‘STAND FAST IN THE FAITH’

New Zealand Tablet, 17 April 1913, Page 3

‘STAND FAST IN THE FAITH ’

(A Weekly Instruction specially written for the N.Z. Tablet by ‘ Ghimel.’)

THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS EXPLAINED : II.—THE ENDS OF IHE MASS The Sacrifice daily offered on our altars is the commemoration, thougn without shedding of blood, of the Sacrifice offered, in the first instance by our Saviour at the Last Supper and consummated amidst} bitter sufferings on Calvary. The sole purpose of its existence is to bring the graces of redemption purchased on the Cross home to each soul. Its effects, its benefits, whatever they may be, 'spring wholly and individually from the Sacrifice of the Cross. The Blood of Calvary was the propitiation for. the sins of the whole world. In each Mass that precious Blood is virtually poured out afresh, in order to be applied to the souls of men, especially to those for whom the Mass is specifically oliered, bo the soul of the offerer, and to those who are present' (Bishop Hedley). It might well seem that the application of these graces in such a sacrifice should have no limits, but we must remember that no man can receive an infinite amount of grace, and that in our state of probation we are not saved without the co-operation of our freewill. : The Mass is, in the first place, a sacrifice of adoration, the perpetual homage of the Man-God (united with the Church) to God, the Creator and Lord of all things. In this respect it is like any other sacrifice the outward expression of inward reverence; only of course it is of infinite value, for Jesus Christ is at once the Victim and the Offerer—and He is Divine. He does not merit afresh, but He does repeat, and repeat by way of application to our needs, the homage of the Cross. ' Thus the world is endowed with the inestimable prerogative of the perpetual "clean oblation," and "in every place there is Sacrifice"—the one and complete Sacrifice made by the Divine Person, Who is also the Head of the Church.' Secondly, the Mass is a Sacrifice of thanksgiving offered by Christ in His own name and in ours to God the Father for countless spiritual and temporal graces and benefits. Hence the name, in use from the first, of Eucharist, or the rite of thanksgiving. * Our Lord wished it to be so, for as we learn from all three Evangelists and St. Paul, it was not until He had raised His eyes to heaven and 'given thanks' that He pronounced the ' hallowing words ' of consecration. He was about to give Himself to His Church, and no expression of gratitude to God His Father for that most precious of all gifts could be too great. The Church has not forgotten: she recognises that it is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should always and in all places give thanks to God, especially when we are gathered round the altar where the richest of His gifts is placed at our disposal. The Mass is, as we learn from the Council of Trent, something more than a 'Thanksgiving,' a sacrifice of praise and thanks, a commemoration of the Sacrifice of the Cross; it is a sacrifice of propitiation for sin. ' The Lord being appeased by the * offering of this Sacrifice, granting grace and the gift of repentance, cancels crimes and sins, be they ever so great' (Council of Trent, Sess., xxii., ch. 2). To explain: The Sacrifice of the Mass does not itself directly and immediately forgive sinthat is the work of the Sacraments, especially of Baptism and Penance; but 'it propitiates Almighty God, averts His just anger and so obtains for the sinner those abundant graces which will lead him to repentance and the the Sacrament of Penance.' If there be co-operation on the part of the sinner, the mind is enlightened by faith, the heart softened with thoughts of sorrow, mercy, and hope, and these cause us to approach in contrition and repentance unto God that we may obtain mercy and find grace in seasonable aid' (Council of Trent). Further, the Mass .' moves the soul to acts in which supernatural love and sorrow consume those stains of sensuality, passion, and self-

love which in our sloth and indifference we incur at every hour of the day.' The punishment due to sin forgiven is also affected by the Mass; though to what extent we do not know. One Mass would of itself cancel tjiis temporal punishment in the case of those who offer the Sacrifice, those who hear it, and those for whom it is offered, were it not that limits are placed to its efficacy by God, Who wishes the remission of the punishment due to sin, like the remission of the sins themselves to depend as a condition on man’s own exertion. It would seem then that the Eucharistic Sacrifice directly and immediately cancels some part of the punishment attaching to forgiven sin; the remission of the other part depends on the offerer’s measure of devotion, his acts of sorrow and love. Perhaps it could never be otherwise as long as the creature is in a state of probation ; to -extinguish all liability automatically would go far towards putting an end to probation ’ (Hedley). This happy effect of the Mass 1 is felt by the needy souls in Purgatory as well, for though they cannot hear the Mass themselves, their friends on earth can offer it for their benefit. Here again we cannot say how and in what measure the punishment due to sin forgiven is cancelled, but it would seem that Christ wishes much to depend on the ready goodwill and fervent prayer of those on earth as they assist at the Sacrifice of the Mass. Fourthly, the Mass is a sacrifice of impetration, a pleading through Jesus Christ, with the whole of the power of His Passion for graces and favors, spiritual and temporal, for wants of sold and body, for ourselves and for others. The whole Church thus benefits by every Mass that is offered ; so do all the Church’s children so far as some graces are concerned. But naturally those who assist at a Mass can receive a greater share in its fruits than those who are absent, for in this renewal of Calvary the graces of redemption are most abundantly poured out;"and the better their dispositions, the greater their faith and devotion, the greater the benefits that will be reaped.