In this powerful catechetical conference, Father John Hardon, S.J., cuts through modern confusion by restoring the Catholic understanding of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as the very heart of Eucharistic faith. He explains that the Mass is not merely a communal meal or symbolic remembrance, but the real, sacrificial re‑presentation of Calvary—the same sacrifice Christ offered once on the Cross, now made present on Catholic altars throughout the world. Christ merited every grace needed for salvation on Good Friday, but those graces must be applied to souls, and the Mass is the primary channel through which that saving power flows into the world.
Father Hardon emphasizes that the Mass is a true sacrifice because the same Jesus—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—is truly present on the altar, offering Himself with the same willing obedience He showed on Calvary. The double consecration—separating Body and Blood sacramentally—signifies His willingness to die again if it were possible. From this sacrificial reality flows the doctrine of the Real Presence, which Father Hardon defends with clarity and urgency, insisting that Christ is present on earth in the Eucharist with His full humanity and divinity, thinking of us, loving us, and waiting for us to be present to Him.
He warns that the Real Presence is the most contested doctrine in the modern Church and urges Catholics to deepen Eucharistic faith through reverence, adoration, and fidelity to the Church’s liturgical norms. The talk concludes with pastoral clarity on the priesthood, valid consecration, and why only those in apostolic succession can confect the Eucharist. Ultimately, Father Hardon calls Catholics back to the truth that the Eucharist is Christ Himself—and the Mass is the living continuation of His sacrifice for the salvation of the world.
