CCC 2100 Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual sacrifice: “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit. .. ”1 The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of neighbor.2 Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”3 The only perfect sacrifice is the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father’s love and for our salvation.4 By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.
1 PS 51:17.
2 Cf. Am 5:21-25; Isa 1:10-20.
3 Mt 9:13; 12:7; Cf. Hos 6:6.
4 Cf. Heb 9:13-14.