The Perfection of the Only Sacrifice and Contemporary Judaism

Faithfulness to the Latin original

Chrzanowski points out subtle differences between the official Polish translation and the Latin text. He notes that the Latin verb sancio does not mean simple replacement, but rather approval, sanctioning, and establishment in an unchangeable way. He also proposes his own, more faithful translation, which emphasizes that God, through the perfection of the only Sacrifice, in a sense sealed the earlier sacrifices of the Law, giving them a salvation-historical meaning.

Theological consequences

The author recalls that this prayer, originating from the Gelasian Sacramentary, refers to the teaching of St. Paul, who contrasts grace with the Law. Since the only Sacrifice has been offered, the sacrifices of the Old Law had to cease – not in the sense of rejecting their salvific meaning, but as fulfilled and replaced. The invocation of Abel's sacrifice in the same prayer shows the continuity and analogy between the sacrifice of the righteous man from the beginnings of humanity and the Sacrifice of Christ actualized on the altar.

Judaism in the face of the perfection of the Sacrifice

Chrzanowski draws a clear conclusion from this: any theories about the salvific autonomy of contemporary Judaism are contrary to the faith of the Church expressed in the liturgy. Contemporary Judaism – like us – appeals to the biblical heritage of Israel, but rejects the way in which God fulfilled this heritage in Christ. This position, although unpopular in today's theological climate, remains faithful to the teaching of Scripture and Tradition.

Source: Christianitas.org. Articles. — http://christianitas.org