A couple of years ago when the Eucharistic Congress was held in my city, I was able to hear Scott Hahn speak about the mass and his own personal experience with it during his conversion. Scott Hahn talks about going to daily mass prior to his conversion and sitting with the book of Revelation open and following the liturgy with the help of this particular New Testament book. I was unaware that so much of the structure of the mass can be found in the book of Revelation and Scott Hahn walks you through the details in his book The Lamb's Supper. It is a great tool to understanding and appreciating the mass more. It would be a great book for people to read as a family or as a small group. God has given each on of us gifts and insights and when we share them with others we can bring more of God's truth to light. You can also find his talk on cd through Catholic Lighthouse media under the title the Lamb's Supper.
I studied Biblical Archaeology in school as well as Hebrew and I was blessed to learn more about the Jewish tradition and practices. The Jewish practice of shechita, ritual slaughter, has made me understand the importance of receiving both Christ's Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The Jewish believed that to drink of the blood of another animal was to take their spirit into you. That is why shechita was practiced so that all the blood would be drained out of the animal prior to butchering. That is why Christ mention of us partaking of his blood would have been so significant for the Jews. For by drinking his blood they would also have believed that they had taken his spirit into their bodies. This is one of just many things that knowledge of Jewish faith and practice has deepened my understanding of my faith. Jeff Cavin's does a great job of going into depth about many of these connections in his Bible Timeline series which is both religiously and historically educational.
Have a good read, Nina
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