Mary, Help of Christians Part 57

Besides, when a priest says Ma.s.s the people, by their English Missals or other prayer-books, are able to follow him from beginning to end.

The Ma.s.s is a sacrifice. The prayers of the Ma.s.s are offered to G.o.d.

Hence when the priest says Ma.s.s he is speaking not to the people, but to G.o.d, to whom all languages are equally intelligible. Are not these sufficient reasons for the use of the Latin language? Are not good Catholics more attentive, more devout at Ma.s.s than others at their prayer-meetings? The good Catholic knows that the Ma.s.s represents the pa.s.sion and death of Christ; that the pa.s.sion and death of Christ are the sinner's only refuge, the just man's only hope; that it can not but be good and wholesome to turn our minds and our hearts toward this subject; that frequent meditation on Christ's pa.s.sion will move us to avoid sin, which caused it; and that nothing can more efficaciously cause us to think of Christ's pa.s.sion and death than the holy sacrifice of the Ma.s.s.

III. Ceremonies of the Ma.s.s

THE Ma.s.s is the great sacrifice of the New Law. It was foreshadowed by all the sacrifices ordained by G.o.d in the Old Law. They were shadows; it is the substance.

We learn from Genesis of the fall of man. Universal tradition, as well as Scripture, informs us that the creature formerly became guilty in the eyes of the Creator. All nations, all peoples, endeavored to appease the anger of Heaven and believed that a victim was necessary for this purpose. Hence sacrifices have been offered from the beginning of the human race.

Cain and Abel offered victims; the one the first fruits of the earth, the other the firstlings of the flock. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Melchisedech wors.h.i.+ped this way, and their wors.h.i.+p was acceptable to G.o.d. Everywhere, even among the heathen, you find the altar, the priest, and the sacrifice. As we learn from Leviticus and other portions of the Old Testament, G.o.d Himself carefully prescribed the quality, manner, number, and place of the various sacrifices which He was pleased to accept from the hands of His chosen people. From this fact that sacrifice has ever formed a prominent feature in the wors.h.i.+p of all people, we conclude that it belongs to the essentials of religion, and that Christians to-day should have an altar of which, as St. Paul says, "they can not eat who serve the tabernacle."

The sacrifices of the Old Law were provisional and prefigured the great sacrifice of the New Law foretold by the prophet Malachy. This glorious prophecy of Malachy, "From the rising of the sun even to the going down My name is great among the Gentiles; in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean offering; for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts"--this glorious prophecy is fulfilled only by the great sacrifice of the Catholic Church. We alone can say with St. Paul, "_Habemus altare_" "We have an altar" and a true sacrifice. Of all the blessings bequeathed by Jesus Christ to His Church, there is none better, none greater, none holier than the holy sacrifice of the Ma.s.s. It is the sacrifice of His own body and blood offered to the heavenly Father under the appearances of bread and wine.

It was inst.i.tuted by Our Lord at the Last Supper, when He took bread and wine in His sacred hands and blessed them, saying, "This is My body. . .

. This is My blood. . . . Do this for a remembrance of Me."

He inst.i.tuted the holy Ma.s.s in order to represent and continue the sacrifice of Calvary. St Paul says, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, xi. 26, that it was inst.i.tuted to show the death of the Lord until His second coming. After the consecration, which the priest effects by saying over the bread and wine the same words which Jesus Christ said at the Last Supper, there is no longer bread and wine, but the true and living Jesus Christ, G.o.d and man, hidden under the appearances of bread and wine, just as in the manger He was hidden under the appearance of an infant. The priest offers Him up to His heavenly Father in the name of the Catholic Church, or rather He offers Himself up, and we can confidently hope that we will obtain more through prayers at the holy Ma.s.s than through our own unaided prayers. In order to have part in the holy sacrifice of the Ma.s.s a person should follow the actions and prayers of the priest, especially at the offertory, consecration, and communion; meditate on the pa.s.sion of Christ; say the rosary or the prayers in the prayer-books, at the same time uniting his intention with the intention of the sacrificing priest.

The sacrifice of the Ma.s.s is a true sacrifice, because it is the oblation of a victim to G.o.d to represent by its destruction or change His supreme dominion over life and death. It is offered to satisfy our four great debts and wants in adoration to G.o.d on account of His omnipotence, in thanksgiving for His benefits, in atonement for our sins, and to obtain His a.s.sistance in difficulties and temptations. The holy Ma.s.s obtains for us all graces and blessings, temporal and spiritual.

Since the Ma.s.s is the highest act of public wors.h.i.+p, it is proper that it should be celebrated with fitting sacred ceremonies. Every ceremony which the Church prescribes has its deep significance. All tend to bring before our minds the mystery of the pa.s.sion.

The _altar_, which is reached by means of steps, represents Mount Calvary, upon which Christ died with His arms extended as if to enfold all men as brothers. The _crucifix_ recalls Jesus dying on the cross.

The _lighted candles_ are symbols of the faith and devotion which ought to burn in the hearts of the faithful when present at Ma.s.s. The _sacred vestments_, embroidered with the sign of the cross, indicate that the priest is the minister and visible representative of Jesus Christ, the invisible priest. The sign of the cross made many times by the priest over the host and chalice reminds us that we offer to G.o.d the divine Victim of the cross, and that we ought to unite ourselves to Him by loving the cross, by patience and Christian penance. We genuflect because Our Lord is really present. If we know He is not present on the altar we bow in honor of the place where He sometimes reposes. _Holy water_ is used to signify that our souls must be pure if we wish G.o.d to answer our prayers. _Incense_ is used at solemn High Ma.s.s and at Vespers. It is symbolic of prayer, agreeably to the words of the 140th psalm: "Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight." And St. John, describing the heavenly Jerusalem in the 8th chapter of the Apocalypse, says: "Another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which is before the throne of G.o.d."

The sacrifice of the Ma.s.s, then, is the sacrifice of Calvary, since the same Victim is offered up and by the same High Priest, Jesus Christ. The Emanuel, the G.o.d with us, the thought of whom made the prophets tremble centuries before He came, that divine Teacher who loves to dwell with the children of men, the Catholic Church beholds dwelling in the midst of us on our altars. If you have visited some of our ancient cathedrals, or any of our magnificent modern churches, and admired the varied ornaments or artistic wonders therein; if you have ever been present at our religious solemnities and witnessed the gravity of our ceremonies, the beauty of the chants, the piety of the adorers; if you have reflected upon the spirit of sacrifice and self-forgetfulness so common to Catholicism and so unknown elsewhere--that spirit which moves thousands of the young of both s.e.xes to forsake the world and devote themselves to the care of the sick, the education of the young, and to other works of charity--if you have witnessed these things and reflected upon them, you can not but have asked yourself why are such gorgeous temples built; why such magnificent works of art as displayed on the altar, the sacred vessels, paintings, and other things in the church?

What prompts such sacrifices? And the answer will be, because the church is the edifice where G.o.d in the holy Ma.s.s daily renews the prodigies of His mercy, and it can never be worthy of His love; because G.o.d, who sacrificed Himself for us, is ever with us in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, to soothe our cares and answer our prayers. Yes, the grand feature of the Catholic Church is the holy altar. On the altar is the tabernacle for the residence of the Lord of Hosts.

There our "hidden G.o.d," Jesus in the Eucharist, dwells night and day in the midst of His people, saying to them with words of love, "Come to me all you that are burdened and heavy laden, and I will refresh you."

The Ma.s.s, independent of its sacrificial aspect, consists of the best prayers ever uttered. The priest begins by making the sign of the cross, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." This sign is an epitome of the Christian's belief in the unity and trinity of G.o.d and in the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. After making the sign of the cross he repeats the 42d psalm, "Judge me, O G.o.d," and then makes an humble confession of his sins to G.o.d. He ascends the altar and nine times asks G.o.d to have mercy on him, _Kyrie Eleison_; then follows the beautiful hymn the shepherds heard the angels singing at the birth of the Saviour, _Gloria in Excelsis Deo_.

The prayer of the feast, the epistle and gospel follow, and then the sermon in the vernacular is usually preached. After the Nicene Creed, _Credo in Unum Deum_, the priest makes the offering of bread and wine.

He then washes the tips of his fingers, saying: "I will wash my hands among the innocent," by which he is reminded to be free from stain to offer worthily the Holy Sacrifice.

The preface, canon, and solemn words of consecration follow, during which the bread and wine are changed by the power of Jesus Christ into His body and blood. In a short time he comes to the best of all prayers, the prayer taught us by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Our Father, _Pater Noster_. The _Agnus Dei_ follows, then the communion, when he partakes of the consecrated bread and wine, and afterward gives holy communion to the faithful. He then continues the Ma.s.s, gives his blessing, and finishes the Ma.s.s with the beginning of the Gospel of St.

John. Hence you see that, besides the great sacrifice which makes it an act worthy of G.o.d, the Ma.s.s consists of the best of all prayers.

From what has been said it is evident that ceremonies in the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d are reasonable, being sanctioned by G.o.d in the Old and New Testaments; that the holy sacrifice of the Ma.s.s is the greatest of all acts of wors.h.i.+p; and that the Catholic Church in using ceremonies is but following the example of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His apostles. St. John in the Book of Revelations tells us that before the throne of G.o.d angels stand with golden censers, mult.i.tudes from all nations follow and adore the Lamb, while virgins sing the new song which they alone can utter. So, too, before the throne of G.o.d on earth we swing our censers, mult.i.tudes from all nations prostrate themselves in adoration, the sweet incense of their praise and prayer ascends to the throne of grace, their minds are enlightened by G.o.d's word, while their hearts are raised to G.o.d by the grandeur of our ceremonies.

The Son of G.o.d, after having taught us by His word, shown us by His example, and merited for us by His grace the virtues necessary for salvation, wished to inst.i.tute the holy sacrifice of the Ma.s.s, that He might come Himself in the Holy Sacrament and imprint them upon us. Of these virtues, the most important are _humility_, _purity_, _obedience_, _patience_, and _charity_.

Let us always ask G.o.d when present at the holy Ma.s.s for a lively faith in His _Real Presence_, an ardent love for Him in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, and the grace to imitate His humility, His purity, His meekness, obedience, patience, and charity _here_, and enjoy His presence forever _hereafter_.

The following beautiful words of Cardinal Newman show that the Ma.s.s is something more than a mere form of words, and that ceremonies are reasonable as well as necessary in its celebration:

"To me nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Ma.s.s said as it is among us. I could attend Ma.s.ses forever and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words--it is a great action, the greatest action that can be on earth. It is not the invocation merely, but, if I dare use the word, the evocation of the Eternal. He becomes present on the altar in flesh and blood, before Whom angels bow and devils tremble. This is that awful event which is the scope and the interpretation of every part of the solemnity. Words are necessary, but as means, not as ends; they are not mere addresses to the throne of grace, they are instruments of what is far higher, of consecration, of sacrifice.

"They hurry on as if impatient to fulfil their mission. Quickly they go, for they are awful words of sacrifice; they are a work too great to delay upon, as when it was said in the beginning, 'What thou doest, do quickly.' Quickly they pa.s.s, for the Lord Jesus goes with them, as He pa.s.sed along the lake in the days of His flesh, quickly calling first one and then another; quickly they pa.s.s, because as the lightning which s.h.i.+neth from one part of the heaven unto the other, so is the coming of the Son of Man.

"Quickly they pa.s.s, for they are as the words of Moses, when the Lord came down in the cloud, calling on the name of the Lord as He pa.s.sed by, 'The Lord, the Lord G.o.d, merciful and generous, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.' And as Moses on the mountain, so we, too, make haste and bow our heads to the earth and adore.

"So we, all around, each in his place, look for the great Advent 'waiting for the moving of the water,' each in his place, with his own heart, with his own wants, with his own prayers, separate but concordant, watching what is going on, watching its progress, uniting in its consummation; not painfully, and hopelessly following a hard form of prayer from beginning to end, but like a concert of musical instruments each different, but concurring in sweet harmony, we take our post with G.o.d's priest, supporting him, yet guided by him. There are little children there, and old men, and simple laborers, and students in seminaries, priests preparing for Ma.s.s, priests making their thanksgiving, there are innocent maidens, and there are penitent sinners; but out of these many minds rises one Eucharistic hymn, and the great action is the measure and the scope of it."

The Practices of the Catholic Church

I. Vespers and Benediction

"Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day" (_Ex_. xx. 8).

THIS commandment teaches us that G.o.d wills the whole Sunday to be spent in His honor. We should sanctify it by good works, and by a.s.sisting at divine service. On that day servile works and improper amus.e.m.e.nts are forbidden. A salutary rest and moderate recreation are allowed, but never at the expense of duties of obligation. After hearing Ma.s.s on Sunday morning, which is obligatory on all Catholics, there is no better way of sanctifying the remainder of the day than by attending Vespers and Benediction.

The Vesper service is a small portion of the divine office, which priests must recite daily, for G.o.d's honor and glory. It consists of five of the psalms of David (Dixit Dominus, Ps. 109; Confitebor tibi, Ps. 110; Beatus vir, Ps. 111; Laudate pueri, Ps. 112; In exitu Israel, Ps. 113, or Laudate Dominum, Ps. 116), a hymn, the Magnificat, or canticle of the Virgin Mary, from the first chapter of St. Luke, and some prayers. Is it not reasonable thus to praise G.o.d in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles?

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament usually follows Vespers. The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ is really present in the Blessed Sacrament. The reasonableness of this teaching will be seen in the following article.

Since Jesus Christ is present, He ought to be adored by the faithful.

Faithful adorers frequently visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament and wors.h.i.+p Him in "spirit and in truth." Hence, the Blessed Sacrament is kept in the Tabernacle on our altars to soothe our cares, answer our prayers, and be ready at any time to be administered to the sick and dying.

Besides our private devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Church has appointed solemn rites to show publicly our faith and devotion toward the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. These rites are processions on Corpus Christi, the Forty Hours' devotion, and, especially, the rite called Benediction.

When it is time for Benediction many candles are lighted on the altar.

This is done to show our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. If He were not present, this display would be unreasonable, unnecessary, and meaningless. But the candles we light, the incense we burn, the flowers and other ornaments we use to decorate the altar, and all that we do for Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can not be too much.

Everything being prepared, the priest takes the Blessed Sacrament out of the tabernacle, and, placing it in the ostensorium, exposes it on an elevated throne, while the choir sings in honor of the Blessed Sacrament the hymn "O Salutaris Hostia," "O Saving Host." The priest incenses Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, as, according to the Apocalypse, angels do in heaven. Another hymn or a litany follows; after which is sung the "Tantum Ergo," "Down in adoration falling," followed by a prayer by the priest. Then in the midst of a solemn silence (except that a small bell is tinkled) the priest takes the monstrance, or ostensorium, containing the Blessed Sacrament, and, turning toward the people, makes with it the sign of the cross over them, thus blessing the faithful with the Most Holy One.

This is certainly a most touching and impressive rite even to those who do not believe in it. Cardinal Newman calls it one of the most beautiful, natural, and soothing practices of the Church. No one will deny that this practice, or rite of the Church, is reasonable, if Jesus Christ is really present in the Blessed Sacrament. That He is really present is our belief. This being our belief, is it not reasonable to light candles as a sign of spiritual joy, and thus to show our faith in Him who is the light of the world? He gave us all that we have. He gave us the beautiful world we dwell upon with its variety of scenery--with its snow-capped mountains, its green-carpeted hills, and its blooming valleys. He has no need of our gifts; for the earth is His "and the fulness thereof." Yet as He was pleased to receive the gifts of the Magi and the precious ointment of Mary, so, too, is He pleased to receive our offerings. And is anything too good, too beautiful, too precious, for Him? Can the altar on which He dwells be too richly adorned? Are the pure candles we light, the sweet incense we burn, the choice flowers and costly ornaments with which we decorate the altar, too much to use in honor of Our Lord and our G.o.d? Yes, the Catholic practice or rite of Benediction is dictated by right reason. Everything connected with Benediction is reasonable, beautiful, and suggestive of the _n.o.blest sentiments of the heart of man_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Mary, Star of the Sea.]

II. Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament

"And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to His disciples, and said: take ye and eat. This is My body" (_Matt_. xxvi. 26).

PERHAPS no mystery of revelation has been so universally attacked as the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

By the Real Presence is meant that Jesus Christ is really and truly, body and blood, soul and divinity, present in the Blessed Sacrament, under the form and appearance of bread and wine.

This teaching of the Church is in perfect agreement with Scripture, tradition, and reason.

If the reader will take up his Bible and read carefully the 6th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John; the 26th chapter, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of St. Matthew; the 14th chapter, 22d verse of St. Mark; the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 10th chapter, 16th verse, as well as other portions of the New Testament, he will certainly see that the Catholic teaching and practice concerning the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament are founded on Scripture. In this 6th chapter of St. John, we learn that before inst.i.tuting the Blessed Sacrament Our Saviour wished to announce or promise it to His disciples in order to prepare them for it. He first gave them a figure of the Blessed Sacrament in the multiplication of the five loaves of bread by which He fed five thousand persons. After this miracle He told them that He would give them bread superior to that which they had eaten, and that this bread was His own flesh and blood. "The bread that I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world." It is almost impossible to understand these words of Our Lord in any other than a literal sense. He was so understood by those who heard Him. "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" they said, and many withdrew from Him. It is but reasonable to believe that if He did not wish to be understood in a literal sense He would have told His hearers so, rather than have them leave Him.