The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/Devotions at Holy Mass
Devotions at Holy Mass.
"From the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among: the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblatlon: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts."—Malach. i. 11.
INSTRUCTION.
Of all the blessings and treasures which Jesus Christ has bequeathed to his holy Church, the august Sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest, most precious, and holiest. The Holy Mass is the sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which is offered to the heavenly Father on our altars under the species or appearances of bread and wine. It was instituted by our blessed Lord himself, in order to represent and continue that sacrifice which he made on the cross of Calvary. The sacrifice on the cross was made in a manifest and bloody manner: the Sacrifice of the Mass is made in a mystic and unbloody manner. It is made in a mystic manner; that is to say, when Christ is offered in the Mass, we cannot see him with our eyes as the Jews saw him on the cross, his body and his wounds, and his blood, but all we can see is that humble appearance of bread and wine under which he hides himself now from our sight. It is made in an unbloody manner; that is to say, in the Mass our Lord does not die again, his life is not taken as formerly by the shedding of his blood. Although he is really present on the altar, and he is there as a living victim, his death is only represented. Since his resurrection, he is our living Lord, and cannot die again. "Christ being risen from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him."
Jesus Christ, dying once on the cross, ofliered himself up for us to his heavenly Father: “He has blotted out our sins by his blood that was shed for us, and by his painful death,” and thus he has reconciled us to the Father. But in order to leave us a perpetual memorial of this his great love, at that last supper which he partook with his disciples, he took bread in his holy hands, and after giving thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them to eat, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in commemoration of me." Also he took the chalice, and said, “This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you."—St. Luke, xxii. 19, 20.
By these words, “Do this in commemoration of me,” Jesus gave to his Apostles, and their successors, the Bishops and Priests of the Church, the power to change the bread and the wine into his most holy body and blood. The Priest blesses the bread and wine as Christ did, he speaks over them the same words of consecration which Christ spoke; and thus the bread and wine are changed now on the altar as they were at the last supper, into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. As Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross to his heavenly Father for our sins, so here on the altar, he offers himself up to the same heavenly Father, by the hands of the Priest.
After the consecration, which the Priest makes by saying over the bread and wine the same words which Jesus Christ said at the last supper, there is no longer any bread and wine on the altar, but the true and living Jesus Christ, at the same time God and man, really present, although hidden under the appearance of bread and wine.
The Priest offers up Jesus Christ to his heavenly Father, in the name of the Holy Catholic Church: and the prayer of the Church, together with the pious desires and prayers of the faithful, are united with this holy sacrifice. It is Jesus Christ rather who upon the altar offers himself up, and prays for us, and we may confidently hope that what we cannot obtain from God by our prayers alone, we can obtain through the Holy Mass, in which Jesus Christ himself prays for us and with us.
It is an excellent practice, therefore, for those who can, to be present daily at this most holy sacrifice, of which St. Augustine says: “One who devoutly hears the Holy Mass will fall into no mortal sin, and will obtain the pardon of his venial sins.” It is good to be present every day; for to hear Mass on a Sunday or holiday is, of course, not only good, but a necessary duty; and to be absent on these days, without a strong reason, is a mortal sin. Be present then, as often as you can, and while the sacrifice goes on, imagine yourself standing near the Saviour when he celebrated his last supper with his disciples; or, if you please, on Mount Calvary, at the foot of the cross, upon which he offered himself to his heavenly Father for the sins of the world.
In order to have a part in the merits of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, either you must follow the actions and prayers of the Priest, especially at the three principal points, namely, at the Offertory, the Consecration, and the Communion; or make a meditation upon the passion of Christ; or you may make use of devout prayers as you find them in your prayer-book; or, in fine, any other devout exercise best suited to your own feelings of devotion, uniting all the while your intention to the intention of the sacrificing Priest.