Vatican officials have issued new guidelines for the performance of the Catholic Mass, centerpiece of the ritual of their liturgy. Because of the shortage of priests, violations were emerging in the highly structured ceremony where Roman Catholics receive their "Jesus."

These changes threatened to give away some of the grip that the pope holds on the spiritual destiny of the "laity."

Central to the Mass is the "consecration of the Host" where the wheat wafer is magically transformed into the human flesh of Christ. Only an ordained priest has this power. And after it becomes the "body, blood and divinity of Jesus" no commoner is permitted to handle it until it is placed on the tongue or in the hand to be eaten by the penitent.

Because of the scarcity of priests, some parishes were violating this rule and allowing a "blurring of the role of the priest." Now, the new, 100-page General Instruction for the Roman Missal puts anyone in his place who attempts to assume the priest's powers without proper ordination.

Anyone who views Roman Catholicism as "just another denomination" needs to look closely at this ritual called the Mass. Central to any Christian church is its concept of Jesus. We understand from the Bible that Jesus died for our sins, was raised again for our justification and ascended to the right hand of the Father to forever make intercession for us.

In the Catholic Mass, it is obvious somebody died, he is still hanging on the crucifix. Catholicism leaves Him there and creates "another Jesus," one which is re-sacrificed every time an ordained Roman priest changes a wheat wafer and wine into invisible flesh and blood, which is then eaten by the Catholic faithful.

Besides the magic performed on the wafer to create "another Jesus," the claim that Christ must be perpetually re-killed for our sins, identifies the Catholic "Jesus" as some other brand. Hebrews 10:10-12 tells us that Christ's body was offered "once for all" and He "offered one sacrifice for sins for ever," then "sat down at the right hand of God." Romans 6:9-10 says that He "died unto sin once."

Thomas Heinze, in his book, Answers To My Catholic Friends, points out that Jesus cried on the cross, "It is finished." "The Catholic doctrine of the repeated renewal of Christ's sacrifice keeps many from heaven because it infers that Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins was insufficient. If not, why should it need to be repeated many times?" Heinze asks.

It is then obvious that the "Jesus" of the wafer, who must continue to be sacrificed over and over, is not the victorious Christ of the Bible. If not, then it must be one of the strangest of idols.

For those who may dispute this analysis, Rick Jones quotes from the 1994 Catechism of Catholic Church: "In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner." (Pg. 344, #1367.)

Jones concludes, in his book, Understanding Roman Catholicism: "For the Catechism to claim that the Catholic church plays a part in the redemptive work of Christ is to steal from the Lord Jesus credit He alone deserves for the work He accomplished at Calvary."

Yet, over a billion people trust their eternal destiny to this prostitute "church" that deludes them into believing in a "Jesus" who is not the Jesus of the Bible. We must use every effort to show them the truth that they may be free from this bondage to ancient pagan idolatry masquerading as Biblical Christianity.