Catholic Commentary on Leviticus 3

"All the fat is the LORD's. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood." (Leviticus 3:16-17)

The Fellowship Offering

The fellowship offering, also translated peace offering or communion sacrifice, is distinct from the burnt offering in one crucial respect: the worshipper shares in the meal. The fat and blood belong to God; the priest receives a portion; the worshipper and their family eat the remainder. This is a sacrificial meal in the presence of God, a sharing of a table that bridges heaven and earth. The Catechism identifies the fellowship offering as the type of the Eucharistic meal: the sacrifice that becomes a shared meal, the community united around the altar by partaking together of what has been offered to God (CCC 1334).

The prohibition on eating fat or blood is absolute: All the fat is the LORD's. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood. The fat, as the richest part of the animal, belongs entirely to God. The blood, as the seat of life, belongs to the God who gives life. These prohibitions encode a theology of creation: the best belongs to the Creator, and the life that courses through every creature is his. Kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws, preserves this reverence for life in every meal.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the fellowship offering is a meal in God's presence, where the worshipper shares what has been sacrificed. Every Eucharist is this: the sacrifice and the meal are one. We do not merely observe the sacrifice from a distance; we eat and drink what has been offered, entering into communion with the one who was offered. Come to the table.

Prayer

Lord God, all the fat is yours and all the life is yours. Receive our offering and invite us to your table. Let the fellowship offering of the Eucharist be the center of our week, the meal that makes us one with you and with each other. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

3
Laws for Peace Offerings
(Leviticus 7:11–21)
1 “If one’s offering is a peace offering and he offers an animal from the herd, whether male or female, he must present it without blemish before the LORD. 2 He is to lay his hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar.
 
3 From the peace offering he is to bring an offering made by fire to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them, 4 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys. 5 Then Aaron’s sons are to burn it on the altar atop the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
 
6 If, however, one’s peace offering to the LORD is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish.
 
7 If he is presenting a lamb for his offering, he must present it before the LORD. 8 He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.
 
9 And from the peace offering he shall bring an offering made by fire to the LORD consisting of its fat: the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone, the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them, 10 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys. 11 Then the priest is to burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire to the LORD.
 
12 If one’s offering is a goat, he is to present it before the LORD. 13 He must lay his hand on its head and slaughter it in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.
 
14 And from his offering he shall present an offering made by fire to the LORD: the fat that covers the entrails, all the fat that is on them, 15 both kidneys with the fat on them near the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he is to remove with the kidneys. 16 Then the priest is to burn the food on the altar as an offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma. All the fat is the LORD’s.
 
17 This is a permanent statute for the generations to come, wherever you live: You must not eat any fat or any blood.”

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