Q: In the Divine Mercy Chaplet and elsewhere I have seen phrases like this: “Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.” This puzzles me. God sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins. Who am I to offer this gift to back God? Isn’t this saying I’m giving back the gift given to me? Am I really in a position to give such a gift to God? Can you help clarify what this means? — Gary
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC A: Great question! A bit of context can help us understand this line from the chaplet. All good things come from God: our intellect, our will, our health, etc. Whenever we give anything to God — be it in the form of prayer or fasting or good works, etc. — we are really giving back to him what is already his. Yet he delights in this act. Our very act of giving things back to him, dedicating things to him, gives him glory and can help us grow in merit and grace. An analogy might help. Imagine a man has a 4-year-old daughter, and on Father’s Day she brings him a piece of colored paper decorated with flowers drawn in crayon with the phrase, “I love you Daddy.” Where did the 4-year-old get the paper and the crayon? From her dad. In this sense, she gave him back something that was already “his.” Yet that piece of paper might bring more joy to the dad than all the money in the world ever could. Why? Because he is deeply touched to see now his daughter, whom he loves dearly, wants to show her love for him. Now, the greatest gift to God the Father was his Son’s sacrifice on Calvary for the redemption of the world. Jesus willed that this event be re-presented throughout the ages in the holy sacrifice of the Mass, where the Eucharist — the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ — is offered back to the Father. Jesus wants us to do this, hence the “Do this in memory me” line from the Gospel (see Luke 22:19). Ideally, we offer the Eucharist (through the priest) back to God with our own prayers and sacrifices. This is laudable and gives glory to God … sort of the way the 4-year-old can bring joy to her dad. I hope this helps.
