Penance And Self-Denial: Why? by Rev. John O'Brien PH.D

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LENTEN DISCIPLINE FOR MODERN LIFE

“Lent is a relic from the Dark Ages. It is a shadow projected down the ages of gloom that falls athwart the sunshine of our modern life and happiness. As the Matterhorn that lifts its snow-crowned summit high into the skies of Switzerland, intercepts the slanting rays of the setting sun, and brings premature darkness to the little village nestling in the valley behind it, so Lent robs us of much of the brightness of social life and worldly amusement, casting prematurely across the noonday of our life the shadow of death and the here-after. Its doctrine of mortification runs counter to the very grain of our human nature. It is a killjoy, an anachronism in our enlightened twentieth century. We want a religion of joy and gladness, not of gloom.”
Such is the cry that we hear about us on every side -the cry of the epicurean, the cry of the cynic, the cry of the sophisticated, seeking through a thousand devious routes to find the Blue Bird of happiness. Is Lent really a barrier to our happiness? Is it the mere blind handing down of a custom from the hoary past, that has lost its purpose and its utility for our modern day? Let us face these questions frankly and fairly. For unless a person understands how the observance of Lent promotes his welfare and happiness he is not likely to enter into its spirit wholeheartedly.

EXAMPLE OF CHRIST

In the first place, Lent is but the following of the example of Our Divine Saviour Himself. For the Gospel tells us that immediately after His baptism in the Jordan and before beginning His public ministry, Christ went out into the desert and fasted forty days and forty nights. Through the lips of His precursor, St. John the Baptist, He said to the people: “Unless you do penance you shall likewise perish.” Unlike our modern generals who send their soldiers out into the front-line trenches, while they remain securely behind, Our Divine Master asks us to follow only where He Himself has led. For many centuries the Christian world followed the example of Our Saviour with a rigorousness which we to-day do not even remotely approximate. A few years ago I stood at the foot of Mt. Quarantana, within sight of the Jordan, where the Saviour spent forty days of fast. I saw the sides of the mountain studded with holes, where anchorites had come to dwell, and to follow literally the rigorous fast of the Saviour.
Until the ninth century but one meal a day was taken, and that at evening. During the Middle Ages not only the theatres but even the law courts were closed. War was forbidden under penalty of excommunication. Every activity that might distract the minds of the Christians from the consideration of the condition of their souls and the attainment of their eternal salvation was prohibited. It has only been in recent times that the severity of the Lenten fast has been so greatly mitigated that now we experience but little hardship in its observance.

ANALYSIS OF ST. PAUL

Catholics do not observe Lent, however, merely because Our Saviour fasted, but because of the reasons which lie behind His command-to do penance as the necessary condition for salvation. We do penance for a twofold purpose: First, to atone for our past sins and to satisfy the temporal punishment due for them; secondly, to strengthen our wills so as to prevent our falling in the future.
When psychology will have written its, final chapter on human nature, it will be found that it has given us no more penetrating revelation of its conflicting duality than that which St. Paul disclosed to the Romans when he said: “I see another law in my members fighting against the law of my mind., and captivating me in the law of sin that is in my members.” And to the Galatians he said: “For the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary one to another, so that you do not the things that you would.” Because of this conflicting duality that lay at the very heart of his nature, he found himself yielding to the thralldom of the senses and to the imperious tyranny of flesh against the voice of reason and conscience, so that he was compelled to explain: “The good which I will. . I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do.”
How aptly do these words of St. Paul reflect the experience of all mankind. Because of this duality in our nature, we find a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde, a saint and a demon struggling for the mastery in each of us. In the last analysis it will be found that the whole purpose of all the exercises of the spiritual life is to emancipate the will from the tyranny of the flesh, to make it the ready servant of the reason and the conscience of man.
In order to secure such mastery, self-denial and self-discipline are necessary. The appetite, which is always pampered, petted and indulged, becomes imperious and domineering. By denying oneself at times pleasures that are lawful, we strengthen the muscles of the will, so that it will be more capable of resisting pleasures which are unlawful. That is why in Lent we are asked to give up some pleasures and amusements which are lawful in themselves. We thereby fortify the enthronement of our conscience and our intellect over our appetites and cravings. Then when the temptation comes we shall be able to stand unshaken.

PROMOTES HAPPINESS

Strength of will, which comes through self-denial and discipline, is necessary to success in every line of endeavour-in literature, in science, in art, in commerce, in athletics. Look at the athletes who are training day after day on the cinder track. See those muscles of theirs, at first soft and flabby, change under the dint of daily discipline until they become as sinews of iron. So it is with the Christian, whose will, at first soft and flabby, gradually be-comes like iron under the lash of daily discipline during Lent. This strength of will developed by spiritual exercises carries over into every department of life-making for success in scholarship, in athletics, in business, in life.
Not only does it make for success, but it makes for that subjective correlate of success-happiness and peace of mind. True happiness is found not in the enslavement of the will to the passions, but in the enthronement of the conscience and the will over the appetites and the instincts of man. There is found that deeper and truer happiness which is not dependent upon external circumstances, but is found within-in the kingdom of the mind. Your entering generously into the spirit of Lent will have a far-reaching influence not only upon the success of all your manifold activities, but also upon your happiness and peace of mind.
Some time ago the students at the University of Illinois, U.S.A., honoured at a public mass meeting the young man who carried the colours of Illinois to victory at the Olympic games at Amsterdam by winning the welterweight wrestling championship of the world. After congratulating him upon his great achievement, I asked him how long he had trained for the contest. “Father,” he said, “scarcely a day has passed in the last seven years that I haven’t gone through some special exercise designed to prepare me for that encounter.” No wonder that he was as hard as iron and steel, and able to withstand the assaults of the best wrestlers among all the nations of the world. If men toil and discipline themselves through rigorous self-denial to win a race for an earthly prize, how much greater should be our zeal and earnestness in seeking to win the race of life that leads to a crown of imperishable glory!

CHRIST’S SELF-CONTROL

If one will study with care the character of Our Divine Saviour as portrayed in the Gospel stories, he will find it adorned in an eminent degree with all the qualities which have distinguished the illustrious heroes of the world. Wisdom, power, mercy, and love shine forth luminously from His sublime personality. But as one studies that complex character at greater length and secures a more penetrating insight into it, he gradually becomes conscious that there is some subtle quality there, blending all these into a harmonious whole, which is lacking in the character of the great heroes of the world. There is no jar, no jolt, none of the strange inconsistencies that glare out at us from the lives of the secular heroes.
That quality is the Saviour’s perfect self-mastery, self-control. Never for an instant in all the scenes of the Master’s earthly life is there an incident wherein a rash, hasty, headstrong action mars the even tenor and the surpassing beauty of the Saviour’s unfailing equanimity and perfect self-control. Washington’s greatness bears ever the tarnish of his profanity and ill-temper. Napoleon’s glory. is dimmed by his uncontrolled concupiscence. But when on trial for His life before the court of Caiphas, when buffeted and spat upon by His executioners, even when stripped of His garments and nailed to the Cross, the Master shows no sign of anger or vindictiveness. Never for a moment does He lose that marvellous mastery of Himself.
That is one of the reasons why the name of Jesus stands out among all the names in human history-the solitary example of perfect self-control. As Richter has said: “The purest among the strong, and the strongest among the pure, Jesus lifted with His wounded hands empires from their hinges and changed the stream of centuries.” He taught man the greatest of all arts-the art of self-control.
“Self-knowledge, self-reverence, self-control
In these alone lie sovereign power;
Who conquers self, rules others,
Aye, is lord and ruler of the universe.”

ESSENTIAL FOR SUCCESS

The person who would master the rudiments of the spiritual life must learn the lesson of self-discipline. It is one of the most essential elements for success in the earthly and spiritual warfare which we wage. The paths of life are strewn with the wrecks of men and women conquering others, mastering the arts, unlocking the secrets that lay hidden for countless centuries in the unfathomed bosom of the earth, only to fall victims to their own lusts, perishing in their own unconquered wilderness.
To me there is something tragically moving in the spectacle of Alexander the Great subjugating Greece, conquering imperial Rome, extending his little kingdom of Macedonia over the known world, until he found himself in distant Ecbatana, in Media, Asia, sitting astride his steed and weeping because there were no more worlds to conquer. Within a week Alexander the Great, conqueror of the world, making the earth tremble as his mighty battalion swept across Europe and Asia, lay dead in his tent, a victim to his own concupiscence-his unbridled passion for drink. Instead of sighing for new worlds to conquer, if he had but eyes to see, he would have perceived within himself a kingdom which stretched out as a huge jungle, untamed and unexplored. Alexander the Great will remain for all times as the classic example of the man who was able to conquer all the world, except himself-literally murdered at the very zenith of his greatness by his own untamed passions.
We need not go back to ancient Greece or Rome or Ecbatana, however, to witness the tragic wrecks of uncontrolled passions. Our insane asylums, our homes for wayward boys and girls, scream out at us their message of the frightful retribution meted out to those who allow their lust to subjugate their reason and their conscience. In the very bosom of our society are countless men and women in the untamed wilderness of whose hearts there surge unchecked, wild, primeval passions, pulling them down slowly but surely to the level of beasts, and murdering everything in their nature that is Godlike and divine. The ceaseless gnawings of remorse, the sapping of their manhood and virility by terrible diseases-these are the forebodings of the far greater punishments that await with inexorable justice the transgressors of the Divine law in eternity.

A DYING WRECK

One evening some time ago I was called to the bedside of a stranger, dying in one of the rooming houses for transients in the city. He had gone through all the stages of delirium tremens, and was a complete wreck. The doctor said that he had gone on one spree too many. For this one had caused complications, a ruptured blood-vessel, and his end was a matter of hours. Though only in middle age, his hair was streaked with grey, and his face was heavily lined. Worry and dissipation were stamped unmistakably upon the scarred countenance. Heartbroken, he told me his story. Possessing a good education, he had risen to a high position with a rail-road, when he contracted the habit of drunkenness. Losing his job after a prolonged fit of intoxication, he was ashamed to face his wife and children. He went from bad to worse, finally becoming an outcast among the barrel houses in a large city.
After I heard his confession, he broke into tears, and his whole frame shook with sobbing as he cried, “Father, I would have given anything in the world to have freed myself from this terrible vice of drink. It has brought shame upon my family, whom I love more than anything in life. It has pulled me down into a living hell.” I shall never forget to my dying day the look of desolating anguish akin to despair in his wistful eyes, as he lay there sobbing as though his heart would break.
As I left that bare, drab room, with its dying victim, and came down the creaking stairs of the dingy rooming house, the scene haunted my mind. While hurrying home through the darkness of that winter night, illumined only by the distant stars shining as God’s silent sentinels in the sky, I prayed that God might protect my students, my people, myself, from a tragedy such as I had left behind. For that is the fate which awaits the boy or girl, the man or woman who allows any passion to grow unchecked, until it transforms him from a saint into a demon incarnate-the terrible tragedy of the man who is murdered, not by the hand of the assassin, but by his own brutal passions, slowly strangled to death by his own self.
The whole world watched breathlessly a few years ago the frantic struggle of men to free a victim from the jaws of Sand Cave in the Kentucky hillsides. But they resisted all the assaults of men and machinery, and clung to their victim until life was extinct. So, any passion-intoxication, lust, anger, jealousy-that is allowed to go unchecked, develops into a monster that clings to its victim until it strangles him to a physical and spiritual death. Worse than the fall of a meteor from the sky is the fall of a young man or a woman from the beauty and sunshine of God’s grace into the foul swamp of uncontrolled vice. It is the most tragic note and the saddest that can be sounded in the whole gamut of human life.

THE REMEDY

What now is the remedy? Knowledge merely? “Quarry the granite rock,” says Cardinal Newman, “with razors, or moor the vessel with a thread of silk; then you may hope with such keen and delicate instruments as human knowledge and human reason to contend against those giants, the passions and the pride of men.” Not knowledge alone, but will power is needed. Self-control means strength of will applied to one’s own conduct. How can will power be developed? Our Divine Master has given us the answer when He said: “He that will be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” By daily discipline, daily self denial, such as Lent brings to us. In no other way under the heavens can there be developed willpower and self-control.
The same conclusion was reached by an altogether different method of approach by one of the greatest of all psychologists, William James, when he said: “Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day.” Do something each day that is hard and more than is required in order that your faculty of effort, your will, may not become weak and atrophied through disuse. Thus, strikingly, does science reiterate and reinforce this age-old teaching of the Church.
Before the eyes of a world sick unto death with luxury and self-indulgence, the Church places during Lent the age-old picture drawn by the Master Artist, Christ, of will power developed through self-discipline, of self-control achieved through acts of self-denial. Greater than Napoleon Bonaparte, than Julius Caesar, than Alexander the Great, the conqueror of the world, is the man who has learned through the instrument of a vigorous will to conquer himself. For self-control is the open sesame to success in this life and to eternal happiness in the next. All the after ages have but confirmed the wisdom of those words of an obscure Flemish monk, Thomas a Kempis, written in his monastic cell at Zwolle centuries ago: “He who best knows how to endure . . . is conqueror of himself and lord of the world, the friend of Christ and an heir of heaven.”

“AND UNTO DUST. . . .”

In addition to the great lesson of self-mastery, Lent brings home to mankind the fickleness of the world’s applause and its insufficiency to satisfy the hunger in the soul of man. On Ash Wednesday the Church seeks by a colourful and impressive ceremony to drive home to her children the transiency of this earthly life and the wisdom of seeking to attain the life eternal. The palms which were blessed on the previous Palm Sunday, to remind us of the Saviour’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the multitudes waved them aloft, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” and strewed them in profusion on the road over which He rode-these palms the Church burns to ashes. Then, summoning her children to the altar railing, she places these ashes on the brow of each in the form of a cross, while she whispers in the ear of each the words of warning: “Remember, man, thou art but dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”
Why speak to youth in whose eager eyes there burn the fires of life, and on whose cheeks there rests the bloom of youthful vigour-why speak to them of dust and ashes, of death and the hereafter? Why lessen their zest for life and its pleasures? The Church thus speaks to them, not to lessen their zest for life, but to give them a sense of values. She shoves back the narrow horizon of youth, removes the veil from the senses, reveals the transient character of earthly things, and points out the folly of seeking enduring happiness in that which is so ephemeral. The thought of death and the hereafter is salutary at times for old and young, for it prompts one to answer aright that supreme question which the Master addresses to each of us: “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his own soul?”
The wholesome effect of a profound realisation of the transiency of human life and human beauty is illustrated by an incident in the life of St. Francis Borgia. Francis was Duke of Gandia and Captain-General of Catalonia, and one of the most honoured chevaliers at the Court of Spain. Isabella was known throughout Europe for her charm, her Spanish vivacity, and for the striking beauty of her countenance. Often had Francis braved death while carrying the banner of Aragon and Castile into the thick of the battle, knowing that he would be rewarded with a word of praise from his beloved Queen. He found his greatest happiness in basking in the sunshine of her smile and drinking in with greedy eyes her charming loveliness.

A LAST LOOK

In 1539 there fell to his lot the sad duty of escorting the remains of his beloved Queen to the royal burial grounds at Granada. In order to verify the body as that of Isabella, the coffin was uncovered. Eagerly Francis stepped forward to take one last, lingering look at the beautiful countenance of his beloved Queen. He had no sooner done so than his face grew livid, his eyes wild with terror, as he shrank back. “No! No! Good God!” he cried; “it can’t be! It can’t be! Those eyes, that face, that smile! They can’t have perished so utterly.” What was the sight that greeted his eyes? A face of wondrous beauty? No. A face hideous and ugly in its putrefaction, the loathsome prey of worms and maggots pulling it back to dust and ashes. “God grant,” cried Francis, “that I seek not to find my happiness henceforth in that flesh which perisheth so quickly, but only in that eternal Beauty which never knows decay.” Francis devoted his services thereafter to a heavenly King, seeking as a humble missionary to win souls for Christ.
From the most beautiful face in all Spain, for whose look of approval soldiers faced death with a smile, to a sight so foul and loathsome as to fill the spectator with revulsion-what a change! Gaze at the most beautiful face you have ever seen, with eyes that speak like a rapturous symphony, with a smile that warms and endears, and in a few short years will you be able to overcome your loathing to gaze upon it when death has touched it with its finger of decay? “Remember, man, that thou art but dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.”
We need not go back, however, to the sixteenth century for striking instances of the transiency of earthly fame and the fickleness of human applause. On March 4, 1917, I stood in a crowd of 90,000 people before the Capitol in Washington, to watch the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson into the Presidency for his second term. His name was cheered on every side. A gigantic parade marched proudly before him in review. At the triumphant close of the World War, when he sailed for France to dictate the terms of the Versailles Treaty of Peace, he had reached the eminence of world fame. His words about freedom and democracy and the autonomy of small nations had rekindled the hopes of all the oppressed nations of the earth. Unprecedented crowds greeted him at Paris with tumultuous cheering. The eyes of all the world were turned to him, as he stood on the pinnacle of human eminence as a new Moses, heaven-sent to lead the groping feet of the nations into the Promised Land of perpetual peace.

AN AGE-OLD CRY

A few years later I passed by a little home on H Street, where lived a broken old man, unable to take more than a few steps with the aid of his cane. Broken in body, broken in mind, broken in heart, his League of Nations plan contemptuously rejected by the Senate, his opponent swept into office by the greatest landslide in history, the nations of Europe shaking their fists at him for deluding them with false hopes. What a pitiable spectacle! As he gazed out of his window at night toward the Capitol ablaze with light, the scene of his brilliant feats, what memories must have stirred within him!
One night, it is narrated, Mrs. Wilson happened to step into the parlour. The room was dark. Seated in a chair near the front window, with his face resting in his hands, she perceived her husband. There was the sound of a few broken sobs. Placing her hand tenderly upon the bowed head, she asked softly: “Are you ill, dear?” The former President raised his head and looked for a brief moment through tear-dimmed eyes toward the great shining Capitol that had resounded so often with his name. “No, not ill,” he said, “but I realise now as never before the fickleness of the plaudits of the multitude and the emptiness of the glory of this world.” As he sat there, broken in heart and alone, he tasted of that world weariness, that pang of the heart which caused Solomon in his old age to cry out: “Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity, save in loving God and serving Him alone.”
It was echoed again by St. Augustine, when, after running through the whole gamut of sensual indulgence in pagan Rome, he cried out: “Our hearts have been made for Thee, O God, and they shall never rest until they rest in Thee.” Such are the great eternal truths which Lent, with its gospel of penance and self-denial, drives home to a world that is forever tempted to find its happiness over the more beguiling but mistaken paths of ease and self-indulgence.

Nihil obstat:
F. MOYNIHAN, Censor Deputatus.
Imprimatur:
DANIEL MANNIX,
Archiepiscopus Melbournensis.
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A Personal Relationship With Christ

In light of the emphasis of contemporary evangelicalism on the role or place of a personal relationship with Christ, it behooves the authors to put this emphasis in an historical perspective, in this appendix.

Some Catholic Christians and some non-believers are often heard to say that the Church never taught that a "personal relationship with Christ" was necessary for salvation.

The term "personal relationship" is, first of all, not biblical. Neither word nor the compound phrase is found in the Bible. But then, neither are such terms as "Trinity", "Incarnation", "Eucharist", "Lord's Supper", etc., found in the Bible. The expression "personal relationship" comes neither from the language of the Bible nor from the history of Christian faith. The expression comes from the humanist psychology of the last hundred years, principally that of Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers and Eric Fromm. It also has its roots in over emphasis on the attitude of rugged individualism of the early development of America.

In using the expression "personal relationship" there is a danger in attempting to harmonize the formulas of the Bible with the formulas of psychology, psychiatry, and/or American nationalism. The language of the Bible and the languages of psychology, psychiatry, and nationalism reflect divergent perceptions and conceptualizations. Attempting to treat them as identical can only be artificial.

How did the Catholic Church of the past and how does the Church of the present teach the relationship each Christian must have with his or her Lord and Savior?

Many see the foundation for a personal relationship with Jesus implicit in John chapter three.

Jn 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him (Nicodemus), "Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

Nicodemus, as Christians to follow for all ages, asked Jesus in return what was it that will allow a man to be "begotten from above." Jesus answered him repeating Himself:

Jn 3:5 Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

Again Nicodemus presses Jesus for a further explanation. Jesus answers only that belief and action - deeds, works done in God - will accomplish what is required.

Jn 3:12-21 ... whoever believes in him ... whoever lives the truth ... his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

But Jesus seems not to be entirely clear on the requirements. But as the Church has taught through all ages, all of the Bible does present clear requirements for the Christian's relationship to Jesus.

The Catholic Church, using explicit Scriptures, has always found that the basis of a personal relationship with Jesus begins at the origin of the Christian life. The Church, from Pentecost onward, examines the language of Christ and Sacred Scriptures and the content of that language for God's desire for the Christian's relationship to Him. The Church begins at the beginning of life as a Christian.

The origin of the life of a Christian and of Christian perfection to which the Bible constantly calls us, is the Heavenly Father, Who communicates His life through the Son, and through the Son, the Holy Spirit.

1 Jn 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

The initiative for the life of a Christian is a movement descending from the Father to men: the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit sanctifies man.

1 Jn 4:10 In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us ... 2 Cor 13:13 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you. 1 Pet 1:2 ... in the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification by the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ: ...

The movement descending from the Father to man touches man first in baptism.

Rom 6:3-5 Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection. Col 2:12-13 You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And even when you were dead (in) transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he brought you to life along with him ... Eph 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,

Through this participation the Christian is a new creature living in an atmosphere clearly new.

2 Cor 5:17 So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

This new life of the Christian is directly a participation in the life of Christ, is the life of a member, joined with the Head, in the Body of Christ which is the Church.

Eph 4:15-16 Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body's growth and builds itself up in love.

The movement through Christ in the Father, founded in participation in the divine life - the movement of life in its origin involves union with Christ and -through Christ - with the Father.

Jn 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him." Jn 14:20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

The new life of the Christian is an assimilation of God through Christ. This life begins in baptism.

Gal 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Rom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Rom 8:14-17 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

The new life of the Christian is a personal gift of the Father.

Rom 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how will he not also give us everything else along with him?

The response to this personal communication in the Christian is the gift or the donation of self to God through Christ.

2 Cor 11:2 For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 1 Cor 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

Corresponding to this ontological state, the Christian life is not to be lived for itself, but for Christ and -through Christ - for God.

Rom 14:7-8 None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. Rom 6:11 Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as (being) dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

How is this gift of self of the Christian to be made manifest? It is first manifested in service to God because service to God involves conformity to the divine will and also praise to God.

Christ is the model for the Christian of service in the divine will.

Heb 10:5-7 For this reason, when he came into the world, he said: "... a body you prepared for me ... 'As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.'" Jn 4:34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work."

Jesus teaches us that obedience to the will of the Father is our calling.

Mt 6:9-10 This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Mt 12:50 For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.

The total earthly servitude of Christ consummated on the cross was praise and glory to God.

Jn 17:4 I glorified you (Father) on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.

Just as with Christ, the servitude of the Christian is simultaneously praise to God.

1 Cor 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Eph 1:11-12 In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.

The gift of the self for the Christian is the denial of self.

Mk 8:34-35 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it." Mt 19:21 Jesus said to him (the young man), "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

In the life of the Father through Christ, charity/love holds first place.

Mt 22:36-40 "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." 1 Cor 12:31-13:13 Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing; if tongues, they will cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing. For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ... So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Gal 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Rom 13: 8-10 Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, (namely) "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

By Paul Flanagan and Robert Schihl. Catholic Biblical Apologetics, © Copyright 1985-2011, Paul Flanagan and Robert Schihl

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture texts are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Email comments to pdflan@catholicapologetics.org

The Mass: Our Splendid Privilege compiled by Alice Dease

JANUARY 1 "The Mass is the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, which are really present under the appearances of bread and wine, and are offered to God by the priest for the living and the dead."— (The Catechism.) ''' 2 "The Holy Mass is the . . . soul of all devotion."— (St. Francis de Sales.) 3 "Three hundred thousand Masses are said every twenty-four hours, and we can join our intention in them all."— (Fr. Collier, C.SS.R.) 4 "I could attend Mass for ever, and not be tired . . . it is not the invocation, merely, but . . . the evocation of the Eternal. He becomes present on the altar in flesh and blood, before Whom angels and devils alike, tremble – (Cardinal Newman.) 5 "It is through the Mass . . . that Christ dispenses His richest favours."— (Fr. Forster, SJ.) 6 Even God Himself could not bring about a holier or a greater act than the Mass." – (St. Alphonsus Ligouri.) 7 "The salvation of the whole world is bound up with this Mystery.''— (St. Odo of Cluny.) 8 "The world owes its preservation to the Mass." – (Timothy of Jerusalem.) 9 "The Mass is a memorial of God's goodness to us and a summing up of all His benefits." – (St. Bonaventure.) 10 "Each Mass has for the welfare and salvation of men the same efficacy as the Sacrifice of the Cross."— (St. Thomas.) 11 "Spiritual gifts will be rich bestowed upon those who assist at Mass with proper dispositions."— (St. Cyril.) 12 (At Mass) . . . those in mortal sin, which they cannot bring themselves to give up, may get the strong grace they require to break their chains . . ." – (Mother Loyola.) 13 "God does not hear sinners," said the blind man in the Gospel; but he was wrong. He hears them willingly, hears them always, and, above all, hears them at Mass." – (Mother Loyola.) 14 "So many people do not trouble to hear Mass on Sundays, when they could easily do so. If you hear a second Mass on a Sunday, after your own Mass of obligation in reparation for those who are so negligent, do so." (de Segur) 15 "It is a lonesome day, when you don't get to Mass in the morning." – (A Dublin Shop-girl.) 16 "Daily Mass is not of obligation; but those who appreciate its value as a help to living a holy life, consider it a duty to attend when possible. Unfortunately, the number who avail themselves of this privilege is far too small."— (Fr. Degen.) 17 "Jesus attaches such a price to His Passion that He has willed the remembrance of it to be recalled to us daily . . . that is the Sacrifice of the Mass."— (Abbot Marmion, O.S.B.) 18 "The liturgy moves with salutary effect both soul and body . . . through the variety and beauty of the Sacred rites." — (Pope Pius XI.) 19 "Mass is like a grain of mustard seed whence has sprung the whole Catholic liturgy." – (Dom Cabrol.) 20 "Mighty is the prayer that is prayed at Mass."— (Quoted by M. Mary Loyola.) 21 "The sacrifice of the Mass is the same everywhere . . . in a stately minster, or in a humble shrine. In a garret or on the hillside."— (A Book of the Mass.) 22 "The Mass is the source and fount of much of our Catholic literature, the heart of our Liturgy, and the centre of our Christian life."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 23 "What can God refuse us when He sees us daily at the foot of the altar where His Divine Son is offering Himself on our behalf?"— (Mother Loyola.) 24 "The Mass is by far the most sacred and holy act of a priest's life.‖ – (Mother Eaton.) 25 "During Mass beg of God to give priests to His Church . . . be more urgent in this petition than in all others, for it is the most important."— (Msgr. Gibergues.) 26 "One priest more means hundreds, perhaps thousands of additional Masses." (Madame Goupil.) 27 "At the elevation of the Sacred Host, always pray for Priests."— (An Old Irish Custom.) 28 "Of all honours that have ever been rendered to God by the homage of the Angels, and by the virtues, austerities, martyrdoms and other holy deeds of man, none could procure so much glory to Him as one single Mass."— (St. Alphonsus.) 29 "At Mass Jesus is our very own. He is given to us, and becomes our possession."— (Mgr. Giberrgues.) 30 "Mass is for them (the Catholic laity) it is theirs, and consequently, something into which they should intelligently enter." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 31 "Our liturgy is not a dead thing . . . from a historical, instructional or mystical point of view is the source of many rich treasures.‖— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) FEBRUARY 1 "One Mass heard during life will be more beneficial to a soul than many heard for it after death." – (Anon. from St. Saviour's Bulletin.) 2 "In the Mass Christ takes up our poor ineffective acts and lifts them up to heaven. He catches them up in the very whirlwind and mounting eddies of His own infinitely strong and perfect acts, and so carries them to the throne of His Father."— (Bishop Hedley.) 3 ―No one, whatever be his state before God, can assist devoutly at Mass without obtaining the grace he needs."— (Mother Loyola.) 4 "The Mass is not for (one country) only, but for the world. Not for this century or generation, but for all generations." — (Fr. J. Rickaby, S.J.) 5 "The Mass renders to God the greatest honour that can be given to Him, it procures the most powerful help for the souls in Purgatory . . . it appeases the anger of God against sinners, and obtains for us the Divine grace in the fullest abundance."— (St. Alphonsus.) 6 "At the hour of death, the Masses we have heard will be our greatest consolation."— (Anon. from St. Saviour's Bulletin.) 7 "It is, indeed, through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ that the sacrifice of the Mass is offered."— (Farnborough Monks in "The Liturgy.") 8 "At Mass there is offered to the Eternal Farther the very person of Jesus Christ, God and Man. Consequently, the Divine Majesty receives an infinitely greater honour than if all mankind and all angels made the sacrifice of their lives." (St. Alphonsus) 9 Our Lord revealed to St. Mechtildis: "I am present in the Mass with such happiness that I patiently tolerate the presence of sinners, and pardon their iniquities with joy." 10 "Christ was and is both Priest and Victim: He is the Priest according to the Spirit, the Victim according to the flesh. He is both the Sacrificer and the thing sacrificed."— (St. Chrysostom.) 11 "If we understood the Mass, if only we . . . had sufficient faith to penetrate Its unspeakable mysteries, what an attraction the Holy Sacrifice would have for us, and how eagerly should we desire to assist at it." – (Mgr. Gibergues ) 12 "At Mass the sinner reconciles himself with God, the just becomes more just, faults are wiped away, vices destroyed, virtues increased, merits multiplied."— (St. Laurence Justinian) 13 "A missal, which is the official score of the Mass rite, will have the beneficial effect of keeping our minds better occupied during Mass and of our taking a far more active part in what is going on at the altar."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 14 "At the ̳Memento for the Dead,‘ when Our Lord is really present on the altar we plead with Him for those who can no longer plead for themselves."— (Mother Loyola.) 15 "The object of the Holy Mass is to glorify God as our Supreme Master and greatest Benefactor."— (Gihr.) 16 "However we assist at Mass, it is well to unite with the priest at least at the Offertory, Consecration and priest's Communion." – (Mother Loyola.) 17 "To decorate the altars, especially on great feasts, with flowers, is an ancient, venerable, devout and praiseworthy custom, and is approved by the Church."— (Gihr.) 18 If solemn ceremonies were not used in the celebration of the Mass, Catholic belief in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ upon our altars, would not be fitly expressed."— (Fr. Faa di Bruno) 19 "Hundreds of sinners will be saved through the prayers that are offered for them in the Mass."— (St. Laurence Justinian.) 20 "We can offer Our Lord to His heavenly Father in the Mass as the Treasure belonging to us, and we shall be generously rewarded for this."— (St. Mechtildis.) 21 "You offer up this sacrifice of propitiation not only for your own sins, but also for those of the whole Christian world, especially for great sinner's."— (Fr. Porter.) 22 We are told, in the life of the holy Superioress of the Rosminian Sisters of Providence (Mother Agnes Amherst), that when there was a question, during her last illness, of choosing between hearing Mass and receiving Holy Communion, "she would decide to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, notwithstanding her longing desire to be united to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament." 23 "The Mass ought to be the true devotion of the Faithful, it is their obligation, their Sacrifice . . . in a certain sense they lose their individuality for the time being, and are more than ever members of the Catholic Universal Church.‖— (Dom Cabrol.) 24 "Mass is an epitome of the life of Christ on earth." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 25 "Mass is the greatest event in the history of mankind.‖ – (Fr. Plus, S.J.) 26 "The Christian religion has its roots in the Mass.‖ – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 27 "The earnest priest sighs for the moment of the Holy Sacrifice."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 28 The four ends for which Mass is offered – "Adore till the Gospel, "Give thanks till the bell, "Till Communion ask pardon "Then all your wants tell."— (Old Rhyme.) 29 "God . . . receives from the infinite merits of the Mass infinite adoration, infinite thanksgiving, infinite atonement, and infinite petition."— (Father Laurence, O.D.C.) MARCH 1 "How many Catholics seem to act as if they were sorry to have to go to Mass at all, even once a week." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 2 "If Christians knew how to make use of the Mass, what wonders in the spiritual order would come to pass."— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 3 "On Calvary the object of the Sacrifice was to pay the price of the redemption of fallen. man, whilst the purpose of the Sacrifice of the Mass is to apply to each of us individually the treasures of Grace merited and amassed by Christ on the Cross." – (Fr. Laurence, O.D.C.) 4 "The Sacrifice of the, Mass is the best means of quickly liberating the Holy Souls from Purgatory." – (St. Thomas.) 5 "At Mass, Heaven seems less distant . . . our attention is more concentrated, and there is a warmth of devotion that nothing else can arouse."— (Fr. Fraser, S.J.) 6 "The Mass is advantageous to all, to mankind, to God to the world, to Purgatory, to Heaven." – (Mgr. Gibergues.) 7 "By and in the Mass, the Church is best enabled to honour the Saints on earth, her heroes and heroines—the highest of all achievements possible to man." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 8 "The Mass is the greatest joy of the Mother of our Saviour when celebrated or heard in her honour."— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 9 "During the Elevation let us with the greatest possible attention unite our adoration with the countless angels who crowd around the altar."— (Fr. Laurence, O.D.C.) 10 "Do not merely pray at Mass. Pray the Mass."— (Pope Pius X.) 11"High Mass is the ideal of the Liturgy, and might be called its culminating point."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 12 "Alas our praise of God is often very imperfect and worthless. We should, therefore, unite it with the infinitely perfect praise and adoration which our Head and Mediator, Jesus Christ, presents to His Heavenly Father (in the Mass)." (Gihr.) 13 "Nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so over-coming, as the Mass . . . it is not a mere form of words, it is a great action, the greatest action that can be, on earth."— (Cardinal Newman.) 14 "Mass is something eminently worth hearing, for its own sake." – (Fr. Rickaby, S.J.) 15 "The average Catholic is too often ignorant of the Church's liturgy, enshrining as it does such a wealth of Catholic doctrine. To one who lives with the Sacred Liturgy, it tells a thousand things, that the stranger does not learn."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 16 "Mass is a mystery, something we shall never quite grasp in this world. You must think, to understand the Mass.''—(Fr. Rickaby, S.J.) 17 "The Mass is by far the best and most profitable of all devotions."— (The Catechism.) 18 "The dignity, and value, the power and efficiency of the Mass, demonstrates that in it is the inexhaustible ocean of the Divine Mercies."— (Gihr.) 19 "Our Martyrs died for the Mass, saying It, hearing It, having It said by stealth in their houses"—(Fr. Rickaby, S.J.} 20 "Everything in the life of the good Christian centres round the Mass."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 21 "The Mass and the Last Supper both point to Calvary. The Last Supper looking forward: the Mass looking back; but Calvary is the centre for both of them." – (Fr. Rickaby, S.J.) 22 ―Had we been present on Calvary, God, we feel, would have granted us any reasonable request. With the like faith, we shall be equally heard at Mass."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 23 ―It is through the salutary influence of the Mass that (the priest) prepares himself to become a fit instrument in the Master's hands to kindle and spread the fire of God's live in our hearts."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 24 "How many Christians assist at Mass without understanding or appreciating its value."— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 25 "There is nothing more august, more wonderful in the Church than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.‖ — (Fr, Forster. S.J.) 26 "In the Mass God is marvellously near, for it is the moment of His nearest approach."— (Dr. Hedley.) 27 "The Real Presence is the foundation of the Sacrifice of the Mass.‖ – (Fr. Rickaby, S.J.) 28 "The daily offering of the Mass would give us . . . a good start to begin our round of duties." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 29 "If there is anything in human life absolutely divine, anything that the citizens of Heaven themselves might envy us, that certainly is the Sacrifice of the Mass."— (Pope Urban VIII.) 30 "The important thing in Mass is not what is said, save for the words of Consecration, but what is done by the efficacy of these words."— (Fr. Rickaby, S.J.) 31 "It is through the Mass that we are able to supply what is wanting to us."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) APRIL 1 "During Mass . . . let us ask for all that we desire, and all will be granted to us, according to our faith and fervour."— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 2 "Let us endeavour to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings that are ours through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 3 "By praying for the dying during Mass we shall fulfill one of the greatest desires of Jesus Christ.'"— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 4 "In an especial way, it is through the Mass that we ask as Our Lord recommends us, in His name, for what we need for soul and body, and we are encouraged to hope to have our petitions granted." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 5 ―Mass is Christ's dower to the Church . . . it is the soul and life of the entire worship of the Church." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 6 "At the Elevation of the Sacred Host I feel the Precious Blood flowing as a stream upon my heart, and cleansing the wounds of my soul."— (Madame d'Arras.) 7 "Mass is a continual thanksgiving." – (Mgr. Gibergues.) 8 "Let not Our Saviour, Who is our prisoner during Mass, depart from us until He has promised us Heaven."— (St. Bonaventure.) 9 "He who devoutly hears Mass will receive great vigour to enable him not to fall into mortal sin, and his venial sins will be remitted."— (St. Augustine.) 10 "During Mass the Prayer of Jesus is made for us, and it is for us to profit by it."— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 11 "This may be the last time I shall ever offer up the Holy Mass. I will perform this duty with all possible devotion." – (Fr. Porter.) 12 "By assisting at Mass we become more and more like to Christ, more and more united to Him."— (Mgr. Gibergues.) 13 "The Mass is not only the Sacrifice of the Christian worship, it is also the greatest sign of the unity of the Church and its guarantee."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 14 "To miss Mass is to miss the most divine Thing on earth."— (Pope Urban III.) 15 "There is nothing of so much worth as the Mass. Our Lord desired to be remembered, it was for this that He bade His priests to offer up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass continually." (Fr. Dignam, S.J.) 16 "There is in the Mass the same efficacy, the same atoning power as if Christ were crucified again."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 17 "Assist at Mass with fear and trembling, with purity of heart and with spiritual gladness and heavenly joy."— (St. Ambrose.) 18 "The ritual, acts and ceremonies at the altar (during Mass) are but tokens and signs of what is hidden there."— (Fr. W. Roche, S.J.) 19 "It (the Mass) is nothing less than the immolation, day by day, of that life-giving Victim by which we are reconciled to God "—(Dr. Hedley.) 20 "The Mass is a liturgy, that is, a sacred and public function, shared by the priest and the people."— (Fr. McGlade, S.J.) 21 "It is certainly in and by and through the Mass that we most of all petition the Father in the name of Jesus. For in it our prayers or rather – and this is all important – the prayers of the Church are evoked in His name."— (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 22 "No one with willful sin in his heart . . . can he fit to take part with Him in His most holy act, which we call the Mass." – (Fr. Roche, S.J.) 23 "The Mass, which was instituted by Christ at His Last Supper, is celebrated by nearly every priest (all over the world) every day of his life." – (Fr. Quinlan, S.J.) 24 "The right way to be present at Mass is not merely as a spectator . . . you are literally to assist at It." – (Fr. Roche, S.J.) 25 "How elevated in tone, how full of unction are the prayers at Mass." – (Fr. Forster, S.J.) 26 "Be sure to make the mast of every Mass you hear, and then I not only hope, but I know, the kingdom of God is at hand for you . . . and will remain with you, sanctifying the days and the hours as they pass, until the last hour strikes, and the real day begins to dawn."— (Dr. Hedley.) 27 "In coming to Mass, we are really ̳offerers of the Holy Sacrifice, not merely onlookers.' "—(Fr. Forster, S.J.) 28 "The separation of Communion from the Sacrifice of the Mass is still more flagrant (than Communion after Mass) when it is received before Mass begins . . . what is it but expecting to receive God's Gift, before we have given ours to Him.‖— (Fr. T. W. Busch.) 29 "At Mass Jesus delivers Himself to you to do with Him as you will. ̳By Whom and with Whom and in Whom‘, these are the words of the priest. Make them your own."— (Fr. Dignam, S.J.) 30 "Consecration of the Bread alone would be the Eucharist . . . but not the Mass. The Mass requires the mystical slaying of the Victim, and this is done by the separate consecration of the chalice . . . which represents the death of the Victim." – (Fr. M. Scott, S.J.) MAY 1 After the crucifixion the Mass is "the greatest event in the history of humanity." – (Georges Goyau.) 2 "There is not a single priestly vestment nor a ceremony of the Mass which does not point to some circumstance of the Passion."— (Fr. Porter.) 3 "The Mass gives praise, adoration, and thanks to God. It obtains pardon of our (venial) sins, and favours and graces, because in it we have a Victim Who is infinite, Jesus Christ.‖ – (Fr. Ronan.) 4 "The Mass was instituted before the Crucifixion . . . in the first Mass the living Christ offered Himself to His Heavenly Father. In every Mass it is the glorious living Christ Who, by the priest, offers Himself to His Heavenly Father." – (Fr. M. Scott, S.J.) 5 "The Sacrifice of the Mass is a clean oblation offered by a special priesthood, in every place in the world where a priest is to be found. It is being offered all through the day and night in some part of the world."— (Fr. Ronan) 6 "Jesus gives Himself to us daily to reward us for the little we do for Him . . . He gives Himself to us as our reward whenever we offer up the Mass. —(Fr. Porter) 7 "The Mass offers to God what Christ offered on Calvary." – (Fr. M. Scott, S.J.) 8 "If we fully realised what the Mass is, we should die."— (The Cure d'Ars.) 9 "The Mass is the united prayer of the Church, and the laity in it, share in a general way in the priesthood of Christ."— (Rev. W. Busch.) 10 ". . . to assist at Mass is the holiest act of warship in which a Christian can participate." – (Fr. M. Scott, S.J.) 11 "It is important to study the Mass, to recognize its place and the sequence of its parts . . . it matters much that we 'pray the Mass'." – (Fr. W. Busch.) 12 "By attendance at Mass we, with the priest, offer to God this supreme gift, the most acceptable thing that can ascend from earth to Heaven." – (Fr. M. Scott.) 13 "There is something I have only felt at Mass and that is a sense of final calm, of absolute content . . . as if one had come into a wide, calm, shining harbour after a long and stormy voyage."— (Maurice Baring.) 14 "As He (Almighty God) looked down on the silence and the darkness of Calvary and saw the act accomplished by which the world was redeemed, so . . . (in the Mass) He saw the same mystery accomplished."— (R. H. Benson.) 15 "The Holy Ghost overshadows the priest and operates that same, in the elements which He effected in the womb of the Virgin Mary." – (St. John Damascene.) 16 "In the Mass what we owed, He has paid, what we sinned, He has atoned for and abundantly satisfied Divine Justice, giving us the boundless treasure of His merits and infinite price of His blood.''— (Paradisus Animae.) 17 "The priest, at the Consecration, repeats the words and acts of Our Lord at the Last Supper . . . it (the Consecration) is the very soul of the Mass."— (Fr. Roche, S.J.) 18 "On the Cross the Divinity of Christ was hidden; but His humanity remained. In the Mass all are hidden, both Divinity and humanity."— (Fr. Quinlan.) 19 "Those who neglect to offer up the Mass in word and thought, lose much that they might gain. The due blessing of Mass does not consist merely in being present at It, but in uniting oneself in spirit to the priest, to Jesus Christ Himself "—(St. Francis of Sales.) 20 "When you hear Mass the Sacrifice is your own, a gift from God the Father, as well as God the Son "—(Fr. Sanchez.) 21 "We do not know how much is forgiven by each Mass; but it is probable that the better our dispositions, the more is forgiven us."— (Dr. Hedley.) 22 "The anger of God may be appeased by the acceptable service thou dost render Him when thou hearest Mass."— (St. Thomas Aquinas.) 23 "The Mass was instituted to be the Church's great Public rite of worship."— (Dr. Hedley.) 24 "Our Mass is the same as theirs (the Christians of the third century) as regards its rites and formulas, except for a few details."— (Dom Cabral.) 25 "The Consecration is the very heart of the Mass, the act of sacrifice itself." – (Fr. McGlade, S.J.) 26 "It is the Mass that matters. It is the Mass that makes the difference, so hard to define, so subtle is it, yet so perceptible, between a Catholic country and a Protestant one." – (Augustine Birrell.) 27 "As the Catholic Church is spread all over the world, the Sacrifice of the Mass is always being offered somewhere day and night, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Malachy (i. 11)" – (Fr. Pritchard.) 28 "The Missal is our ̳book of common prayer‘: it is The Mass book par excellence. You will never tire of it, so varied are its prayers. You will never regret the outlay in getting one (a Missal); for it makes the Mass yours as nothing else can." – (Fr. McGlade, S.J.) 29 "If you start with a good sign of the Cross, God will help you to hear Mass well. Mass is the biggest, the most important thing you do, the thing most pleasing to God that you can do." – (Fr. Drinkwater.) 30 "It is Mass and the Blessed Sacrament which make our religion a real, a personal, a living religion."—(Cardinal Gasquet.) 31 "There is a symbolism, a definite meaning to every ceremony in the Mass."— (Rev. J. O'Brien, Ph.D) JUNE 1 "Is it stop away from Mass whilst I have the legs under me to struggle to the chapel of a morning! Why, Sunday Mass is our obligation; but daily Mass is our splendid Privilege." – (An old Dublin Woman.) 2 "There is not time at Mass for wandering thoughts."— (Fr. Drinkwater.) 3 "There is nothing of so much worth as Holy Mass. Souls who are greedy of Holy Mass, who think themselves richer for every Mass they hear, whose hearts long for the time of Mass to begin, these are the souls who pass through life, made strong by God."— (Fr. Dignam, S.J.) 4 "The ends for which the Mass is said are to give God honour and glory, to thank Him for His benefits, and to obtain remission of our sins, and all other blessings, through Jesus Christ."— (The Catechism.) 5 "In the Eastern Churches, the ordinary word for Mass is Liturgy." – (Dr. Sheehan.) 6 "No work can be performed by the Faithful so holy, so Divine, as this tremendous Mystery (of the Mass)."— (The Council of Trent.) 7 "To assist at Mass well and profitably two things are necessary – first, modesty of person; second – devotion of heart." – (Pope Pius X.) 8 "This is an age of athletes, yet how many are not able to kneel down at the proper time: that is when the Sanctus bell rings? They remain sitting until they hear the warning bell, at the Elevation itself‖ — (Rev. A. Hickie.) 9 "The words of the Mass, themselves, tell you that you are not present as though you were merely praying to God, but that you are actually joining with the priest, and with Christ Himself, in offering Sacrifice."— (Dr. Sheehan.) 10 "Even if Mass can be omitted without sin, its constant omission has very serious effects on an individual. Through living constantly without aid (of the Mass) people become careless and indifferent, and in this way their Faith grows cold, and they may finally give up the practice of their religion."— (Fr. Lattey, S.J.) 11 "The Mass is the very life of the Church, the secret of her holiness, of her vitality."— (Dr. Sheehan.) 12 "The Mass is the mainspring of devotion, the soul of piety, the fire of charity."— (St. Francis of Sales.) 13 "No wonder that the spirit of darkness should halve inspired heretics with hatred for the Mass, for they knew when they strike the Mass they strike at the heart of the Church.‖ – (Dr. Sheehan.) 14 "In the Mass the Christian family finds its unity, its mutual love and forbearance. Missionaries draw from the Mass their hope and their courage. Hardworking priests their comfort, and all pastors of souls the fruit and fullness of their ministry."— (Dr. Hedley.) 15 "Mass is not just a number of prayers accidentally surrounding a Communion."—(Fr. Martindale, S.J.) 16 "The form . . . of celebrating Mass is what we understand by the Liturgy (which literally means 'public service') in general it denotes all the externals of Mass, i.e., all that we see during its celebration."—(Dr. Sheehan.) 17 "Holy Mass far surpasses in dignity all other . . . rites of the Church . . . it is an inexhaustible ocean of Divine bounty for the living and the dead." – (Bishop Fornerus.) 18 "The great source of holiness is the Mass . . . the Apostles drew from it their heroic resolution, the martyrs their strength . . . the virgins their purity and self-denial, every confessor of Christ his contempt of the world."—(Dr. Hedley.) 19 "The Mass, as instituted by Christ, consists of the Consecration, and the Communion . . . the Church has added many beautiful prayers and impressive ceremonies, and has surrounded the Sacred Mysteries with great solemnities." – (Dr.Hedley.) 20 "The first object of the Mass is the acknowledgment of the Supreme dominion of God . . . the second object is thanksgiving." – (Dr. Hedley.) 21 "Communion is so integral in the full notion of Sacrifice that I ought to be careful to make a Spiritual Communion at every Mass I go to" – (Fr. Martindale.) 22 "I do not say that Mass directly forgives sin, like the Sacrament of Penance does, but it moves God to give the grace of repentance . . . the Maas infallibly has this effect." – (Dr. Hedley.) 23 "What a treasure-house of spirituality we have in the Mass, if only we could appreciate it and use it profitably."— (Fr. Laurence, O.D.C.) 24 "Jesus Christ, in the Mass, takes up the human creature, Who assists at it, and holds his poor heart within the burning circle of His own Heart, so that the adoration . . . of both, go up to the Father together." – (Dr. Hedley.) 25 "There is never a moment of the day or night in which Mass is not being actually offered up in one or other part of the world." – (Fr. McDonnell, S.J.) 26 "The benefits derived from the Mass are called its fruits and are fourfold . . . The first go to the entire Church, the second to those present, the third to those for whom the priest offers the Mass; the fourth to the priest himself." – (Dr. Sheehan.) 27 "'In the life of Jesus Christ there was one moment beyond all others, He called it His ̳hour‘. It was the hour in which He gave His life for us on the Cross. In the Mass we are with Him at that supreme moment . . . hence, it is that assisting at Mass is superior to all religious exercises, to all private prayers and penances." – (Dr. Sheehan) 28 "High Mass is not a padded out version of Low Mass, but Low Mass is an abbreviated High Mass."—(Fr. Martindale, S.J.) 29 "Those who neglect to offer up the Mass in word and thought lose much that they might gain."—(Fr. McGlade, S.J.) 30 "It is only by being united to the Victim that we perfectly participate in the Sacrifice."—(Abbot Marmion, O.S.B.) JULY 1 "The Liturgical revival will come through the use of the Missal."— (Fr. Martindale, S.J.) 2 "By this inestimable gift (of the Mass) the Divine indignation and anger are fully appeased." – (Albertus Magnus.) 3 "It is good to know the Missal and to know about the Missal, and above all to share in the mind of the Missal'. For then you know that the 'mind of the Church, which made the Missal, is also yours." – (Fr. Martindale, S.J.) 4 "Spiritual gifts are freely given to those who assist at Mass reverently." – (St. Cyril.) 5 "I can assist at many Masses at the same time when they are being celebrated at different altars and share in their fruits, provided I am physically present and have the intention‖. – (Fr. Lawrence, O.D.C.) 6 ―Think of the acts of Jesus on the Cross by which the God of Sovereign Majesty is supremely worshipped, the Just God is perfectly appeased, the bounteous God abundantly thanked, the Mighty God efficaciously entreated for help." – (Dr. Sheehan.) 7 The priest calls Christ into being by his consecrated lips." —(St. Jerome.) 8 "Without it (the Mass) we can never thank God rightly for his benefits." – (Fr. Segneri, S.J.) 9 "The souls in Purgatory are helped principally by the Mass."— (The Council of Trent.) 10 "The best preparation we can make for a happy death is to assist at Mass daily, above all if we add daily, or very frequent Communion." – (Fr. McDonnell, S.J.) 11 "As often as thou sayest or hearest Mass, it ought to seem as great, as new, as delightful as if Christ . . . hanging on the Cross was suffering and dying for the salvation of man." – (Thomas a Kempis.) 12 "When Christ is immolated on the altar He Speaks to His Father, He shows Him the marks of His wounds . . . that by His intercession we may be saved from everlasting torment." – (St. Lawrence Justinian.) 13 "The Mass is the very soul of all Catholic worship and devotion. Nothing is more important to you, if you would be a devout Catholic, than to understand what the Mass is, and how you ought to assist at it." – (Bishop Bagshawe.) 14 "The Mass is the holiest, the most Divine work that the Catholic has to do."—(Dr. Medley.) 15 "'Christ was and is both priest and victim. He is priest according to the Spirit and Victim according to the flesh. He is both the Sacrificer and the Thing sacrificed." – (St. John Chrysostom.) 16 "The best method is to follow the prayers in Your prayer book. You may find the Missal the best prayer book . . . no prayers are to be compared to those which the Church has placed on the lips of the priest.'"— (Fr. McDonnell, S.J.) 17 "The Holy Mass is as full of Mysteries as the ocean is full of drops, as the sky is full of stars, as the court of Heaven is full of angels." – (St. Bonaventure.) 18 ―What a consoling thought, that the frequent and devout attendance at Mass will preserve our souls from everlasting death." – (Fr. McDonnell, S.J.) 19 "In Holy Maas we receive treasures so wonderful and so real, gifts so divine and so costly, benefits so many, concerning this temporal life, hope so certain for the life to come, that, without Faith, it would be impossible to believe these assertions to be true." – (Sanchez.) 20 "In the Mass we are made to participate in the fruits of Christ's death, just as though He were expiring before our eyes." – (Cardinal Hosius.) 21 "Although we cannot see with the eyes of the flesh, the day will come when the ways of Providence will be made manifest to us, it will then be seen how many were indebted to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for their salvation."— (Pagani.) 22 "By His death and Passion, Christ collected the riches which is the Treasury, The Mass is the key which unlocks it." – (Fr Segneri, S.J. ) 23 "The first idea of prayer is to go up to the mountain of God to adore and hold Communion with Him, and this is specially the idea of the Holy Mass." – (Bishop Bagshawe.) 24 "The angels, in profound astonishment, are unable to witness the prodigies wrought in a single Mass, without shrinking from the spectacle. Here they behold nothing terrestrial, nothing human, nothing finite. All is celestial, all Divine, all infinite." – (Pagani.) 25 "We do not go to Mass to join in the words which the priest is saying; but to take part in the action which he is doing. The essence of hearing Mass is to join, devoutly, with the priest in his intention of offering Sacrifice . . ."— (Bishop Bagshawe.) 26 "The Mass then may be called the Sun of the Church, dissipating the clouds of darkness, the rainbow of peace, in dictating that the anger of God is cooled and His vengeance disarmed, the golden key that unlocks the treasury of Heavenly blessings, the channel through which the waters of Divine mercy are conveyed to our souls."— (Pagani.) 27 "Our Divine Saviour, by means of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass applies to us the merits of His Passion. It is therefore an efficacious means of procuring Heavenly blessings. Moreover, temporal goods are not denied, when conducive to the salvation of our souls."—(Pagani.) 28 "Some imagine they can have no share in the August Sacrifice, because they cannot be present at It . . . Thus, they lose altogether the blessing they might gain in time of sickness by union of intention with the Divine Victim."— (The Abbe Perreyve.) 29 "Assistance at Mass is of great advantage; it unites us with the great Sacrifice of Calvary, reminds us of the great love of Jesus, and gives us new vigour for the sacrifices inseparable from a virtuous life."— (Fr. Pesch, S.J.) 30 "The symbolism of every movement of the priest during Mass and of the vestments all help to raise the soul to God and impress it with the marvellous mysteries of the Faith." — (Madame d'Arras.) 31 "The Mass is the very centre and core of the Christian religion, the mainspring of the Christian life."— (Cardinal Vaughan.) AUGUST 1 "The Mass dispenses the grace once merited (by Our Lord) on the Cross.''— (Cardinal Vaughan.) 2 "He who attends Holy Mass shall be freed from many evils, and from many dangers."— (St. Gregory) 3 "Within the Mass is that same ocean of grace and merit out of which the angels and the elect of God have drawn the whole store of their sanctity and glory."— (Cardinal Vaughan.) 4 "Mass is a sacrifice whereby the priest not only commemorates, but veritably continues, the sacrifice of the Cross, and applies the merits of the One Eternal Victim to the wants of individual souls, and the universal Church." – (Abbe Perreyve.) 5 "The Mass as a propitiating Sacrifice is more effective than the most severe penances in cancelling the debt of punishment due to sin."—(Cardinal Vaughan.) 6 "Every effort made, every step taken, every inconvenience and pain endured, every taste mortified in order to hear Mass is faithfully recorded in the Book of Life." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 7 "Do you know that the most obscure priest who celebrates Mass at the altar of a remote village church enriches the treasure of the Universal Church and adds, so to speak, to the glories of Heaven."—(Abbe Perreyve.) 8 "The Mass was an eternal Fact in the mind of Almighty God . . . It needed nothing that man could add to Its essential perfection. It was aloof, austere, silent, dignified, yet delicately tender, and infinite loving."—(E. C. Alder in Via Romana.) 9 "That wrapt, chastened and prayerful look that one has seen on the faces of the Irish peasantry, communing with God as they await Holy Mass."—(Amo Nesciri.) 10 "Don't go to Mass without a Prayer Book, or at least a Rosary, unless you wish distraction and not devotion to fill your mind." – (Dr. Conaty.) 11 "The martyrs under Henry VIII died for the Holy See. Later it was for the Mass that they suffered. Would that their intercession obtain for use some realization of the value of the Sacrifice of the Mass."—(Dr. Amigo.) 12 "Do we really prize the privilege of Daily Maas and Holy Communion? Do we mind, when some obstacles get in our way?" – (Dr. Pearson.) 13 "Don't get into the habit of being late for Mass. A minute's preparation before Mass may be the means of opening your soul to many graces." – (Dr. Conaty.) 14 "It (the Mass) proclaims the Majesty of God, the necessity of Sacrifice, the perfect Victim, the only Hope of Sinners." —(E. C. Alder.) 15 "The Mass is the most powerful means which God has given us to render Him honour, to thank Him for His blessings, to obtain the favours that we want."—(Fr. Degen.) 16 "At the hour of death, the Masses that we have heard will be our greatest consolations."—(Flowers of Nazareth.) 17 "The best way to hear Mass is the liturgical way, that is, to follow the priest step by step, and prayer for prayer." – (Fr. Degen.) 18 "When you are present at Mass make it your own. The Mass is so solemn, so serious, and its varied parts follow each other so closely, so quickly, that the worshipper cannot afford to miss any of them, to be absent-minded or distracted."—(Anon. in A Wreath of Violets.) 19 "Try to find the places in the Missal before you come to Mass." – (Fr. Degen.) 20 "They (the Collects) are, indeed, sonnets of prayer and true poems of devotion (and they come from our Missal)." – (Fr. Degen.) 21 "Attend carefully to the services of the Church with thy heart and thy voice, especially when the moment of Con- secration comes during Mass."—(St. Louis of France, to his Son.) 22 "The never-ceasing Mass, the myriads of Communions every morning, and it is always morning somewhere on this beautiful world of ours—all this goes on for ever, from the rising to the setting of the sun. Blot all this out, and how dark and dull, and lonely the earth would be."—(Anon. in The Dowry of Mary.) 23 "It may strike you that the prayers (of the Missal) are comparatively cold. Liturgical language is simple, dignified, restrained, like Our Lord's own prayer, the Our Father, and is thus suited to the needs of every type of world-wide humanity."—(Fr. Degen.) 24 "A priest clad in his sacred vestments is Christ's vice-regent, to pray to God for himself, and for all the people, in a suppliant and humble manner." – (Imitation of Christ, iv. 5.) 25 "The worthiest thing, most of goodness In all this world, it is the Mass, If a thousand clerks did nought else (According as St. Jerome tells) But told the profit of Mass hearing And the virtues of Mass singing, Yet, should they never tell the fifth apart." – (Lay Folks' Mass Book.) 26 "Those best understand and love the Holy Mass who are accustomed to take every joy and care and project to the altar."—(Mother Loyola.) 27 "The Mass is a real, true and propitiatory sacrifice, so teaches the Council of Trent . . . and thus has the Church taught ever since Apostolic days." – (Dr. Arenzden.) 28 "The whole portion of the Mass, which is called the Canon, is thirteen or fourteen hundred years old, and Pope Vigilius testified that it had been received from Apostolic traditions. No additions have been made to it, since the days of Pope Gregory the Great."— (Mother Phillippa.) 29 "Our Faith, our ceremonies, our lives are grouped round this supreme act of worship."—(Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 30 "The Mass is not the repetition, but the continuation, of Calvary." – (Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 31 'The Mass is the very centre and core of the Christian Religion, the mainspring of the spiritual life." – (Cardinal Vaughan.} SEPTEMBER 1 "To encourage my own devotion to this tremendous mystery, let me consider what the Mass must have meant to the mother of God.."—(Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 2 "In the Holy Mass we have the best opportunity for receiving an answer to our prayers."— (Dom Whitman, O.S.B.) 3 No greater service can be rendered to souls than to persuade them frequently and devoutly to draw health and hap- piness from the great Fountain which irrigates the whole Church." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 4 "Our forefathers, in the days of persecution, risked all for the Mass."—(Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 5 "In It (the Mass) we have a Victim that is infinite . . . a Victim that is holy, a Victim that is worthy to appear before the Throne of God."—(Fr. Ronan.) 6 "To value aright my privilege of the Mass, I must follow intelligently the whole ceremony, from the Confiteor to the Last Gospel." – (Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 7 "It is more advantageous to your friends to offer your Mass than your Communion for them. The latter is instituted for the nourishment of the communicant. The former for the welfare, spiritual and temporal of all for whom it is offered." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 8 "Think how the Mass is, in a real sense, the centre of Catholicity. All the Faith is gathered round it, so that from the mere wording of the Mass the rest of the Creed could be almost wholly deduced." – (Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 9 "The Mass is the 'Hidden Treasure,' hidden to all but the eyes of Faith." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 10 "The Sacraments are arranged round this wonderful Sacrifice as the setting round the gem." – (Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 11 "The Mass and the Incarnation, of Which the former is a repetition, are the most wonderful facts of the world's history." —(Dr. Gilmartin.) 12 "The Mass carries a man over his difficulties as a ship over a stormy sea."— (Cardinal Vaughan.) 13 "Enter into the Mass and you enter into the Divine spirit of Sacrifice . . . Contact with the Mass makes sacrifice ̳sweet‘ and the cross ̳light‘." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 14 "By the daily sacrifice of the Mass the Church, which is the body of Christ, learns to offer herself, through Him, Who is her head."—(St. Augustine.) 15 "Form as many intentions as you will, you cannot exhaust or even diminish a treasury of Infinite merits."— (Cardinal Vaughan.) 16 "I would like people at Mass, even on the most ordinary Sunday, to be filled with the happy conviction that something good and great is about to happen, both here on this altar, in the world, and in their own lives." – (Fr. Martindale, S.J.) 17 "The Collect in the Mass of the day should always be carefully studied, for it expresses the leading idea of the feast and contains excellent doctrine in a short, but perfect form.‖ – (Monks of Farnborough in The Liturgy.) 18 "The Post Communion is a prayer of the same structure and rhythm as the Collect and Secret. It varies with them."—(Monks of Farnborough.) 19 "The Pater Noster is the perfect prayer. It was taught by Christ Himself to His Apostles and by them to the whole world. It was for this reason that Pope Gregory the Great wished to join it to the Canon of the Mass."—(The Monks of Farnborough.) 20 "It is, indeed, through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, that this Sacrifice is offered."—(The Monks of Farnborough.) 21 "It is the Mass that makes the priest possible, the confessional that makes him necessary." – (Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 22 "For it (the Mass) are our churches built. It is the centre of their construction . . . without it the most splendid places of worship seem empty, and with it, however poorly or badly they may appear, they are made alive."—(Fr. Bede Jarrett, O.P.) 23 ―If some Irish homes are little sanctuaries, is it not due to daily Mass, to frequent Communion, or to the Rosary recited nightly in the family circle?"—(Fr. McDonnell, S.J.) 24 "'St. Joseph is patron of priests, for his arms and his heart were once the consecrated altar where Jesus the Victim of our salvation lay." – (Fr. Chandlery, S.J.) 25 "At Mass the priest turns repeatedly to the congregation . . . because priests and people should offer the Holy Sacrifice together."—(Bishop von Kettler.) 26 "In the Mass Christ places Himself in our hands and commands us to offer Him to the Heavenly Father." – (Dr. Arenzden.) 27 "Oh, what a consolation for us that we have it in our power so frequently to offer up a sacrifice which has the power to blot out our sins."—(Fr. Porter.) 28 "Can we believe the Mass to be, in very truth the renewal of Calvary, and find it in our hearts to be absent?"— (Mother Loyola.) 29 "The Sacrifice of the Cross is continued in the Mass, not as if it were insufficient in itself, but that we may be present at it and unite ourselves with Jesus who offers it."—(Fr. Pesch, S.J.) 30 "Holy Mass is a brief epitome of our Lord's life."—(Bishop Fornerus.) OCTOBER 1 "The Mass is the sovereign act of homage which man pays to the Creator. It is THE Sacrifice, the only one, which, really without any exaggeration, is worthy of God." – (Dr. Gilmartin.) 2 ―One prayer offered at Mass is worth many prayers offered at other times."—(Sister Marie Marthe Chambon.) 3 "Grant me the grace to offer up Mass today, and in future with greater fervour that I may atone for my past negli- gence.‖ – (Fr. Porter) 4 "The altar of Sacrifice will always be the great school of Sacrifice."—(Pere Plus, S.J.) 5 "When we offer Jesus Christ to God (as in the Mass) we learn to offer ourselves together with Him to the Divine Majesty in Him and by Him as living victims."—(Bossuet ) 6 "In every Mass Jesus is the shield between Heaven and earth; between God's justice and our sins."—(Pere Plus, S.J.) 7 "The most fruitful time to offer the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, for sinners, is during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."—(Sister M. Chambon.) 8 "All who hear Mass properly receive treasure of grace beyond our powers of reckoning, and out of all proportion to their dispositions."—(Mother M. Loyola.) 9 "During Mass the Sacred Wounds of Jesus are opened and the Precious Blood flows freely on all present."—(Sister M. M. Chambon.) 10 "The Prayers of the Missal, both before and after the consecration are as so many jewels surrounding the Pearl of Great Price."—(Fr. Lawrence, O.D.C.) 11 "I offer up . . . this Sacrifice of Propitiation for those in particular who have in any way injured me, grieved me, or abused me, or have done me any damage or displeasure"—(Imitation of Christ.) 12 "As members of Him, Christ would have us take an active part in the one great Sacrifice of Himself by which He redeemed us."—(Fr. de la Taille.) 13 "Every sacrifice that our coming to Him (at Mass) costs us, He knows and values and will reward."—(Mother Loyola.) 14 "The Missal contains no dry dogmatic teaching, monotonous and dull, but words, chants and ceremonies combined." – (Fr. Farrell, C.S.Sp.) 15 "How few hear Mass with all the profit to themselves and souls which could he gained if people would realize that the Mass is the renewal of Our Lord's Passion."—(Sister M. M. Chambon.) 16 "The Roman Missal derives its descent from . . . St. Gregory's Mass book, which Pope Hadrian sent to Charlemagne . . . between the years A.D. 784 and 791."—(Fr. Lucas, S.J.) 17 "If the Faithful, at Mass, would only put themselves in spirit beneath the Cross with Our Lady and St. John, and there offer the sufferings of Jesus, and His Precious Bleed for the conversion of sinners they could open Heaven to many souls."—(Sister M. M. Chambon.) 18 "How is it that in our churches, whether it be during Holy Mars or at any other service, there are so many indifferent, distracted souls? . . . they believe that Jesus is present, but their faith is tepid and superficial." – (Mgr. de Segur.) 19 "Great is this mystery, and great the dignity of priests, to whom that is given which is not granted to angels."— (Imitation of Christ, iv. 5.) 20 "When impossible to be bodily present at Mass, assist in spirit. This you can do at all hours of the day and night." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 21 "The Mass is not a mere prayer in which the faithful join, it is the official, public sacrifice of the Catholic Church offered in the name of the whole Church for the living and the dead, no matter to what country they belong."—(Fr. Ronan.) 22 "The use of the Latin language tends to establish unity of worship and to foster a greater reverence for the words and the phraseology of the Mass"—(Fr. Ronan.) 23 "Everything in the Mass concentrates on the Blessed Trinity and the Divine Victim."—(Cardinal Vaughan.) 24 "All the crosses made (in the Mass) before the Consecration signify blessing. All after, signify the Cross on which the Victim died." – (Cardinal Vaughan.) 25 "How few Catholics realize that they are co-operators in the daily mystery of the altar, as it is celebrated in every land at every hour." – (Fr. D'Arcy, S.J.) 26 "It seems to me that at Holy Mass we are, as it were, almighty, not through any merit of our own, but on account of the greatness of our offering." – (Theresa Higginson.) 27 "The Mass is the strongest bond of charity between the pastors and the faithful."—(Fr. Forster, S.J.) 28 "It is most true that he who attends Mass shall be freed from many evils and from many dangers, both foreseen and unforeseen."—(St. Gregory.) 29 "During Mass the angels assist the priest, all the orders of celestial spirits raise their voices, and the vicinity of the altar is occupied by choirs of angels who do homage to Him Who is being immolated."—(St. John Chrysostom.) 30 "The Mass is the treasury of the Church. There God is most lavish of His richest graces, there Jesus Christ, through His minister, distributes the immensity of His wealth."—(Fr. Millet, S.J.) 31 "The altar is another Calvary, where Jesus immolates Himself each day for love of us."—(Fr. Lasance.) NOVEMBER 1 "In the Mass God is honoured, as He deserves, because He is honoured by Jesus."—(St. Leonard of Port Maurice.) 2 "Jesus Christ is Priest, Offerer, and Offering (in the Mass)."—(St. Augustine.) 3 "The Mass is that clean oblation, that cannot be spoiled by any unworthiness or sinfulness on the part of the offerer." —(The Council of Trent.) 4 "Christ Himself is Victim Sacrifice, Priest, Altar, God, Man, King, Pontiff, Lamb, all in all for us."—(St. Epiphanius.) 5 "The Mass is a remembrance of the Passion of Christ, a solemn adoration of the Divine Majesty, a most acceptable thanksgiving to God, a powerful means of obtaining forgiveness for our sins.‖ – (Fr. Lasance.) 6 "In the Mass are contained all the fruits, all the graces, yea all the immense treasures which the Son of God poured out so abundantly upon the Church, His Spouse, in the bloody Sacrifice of the Cross."—(St. Thomas.) 7 "The Mass is, indeed, an epitome of Divine Wisdom and of Divine love—a wondrous institution which could only emanate from the Wisdom, power and love of God."—(Fr. McDonnell, S.J.) 8 "To say Mass worthily would require three eternities, the first to prepare oneself, the second to celebrate, the third to give thanks for so great a favour."—(St. John Eudes.) 9 "The same love which fastened Jesus by nails to the Cross binds Him still, for our sakes, to the altar." – (Fr. Lasance.) 10 "Without doubt the Lord grants all the favours which are asked of Him in the Mass, provided they be those fitting for us."—(St. Jerome.) 11 "The active participation in the Holy Mysteries and in the public and solemn prayers of the Church is the first and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit." – (Pope Pius X.) 12 "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 in my name a clean oblation."—(Mal. i. ii.) 13 "That grand act is so quiet, so brief, so frequent."—(Bishop Hedley.) 14 "The priest says Oremus "Let us pray," not Oro "I pray," because all the assistants (at Mass) ought to pray with him, and he prays in the name of them all." – (St. Alphonsus.) 15 "There is no creature, not even an angel, worthy to offer to God the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, yet, notwithstanding, I counsel you to offer it often, with fear and respect."—(His Abbot to St. Peter Celestine.) 16 "The angels are present at the Sacrifice of the Mass. They compass the altar in honour of Him Who is offered upon it, where the King is, there also is His Court." – (St. John Chrysostom.) 17 "The Mass is the one essential act of public worship of the Church."—(B. F. C. Costelloe.) 18 ". . . a message from Heaven . . . at Mass I think the message is there . . . if we are in a state to receive it."—(M. Baring) 19 "Those who neglect Mass on Sundays, let their children play . . . instead of sending them to church. draw down upon themselves the terrible anger of God."—(Mother Loyola.) 20 "The Mass is, in the strictest sense, Divine Worship. Catholics offer it to God alone, praying Mary and the saints to join, as fellow worshippers."—(Fr. F. E. Pritchard.) 21 "The Commandment of the Church is that we hear Mass, not a part of Mass . . . it is a venial sin to be absent or late through our own fault during a less important part of Mass.‖ – (Mother Loyola.) 22 ". . . the wide and fundamental distinction between the Mass, and every other form of public worship, I have called it The realisation of the Presence of God."—(F. B. Costelloe.) 23 "By every Mass the Church is extended, protected, and prospered, and her children are helped in ways we shall never know in this life." – (Mother Loyola.) 24 "As the Mass is offered for all who are present, so the best kind of devotion is attentively to apply ourselves to all that the priest says and does."—(St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.) 25 "There its no time fitter to converse with God than that of the Divine Sacrifice so that we ought carefully to manage so precious an occasion, and try to profit of it, by daily offering this sacrifice, with the priest." – (St. John Chrysostom.) 26 "It is a most profitable and pious devotion, whilst the priest really communicates under the two species, we should communicate spiritually."—(St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.) 27 "Who can doubt but that when the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, the Heavens open at the voice of the priest, and that an infinity of blessed, spirits, like good courtiers who everywhere follow their Prince, descend with Jesus Christ."—(St. Gregory.) 28 "The property of this Sacrifice is to appease God, as it is this the Apostle expresses by these words: ̳He offered Himself to God for us, to be a Victim of an agreeable odour.'" – (St. Paul Eph. v. 2.) 29 "He that says Mass does nothing else but represent the person of Jesus Christ. It is in His name and as His minister that he offers this Sacrifice."—(St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.) 30 "The more we consider it, the more we shall realize that we could share in no higher work than in the forming of good priests."—(St. Vincent de Paul.) DECEMBER 1 "Mass is not a mere form of words. It is a great action, the greatest that can be, on earth."—(Cardinal Newman.) 2 "It (the Mass) is a mystery that can only be called tremendous." – (Dr. Hedley.) 3 "There is no obligation to go to daily Mass. True, but . . . what is fitting?" – (Mother Loyola.) 4 "All who can do so should learn to use and love the Roman Missal.‖ —(Fr. Lucas, S.J.) 5 "The order of the Mass is so well arranged that most of the prominent events of Our Saviour's life . . . are contained or recalled in the prayers or typified in the ceremonies prescribed in the Mass."—(Pope Innocent III.) 6 ―All the merits of creatures are but of finite worth, but the value of one Mass is infinite." – (Mother Loyola.) 7 ―If the Mass is to be for us what it ought to be, it is very important that we have a clear understanding of it, as a whole, in its unity of structure and of purpose."—(Rev. W. Busch.) 8 ―The best prayers are those of the Liturgy which God Himself has taught us, those alone which are expressed in language worthy of Him."—(Huysmans.) 9 "The Gospel is the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Before reading it the priest makes the sign of the cross on the open book, because it is Jesus crucified whom he preaches." – (St. Alphonsus. ) 10 "Throughout the Mass we read of sacrifice to God – the highest and greatest sacrifice ever offered to Him—the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ."—(Bagshawe.) 11 "Take some trouble to hear Mass well, and always think of those words: ̳Before prayer, prepare thy soul and be not as a man that tempteth God."—(Bagshawe.) 12 "The Mass is the daily direct and immediate interposition of God on earth, to work a wonder of beneficence which can only be paralleled by His Incarnation."—(Bishop Hedley.) 13 "When you see a priest offering Mass, do not consider that it is only the priest; but look more attentively, and see the stretched-out hands of God."—(St. John Chrysostom.) 14 "Not less doth God seem to do, when He deigneth to descend daily from Heaven upon the altar, than He did when He assumed human nature and became incarnate."—(St. Bonaventure.) 15 "Who can doubt at the moment of immolation, when the priest utters the word, the heavens open, and that the choirs of Angels are present at that solemn act of Jesus Christ—that Heaven and earth intermingle and the highest is joined with the lowly."—(St. Gregory.) 16 "So great a gift could not be found in heaven itself as God offered to God, for such is the oblation we offer in the Sacrifice of the Mass."—(Fr. Nicholas Molloy, O.S.A.) 17 "There (at Mass) is the whole Catholic Church communicating to her priests the mission she has received from her Divine Spouse, to continue the Sacrifice, and there acts and speaks through its ambassadors." – (Abbe Perreyve.) 18 "The Eucharistic renewing of Christ's death is the result of that infinite fullness of redemption that is in Christ's mortal life." – (Abbot Vonier.) 19 "Because Christ merited infinitely . . . we have the Real Presence, we have the daily sacrifice of the Christian altar." — (Ibid.) 20 "All souls who are united to the Church by the bond of charity join, even without knowing it, in the oblation offered on every altar throughout the world, and partake of its merits." – (Abbe Perreyve.) 21 "Holy Angel at my side, go to church for me; Kneel for me at Holy Mass, where I wish to be. Pray the Sacrifice Divine may our sins efface; Bring me Jesus' blessing down, Pledge of every grace." — (D.H.B.) 22 "He would have us become co-offerers with Himself . . . in order that the world may have the honour of working out its own redemption by paying the more than sufficient price put at its disposal by Christ, our Redeemer." – (Fr. De Taille.) 23 "Thou, O Lord, though Thou hast ascended to glory, hast renewed and perpetuated Thy sacrifice to the end of all things."— (Newman.) 24 "Yes, my Lord; though Thou hast left the world, Thou art daily offered up in the Mass, and though Thou canst not suffer pain and death, Thou dost still subject Thyself to indignity and restraint to carry out to the full Thy mercies towards us."— (Ibid.) 25 "This is not due to man's merits, that a man should consecrate and handle the Sacrament of Christ, and receive for food the bread of angels."— (Imitation of Christ.) 26 "Priests alone, rightly ordained in the Church, have the power of celebrating Mass and consecrating the Body of Christ."— (Ibid.) 27 "When a priest celebrateth, he honoureth God, he rejoiceth the angels, he edifieth the Church, he helpeth the living, he obtaineth rest for the departed, and maketh himself partaker of all that is good." – (Ibid.) 28 "There is no oblation more worthy, nor satisfaction greater for the washing away of sins, than to offer thyself purely and entirely to God, together with the Oblation of the Body of Christ in the Mass and in the Communion."— (Ibid.) 29 ―As I willingly offered Myself to God the Father for thy sins . . . even so oughtest thou to offer thyself daily to Me in the Mass."— (Ibid.) 30 "Receive me with this sacred Oblation of Thy Precious Body, which I offer to Thee this day . . . that it may be for my salvation and that of all Thy People."— (Ibid.) 31 "When the last Mass shall have been said, the Sacrifice of supplication and reparation shall cease, but the worship of adoration and thanksgiving shall continue through eternity for those who have been associated with the Cross and with the altar of Our Divine Lord Jesus Christ." – (Fr. Farrell, C.S.Sp.) ********