Tom Wilkinson

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻: “𝗜𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱” Under the Old Covenant, entry into the Holy of Holies was the most solemn and restricted act of worship. The high priest entered on behalf of the people, following the preparations God prescribed. The pattern is laid out in Leviticus 16, originally for the wilderness tabernacle. Only the high priest could enter. Other priests served in the outer room, the Holy Place. The inner sanctuary, behind the curtain, was reserved for the high priest on the annual Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This involved several entries during that day’s ritual, rather than unrestricted access throughout the year. His preparation and actions carried profound meaning: He bathed and wore sacred linen garments. He approached according to God’s instructions. He offered a bull for his own sins and his household. The mediator himself needed atonement. He brought burning incense behind the curtain. Its cloud covered the mercy seat, the cover of the Ark associated with God’s presence. He sprinkled sacrificial blood. The bull’s blood was used for himself and his household; a goat’s blood was used for the people. The ritual purified the sanctuary from Israel’s sins and uncleanness. The people humbled themselves and rested. The whole community participated through penitence while the high priest acted on their behalf. This taught Israel that God was holy, sin was serious, and reconciliation required God’s provision. Even the high priest could not enter whenever he wished. Yet the ritual also expressed mercy: God provided a way for His people to remain in covenant with Him. Hebrews uses this entire pattern to explain Jesus. Christ is the sinless High Priest who offers Himself and enters heaven itself on our behalf. His sacrifice accomplishes the enduring redemption toward which those repeated rites pointed (Hebrews 9:11–14, 24–26). The Mass makes Christ’s one sacrifice sacramentally present, uniting us with Him as He brings us into the Father’s presence. Christ does not suffer or die again. The sacrifice of Calvary and the sacrifice of the Mass are one and the same sacrifice, offered in a different manner. We enter through the way His sacrifice opened. That makes the torn curtain especially powerful: the boundary once crossed by the high priest on the appointed day becomes a sign of the access Christ opens for His people. At Mass, we approach the Father through that same High Priest and participate in His one sacrifice. So, at Jesus’ death on the Cross, the curtain was torn, signifying that the way into God’s presence was opened through Christ’s sacrifice. The earthly Holy of Holies, entered only by the high priest under the old rites, foreshadowed the heavenly sanctuary. Through Christ, we now have access to the Father and, at Mass, participate sacramentally in the worship of heaven. “It is finished” proclaims that Christ has accomplished our redemption; at Mass, we participate in His completed sacrifice and receive its saving fruits.