
Chose rather to be than to receive. There is the pattern of headship, stated more compactly than any leadership book will ever manage. The world's authorities receive sacrifices — of their subordinates' time, credit, dignity, futures. The Head of the Church is the one authority in existence who reversed the flow, and every Christian father inherits the reversal as his job description. Ephesians only paraphrases this: love your wives as Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself.
The week of worship closes at the altar where that self-gift is made present. Tomorrow is Sunday; go to Mass as a man going to the school of his own vocation.
Watch what the Priest-Victim does, and let the Church teach you, in her own offering, what she keeps trying to teach her sons: that authority in Christ's kingdom has exactly one posture, and it is the posture of the offering. Two weeks remain — and the next one goes back before the beginning of the world.