The Lamb of God, "Agnus Dei" (in Latin), in the Catholic Church, marks the liturgical texts sung or recited during the rite of the breaking of consecrated bread.
When the Eucharistic species of the bread are now broken, the Body of Christ is broken, and a small fragment is added to the chalice. After the rite comes the Invitation to Communion, which begins: "This is the Lamb of God."
It is sung or prayed to accompany the rite of the fraction, and the first two lines can be repeated as many times as the fraction lasts. The first part of the invocation is essentially a quote from John 1:29, "This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." These are the words of John the Baptist when he saw Jesus pass by and as he baptized repentant sinners in the Jordan River.
The sacrificial nature of this lamb is reinforced by the text of Revelation, in the passage of Chapter 5:11-12 "The Lamb that has been slain is worthy to receive power and wealth, wisdom, strength and honor, glory and praise." So, it is not just any lamb, but Christ, the slain lamb, to whom we give honor and glory, recognizing his power, during the rite of the fraction.
Fr. Claudio
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