How is the church to understand the Eucharist? Historically, the church has thought in terms of Christs sacrifice that atones or makes satisfaction for our sins. Today, many theologians hold that Christs death is primarily a self-gift, and they de-emphasize atonement or satisfaction. According to Michon M. Matthiesen, the early twentieth-century Jesuit Maurice de la Taille offered a theology that is relevant to this contemporary debate because it accounts for both the sacrifice and gift aspects of the Eucharist. De la Tailles three-volume masterpiece, Mysterium Fidei, published in 1921, generated theological excitement and controversy. Some praised the work as a new theological method that overcame post-Tridentine immolationist Eucharistic theories of sacrifice. Others objected to his view of Trent and were offended by his mystical-theological synthesis.