How Christ Said the First Mass

by James L. Meagher

Book Overview

Shows how the traditional Mass sums up the entire Old Testament worship from the time of Adam to the time of Christ, how even minute details of the present Mass were used by Christ in the very First Mass, and how they have come down to our day with the same symbolic meaning they originally had. The author delves into the history and tradition of every aspect of Hebrew worship and shows clearly how Our Lord blended and wove them all together into the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895552078
• ISBN13: 9780895552075
• Release Date: February 1985
• Publisher: Tan Books
• Length: 443 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

a forgotten gem

In How Christ Said the First Mass Fr. Meagher shows that many of our modern day church practices come from either the practices at the Jewish temple or from the synogouge. Our Mass sprang from the Passover. The big Easter candle, holy water, the use of bread and wine, choirs, altar rails, incense, deacons, the poor box, the reading from the bible at Mass and the collection of offerings are all "descendants" of what the Jews of Jesus's time did. Fr. Meagher makes it clear and says so more than once that the church is the daughter of ancient Judaism. There are many things about day to day life in Israel that the Gospel writers left out in their accounts because the listeners of the day were already well familiar with them. This book goes back and talks about those ancient details. For example, it was common for a rabbi in the time of Christ to wait until he was 30 years old to start preaching and it was common for rabbis to travel with 12 apostles and a band of followers. The book is full of little details and it really brings the ancient world alive for the reader. Now, I have to point out that this book was written at the turn of the century so when he's speaking on non biblical matters Fr. Meagher sounds like a man of his time. Some of his off the cuff comments may offend modern readers. Don't worry about those four or five comments and look at the heart of the book. The brilliant scholarship far outweighs the embarassing bits. This book is a real forgotten gem and if you are serious about the ancient origins of the Mass it is one you must read.

This Book is a Treasure Trove

If you're interested in learning more about O.T. types and symbols that prefigured the Mass then this book is a must have. Organized by subject page by page, it is an excellent companion for your Bible study. This book packs a wallop and you really get your money's worth.

He came to

This is truly one awesome book. It is not only historically informative it is a good apologetic work. This book details how everything we Catholics do liturgically and some of what we do in our personal lives (Holy Mass (in all the rites), prayer for the dead, administration of the sacraments, intercession of the saints, vestments of the clergy, etc.) all come from the traditions of Old Israel, traditions which Jesus never rebuked and practiced himself. This brings me to the apologetic aspect of the book. Jesus himself said in St. Matthew 5:17: "I came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish it." Folks, Jesus was Jewish, and this book lays out that Judaism at the time of Christ was very similar to Catholicism. Why this similarity? There are two reasons to explain this:1) The Catholic Church was founded by the Jewish Jesus and lead by the Jewish apostles who knew and practiced the venerable traditions of Judaism in the light of Christ, therefore making Catholicism the true fulfillment of Judaism. 2) The early leaders of the Church in the 3rd-6th centuries corrupted the sparse evangelical-type church that Jesus founded, and introduced these Jewish practices. The second explanation fails because much of these Jewish traditions preserved by the Catholic Church became non-accessible to Gentiles after the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. How did the "apostates" of the early Church get access to this information? They couldn't, unless of course they were a chain of heretics passing this information down from time of Christ waiting to subvert the Church. That clearly is not the case.The Talmud is quoted extensively in this book. That is a good thing because the Jewish Talmud is an authoritative source for Jewish temple worship, practice and faith before the time of Christ. (It also has its corruptions after the time of Christ, but the good can be discerned.) This book reawakened in me a godly joy to be Catholic. I no longer view myself as part of a 2,000 year old religion, but a religion that stretches back to our father in the faith, Abraham. This book has helped me sense a connection back to the Old Testament like never before. Overall, if you have an interest in church history, liturgy, Messianic Judaism, or just Judaism in general please buy this book! Adam

Review from the Publisher

Rev. James L. Meagher, D.D., has written the most powerful Catholic history that we have ever seen. Discover how the entire history of the world is tied together in the story and origins of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Read how God foretold the Crucifixion and the Mass to Adam and his children in types, images and emblems. Learn about the signs, symbols and ceremonies of the Mass in the Jewish Temple and how the mysteries of the Mass were unveiled in the Temple. Discover the origins of an unmarried clergy, holy water, candles, statues in churches, ciboriums, incense, sanctuaries, vestments, liturgical colors, credence tables, bread, wine, oil, chalices and various liturgies in the Jewish Temple of the Old Testament. See how the Mass was foretold in the Passover and the Cenacle, and how the sacrificial lamb was crucified and roasted on its cross. Learn why no bones of the lamb could be broken. This phenomenal work reveals many curious insights such as Adam and Eve's 63 children, the origin of the races, Adam's skull buried on Calvary, and the fact that Judas was the nephew of Caiphus, the high priest. Learn the knowledge that the early Church Fathers knew and the reasons and origins of every aspect of Holy Mass to each move that Christ and the Apostles made at the Last Supper. Staggering research! Helps all to realize what a hidden treasure we have in the Mass.

For those who truly want to know...

Slow at the beginning but excellent in scholarship. One can see an unbroken line of how a Catholic altar is a type of continuum of the Temple Jesus worshipped in- himself. Marvelous, it gives the reader true roots of the Catholic Mass. Awe-inspiring and informative reading which you will not forget.