"He hath made a remembrance of His wonderful works, being a gracious and merciful Lord; He hath given food to them that fear Him." (Psalm 4,5)"He hath made a remembrance of His wonderful works, being a gracious and merciful Lord; He hath given food to them that fear Him." (Psalm 4,5)
The Blessed Eucharist is a summary of all the wonders wrought by God. It surpasses all the works of the creation, for in the Eucharist Jesus Christ is really present, both as God and man under the appearances of bread and wine. It surpasses even the work of the Redemption, for it is not only a Sacrifice equal to the Sacrifice of the Cross, since it is its repetition, continuation, perpetuation and application, but it is also the food of our soul, and Jesus becomes therein our Spiritual Physician, our Lord, our most loving Friend and the Spouse of our soul. In a word, the Eucharist is the remembrance of all that God has done for us.
Nothing can be more excellent than the Blessed Eucharist. The excellence of a gift depends, first, on the dignity of the giver. How greatly we should appreciate even the slightest gift from a divine Giver! Secondly, it depends on the greatness of the gift itself. The Eucharist is, in itself, so great a gift, that none greater, none even so great can be found, for the Eucharist is Jesus Christ Himself, both as God and man; it is so great a gift, that the Almighty Himself, cannot bestow a greater gift than Himself. In the third place, the excellence of a gift depends on the affection that prompts its bestowal. Our divine Savior Himself says: "Greater love than this no man hath, than to lay down His life for His friends" (John 15:3). But Jesus has not merely shown this greatest love for us, who were then His enemies by our sins, for He died the most ignominious and cruel of deaths to save us, but He loved us so tenderly as to die on the cross, in order that He might be able, by giving us His very flesh and blood as the food of our souls, to unite Himself most intimately to us, for there is no union more close and inseparable than that of our food with our body. Lastly, the excellence of a gift depends on its wonderful effects. The intimate union of our soul with Jesus Christ in Holy Communion renders us, as Saint Peter declares, "partakers of the divine nature" (1 Peter 1:4). When we receive Holy Communion, Jesus Christ, by uniting Himself to us, or rather, by uniting us with Himself, enlightens us in the mysteries of our holy faith as He, on the very day of His resurrection, enlightened the two disciples on their way to Emmaus. Holy Communion fills our heart with heavenly joys, purifies us of the sins of human weakness and frailty; it arms and strengthens us to combat manfully our passions and all our spiritual foes, and it especially renders us generous in the service of God, and, as is more than sufficiently proved by the examples of the early Christians, of millions of martyrs and numberless saints, it wonderfully strengthens us in the practice of virtue and will infallibly secure for us eternal life.
The Eucharist As A Sacrifice
"From the rising of the sun to the going down My name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation." (Malachi 1:11) By these words the prophet Malachy, several centuries before Christ, foretold the institution and the offering of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the whole world, and in every part of the world. The Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice which Jesus Christ instituted in His Church to recall, to continue, to perpetuate and apply to men the sacrifice of Himself which He offered on the Cross for the Redemption of man kind. On the cross Jesus offered Himself as Victim to His heavenly Father in the place of guilty man kind, and super-abundantly paid all their debts to God. By His Sacrifice He gave infinite honor and thanksgiving to God, atoned for all the sins of men, and obtained for them all necessary graces. But in order to profit each individual man, the effects, or the merits of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross have to be applied to each one, just as water, how ever great its quantity, will not cleanse us, unless we wash ourselves with it, and food will not benefit us, if we do not eat it. The merits and the blood of Jesus once offered by Him for us on the cross, are applied individually through the Sacraments and the holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The New Law, that is, the religion, or the Church, established by Jesus Christ, to be a perfect religion, a religion worthy of God, must have a sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice, in order to fulfill properly all the figures of the ancient sacrifices. Like the New Law itself, this sacrifice must be everywhere and perpetually offered. Our divine Savior offered Himself a sacrifice on the cross only once, and in one place only. On the cross He was both the Priest and the Victim. There can be no sacrifice without a priest to offer it, for sacrifice and priesthood are inseparable. The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross is the Sacrifice of the New Law; but it is not the only form of this Sacrifice, for Saint Paul declares that "Jesus Christ is forever a priest according to the order of Melchisedech. This the Lord hath sworn, and shall not repent" (Psalm 109:4). But if Jesus Christ is "a priest forever" He must not cease offering sacrifice; but since, after dying on the cross, He rose again to die no more (Romans 6:9), He, therefore, continues to offer His sacrifice forever in some other manner. In what manner? "According to the order of Melchisedech" that is, in an unbloody manner, under the form or appearances, of bread and wine, and this constantly, perpetually. And this He does in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This Sacrifice is unbloody; it is, moreover, infinite, for Jesus Christ being God-man, cannot, like Melchisedech, offer mere bread and wine, which was a mere figure, but must offer a Sacrifice worthy of His eternal Priesthood, and worthy of the perfect and divine religion He founded; and this Sacrifice or Victim which He offered, is Himself, the "Living Bread come down from heaven" (John 6:41). It is identically the same Sacrifice as that which He offered on the cross, for in the Mass, as on the cross, Jesus Christ is Himself both the Priest and the Victim, although the manner of offering is different On the cross Jesus Christ personally, in His human nature, offered or sacrificed Himself, and actually died for mankind. In the Mass Jesus Christ as priest is represented and personated by the priest who celebrates the Mass. He is also the real Victim offered in the Mass under the appearances of bread and wine, and dies in the Mass, not a physical, but a mystical death, when the species or appearances of bread and wine are consumed by the priest at Holy Communion. The Sacrifice of the Cross and the Sacrifice of the Mass are essentially the same, for in both the Priest and the Victim is Jesus Christ Himself, the Son of God made man. Therefore, like the Sacrifice of the Cross, the Sacrifice of the Mass is of infinite value, apart from the celebrant's holiness or unworthiness. The Mass, like the Sacrifice of the Cross, which it perfectly represents, continues and applies to men, most perfectly fulfills the four-fold object of divine worship and sacrifice, and consequently gives infinite honor and thanksgiving to God, fully atones for the sins of men and deserves for them all necessary graces and divine assistance. Moreover, Jesus Christ, being Priest for the whole Church, daily offers, by the ministry of the priests, His representatives in the Mass, the perfect Sacrifice (of Himself), as foretold by the Prophet Malachy, "in every place from the rising of the sun even to the going down, there is sacrifice and there is offered to My name a clean oblation" (1:11), applying thereby to men the merits and fruits of His death on the Cross. The Sacrifice of the Mass is, then, like a constant Redemption for mankind.
Protestantism has no sacrifice, and has therefore no priesthood; it is consequently powerless to redeem and sanctify souls; it does not own the merits of Jesus Christ, and is powerless to apply them to the salvation of men; therefore it cannot be the Church of Jesus Christ, nor continue His work among men.
In the Sacrifice of the Mass we possess the means of giving infinite honor to God. All rational creatures are bound to honor God as their Creator and their Lord, as their chief End. All the honor which all rational creatures combined are able to give to God, is infinitely less than the honor that is due to Him and that He deserves. The Sacrifice of the Mass, however, gives to God all the honor that is due to Him, that is infinite honor, for in the Mass the Priest is Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself, the Victim also is Jesus Christ, for the celebrant merely represents and personates Jesus Christ; and the heavenly Father to whom the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, accepts the Sacrifice of His divine Son as our own, for He has given us Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, as our Brother, as the Head of the body, the Church, of which we are members. The members of the body of Christ participate in all that their Head does and possesses.
In the Sacrifice of the Mass we possess the surest means of obtaining happiness in time and in eternity. We stand in need of God's blessing, His grace, His forgiveness of the temporal and eternal punishments we owe Him for our sins. The Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful means, not only of giving God the honor due Him, but also of propitiating Him for our sins and obtaining His forgiveness, and also of appropriately thanking Him for all His benefits, and of obtaining all the graces and benefits we need in this life, and endless happiness in the next. For all these benefits we can give and pay God an infinite price in the Sacrifice of the Mass, in which His divine Son Jesus Christ is both Priest and Victim.
Who participate in the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Mass? In general, the whole Church participates in every Mass that is celebrated in the world; the triumphant Church in heaven receives therefrom an increase of glory by reflection from God; the suffering Church in purgatory receives an alleviation of its pains; and the militant Church on earth receives an increase of grace and strength. Moreover, all those who are baptized, even if they be in error, receive therefrom actual grace, earthly blessings; extraordinary favors are bestowed thereby on individuals, and even unbelievers and the heathen derive certain benefits therefrom.
Who are the special participants in the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Mass? First, all who are directly concerned in its celebration, such as: the priest celebrating, the server, those for whose intention the Mass is celebrated, those to whom it is specially applied, all for whom the priest makes a "memento" in so far as God wills, and who assist corporally or in spirit at the Mass. Every Catholic should consider it a duty of charity to have, at least occasionally, Masses said for the living and the dead, for himself, or his special intentions or needs, such as, for his perseverance, for strength in temptation, for overcoming a bad habit, for cure of an illness, for the grace of a good death, for the conversion of sinners in general, or of certain sinners, for light and strength to know and follow his vocation, for his parents, relatives, friends, benefactors, either living or dead, for souls in purgatory.
How should sinners hear Mass, in order to derive benefit therefrom? The Sacrifice of the Mass is a powerful means of converting the sinner, for it is a memorial of the Incarnation of the Son of God, of His Redemption of mankind, the application of the merits of His Passion and death on the Cross. The sinner is bound to assist at Holy Mass on all Sundays and on all Holy Days of obligation, for such is the precept of God's holy Church. The sinner should assist at Mass in a penitential spirit as he would have assisted at the Savior's death on the Cross, had he been present. In the beginning of the Mass he should interiorly join the priest in making an humble and sorrowful confession of his sins to God, with a firm resolution to give up sin, to go to confession and amend his life. He should also feel grateful to God for His longanimity in his regard, and for the satisfaction Jesus Christ offered by His Passion and death for his sins, and earnestly beseech God to enable him by His powerful grace to give up his sins and his evil habits, and to persevere until death in the amendment of his life.
On the other hand, the just should assist at Mass with a lively faith, as if they were actually present on Calvary when Jesus was dying on the Cross, bearing in mind, that the Mass is the memorial, the continuation and application of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross. They should also humble themselves, confessing their sins to God and begging His mercy, with the resolution of dying rather than to deliberately offend Him. They ought repeatedly to make acts of thanksgiving to God, acts of the love of God, offer themselves to God, and resolve to hear Mass daily, if possible. They should also pray to God to grant them the graces and favors of which they stand in need, and recommend to Him those for whom they should pray. The prayers and petitions we make during Mass are far more powerful and more pleasing to God, than those we make at other times, because in the Mass they are united to those of Jesus Christ, who then on the altar as our Victim, prays for all who assist at the Mass. Hence through Jesus Christ our prayers are presented to God during Mass, and will be more surely granted.
How often should we hear Mass? First, we must hear Mass, under pain of mortal sin, on all Sundays and all Holy Days of obligation. On these days we are bound to hear a whole Mass. He who willfully, or through sheer carelessness, comes late to Mass on these days, commits a sin; surely a mortal sin, if he comes after the Offertory has begun; if he leaves the Church without necessity on the aforesaid days, he also commits a sin; a mortal sin if it is before the Communion and he does not return before the end of the Mass.
Secondly, it is very useful and advisable to hear Mass as often as possible, even daily. Those who are able to hear Mass every day, but through indifference or sloth neglect this pious practice, lose all the benefits and graces attached to the devout assistance at daily Mass; they refuse to God the honor they would offer Him by such assistance; they are ungrateful to our divine Savior, who, in His infinite love for all mankind, instituted this holy Sacrifice as the memorial and the application of the fruits of His Passion and death, and as the channel of abundant graces, especially for those who assist at Mass. These persons show also a disregard for our holy Mother the Church, which prescribes its daily celebration; they also fail in their duty to their neighbor, whom they should endeavor to lead to God by their good example. In fine, they do great injury to themselves, by depriving themselves of the many great graces and benefits they could obtain by daily assisting at Mass; and these very graces may be for some the very graces on which depends their keeping out of sin, their perseverance and their eternal salvation.
Some do not hear Mass every day, under the pretext of being too busy, of having no time. Let us seriously consider that salvation is our all-important business, and that it behooves us to make sure of it by all the means in our power. One of the most powerful means of salvation is the daily devout assistance at Mass. How many fervent Catholics, who are as busy as almost any one can possibly be, who yet find time to go daily to church to hear Mass! What others can do, we also can do, if we seriously try, for "where there is a will, there also is a way." Rise earlier in the morning, and retire earlier to rest at night. Let us remember how many faults we daily commit and must atone for, how many dangers and temptations daily beset our path, how many graces and benefits we daily need from God, and for how many we owe thanks to God, and how much honor God deserves from us! What better means have we for doing all this than to assist devoutly at holy Mass every day!
"In every Mass," says Saint Thomas, "we can find again the same fruit, the same benefits, which Jesus Christ secured for mankind by dying on the cross on Good Friday."
"The Mass," says Saint Francis de Sales, "is the abyss of divine mercy, the fountain of divine love, the most precious means of obtaining divine grace."
"On the days we hear Mass devoutly," says Saint John Chrysostom, "we receive the divine blessing on all we do."
- text taken from Jesus in the Eucharist, by Father Ferreol Girardey, C.Ss.R.