Have All Sacrifices Ceased?

Question:

In Heb 10:2 the author says that the Old Testament sacrifices would have ceased, had they actually worked to perfection - "otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered"? However, he says that since they did not completely/perfectly do the job, they needed to be repeated day in, day out. We can infer or deduce therefore that the author would say the same thing about the New Testament Offering. Since it was perfect, it should, buy the same token, cease to be offered. It just seems logical. Is there any way around this scriptural cage for Catholics?

Answer:

You need to distinguish two kinds of offering: an offering by death, as opposed to aliving offering. The offering by death had to be repeated in the OT, because the Law was only a "shadow" of the real "form." In the NT, the sacrifice of death was offered once, and there is no more need for a death sacrifice. The sacrifice that is offered now is a living oblation. And because it is living, it can be offered continually to the Father.

Robert Sungenis
Catholic Apologetics International
June 7, 2002