'STAND FAST IN THE FAITH'

New Zealand Tablet, 19 June 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 XI. THE CONSECRATION The solemn moment of the Consecration draws near, and the prayers of the celebrant become more ardent and tender. Relying on the powerful merits and prayers of the Saints, whose aid he has just sought, the priest prepares to offer the Spotless Victim to God for the sins of men. He prays thus: ‘We, therefore, beseech Thee, O Lord, to be appeased and to accept this oblation of our service, as also of Thy whole family ; dispose our days in Thy peace, command us to be delivered from eternal damnation, and to be numbered in the flock of Thy elect, through Christ our Lord. Amen.’ ‘ While saying these words the priest holds his hands over the bread and the wine and the thumbs are stretched one over the other in the form of a cross. This gesture signifies the transfer of something to another. In Exodus (xxix., 10), before the calf is killed we read that “Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head,” and again in Leviticus (i.,,4): “And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim.” This laying of hands implied the consciousness of guilt in the person who performed the act, and the wish to transfer' to the victim those sins for which the victim was to die instead of the sinner. Here at the Mass, by the imposition of hands, the priest signifies that the sins of the world are carried by our Lord Who died for* them on the Cross— “ Who bore all our iniquities on the Tree.” The Mass is the re-presentation of that Sacrifice of Calvary.’ (Gavin, p. 125.) The last of the prayers before the Consecration is the Quam Ohlationem, which runs thus: ‘Which oblation do Thou, O God, vouchsafe in all things to make blessed, approved, ratified, reasonable, and acceptable, that it may become to us the Body and Blood of Thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Here the Church begs that the great miracle of Transubstantia-; tiou may be wrought. The words are very simple, but so is the Scriptural account of Creation ; ‘ Let there be light; and there was light, and of the Incarnation: ‘ Be it done to me according to Thy word and the Word was made flesh.’ We ask God to make the offering of bread and wine blessed, by changing them into the Body and Blood of Christ, the Author of all blessings ; approved, by having everything done according to the directions given by our Lord at the Last Supper ratified, that is, confirmed in heaven; reasonable (St. Paul speaks of the ‘reasonable’ homage of our faith), because the offering about to be made is none other than Christ Himself; acceptable, that is, pleasing to God the Father, Five signs of the Cross are made over the oblations during the prayer. The first , three, made over both elements together, refer -to the Blessed Trinity, by Whose power the words of consecration produce their effect; the other two, made over the bread and wine separately, represent the sacrifice of Calvary. The Consecration. As we approach the essential action of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, it is very important to remember that the principal priest is Jesus Christ, to Whom the other but lends hands and lips. * The priest repeats in silent adoration the Gospel narrative of the institution of the mystery of God’s love, speaking in the person of Christ. Jesus was the sole minister of sacrifice at the Last Supper; He is now the invisible High Priest, Who offers His wondrous oblation by the hands of His visible minister, the priest. It is Christ Himself, says St. Ambrose, Who, through the mouth of His priest, pronounces the sacramental words) This explains why the Church views this great act less as an admirable form of prayer than as a divine drama faithfully reproducing every incident of the upper room. The priest takes bread into his hands, just as Christ did, raises his eyes to heaven, blesses it, and speaks the very words of Christ. In a word he consecrates bread in the name of the Lord, and by divine power it

is changed into the sacred Body of the Redeemer' (Nieuwbarn, p. 65). Acting and speaking thus in the person of; Christ, the priest pronounces the words of Consecration, which are based on the Scriptural narrative: ' Who the day before He suffered took bread into His holy and venerable hands, and with His eyes lifted up towards heaven, to Thee, God, His Almighty Father, giving thanks to Thee, did bless, break, and give to His disciples, saying: Take and eat ye all of this: for this is My Body.' The simple words produce the greatest of miracles; the whole substance of the bread is changed into the substance of our Lord's Body, the outward appearances of bread alone remaining. And as Christ's Body is now in its glorified state inseparable from His Blood, this conversion of the bread into His Body necessarily brings on the altar His Blood too, and with both must come the Soul and Divinity. So that Christ, whole and entire, is present under the appearance of bread. But our Lord wished to have the Consecration under wine as well as bread, in order the better to bring out the sacrificial character of the Eucharist, for these separate consecrations represent in a mystical way the death of Christ, the real parting of the Body and Blood on the Cross. *ln like manner, after He had supped, taking also this excellent Chalice into His holy and venerable hands, and giving Thee thanks, He blessed, and gave to His disciples, saying: Take and drink ye all of this: For this is the chalice of My Blood of the New and Eternal Testament: the Mystery of Faith; which shall be shed for you, and for many, to the remission of sins. As often as ye do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of Me.' Here a like miracle takes place. By virtue of the words, the wine in converted into the Blood of Christ, but where the Blood is, Body, Soul, and Divinity must be also. The Divine Victim has now come upon the altar, has been offered up for the remission of sins, and mystically immolated.

After pronouncing the words of consecration over the bread, the priest kneels in adoration, and then lifts up the sacred host— in His White Disguise—that It may be seen and adored by the people. An indulgence of seven years and seven times forty days may be gained by those who then look at the sacred host, and say with St. Thomas, 'My Lord and my God.' And the words of reverent homage written by another St. Thomas rise to the lips:

' Thee, hidden God, devoutly I adore, Believe Thee present, and Thy grace implore; To Thee my soul submits each power, each sense, And views with awe Thy veiled Omnipotence.

'And since, sweet Jesus, here it is not given, To see Thy Face unveiled, as 'tis in heaven, Grant me the boon I thirst for, so to gaze Upon Thy glories through endless days.'