Trinitarian Service
Christian prayer and Christian worship are fundamentally Trinitarian. When we pray and worship, we relate to the Father in a way that only the Son can, because we are united with the Son by the Spirit.
Christian service is also Trinitarian. Hebrews 9:15 says that Christ offered Himself up through the Eternal Spirit. I'm not sure exactly what the writer is referring to (does anyone reading this know?), but whatever the precise reference, the Spirit was present in Christ's life from the very beginning. He was conceived by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit on His baptism, led by the Spirit into the wilderness, given the Spirit to preach the Gospel to the poor (Luke 4:18), and so on. The Spirit enabled and encouraged Him throughout His ministry, so we should expect that the Spirit gave Him the faith and endurance He needed to offer Himself up on the Cross. He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and lives to make intercession for us before the Father.
When we offer ourselves up to God's service, we aren't offering up our own willingness to serve God, because that would be trusting in our own works, but Paul says that it is God who works in you both to will and to work (Phil 2:13). Our desires and deeds, in themselves, are sinful and worth nothing to God; but if we are united to Christ, He graciously accepts our service to Him as coming from Christ. And that means that they are infinitely valuable.
The Eucharist, again, is an important part of this. It is interesting to note that the earliest Christian liturgy outside of Scripture records a prayer over the Eucharistic bread that refers to the Church rather than Christ Himself as the Bread:
We thank Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever.
-Didache 9
To be fair, some would argue that the text is actually a prayer over a non-Eucharistic Agape Feast (I used it as such in my Agape Liturgy). And this isn't to say that they didn't believe that the bread represented Christ's Body, or even that that was its primary meaning. Paul and Jesus both agree that the Bread is Christ's Body first and foremost. But Paul also says that "we, being many, are one bread." Likewise, the Bread of the Presence in the Old Covenant, which was sacrificial bread set before God, represented the twelve tribes of Israel (see Leviticus 24).
When we commemorate Christ's offering up of Himself once for all on the Cross, we should also offer ourselves up to God, as well as our time, thoughts, feelings, convictions, possessions, and whatever else we have. We can and should do this because we are one with Christ, co-heirs of the Kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer, worship, and service: this is the true Sacrifice of the Mass, and of the entire Christian life.
Christian service is also Trinitarian. Hebrews 9:15 says that Christ offered Himself up through the Eternal Spirit. I'm not sure exactly what the writer is referring to (does anyone reading this know?), but whatever the precise reference, the Spirit was present in Christ's life from the very beginning. He was conceived by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit on His baptism, led by the Spirit into the wilderness, given the Spirit to preach the Gospel to the poor (Luke 4:18), and so on. The Spirit enabled and encouraged Him throughout His ministry, so we should expect that the Spirit gave Him the faith and endurance He needed to offer Himself up on the Cross. He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and lives to make intercession for us before the Father.
When we offer ourselves up to God's service, we aren't offering up our own willingness to serve God, because that would be trusting in our own works, but Paul says that it is God who works in you both to will and to work (Phil 2:13). Our desires and deeds, in themselves, are sinful and worth nothing to God; but if we are united to Christ, He graciously accepts our service to Him as coming from Christ. And that means that they are infinitely valuable.
The Eucharist, again, is an important part of this. It is interesting to note that the earliest Christian liturgy outside of Scripture records a prayer over the Eucharistic bread that refers to the Church rather than Christ Himself as the Bread:
We thank Thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant; to Thee be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever.
-Didache 9
To be fair, some would argue that the text is actually a prayer over a non-Eucharistic Agape Feast (I used it as such in my Agape Liturgy). And this isn't to say that they didn't believe that the bread represented Christ's Body, or even that that was its primary meaning. Paul and Jesus both agree that the Bread is Christ's Body first and foremost. But Paul also says that "we, being many, are one bread." Likewise, the Bread of the Presence in the Old Covenant, which was sacrificial bread set before God, represented the twelve tribes of Israel (see Leviticus 24).
When we commemorate Christ's offering up of Himself once for all on the Cross, we should also offer ourselves up to God, as well as our time, thoughts, feelings, convictions, possessions, and whatever else we have. We can and should do this because we are one with Christ, co-heirs of the Kingdom through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer, worship, and service: this is the true Sacrifice of the Mass, and of the entire Christian life.