'ORATE FRATRES'

New Zealand Tablet, 27 September 1906, Page 12

' ORATE FRATRES'

AN ARTICLE FOR THE LAITY (By thk Rev. J. Golden, Kaikouba.) (Continued from last week.)

, TheT ' he ' °rate Fratres ' comes in once more to enlighten us on the duty of the congregation. 'Brethren, pray that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty.' Therefore the Adorable Sacrifice belongs to the people as well as to the priest, though he is the officiating minister. Therefore, also, the people have a bounden duty and obligation to offer the Sacrifice with the celebrant standing on the altar. Their offering is an act of- solemn worship and adoration. It is a supreme act of religion, than which nothing is holier or more acceptable to the Deity, nothing more meritorious for the pious worshipper. How - widely different all " this from ' Hearing Mass !' Priest and people are engaged together in offering to Almighty God the Adorable Victim of Man's redemption. For the Masy is the true and proper Sacrifice of the body and blood, soul and' divinity of Jesus Christ, which are really present under the appearances of bread and wine, and offered as an act of supreme homage to God. It is also offered for the benefit of the. whole Church militant on earth and suffering in Purgatory. The ' Orate Fratres ' shows that the people are engaged in this most solemn act of religion. Evidently, this act cannot be suitably expressed by the word ' hearing.' < Assisting at Mass is more in accordance with reason, with the meaning of the Holy Sacrifice, and the obligation of the people. It conveys the idea of concurrence with , the celebrant in the solemn offering. ' Attending ' is also a commendable expression. It supposes not only * bodily presence,, but also mental activity, such as accompaniment and diligence. Clearly, ' attending "* and ' assisting ' at holy* Mass are far preferable to the more common word ' hearing,' which conveys no definite meaning, and is essentially weak and fallacious.

• Layman ' earnestly and zealously pleads for the tESTSE* + ? '*e«l f ' -said,' and < hea?d 'in connect rwn^ tJ* 1 * , ve J"*a-ble Sacrifice of the • Catholic Church. They fail to touch the. heart of the great Hn? n 't They are calculated to minimise- the importSJ i ™ c Sacrific . e and ot the obligation of the' people. The expression ' offer ' is brimful' of visor and verve and strength. It is consecrated toy the ■ Church as her very own in connection with holy Tt £ rJLin a * S % sa ? r j fiei al meaning and significance. It is redolent of piety and devotion ; going to the' heart of things sacred ; pointing most directly to divine mysteries ; and imparting to • the people a clear idea of their duty during The Solemn Offering of the Mass. As already remarked, the word ' celebrate is also good and sound. And for ' hear ' it would- be well to substitute ' assist ' or » attend,' which conveys intelligent and appropriate meaning. When attentively considered, these terms are found to harmonise with the relations of the people with the Adorable Sacrifice, with their dignity in offering it in unison with the officiating priest, and with, their duty as members of God's holy Church. Once more. Let us try the"" objectionable words N by another touchstone. The priest of the New Covenant is sent by Jesus Christ : 'As the Father has sent Me I also send you.' This clearly intimates that the priest is a representative of Christ as he appears in his divine functions. He is* a vicar of Christ to do as Christ did. He is taken apart, anointed and ordained to teach, to administer the Sacraments, and to sacrifice to Almighty God. This Sacrifice is of infin- t ite value in the sight of God. It is a renewal in a mystic manner, of the Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. It is the application to the souls of men of the measureless graces purchased by the Divine Victim on the Iree of the Cross. It is in very truth, though accompanied with many sacred ceremonies, the same as that of the Last Supper, and a commemoration of tiie same. This do in commemoration of Me,' saith Christ, when empowering and commanding His apostles to perpetuate the divine institution of the Mass, both as a Sacrifice and a Sacrament. By means of this Adorable Sacrifice, the highest worship, called ( latria,' is offered to God Now to adore God is the principal destiny of the angels • Let all the angels of God adore Him ' (Heb i «)' It is also the principal duty of men. ' Everf one that calleth upon My Name, I have created him for My glory : I have formed him -and made him ' (Is xlm 7). Henoe do we find that sacrifices have been offered since the beginning of time. In the Old Dispensation there were various sacrifices ; but all tended to Christ and terminated in Him. St. Paul names them empty shadows, types and figures of the good things to come.' Their significance and derived value ceased after the Last Supper and the Crucifixion The reality has taken the " place of the types and shadows. The holy Council of Trent defines that 'the Selfsame Who has sacrificed Himself on the Cross sacrifices Himself through the ministry of the priests.' jl uglcioxg. It is an Article of Catholic Faith that the Sacrifice on our altars is substantially identical with the Sacrifice Christ made of Himself as Priest and Victim, on the wood of the Cross We know with infallible certainty that Holy Mass is the great Sacrifice of the New Law ; that Christ Himself offers this Sacrifice through the hands of the priest, who .is the celebrant of the Divine Mysteries • and that the graces purchased' on Calvary flow to us through the Sacrifice of the Mass. < O the exalted dignity of the priests, in whose hands Christ is made man again ! ' exclaims St. Augustine.. For, the consecration -brings our Lord upon every Catholic altar So that every Church is a Bethlehem, an Upper Chamber, and a Calvary. ' The Blood of Calvary still flows in very truth for the sinful and the weak ' Here we have the Eucharistic Sacrifice, wherein the highest homage is offered to Almighty God : whereby Christ nourishes our souls with His own " divine Sacrament ; and whereby He dispenses His gifts and His mercies. This is what makes every Catholic church the house of God .and the gate , of , heaven/ And has not Almighty God promised to be in His temple in » he v th 2t mi lf* of His chosen people? «My eyes and My heart shall be there.' (111. Kings, ix M 3,) This divine promise is verified in a most gracious and miraculous manner by- the Real Presence of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. ' " But it is unnecessary to| enlarge- any further on the divine and ineffable character of the adorable Sacrifice of the Mass. All along we have employed the term offer,' and found it sufficient and appropriate to express the meaning ever in connection with

sacrifice. The word ' celebrate ' has also been used as an . apt and becoming expression. The force of the whole situation before us. lies in this: that the Church has supplied her children with proper and suitable modes of expression respecting holy Mass. There is no dearth of meaningful terms, which convey true and substantial ideas to the mind. It is self-evident that these should be used in speaking and treating of the Adorable Sacrifice. St. Paul says : 'Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many.' Behold the term the great Apostle employs and consecrates and which the Church, 'by ancient usage and tradition' has also rendered sacred. Borrowing from 'the Old Testament and the New, she employs it in the celebration of her august mysteries. In this connection it is instructive to hearTwo Illustrious Doctors of the Early Church. St. Augustine says : ' The same Victim is offered on Calvary and on our altars ; but there It is only offered, here It is offered and distributed.' 'It is at the altar that the perfection of the Sacrifice of the Cross is attained ; for Jesus Christ here nourishes us daily with the Sacrament of His Passion.'— St. Ambrose. St. Augustine used the word ' offered ' no fewer than three times in the same sentence. St Ambrose speaks of the ' Sacrifice of the Cross,' the only consonant term for which is offering or oblation. Elaoh prelate and doctor emphasises the dignity of the Adorable Sacrifice of our altars, and illustrates the intimate and essential connection of the Sacrifice of Mass with that of Calvary. And in very clear and forcible language they point out how the infinite graces purchased on the Cross are applied and distributed by the Divine Victim, Jesus Christ, to ' nourish us daily with the Sacrament of His Passion.' (To be concluded next week.)