“And in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation.” -Malach. i. II.

SYNOPSIS.-Man as creature and as offender owes God sacrifice. This fact acknowledged by the sacrifices of the Old Law. They were insufficient. Jesus Christ the adequate sacrifice. This sacrifice perpetuated in Holy Mass.

I. What a great good fortune it is for us to assist at Holy Mass.

II. With what disposition we should assist.

I. What is Holy Mass? The same sacrifice as that offered up on Calvary. Greatness of the merits of this sacrifice. Effects of this sacrifice. Holy Mass the most propitious time for us to obtain graces.

II. Institution of Holy Mass on Holy Thursday. To unite oneself with the priest best manner of hearing Mass. The three parts of Holy Mass: 1. From beginning to the offertory; 2. From the offertory to elevation; 3. From the elevation to the conclusion. In the first part remember your trespasses, in the second offer yourself up to God, in the third prepare yourself for Holy Communion. Examples:1. The publican; 2. The good thief; 3. The centurion. Conclusion.

It is certain, dear brethren, that it behooves man as the creature to subject his entire being to God, the creator. As an offender, moreover, it is necessary for him to propitiate his creator by a sacrifice of propitiation; this was acknowledged in the Old Law by a number of sacrifices, offered up daily to God in the Temple. But those sacrifices could not make complete satisfaction to a God for the transgressions of his creatures, and it was necessary that there should be another sacrifice, holier, purer, which should continue to the end of the world, and which would be adequate to our indebtedness to God. This holy sacrifice is Jesus Christ Himself, who is God, like the Father, and man, as one of us. As then, upon Calvary, so now He offers Himself up every day upon our altars, and through this pure and spotless oblation He renders to God the honor due to Him, and pays the debt which man owes to his creator. He sacrifices Himself every day in recognition of the absolute dominion of God over His creatures, and the offenses which we offer to God by our sins are thus completely atoned for. Jesus

Christ as mediator between God and men procures for us all the necessary graces in this holy sacrifice, because He is at the same time a sacrifice of thanksgiving. He gives God, for men, the most perfect thanksgiving, which we owe Him. But, dear brethren, in order to participate in all this good, we must do something on our part. That you may the better understand this I will teach you as well as it will be possible for me:

I. What a great good fortune it is for us to assist at Holy Mass
II. With what dispositions we should assist.

I.Before showing you in what manner you ought to hear Mass, I must explain to you the meaning of the word holy sacrifice of the Mass. You know that the holy sacrifice of the Mass is the same as that which was once offered upon Calvary on Good Friday. The only difference consists in this: that the sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered upon Mount Calvary was visible; that it could be witnessed with human eyes; that there Jesus Christ was offered up to His heavenly Father at the hands of His persecutors, and that He visibly shed His blood. That is the meaning of the expression, “a bloody sacrifice.” But in Holy Mass Jesus Christ offers Himself up to His heavenly Father in an invisible manner; we only see Him with the eyes of our faith, and not with the eyes in our head. This, then, dear brethren, is what is understood by the expression, “holy sacrifice of the Mass.” But to give you an idea of the greatness of the merits of Holy Mass, it will be sufficient, my dear brethren, if I say to you, with St. John Chrysostom, that Holy Mass is a source of great joy for the entire court of heaven, that it consoles the poor souls in purgatory, and gives more glory to God than all the sufferings of the saintly martyrs combined, than all the works of penance of the anchorites. The reason is simply this: all those actions were performed by more or less guilty human beings, while in the holy sacrifice of the Mass the merits of the Passion and death of an Incarnate God, the equal to the Father, are offered up. You may see from this, my dear brethren, that Holy Mass is of infinite merit. We read, moreover, in the Gospel, that Jesus Christ converted many at the moment of His death; the good thief received the promise of paradise, a number of the Jews were converted, and the pagans struck their breasts, saying, “That was truly the Son of God,” and the dead arose, the rocks were split open, and the earth trembled in its fastnesses. Yes, dear brethren, if we had the intention and grace to assist at Holy Mass in perfect realization of its nature, we should certainly be converted, even if we were as stubborn as the Jews, as blinded as the pagans, and harder than the rocks which were split asunder. “Surely,” says St. John Chrysostom, “there is no more precious time in which to speak to God about our salvation than during Holy Mass, when Jesus Christ offers Himself to His Father to procure for us all the manifold blessings and graces.” “When we are troubled,” says this great saint, “we shall find abundant consolation there; if temptations beset us, let us only hear Mass and we shall find out how we can overcome the devil.” Yes, dear brethren, if we had sufficient faith, Holy Mass would be the cure for all the evils which we meet with in this life, for is not Jesus Christ the true physician of our souls and bodies?

II.I have said that Holy Mass is the sacrifice of the most adorable body and blood of Jesus Christ, which can only be offered up to God, not to the angels nor to the saints. You know that the holy sacrifice of the Mass was instituted on Maundy Thursday, when Jesus Christ took bread and transformed the same into His body, and then taking wine, changed it into His blood. At the same moment He gave authority to do the same to His Apostles and their successors; this latter fact constitutes the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The words of consecration are the principal part and essence of Holy Mass, and the priest officiates at this sacred function. The people, by uniting themselves with the priest, assist at Holy Mass, and, dear brethren, the best way to hear Holy Mass is to follow earnestly the priest in all that he says, in all his actions, as far as we possibly can follow him, and to endeavor to give ourselves up to the most lively sentiments of love and gratitude. We may divide Holy Mass into three parts: the first part is from the beginning to the offertory, the second from the offertory to the consecration, the third from the consecration to the end. You must bear in mind that we are guilty of sin if we should voluntarily be distracted during any of these parts, a fact that should compel us to be very careful not to allow our mind to occupy itself with other things, with things that have no reference to the holy sacrifice of the Mass. From the commencement of the offertory we should consider ourselves as penitents, penetrated with the liveliest sorrow for our sins. From the offertory to the consecration let us contemplate how the priest offers up Jesus Christ to God the Father, and we should offer up through Him all that we are, our body, our soul, our possessions, and our life. After the consecration remember the great favor allowed to us, that we may partake of the most adorable body and precious blood of Jesus Christ, and consequently we should do all in our power to become worthy of this grace. So that you may understand this, dear brethren, I will give you three examples from Holy Writ which will show you how you should assist at Holy Mass, and how you should occupy yourself during the moments which are so fraught with happiness for those who fully comprehend them. The first example is that of the publican, which teaches us what we should do at the beginning of Mass. The second is that of the good thief, which instructs you how you should behave from the offertory to the consecration. The third is the centurion, who is your guide at Holy Communion. On entering the church you ought to reflect upon the happiness which is yours and make an act of faith and contrition for your sins, that render you unworthy to approach so holy, so great a God. Think at that moment of the behavior of the publican as he entered the temple to offer his prayers to God. St. Luke tells us that the publican standing at the entrance of the temple would not so much as lift his eyes toward heaven, but struck his breast, saying: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” See, dear brethren, he did not act as many Christians do who enter the church with a proud and overbearing deportment, “as if,” to use the words of the prophet Isaias, “they wished to approach God like persons who had nothing upon their conscience for which they should humble themselves before God.” Consider our publican: he thinks himself unworthy to enter the temple, and he chooses the most insignificant spot that he can find; he is so confused at the thought of his sins that he does not venture to lift his eyes to heaven. Oh how far removed is he from many so-called Christians who want the best seat and who hardly bow their heads at the consecration. O my God, how can we dare to assist at Holy Mass with such disposition! “Our publican on the contrary,” says St. Augustine, “strikes his breast to show God the horror which he feels at having offended Him.” Ah, dear brethren, if Christians would hear Mass with the same dispositions as the publican, what graces would they obtain!

I say the good thief shows us how we should behave during the time from the offertory to the consecration, the time when we should offer ourselves up to God with Jesus Christ. Behold, dear brethren, how this happy penitent behaved when he was about to suffer the penalty of death; behold how the eyes of his soul were opened, that he might recognize his Redeemer! What wonderful progress, dear brethren, did he make during the three hours which he passed in the company of the dying Redeemer? He is bound to the cross, his heart and his tongue alone are free. Behold how readily he sacrifices both for Jesus Christ! He gives Him everything that he can give Him, he consecrates his heart to Him by faith and hope, he begs Him humbly for a little place in paradise; that is to say, in His eternal kingdom. He consecrates his tongue to Him by proclaiming the Redeemer as his Lord and God. He says, “We have deserved to suffer, but this one is innocent.” Thus, while the other thief was reviling Jesus Christ by most terrible blasphemies, the good thief became the champion of the Lord, though even the disciples had forsaken Him. So great was his belief and love that he strove with all his might to convert the other thief. No, dear brethren, let us not be astonished to see such great virtuousness in the good thief, for nothing is more calculated to touch our hearts than the sight of our Saviour dying; there is no moment in which grace flows down upon us so abundantly, and yet we are daily witnesses of this. Ah, dear brethren, if at the offertory we offered ourselves, and if at the great moment of the consecration we were penetrated with a lively faith, a single Mass would suffice to free us from all the grave faults that are besetting us and to make true penitents of us and perfect Christians.

I said that the centurion should serve us as an example at partaking of the Holy Table, really or in spirit. We may communicate spiritually by a fervent desire of being united to Jesus Christ. The example of the centurion is so worthy of admiration that the Church uses his very words at Holy Communion: “Lord,” said this humble servant, “I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof, but say only the word, and my servant shall be made whole.” Oh, if God could perceive the same humility in us, the same acknowledgment of our unworthiness, with what delight, with an abundance of grace, would He enter into our hearts! What strength, what courage He would grant us to conquer the enemy of our salvation.

Do we not want, dear brethren, after contemplating these great truths, to change our lives, to give up sin, and to return to God? Let us hear Mass with this intention, and if we do so with devotion we are sure that God will help us to overcome our sins. We must not be surprised that the devil puts so many evil and diverting thoughts into our heads during Holy Mass. Ah, he well knows what harm it will do us if we assist at Holy Mass with little reverence and devotion, or none at all.

The sacrifice of Mass being the remembrance of the Passion of Christ, let us not assist at it like such as the Pharisees, the bad thief, and Judas, assisted at the cross and reaped no benefit. No, no, but let us resolve to follow the examples referred to before, namely, the publican, the good thief, and the centurion, for then rest assured you will hear Mass in a proper way and partake of all graces obtained from God through this holy sacrifice. You will leave church justified, and as your crowning reward paradise will await you because your soul has found salvation in the Passion and death of our Lord. Amen.

Taken from The Sermons of the Cure of Ars