Catechetical Sunday 2011 Jewish Roots of the Mass

The Jewish Roots of the Mass by Brant Pitre, PhD, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans (in English and Spanish)

Dr. Brant Pitre explains that to understand the Mass, one must understand its Jewish foundations, especially the Passover and the ancient Jewish expectation of new manna from heaven. Catholic liturgy is deeply rooted in Jewish liturgy, as taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1093, 1096).

The question ancient Israel asked about the manna—“What is it?” (man hu’)—finds its final answer in the Eucharist: the true bread from heaven, Christ’s Body and Blood, given as the new Passover Lamb and the new manna for the Church on her journey to the heavenly promised land.

The New Passover

1. The Old Testament Passover

• Originates in Exodus 12 as God delivers Israel from Egypt.
• Required four steps:
  • sacrifice an unblemished male lamb,
  • apply its blood to doorposts with hyssop,
  • mark the home as protected,
  • eat the flesh of the lamb—an essential completion of the ritual.
• Celebrated yearly as a memorial of deliverance.

2. Jewish Tradition

• Passover developed to include four cups of wine (Mishnah Pesahim).
• Blessings over bread and wine (“who brings forth bread…,” “who creates the fruit of the vine”) match the Catholic Offertory prayers.
• The father explains the meaning of the ritual as something God did for me, making participants contemporaries of the first Passover.

3. Fulfillment in the Eucharist

• Early Jewish Christians understood the Eucharist as the new Passover.
• Jesus replaces the Passover lamb with his own Body and Blood.
• “Do this in remembrance of me” parallels the Passover memorial (anamnesis).
• Every Mass makes Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross present (CCC 1364).
• St. Paul affirms: “Christ our Passover (pascha) has been sacrificed; let us keep the feast” (1 Cor 5:7–8).

4. Real Presence Rooted in Passover

• Just as ancient Israel had to eat the flesh of the lamb, Christians must truly receive Christ, the Lamb of God.
• The Communion Rite echoes this: “Blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb.”

The New Manna from Heaven

1. Old Testament Manna

• Given daily by God in the desert: bread from heaven in the morning, flesh (quail) in the evening (Ex 16).
• Tasted like “wafers with honey,” a foretaste of the promised land.
• Treated as holy—placed in a golden urn inside the Ark of the Covenant.
• Ceased once Israel entered Canaan.

2. Jewish Expectation of New Manna

• Jewish texts (e.g., 2 Baruch) taught that the Messiah would bring back manna from heaven.
• The Messiah was seen as a new Moses, providing miraculous heavenly bread.

3. Jesus Fulfills the Manna Prophecy

a. The Lord’s Prayer

• “Daily bread” (Greek epiousios = “super‑substantial”) hints at the new manna, understood as Christ’s Body (CCC 2837).

b. Bread of Life Discourse (John 6)

• Jesus identifies the Eucharist as the true manna:
  • “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
  • “My flesh is true food… this bread came down from heaven.”
• To Jewish Christians, this confirms the real presence.
• The new manna must surpass the old—so it cannot be merely symbolic.

4. Manna Imagery in the Mass

• Eucharistic Prayer II invokes the Holy Spirit “like the dewfall,” recalling manna that appeared with the morning dew (Ex 16:13–14).
• The Church encourages frequent— even daily—Communion, mirroring the daily manna (CCC 1389).

catsun-2011-doc-pitre-roots.pdf

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