Why does God require a sacrifice to atone for sin? How can the Eucharist be a sacrifice if no blood is shed?
What action by the priest makes present Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross? God requires a sacrifice from us to atone for sin because His Son, Jesus Christ, made the greatest sacrifice of propitiation on our behalf to appease His Father’s wrath and make it possible for us to gain forgiveness for our sins. So, it’s just common sense that forgiveness requires that we must perform penance in atonement to remove the temporal punishment due on our sins. Jesus’ sacrifice was required because God is an intensely personal being and our sins deeply offend and anger Him. God is so offended by sin that He condemned the whole human race to suffering and death for the sin of just one man, Adam. See Romans 5:12. As much as God wants to save us, He cannot overlook our sins without being moved and appeased to forgive them and our excuses aren’t good enough because sin is an offense against God’s nature of truth. Jesus, as the second Person in the Trinity, is the only Person capable of appeasing His Father.
