Best Books on Sacrifice of the Mass

Hmmmm...

This is probably NOT the best place to ask for that.

It would be like me asking in the Reform folder what the best arguments are FOR Calvinism in order to tear them down in favor of Arminianism.

This is a safe haven. If you want arguments against or for the Faith your best bet is in another forum for your purpose.

Tree of Life said:

Hey all.

For my master's degree I'm writing a paper against the Catholic idea of the sacrifice of the mass in the eucharist and arguing in favor of a Lord's Supper view (Reformed view). I want to interact with the best arguments from the Catholic side. These need to be in the form of books or scholarly articles for the sake of my bibliography. Could you recommend the best books or articles defending the Catholic view?

Thanks in advance!

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Ask this in the Orthodox forum. It's the same belief. I'll be glad to help.

St Thomas Aquinas talks about the nature of the Eucharist in the Summa Theologica, and I recommend him as a good starting point. An online snippet is here: SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: The sacrament of the Eucharist (Tertia Pars, Q. 73), but I assume you can get the full print version from your school's library.

The Lamb’s Supper. Scott Hahn

Tree of Life said:

Have you read it? Does it focus more on Revelation than on the doctrine of the sacrifice?

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Yes I have. And yes Revelation is the backdrop.

Here are three books I have on the subject of the Mass:

The Mass of the Early Christians
by Mike Aquilina
ISBN: 978-1-59276-320-7

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist
by Brant Pitre
ISBN: 978-0-385-53186-3

The Biblical Roots of the Mass
by Thomas J. Nash
ISBN: 978-1-622822-591

Tree of Life said:

Aquinas is obviously a huge source but I need something more succinct and perhaps something that is synthesizing his massive work on this issue.

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I don't mean that you need to read the entire Summa Theologica. I just mean that the section of the Summa that deals with the Eucharist seems essential to someone trying to understand the Catholic view. Thomas Aquinas also talks about transubstantiation in the Summa Contra Gentiles here: https://dhspriory.org/thomas/ContraGentiles4.htm#61. I don't know if transubstantiation is relevant to your paper; are you just addressing the idea of the Eucharist as a sacrifice, or are you addressing other aspects of the Catholic view as well?

A good scholarly secondary source for early development of the Catholic (and Orthodox) views of the Eucharist is Early Christian Doctrines, by J.N.D. Kelly. Chapter XVI, "The Later Doctrine of the Sacraments", section 6, "The Eucharistic Sacrifice", contains extensive quotes from the church fathers, including Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrystostom, Gregory of Nazianzus, Ambrose, and Augustine, with explanations and footnotes. Kelly isn't Catholic himself, so you probably can't cite him directly, but his footnotes should lead you to the primary source material you need.

I'm less familiar with post-Reformation Catholic theologians, so I don't have recommendations for the modern period.

(As always, I'm a visitor here in OBOB, so I welcome corrections from the resident Catholics if I've misrepresented you.)