The Pure Oblation of the Church
From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop (125-202)
The pure oblation of the Church
Narrated by Frank Dugan, Huntington Beach, California
The oblation of the Church, which the Lord taught was to be offered throughout the whole world, has been regarded by God as a pure sacrifice, and is acceptable to him. Not that he needs sacrifice from us, but the one who makes the offering himself receives glory in his offering, provided that his gift is accepted. Through a gift both honor and love are shown to a king.
The Lord wants us to make our offering in all sincerity and freedom from sin. He declared this when he said: When, therefore, you offer your gift at the altar and remember that your brothers holds something against you, leave your gift before the altar, and first go and be reconciled with your brother; and then come back and offer your gift.
We must offer God the first fruits of his creation, as Moses said: You will not come empty-handed into the presence of the Lord your God. In showing gratitude to God for his gifts man is to be accounted pleasing to God, and so receive the honor that comes from God.
It is not oblations as such that have met with disapproval. There were oblations of old; there are oblations now. There were sacrifices among the people of Israel; there are sacrifices in the Church. Only the kind of oblation has been changed: now it is offered by freemen, not by slaves. There is one and the same Lord, but the character of an oblation made by slaves is distinctive, so too that of an oblation made by sons: their oblations bear the mark of freedom.
With God there is nothing without purpose, nothing without its meaning and reason. Thus the people of Israel used to dedicate tithes of their possessions. But those who have been given freedom devote what they possess to the Lord’s use. They give it all to him, not simply what is of lesser value, cheerfully and freely because they hope for greater things, like the poor widow who put into God’s treasury her whole livelihood.
We must make oblation to God, and in all things be found pleasing to God the Creator, in sound teaching, in sincere faith, in firm hope, in ardent love, as we offer the first fruits of the creatures that are his. The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator when it makes its offering to him from his creation, with thanksgiving.
We offer him what is his, and so we proclaim communion and unity and profess our belief in the resurrection of flesh and spirit. Just as bread from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist, made up of two elements, one earthly and one heavenly, so also our bodies, in receiving the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, for they have the hope of resurrection.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings
St. Irenaeus (125-202) was born is Asia Minor, probably at Smyrna. He was well educated and knew and was influenced by men who knew the Apostles, especially St. Polycarp, who had been a pupil of St. John the evangelist. According to Gregory of Tours, Polycarp sent Irenaeus as a missionary to Gaul, where he was a priest under St. Pothinus at Lyons. Irenaeus was sent to Rome in 177 with a letter from his fellow Christians to Pope St. Eleutherius pleading for leniency to the Montanists in Phrygia. In Irenaeus’ absence a violent persecution of Christians broke out at Lyons, claiming Pothinus as one of its martyrs. Irenaeus was named Bishop of Lyons on his return in 178. He was the first great Catholic theologian. Irenaeus wrote in Greek and two of his profound works have survived in tact. His five-book treatise against the heresy of Gnosticism constitutes an invaluable source of information on Church Christ established from its beginnings to the end of the second century. His work also conveys the apostolic tradition in it and is a powerful testimony to the primacy of the Pope.