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Purgatory

By Purgatory we mean a place where souls suffer for a time after death on account of their sins. As St. Paul says: “Some shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” (2 Cor. 3: 15). We are in communion with the souls in Purgatory by helping them with our prayers and good works. ~Catechism

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“It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”~2 Mach. 12: 46.

An Intercessory Prayer of the Church Militant for the Church Suffering in Purgatory:

Ye souls of the faithful! Who sleep in the Lord; But as yet are shut out From your final reward! Oh! would I could lend you Assistance to fly; From your prison below, To your palace on high: O Father of mercies! Thine anger withhold; These works of Thy hand In Thy mercy behold; Too oft from Thy path They have wandered aside: But Thee, their Creator, They never denied. O tender Redeemer! Their misery see; Deliver the souls That were ransomed by Thee; Behold how they love Thee, Despite of their pain: Restore them, restore them To favour again.

O Spirit of grace! O Consoler divine! See how for Thy presence They longingly pine; Ah, then, to enliven Their sadness, descend; And fill them with peace, And with joy in the end. O Mother of mercy! Dear soother in grief! Lend thou to their torments A balmy relief; Attemper the rigour Of justice severe; And soften their flames With a pitying tear. All ye who would honour The Saints and their Head, Remember, remember, To pray for the dead; And they, in return, From their misery freed, To you will be friends In the hour of need.

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The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven

Collect
Let us pray.
Grant us, we beseech You, almighty God, ever to think of spiritual things and in every word and work always to do what is well pleasing in Your sight.
Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen

Lesson
Lesson from the first letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians
1 Thess. 1: 2-10
Brethren: We give thanks to God always for you all, continually making a remembrance of you in our prayers; being mindful before God our Father of your work of faith, and labour, and charity, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We know, brethren, beloved of God, how you were chosen. For our Gospel was not delivered to you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much fullness, as indeed you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great tribulation, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became a pattern to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you the word of the Lord has been spread abroad, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we need say nothing further. For they themselves report concerning us how we entered among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to await from heaven Jesus, His Son, Whom He raised from the dead, Who has delivered us from the wrath to come.
R. Thanks be to God.

Gradual
Ps. 43: 8-9
You saved us, O Lord, from our foes, and those who hated us You put to shame.
V. In God we gloried day by day; Your name we praised always. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps. 129: 1-2
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my prayer.
Alleluia.

Gospel
Continuation ✠ of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew
Matt. 13: 31-35
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to the crowds: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. This indeed is the smallest of all the seeds; but when it grows up it is larger than any herb and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and dwell in its branches. He told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and buried in three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without parables he did not speak to them; that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.
R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

Offertory
Ps. 129: 1-2
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer! Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord.

Secret
May this offering, O God, we beseech You, cleanse and renew us, govern and protect us.
Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Preface
Holy Trinity
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God; Who, together with Thine only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost, art one God, one Lord: not in the oneness of a single Person, but in the Trinity of one substance. For what we believe by Thy revelation of Thy glory, the same do we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or separation. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, distinction in persons, unity in essence, and equality in majesty may be adored. Which the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim do praise: who cease not daily to cry out, with one voice saying:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!

Communion
Mark 11: 24
Amen I say to you, all things whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive, and it shall be done to you.

Post Communion
Let us pray.
Nourished by Your heavenly Food, O Lord, we beseech You that we may always strive after those things that give us true life.
Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

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St. Paul Preaches to the Neophytes in Thessalonica

The praise which the apostle here gives to the Thessalonians for their fervour in the faith they had embraced, conveys a reproach to the Christians of our own times. These neophytes [newly baptized] of Thessalonica, who, a short time before, were worshippers of idols, had become so earnest in the practice of the Christian religion, that even the apostle is filled with admiration. We are the descendants of countless Christian ancestors. We received our regeneration by Baptism at our first coming into the world. We were taught the doctrine of Jesus Christ from our earliest childhood. And yet, our faith is not so strong, or our lives so holy, as were those of the early Christians. Their main occupation was serving the living and true God, and waiting for the coming of their Saviour. Our hope is precisely the same as that which made their hearts so fervent; how comes it that our faith is not like theirs in its generosity? We love this present life, as though we had not the firm conviction that it is to pass away. As far as depends upon us, we are handing down to future generations a Christianity very different from that which our Saviour established, which the apostles preached, and which the pagans of the first ages thought they were bound to purchase at any price or sacrifice.

~Commentary from The Liturgical Year by Father Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B. (1805-1875).

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All Souls’ Day ~ 2 November

While the soul is supplying in purgatory for the insufficiency of her expiations, the body she has quitted returns to the earth in virtue of the sentence pronounced against Adam and his race from the beginning of the world. But, with regard to the body as well as the soul, justice is full of love; its claims are a prelude to the glory which awaits the whole man. The humiliation of the tomb is the just punishment of original sin; but in this return of man to the earth from whence he sprang, St. Paul would have us recognize the sowing necessary for the transformation of the seed, which is destined to live again under very different conditions. For “flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God” [1 Cor. 15: 50]; neither can corruptible members aspire to immortality. The body of the Christian, which St. Ignatius of Antioch calls the wheat of Christ, is cast into the tomb, as it were into the furrow, there to leave its own corruption, the form of the first Adam with its heaviness and infirmity; but by the power of the new Adam reforming it to His own likeness, it shall spring up all heavenly and spiritualized, agile, impassible, and glorious. Blessed be He, who willed to die for us in order to destroy death and to make His own victory ours!

“All that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God.”

Purgatory is not eternal. Its duration varies according to the sentence pronounced at each particular judgment. It may be prolonged for centuries in the case of the more guilty souls, or of those who, being excluded from the Catholic communion, are deprived of the suffrages of the Church, although by the divine mercy they have escaped hell. But the end of the world, which will be also the end of time, will close forever the place of temporary expiation. God will know how to reconcile His justice and His goodness in the purification of the last members of the human race, and to supply by the intensity of the expiatory suffering what may be wanting in duration. But, whereas a favourable sentence at the particular judgment admits of eternal beatitude being suspended and postponed, and leaves the bodies of the elect to the same fate as those of the reprobate; at the universal judgment, every sentence, whether for heaven or for hell, will be absolute, and will be executed immediately and completely. Let us, then, live in expectation of the solemn hour, when “the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God.” He that is to come will come, and will not delay, as the Doctor of the Gentiles reminds us; His arrival will be sudden, as that of a thief, we are told, not only by St. Paul, but also by the prince of the apostles and the beloved disciple; and these in turn are but echoing the words of our Lord Himself: “As lightning cometh out of the east and appeareth even unto the west: so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

~ Commentaries from The Liturgical Year by Father Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B. (1805-1875).

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How to Pray the Rosary

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INSTRUCTION ON THE ONE ONLY SAVING FAITH

These words of the great Apostle of the Gentiles show clearly, that it is not a matter of indifference, whether this or that faith, this or that religion is professed. Yet in our times, poor in faith, we so often hear the assertion from so called enlightened men: “It is all the same to what religion we belong, we can be saved in any one, if we only believe in God and live uprightly.” How impious is this assertion! Consider, my dear Christian, there is but one God, and this one God has sent only one Redeemer, and this one Redeemer has preached only one doctrine and established one Church. Had God wished that there should be more than one Church, then Jesus should have said so, He should have founded several Churches, nay, He should not have preached a new doctrine, founded a new Christian Church; for the Jews also believed in one God. But Jesus cast aside heathenism and Judaism, preached only one and, indeed, a new religion, founded only one Church. Nowhere does He speak of Churches, but always of one Church. He says that we must hear this Church, and does not add, that if we will not hear this Church, we may hear some other one. He speaks of only one shepherd, one flock, and one fold, into which all men are to be brought.

In the same manner He speaks always of one kingdom of God on earth, just as there is only one kingdom of heaven; of only one master of the house and one family, of one field and one vineyard, whereby He understood His Church; of only one rock, upon which He would build His Church. On the day before His death, He prayed fervently to His Heavenly Father, that all who believe in Him, might be and remain one, as He and the Father are one, and He also gave His disciples the express command to preach His gospel to all nations, and to teach them all things, whatsoever He had commanded them. This command the apostles carried out exactly. Everywhere they preached one and the same doctrine, founded, indeed, in all places, Christian communities, but which were united by the bond of the same faith. It was one of the principal cares of the apostles to prevent schisms in faith, they warned from heresy, commanded all originators of such to be avoided, and anathematised those who preached a gospel different from theirs. As the apostles so their successors.** All the holy fathers speak with burning love of the necessary unity of faith, and deny those, who remain knowingly in schism and separation from the true Church of Jesus, all claim to salvation.

Learn from this, therefore, my dear Christian, that there can be but one true Church; but if there is but one true Church, it naturally follows, that in her alone salvation can be obtained, and the assertion, that we can be saved in any creed, is false and impious. Jesus who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, speaks of only one Church, which we must hear, if we wish to be saved. He who does not hear the Church, He says, should be considered as a heathen and publican. He speaks furthermore of one fold, and He promises eternal life only to those sheep who belong to this fold, obey the voice of the one shepherd and feed in His pasture. The apostles were also convinced, that only the one, true Church makes salvation certain. Without faith it is impossible to please God, writes St. Paul to the Hebrews (6: 6), and this faith is only one, he teaches the Ephesians (4: 5). If the apostles had believed, that any religion can save man, they would certainly not have contended so strenuously for unity, they would not have declared so solemnly, that we cannot belong to any other than to Christ alone, and that we must receive and obey His doctrine. As the apostles their successors and all the fathers agree, that there is no salvation outside of the true Church.

St. Cyprian writes: “If any one outside Noah’s ark could find safety, then also will one outside the Church find it.” (De unit, eccl. c. 7.) From all this it follows, that there is only one true Church which gives salvation, outside of which there can be no salvation.

But which is this Church? Certainly only the Roman-Catholic, Apostolic Church, for she alone is founded by Christ, she alone is watered with the blood of the apostles and so many thousands of holy martyrs, she alone has the marks of the true Church of Jesus, to which He has promised, that she shall, notwithstanding all the attacks of her enemies, stand to the end of the world. Those who fell away from the Church three hundred years ago, do, indeed, contend that the Church fell into error and no longer possessed the true, pure gospel of Jesus. Were they right, Jesus were to be blamed, for He founded this Church, He promised to remain with her and guide her through the Holy Ghost until the end of the world. He would, therefore, have broken His word, or He was not powerful enough to keep it. But who will say this? On the contrary, she has existed for [two thousand] years, whilst the greatest and most powerful kingdoms have been mined (removed), and the firmest thrones crumbled away. If she were not the only true and saving Church, founded by Christ, how could she have existed so long, since Jesus said, that every plant that His Heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up? (Matt. 15: 13). If she were not the Church of Christ, long ago would she be destroyed, but she still stands today, whilst her enemies who battled with her, have disappeared and shall disappear; for the gates of hell shall not prevail against her, says our Lord, and He has kept His word and will keep it, notwithstanding all the oppositions and calumnies of her implacable enemies.

You see, therefore, my dear Christian, that the Catholic Church is the only true and the only saving Church; do not let yourself be deceived by those who are neither cold nor warm, and who use these words: “We can be saved in any religion, if we only believe in God and live uprightly,” and who wish to rob you of your holy faith, and precipitate you into the sea of doubt, error, and falsehood. Outside of the Catholic Church there is no salvation; this hold firmly, for it is the teaching of Jesus, His apostles, and all the fathers; for this doctrine the apostles and a countless host of the faithful have shed their blood; but obey the teaching of this Church, follow her laws, make use of her help and assistance, and often raise your hands and heart to heaven to thank God for the priceless grace of belonging to this one, true Church; forget not to pray for your erring brethren, who are still outside of the Church, that the Lord may lead them into her, that His promise may be fulfilled: There will be one fold and one shepherd.

~ Commentary by the Reverend Father Leonard Goffine, 1871.

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The Liturgical Calendar

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The Holy & Blessed Trinity

Baltimore Catechism #3

LESSON 3: ON THE UNITY AND TRINITY OF GOD

Q. 180. What does “unity,” and what does “trinity” mean?

A. “Unity” means being one, and “trinity” means three-fold or three in one.

Q. 181. Can we find an example to fully illustrate the mystery of the Blessed Trinity?

A. We cannot find an example to fully illustrate the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, because the mysteries of our holy religion are beyond comparison.

Q. 182. Is there but one God?

A. Yes; there is but one God.

Q. 183. Why can there be but one God?

A. There can be but one God because God, being supreme and infinite, cannot have an equal.

Q. 184. What does “supreme” mean?

A. “Supreme” means the highest in authority; also the most excellent or greatest possible in anything. Thus in all things God is supreme, and in the Church the Pope is supreme.

Q. 185. When are two persons said to be equal?

A. Two persons are said to be equal when one is in no way greater than or inferior to the other.

Q. 186. How many persons are there in God?

A. In God there are three Divine persons, really distinct, and equal in all things –the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Q. 187. What do “divine” and “distinct” mean?

A. “Divine” means pertaining to God, and “distinct” means separate; that is, not confounded or mixed with any other thing.

Q. 188. Is the Father God?

A. The Father is God and the first Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Q. 189. Is the Son God?

A. The Son is God and the second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Q. 190. Is the Holy Ghost God?

A. The Holy Ghost is God and the third Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Q. 191. Do “first,” “second,” and “third” with regard to the persons of the Blessed Trinity mean that one person existed before the other or that one is greater than the other?

A. “First,” “second,” and “third” with regard to the persons of the Blessed Trinity do not mean that one person was before the other or that one is greater than the other; for all the persons of the Trinity are eternal and equal in every respect. These numbers are used to mark the distinction between the persons, and they show the order in which the one proceeded from the other.

Q. 192. What do you mean by the Blessed Trinity?

A. By the Blessed Trinity I mean one God in three Divine Persons.

Q. 193. Are the three Divine Persons equal in all things?

A. The three Divine Persons are equal in all things.

Q. 194. Are the three Divine Persons one and the same God?

A. The three Divine Persons are one and the same God, having one and the same Divine nature and substance.

Q. 195. What do we mean by the “nature” and “substance” of a thing?

A. By the “nature” of a thing we mean the combination of all the qualities that make the thing what it is. By the “substance” of a thing we mean the part that never changes, and which cannot be changed without destroying the nature of the thing.

Q. 196. Can we fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and the same God?

A. We cannot fully understand how the three Divine Persons are one and the same God, because this is a mystery.

Q. 197. What is a mystery?

A. A mystery is a truth which we cannot fully understand.

Q. 198. Is every truth which we cannot understand a mystery?

A. Every truth which we cannot understand is not a mystery; but every revealed truth which no one can understand is a mystery.

Q. 199. Should we believe truths which we cannot understand?

A. We should and often do believe truths which we cannot understand when we have proof of their existence.

Q. 200. Give an example of truths which all believe, though many do not understand them.

A. All believe that a seed planted in the ground will produce a flower or tree often with more than a thousand other seeds equal to itself, though many cannot understand how this is done.

Q. 201. Why must a divine religion have mysteries?

A. A divine religion must have mysteries because it must have supernatural truths and God Himself must teach them. A religion that has only natural truths, such as man can know by reason alone, fully understand and teach, is only a human religion.

Q. 202. Why does God require us to believe mysteries?

A. God requires us to believe mysteries that we may submit our understanding to Him.

Q. 203. By what form of prayer do we praise the Holy Trinity?

A. We praise the Holy Trinity by a form of prayer called the Doxology, which has come down to us almost from the time of the Apostles.

Q. 204. Say the Doxology.

A. The Doxology is: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

Q. 205. Is there any other form of the Doxology?

A. There is another form of the Doxology, which is said in the celebration of the Mass. It is called the “Gloria in excelsis” or “Glory be to God on high,” etc., the words sung by the Angels at the birth of Our Lord.

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The Holy & Blessed Eucharist

Baltimore Catechism #3

LESSON 22: ON THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Q. 869. What does the word Eucharist strictly mean?

A. The word Eucharist strictly means pleasing, and this Sacrament is so called because it renders us most pleasing to God by the grace it imparts, and it gives us the best means of thanking Him for all His blessings.

Q. 870. What is the Holy Eucharist?

A. The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament which contains the body and blood, soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.

Q. 871. What do we mean when we say the Sacrament which contains the Body and Blood?

A. When we say the Sacrament which contains the Body and Blood, we mean the Sacrament which is the Body and Blood, for after the Consecration there is no other substance present in the Eucharist.

Q. 872. When is the Holy Eucharist a Sacrament, and when is it a sacrifice?

A. The Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament when we receive it in Holy Communion and when it remains in the Tabernacle of the Altar. It is a sacrifice when it is offered up at Mass by the separate Consecration of the bread and wine, which signifies the separation of Our Lord’s blood from His body when He died on the Cross.

Q. 873. When did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?

A. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night before He died.

Q. 874. Who were present when our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist?

A. When Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist, the twelve Apostles were present.

Q. 875. How did our Lord institute the Holy Eucharist?

A. Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist by taking bread, blessing, breaking, and giving to His Apostles, saying: “Take ye and eat. This is my body”; and then, by taking the cup of wine, blessing and giving it, saying to them: “Drink ye all of this. This is my blood which shall be shed for the remission of sins. Do this for a commemoration of me.”

Q. 876. What happened when our Lord said, “This is my body; this is my blood”?

A. When Our Lord said, “This is my body,” the substance of the bread was changed into the substance of His body; when He said, “This is my blood,” the substance of the wine was changed into the substance of His blood.

Q. 877. How do we prove the Real Presence, that is, that Our Lord is really and truly present in the Holy Eucharist?

A. We prove the Real Presence — that is, that Our Lord is really and truly present in the Holy Eucharist:
   1. By showing that it is possible to change one substance into another;
   2. By showing that Christ did change the substance of bread and wine into the substance of His body and blood;
   3. By showing that He gave this power also to His Apostles and to the priests of His Church.

Q. 878. How do we know that it is possible to change one substance into another?

A. We know that it is possible to change one substance into another, because:
   1. God changed water into blood during the plagues of Egypt.
   2. Christ changed water into wine at the marriage of Cana.
   3. Our own food is daily changed into the substance of our flesh and blood; and what God does gradually, He can also do instantly by an act of His will.

Q. 879. Are these changes exactly the same as the changes that take place in the Holy Eucharist?

A. These changes are not exactly the same as the changes that take place in the Holy Eucharist, for in these changes the appearance also is changed, but in the Holy Eucharist only the substance is changed while the appearance remains the same.

Q. 880. How do we show that Christ did change bread and wine into the substance of His body and blood?

A. We show that Christ did change bread and wine into the substance of His body and blood:
   1. From the words by which He promised the Holy Eucharist;
   2. From the words by which He instituted the Holy Eucharist;
   3. From the constant use of the Holy Eucharist in the Church since the time of the Apostles;
   4. From the impossibility of denying the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, without likewise denying all that Christ has taught and done; for we have stronger proofs for the Holy Eucharist than for any other Christian truth.

Q. 881. Is Jesus Christ whole and entire both under the form of bread and under the form of wine?

A. Jesus Christ is whole and entire both under the form of bread and under the form of wine.

Q. 882. How do we know that under the appearance of bread we receive also Christ’s blood; and under the appearance of wine we receive also Christ’s body?

A. We know that under the appearance of bread we receive also Christ’s blood, and under the appearance of wine we receive also Christ’s body; because in the Holy Eucharist we receive the living body of Our Lord, and a living body cannot exist without blood, nor can living blood exist without a body.

Q. 883. Is Jesus Christ present whole and entire in the smallest portion of the Holy Eucharist, under the form of either bread or wine?

A. Jesus Christ is present whole and entire in the smallest portion of the Holy Eucharist under the form of either bread or wine; for His body in the Eucharist is in a glorified state, and as it partakes of the character of a spiritual substance, it requires no definite size or shape.

Q. 884. Did anything remain of the bread and wine after their substance had been changed into the substance of the body and blood of our Lord?

A. After the substance of the bread and wine had been changed into the substance of the body and blood of Our Lord, there remained only the appearances of bread and wine.

Q. 885. What do you mean by the appearances of bread and wine?

A. By the appearances of bread and wine I mean the figure, the color, the taste, and whatever appears to the senses.

Q. 886. What is this change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of our Lord called?

A. This change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Our Lord is called Transubstantiation.

Q. 887. What is the second great miracle in the Holy Eucharist?

A. The second great miracle in the Holy Eucharist is the multiplication of the presence of Our Lord’s body in so many places at the same time, while the body itself is not multiplied — for there is but one body of Christ.

Q. 888. Are there not, then, as many bodies of Christ as there are tabernacles in the world, or as there are Masses being said at the same time?

A. There are not as many bodies of Christ as there are tabernacles in the world, or as there are Masses being said at the same time; but only one body of Christ, which is everywhere present whole and entire in the Holy Eucharist, as God is everywhere present, while He is but one God.

Q. 889. How was the substance of the bread and wine changed into the substance of the body and blood of Christ?

A. The substance of the bread and wine was changed into the substance of the body and blood of Christ by His almighty power.

Q. 890. Does this change of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ continue to be made in the Church?

A. This change of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ continues to be made in the Church by Jesus Christ through the ministry of His priests.

Q. 891. When did Christ give His priests the power to change bread and wine into His body and blood?

A. Christ gave His priests the power to change bread and wine into His body and blood when He said to the Apostles, “Do this in commemoration of Me.”

Q. 892. What do the words “Do this in commemoration of Me” mean?

A. The words “Do this in commemoration of Me” mean: Do what I, Christ, am doing at My last supper, namely, changing the substance of bread and wine into the substance of My body and blood; and do it in remembrance of Me.

Q. 893. How do the priests exercise this power of changing bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ?

A. The priests exercise this power of changing bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ through the words of consecration in the Mass, which are words of Christ: “This is my body; this is my blood.”

Q. 894. At what part of the Mass does the Consecration take place?

A. The Consecration in the Mass takes place immediately before the elevation of the Host and Chalice, which are raised above the head of the priest that the people may adore Our Lord who has just come to the altar at the words of Consecration.

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The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Baltimore Catechism #3

LESSON 24: ON THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

Q. 916. When and where are the bread and wine changed into the body and blood of Christ?

A. The bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ at the Consecration in the Mass.

Q. 917. What is the Mass?

A. The Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ.

Q. 918. Why is this Sacrifice called the Mass?

A. This Sacrifice is called the “Mass” very probably from the words “Ite Missa est,” used by the priest as he tells the people to depart when the Holy Sacrifice is ended.

Q. 919. What is a sacrifice?

A. A sacrifice is the offering of an object by a priest to God alone, and the consuming of it to acknowledge that He is the Creator and Lord of all things.

Q. 920. Is the Mass the same sacrifice as that of the Cross?

A. The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross.

Q. 921. How is the Mass the same sacrifice as that of the Cross?

A. The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross because the offering and the priest are the same — Christ our Blessed Lord; and the ends for which the sacrifice of the Mass is offered are the same as those of the sacrifice of the Cross.

Q. 922. What were the ends for which the sacrifice of the Cross was offered?

A. The ends for which the sacrifice of the Cross was offered were:
   1. To honour and glorify God;
   2. To thank Him for all the graces bestowed on the whole world;
   3. To satisfy God’s justice for the sins of men;
   4. To obtain all graces and blessings.

Q. 923. How are the fruits of the Mass distributed?

A. The fruits of the Mass are distributed thus:
   1. The first benefit is bestowed on the priest who says the Mass;
   2. The second on the person for whom the Mass is said, or for the intention for which it is said;
   3. The third on those who are present at the Mass, and particularly on those who serve it, and
   4. The fourth on all the faithful who are in communion with the Church.

Q. 924. Are all Masses of equal value in themselves or do they differ in worth?

A. All Masses are equal in value in themselves and do not differ in worth, but only in the solemnity with which they are celebrated or in the end for which they are offered.

Q. 925. How are Masses distinguished?

A. Masses are distinguished thus:
   1. When the Mass is sung by a bishop, assisted by a deacon and sub-deacon, it is called a Pontifical Mass;
   2. When it is sung by a priest, assisted by a deacon and sub-deacon, it is called a Solemn Mass;
   3. When sung by a priest without deacon and sub-deacon, it is called a Missa Cantata or High Mass;
   4. When the Mass is only read in a low tone it is called a low or private Mass.

Q. 926. For what end or intention may Mass be offered?

A. Mass may be offered for any end or intention that tends to the honour and glory of God, to the good of the Church or the welfare of man; but never for any object that is bad in itself, or in its aims; neither can it be offered publicly for persons who are not members of the true Church.

Q. 927. Explain what is meant by Requiem, Nuptial and Votive Masses.

A. A Requiem Mass is one said in black vestments and with special prayers for the dead. A Nuptial Mass is one said at the marriage of two Catholics, and it has special prayers for their benefit. A Votive Mass is one said in honour of some particular mystery or saint, on a day not set apart by the Church for the honour of that mystery or saint.

Q. 928. From what may we learn that we are to offer up the Holy Sacrifice with the priest?

A. We may learn that we are to offer up the Holy Sacrifice with the priest from the words used in the Mass itself; for the priest, after offering up the bread and wine for the Sacrifice, turns to the people and says: “Orate Fratres,” etc., which means: “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty,” and the server answers in our name: “May the Lord receive the sacrifice from thy hands to the praise and glory of His own name, and to our benefit and that of all His Holy Church.”

Q. 929. From what did the custom of making an offering to the priest for saying Mass arise?

A. The custom of making an offering to the priest for saying Mass arose from the old custom of bringing to the priest the bread and wine necessary for the celebration of Mass.

Q. 930. Is it not simony, or the buying of a sacred thing, to offer the priest money for saying Mass for your intention?

A. It is not simony, or the buying of a sacred thing, to offer the priest money for saying Mass for our intention, because the priest does not take the money for the Mass itself, but for the purpose of supplying the things necessary for Mass and for his own support.

Q. 931. Is there any difference between the sacrifice of the Cross and the sacrifice of the Mass?

A. Yes; the manner in which the sacrifice is offered is different. On the Cross Christ really shed His blood and was really slain; in the Mass there is no real shedding of blood nor real death, because Christ can die no more; but the sacrifice of the Mass, through the separate consecration of the bread and the wine, represents His death on the Cross.

Q. 932. What are the chief parts of the Mass?

A. The chief parts of the Mass are:
   1. The Offertory, at which the priests offers to God the bread and wine to be changed at the Consecration;
   2. The Consecration, at which the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the substance of Christ’s body and blood;
   3. The Communion, at which the priest receives into his own body the Holy Eucharist under the appearance of both bread and wine.

Q. 933. At what part of the Mass does the Offertory take place, and what parts of the Mass are said before it?

A. The Offertory takes place immediately after the uncovering of the chalice. The parts of the Mass said before it are: The Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Prayers, Epistle, Gospel and Creed. The Introit, Prayers, Epistle and Gospel change in each Mass to correspond with the feast celebrated.

Q. 934. What is the part of the Mass called in which the Words of Consecration are found?

A. The part of the Mass in which the words of Consecration are found is called the Canon. This is the most solemn part of the Mass, and is rarely but slightly changed in any Mass.

Q. 935. What follows the Communion of the Mass?

A. Following the Communion of Mass, there are prayers of thanksgiving, the blessing of the people, and the saying of the last Gospel.

Q. 936. What things are necessary for Mass?

A. The things necessary for Mass are:
   1. An altar with linen covers, candles, crucifix, altar stone and Mass book;
   2. A Chalice with all needed in its use, and bread of flour from wheat and wine from the grape;
   3. Vestments for the priest, and
   4. An acolyte or server.

Q. 937. What is the altar stone, and of what does it remind us?

A. The altar stone is that part of the altar upon which the priest rests the Chalice during Mass. This stone contains some holy relics sealed up in it by the bishop, and if the altar is of wood this stone is inserted just in front of the Tabernacle. The altar stone reminds us of the early history of the Church, when the martyrs’ tombs were used for altars by the persecuted Christians.

Q. 938. What lesson do we learn from the practice of using martyrs’ tombs for altars?

A. From the practice of using martyrs’ tombs for altars we learn the inconvenience, sufferings and dangers the early Christians willingly underwent for the sake of hearing Mass. Since the Mass is the same now as it was then, we should suffer every inconvenience rather than be absent from Mass on Sundays or holy days.

Q. 939. What things are used with the chalice during Mass?

A. The things used with the chalice during Mass are:
   1. The purificator or cloth for wiping the inside;
   2. The paten or small silver plate used in handling the host;
   3. The pall or white card used for covering the chalice at Mass;
   4. The corporal or linen cloth on which the chalice and host rest.

Q. 940. What is the host?

A. The host is the name given to the thin wafer of bread used at Mass. This name is generally applied before and after Consecration to the large particle of bread used by the priest, though the small particles given to the people are also called by the same name.

Q. 941. Are large and small hosts consecrated at every Mass?

A. A large host is consecrated at every Mass, but small hosts are consecrated only at some Masses at which they are to be given to the people or placed in the Tabernacle for the Holy Communion of the faithful.

Q. 942. What vestments does the priest use at Mass and what do they signify?

A. The vestments used by the priest at Mass are:
   1. The Amice, a white cloth around the shoulders to signify resistance to temptation;
   2. The Alb, a long white garment to signify innocence;
   3. The Cincture, a cord about the waist, to signify chastity;
   4. The Maniple or hanging vestment on the left arm, to signify penance;
   5. The Stole or long vestment about the neck, to signify immortality;
   6. The Chasuble or long vestment over all, to signify love and remind the priest, by its cross on front and back, of the Passion of Our Lord.

Q. 943. How many colours of vestments are used, and what do the colours signify?

A. Five colors of vestments are used, namely, white, red, green, violet or purple, and black. White signifies innocence and is used on the feasts of Our Blessed Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, and of some saints. Red signifies love, and is used on the feasts of the Holy Ghost, and of martyrs. Green signifies hope, and is generally used on Sundays from Epiphany to Pentecost. Violet signifies penance, and is used in Lent and Advent. Black signifies sorrow, and is used on Good Friday and at Masses for the dead. Gold is often used for white on great feasts.

Q. 944. What is the Tabernacle and what is the Ciborium?

A. The Tabernacle is the house-shaped part of the altar where the sacred vessels containing the Blessed Sacrament are kept. The Ciborium is the large silver or gold vessel which contains the Blessed Sacrament while in the Tabernacle, and from which the priest gives Holy Communion to the people.

Q. 945. What is the Ostensorium or Monstrance?

A. The Ostensorium or Monstrance is the beautiful wheel-like vessel in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and kept during the Benediction.

Q. 946. How should we assist at Mass?

A. We should assist at Mass with great interior recollection and piety and with every outward mark of respect and devotion.

Q. 947. Which is the best manner of hearing Mass?

A. The best manner of hearing Mass is to offer it to God with the priest for the same purpose for which it is said, to meditate on Christ’s sufferings and death, and to go to Holy Communion.

Q. 948. What is important for the proper and respectful hearing of Mass?

A. For the proper and respectful hearing of Mass it is important to be in our place before the priest comes to the altar and not to leave it before the priest leaves the altar. Thus we prevent the confusion and distraction caused by late coming and too early leaving. Standing in the doorways, blocking up passages and disputing about places should, out of respect for the Holy Sacrifice, be most carefully avoided.

Q. 949. What is Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and what vestments are used at it?

A. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is an act of divine worship in which the Blessed Sacrament, placed in the ostensorium, is exposed for the adoration of the people and is lifted up to bless them. The vestments used at Benediction are: A cope or large silk cloak and a humeral or shoulder veil.

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