WORTHY IS THE LAMB: THE BIBLICAL ROOTS OF THE MASS by Thomas Nash Ignatius, 2004 300 pages, $15.95 To order: (800) 651-1531 www.ignatius.com

With a Year of the Eucharist suddenly upon us, attentive Catholics are looking for resources to form their understanding and love of the liturgy. With Worthy is the Lamb, Thomas Nash, an information specialist with Catholics United for the Faith, offers a finely crafted foundation to build on.

Starting in the Garden of Eden, Nash works his way through many events and people of salvation history. Abel, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac and Moses all figure prominently in the story. The ancient feasts of Passover and the Day of Atonement provide crucial background on what we do in parishes every Sunday morning. Indeed, Nash shows how we stand within the culmination of all of that God-driven history every time we gather for Mass.

Nash unpacks Scripture, in particular, to present the Church's constant teaching on the Eucharist in an authoritative, yet engaging, voice. He explains, for example, what the Church means when it teaches that our celebration of Mass makes present the death and resurrection of Christ in our own time and place, but does not crucify Christ again:

“The sun does not rise anew each day like the legendary Phoenix bird, which repeatedly rises from its ashes to new life on a daily basis. Rather, the sun exists perpetually within time, and we become present anew to our earth-sustaining life source each day at sunrise, as our world turns on its axis. Similarly, Jesus the Son of God does not suffer, die, and rise again at each and every Mass, as some Protestant Christians misunderstand. Rather, the completed sacrifice of the Lamb who was slain transcends time itself and thus is celebrated forever in heaven (see Revelation 5:11-14). Therefore, every time we ‘remember’ Jesus at Mass, we are able to become present to — and re-present anew to the Father — the never-ending and eternally life-giving Offering of his Son.”

Worthy Is the Lamb also offers some fascinating insights into the Scriptural foundations of priest-hood. Malachi, for example, prophesies that “God would one day ‘purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the Lord’ (Malachi 3:3). Under the Old Covenant … the only place that Levitical priests could lawfully offer sacrifices was in the Temple. Yet, Malachi also prophesied that one day a pure offering would be offered throughout each day among the nations, that is, the Gentiles (Malachi 1:11), further signaling that the Levitical regime centered around the Jerusalem Temple was destined to pass away. The Old Covenant law would not allow for Gentile priests. … Only a new covenant would accommodate Gentiles as transformed Levitical priests offering a new sacrifice.”

In both his style and subject matter, Nash, who holds a master's degree in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, reminds the reader of the popular Catholic author and theologian Scott Hahn. In fact, this book is evidence that the important work that Hahn has offered the Church for the past two decades is being assimilated and developed.

Worthy Is the Lamb is an excellent resource for study and reflection. The background readings and questions for reflection and discussion that come with each chapter make it great for prayer groups or parish adult-education classes. The Pope invites us to fall deeper in love with the Eucharist during this special year. Now we have no excuse.

Barry Michaels is the author of Eucharist: The Church's Treasure.