"...And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration."
ANY, let me repeat that again, ANY person who calls themselves Catholic clearly saw what St. Justin Martyr was describing. In short, he was describing the Catholic Mass in 150 A.D. - over 1,860 years ago! Stop for a moment and comtemplate that. We, as Catholics, can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was such a thing as the Mass right from the beginning of Christianity. Also, there is clear and concise proof that the Catholic Church was around less than 2 generations after Christ; if that doesn't let credence to the Catholic Faith then I don't know what does.
Since I happen to know that this blog is visited by Protestants and in order to form a clearer understanding of Christianity and Catholic teaching, let's dissect Justin's statement and verify it to our modern day Mass.
"...And on the day called Sunday..."
To start off with, one question that no Bible-Only Protestant can ever answer is why do you go to church on Sundays? Sunday certainly isn't mentioned as the day of worship anywhere in the Bible but yet, most Protestants continue with THE CATHOLIC TRADITION of worshipping on Sunday. Interesting. As a side note, most Protestant denominations also celebrate Christmas on December 25th and Easter in accordance to established CATHOLIC TRADITION!
"...all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits..."
So, in other words, the early Christians gathered together on Sunday and start off their worship by reading Scripture. One thing that any rational person has to bear in mind is that at this time, there was no established canon of Scripture, it wouldn't be until about 400 A.D. that the early Catholic Church would do so. The simple fact that St. Justin Martyr stated that the first thing the faithful do is read from Scripture denotes that, just like the modern day Mass, the very first part of the 2nd century Sunday worship was the Liturgy of the Word.
"...when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things..."
Clearly seen hear is that there is a "reader" and a "president," the "reader" is what we call the lector at the Mass and the "president," or the presider, is none other than the priest. If anyone dare to challenge the notion that the presider is none other than the priest, endowed by the Holy Spirit to consecrate, then I would suggest reading St. Clement of Rome's first epistle to the Corinthians, written around the same time as the Book of Revelation, which clearly states that the priests are to be respected and in charge of the happenings at the church. Most importantly though we see that the priest gives a homily AFTER Scripture is read. Just like in the Mass today.
"Then we all rise together and pray..."
Wait a minute, you mean that they were actually sitting and rising back then too?
"...bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen."
What is mention here is the offering of the gifts, or the Offertory; this is when one or two (sometimes more) lay faithful present the celebrant (the priest) with the gifts of bread and wine which will become the Body and Blood. Notice how water is also brought to him, just as it is in the exact manner today when a Catholic priest mixes the wine with a little bit of water (symbolizing the hypostatic union of Jesus' divine and human nature) and then offers prayers and thanksgiving in the same way that Justin recorded it over 18 centuries ago. Below we see this action repeated, just as St. Justin described! At the :42 mark we see two of the lay faithful present the celebrant with the offering of gifts.
Also, St. Justin states that there is an Amen said after they assent. This is none other then The Great Amen which happens after the the two species have been consecrated and have become the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Below are two examples of this, if you watch closely you'll notice that the congregation are all kneeling at their pews and then they stand AFTER the Great Amen.
"...and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons."
Describing the distribution of the Eucharist as well as sick/homebound visits done by Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion done to this very day. According to Redemptionis Sacramentum #113:
"A Priest or Deacon, or an extraordinary minister who takes the Most Holy Eucharist when an ordained minister is absent or impeded in order to administer it as Communion for a sick person, should go insofar as possible directly from the place where the Sacrament is reserved to the sick person’s home, leaving aside any profane business so that any danger of profanation may be avoided and the greatest reverence for the Body of Christ may be ensured. Furthermore the Rite for the administration of Communion to the sick, as prescribed in the Roman Ritual, is always to be used."
Also, note how the Liturgy of the Eucharist comes after the Liturgy of the Word, just like it does today!
"...But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead..."
And now you know why Catholics celebrate Mass on Sunday's, because of the Tradition of the Church.
As it was plainly visible to see, the Catholic Mass is the same now as it was then. Don't ever let any Protestant tell you otherwise; the simple fact that we can trace our heritage back almost 2 millenia validates the Church's stake in history, which in turn validates our claim of Apostolic Succession to St. Peter, which ultimately makes the Catholic Church the church that Christ spoke of when he told Peter in Matt. 16:18, "Upon this rock, I will build my Church."
I challenge ANY non-Catholic Christian to go to a Sunday Mass and not only prove me wrong but, prove Justin Martyr wrong.
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