The story of the Mass is not simply a rehearsal of ancient texts, Mike Aquilina explains here, it's a drama of personal and societal transformation. Drawing from the words of the early Christians and their contemporaries, Aquilina shows how the Eucharist shaped three basic dimensions of life for those early generations of Christians. Believing that toil was an act of love, undertaken for the Father, a new work ethic emerged, while the cosmic perspective of the Mass inspired new forms of music, poetry, architecture, and painting. Most strikingly, the belief that love should be expressed to all led to the establishment of institutions of universal charity, a first in human history.