Chapter XIV

Holy Mass is the Most Efficacious Sacrifice of Propitiation

In the law of Moses God enjoined upon the Jews to offer not only burnt-offerings in recognition of His sovereign dominion, but also peace-offerings for obtaining temporal good and averting calamities. These peace, or propitiatory, sacrifices were much valued by the Jews, for through them they gained many blessings and were delivered from many evils. It is recorded in the First Book of Kings (ch. vii.) that when the Philistines were about to attack the children of Israel the latter entreated Samuel to cry to God for them. Samuel took a lamb, and offered it as a holocaust to the Lord, and cried to the Lord for Israel. Then God struck terror into the ranks of the Philistines, and they were overthrown by the Israelites. We also read of David that when the land was visited by • a pestilence he offered holocausts and peace-offerings, and the plague was stayed from Israel, (n. Kings xxiv.) Many similar instances occur in the pages of Holy Scripture.

If God gave to the stiff-necked Jews so efficacious a sacrifice of propitiation, will He not have given to Christians one far more powerful? If under the Old Covenant a lamb, immolated as a peace-offering, was the means of procuring for those who offered it many blessings from God, what will not the sacrifice of the Lamb of God avail when, under the New Dispensation, it is offered an innocent victim upon our altars, and with it an inexhaustible store of merit?

The Christian Church does indeed enjoy far greater privileges than the Jewish synagogue. Each sacrifice of the Old Law could only be offered for one object: the burnt-offering was appointed solely in recognition of the sovereignty of God; the sacrifice of atonement was for the remission of sin; the peace-offering to obtain some favor from God. And for each of these there was a distinct ceremonial, so that it could not be celebrated in a twofold manner. Now holy Church, although she has but one sacrifice, can offer that one sacrifice with various intentions, and by it more can be effected than by all the different sacrifices of the Jews.

The Council of Trent speaks very clearly on this point. It teaches us that: “If any one saith that the sacrifice of the Mass is only a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving, or that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice; or that it profits him only who receives; and that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, pains, satisfactions and other necessities, let him be anathema.” (Sess. xxii. C. 3.) These words contain an article of faith, which no man must gainsay, and which must be accepted on pain of forfeiting all title to eternal salvation. Hence it may be certainly affirmed that one Mass may be offered for various intentions, and that by one Mass many things may be asked and obtained from God. One may celebrate or hear Mass, or have it offered, for the greater glory of God, in honor of His blessed Mother, of the angels and saints, for one’s own welfare and salvation, to obtain health, preservation from misfortune, forgiveness of sin, amendment of life, the grace of a good death. All these blessings may be asked for one’s self or for one’s friends, and at the same time the Mass may be offered for the deliverance of the suffering souls in purgatory. In fact the more numerous our intentions the more abundant our merits.

Theologians tell us how potent holy Mass is as a propitiatory sacrifice. Marchantius says: “This sacrifice possesses an infinite potency to obtain what we ask, because of the infinite value of the victim, the infinite dignity of the priest. There is no gift, no grace, which it does not avail to obtain. However numerous are the persons for whom it is offered, this sacred victim can procure the fulfilment of their petitions; and for these reasons: because Christ, the great high priest, is infinitely well-pleasing to God; because the merits which He offers to God the Father are infinite; because His passion, His blood, His wounds, are all-prevailing.”

From these words we learn whence the Mass derives its immense potency. It is from the exalted dignity of the person of Christ, Who, as the great high priest, Himself offers this sacrifice, and presents to God the merits of His passion and death, which are infinite in value. And since Christ offers to His Father far more than He asks of Him, how can He refuse His request? In regard to the value of holy Mass St. Laurence Justinian says: “There is no sacrifice so excellent, so profitable, so acceptable to the Divine Majesty as the holy sacrifice of the Mass, in which the wounds of our Redeemer, the humiliations He endured, the scourging and other tortures, are offered up to the Father. In it He beholds the sacred humanity of His Son, Whom He sent into the world that through His intercession sinners might find pardon, the fallen might be raised up, the just might receive the gift of eternal life.”

Wherefore when the priest, and the people who hear his Mass, present to the Eternal Father the sufferings and merits of Christ, in virtue of these gifts their petitions will be granted.

In the law of Moses God forbade the judges to take a gift: “Thou shalt not accept person nor gifts; for gifts blind the eyes of the wise and change the words of the just.” (Deuteronomy 16:19) This prohibition was on account of the frailty of human nature, which renders it almost impossible for the judgment not to be biassed by gifts of value. But when Holy Scripture says, “Gifts blind the eyes of the wise,” this does not apply to the all-wise God, Whose eyes cannot be dazzled by gifts. And yet we are not wrong in asserting that the offering of the holy Mass leads God to alter His judgment and revoke His verdict. In fact we are assured that on receiving from our hands a gift of such intrinsic value divine justice concurs with divine mercy in listening to our petitions and granting our requests.

A devout writer says: “In holy Mass we do not merely ask as suppliants of the Divine Mercy: we offer an equivalent for the favors we implore; we purchase them with a great price, the sufferings of Jesus Christ.” Consider how costly are the gifts we offer in holy Mass; how dearly we purchase from God the graces we seek. We offer the sacred humanity of Christ, which for the greater glory of God was scourged, crowned with thorns, and crucified. We offer the same humanity which was personally united to the Godhead, and by this union ennobled in the highest degree. We offer the wounds that sacred humanity received, and the tears and blood that were shed.

As a matter of fact what we offer to God in holy Mass is more than what we ask of Him in prayer; therefore it seems almost impossible that we should meet with a refusal. For we ask for what is created and earthly; but what we offer is divine and of priceless value. Can we imagine that God, Who cannot be outdone in generosity, Who promises to recompense even a cup of cold water, will make us no return when we present to Him the chalice of the blood of His first-born Son, shed anew in the Mass, which cries to Him for grace and mercy on our behalf?

After the Last Supper Our Lord said to the apostles: “Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it you.” (John 16:23) What more suitable time for presenting our petitions to the Father in the name of His Son than during Mass, when we present that divine Son in person, when we offer Him to the Father, and with Him all the supplications which He uttered upon earth? St. Bonaventure says: “When a great general is taken prisoner, he is not set free unless a heavy sum is paid for his ransom.” So we, who hold Christ a prisoner in holy Mass, will not let Him go until He gives us forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal felicity. When the priest elevates Our Lord in the sacred host, it is as if he called thus upon the people: “Behold, He Whom all the universe cannot contain is a prisoner in our hands. We will not let Him go until He grants our petitions.” We may in this case follow the example of Jacob, and take his words upon our lips: “I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me.” (Genesis 32:26) We will now give an instance of how much may be obtained by means of holy Mass.

In the chronicles of the Capuchin Fathers we read of a pious lady, the wife of a very bad man, who treated her cruelly, and every day put some fresh affront upon her. After enduring this miserable state of things for several years she began almost to despair. One day two Capuchins knocked at her door and asked an alms. She gave them what they asked, and then with tears told them how afflicted she was. The religious did their utmost to console her, advising her to go to Mass every day, and offer up her trials to Almighty God; through the power of the Mass they doubted not her husband would be softened, and treat her more kindly in future. The woman thanked them for their good advice, and promised, if possible, to act upon it. But her husband was such a tyrant that he never would allow her to go to Mass on week-days, so that the woman, much to her distress, was unable to follow the counsel of the good religious. However, not long after it happened, in the good providence of God, that her husband had occasion to go on a long journey, and during his absence his wife gladly embraced the opportunity thus afforded her of hearing Mass every day. Earnestly she commended herself and her godless consort to God during the holy sacrifice, imploring Him to bring her husband to a better mind. Unfortunately the latter returned home sooner than he was expected, just at the time that his wife was at Mass. When, in answer to his questions, the servants informed him that their mistress was at church, and that, while he was away, she had been in the habit of going to Mass daily, the scoundrel flew into a rage, and with sundry imprecations vowed he would kill her. This was no empty threat; on her reappearance he seized her by the throat, and tried to strangle her. The hapless woman thought her last hour was come; raising her heart to God, she besought Him, in virtue of the Mass she had just heard, to come to her rescue. The divine assistance did not tarry: the man’s hands became suddenly benumbed. This infuriated him the more; he declared his wife was a witch, and put forth all his strength to execute his evil purpose. But in vain; his hands were rigid and cold as marble. Then at last he recognized the divine justice; bitterly he bewailed his sins, promising to amend his life and conduct himself properly towards his wife in future. Then they both appealed to the mercy of God, made vows and promises, not desisting until their supplications were heard, and the man regained the full use of his hands. This severe chastisement had the effect of inducing him entirely to abandon his impious course of life, treat his wife kindly, and frequently accompany her to holy Mass.

The story of these two people shows the great blessing connected with the holy sacrifice. The lady had doubtless often called upon God for help in her sore distress^ but her prayers had not been granted. But when she went to Mass, and there poured out her sorrow before God, she was not merely consoled, but the cause of her affliction was removed. This proves the truth of Molina’s words: “Through the sacrifice of the Mass, so costly in itself, so acceptable to God, all that is necessary for our salvation may be obtained from God, from His blessed Mother, and from the saints. And by no other means can we obtain that which has been denied to us in holy Mass.” Enough has been already said to confirm this statement. For in the Mass we do not pray alone: the priest, the angels, Christ Himself, intercede with us and for us. Nor do we only proffer petitions, we present to God a gift equal to Himself. If, under such circumstances, our request is denied, when and where can we hope that it will be granted? Thus it is true that we can obtain by no other means that which the holy sacrifice has not procured for us.

Here it may be asked how it is that, seeing the immense value of holy Mass, the petitions of those who offer it are not always granted. Father Gobat explains this in the following manner: “All do not obtain what they desire, for, although by no other act of worship do we so readily obtain from God the fulfilment of our wishes as by holy Mass, yet the efficacy of the Mass depends upon certain conditions which are not found in most men.” Cardinal Bona speaks more explicitly on this point: “It belongs to the nature of a petition to suppose that the person asked is at liberty to withhold the thing for which he is asked. When we pray for anything to be given to us, we put forward a reason which we think will have weight with God, but He is by no means thereby compelled to grant our request. At the same time it may be certainly affirmed that holy Mass is never offered in vain. If we do not receive the very thing for which we asked, we infallibly receive something else that is more beneficial for us. And if this is not bestowed upon us immediately it will be given us in God’s good time. Many graces are, besides, of such magnitude that not only one or two, but several, Masses are required if we would obtain them.”

We gather this from the answer Our Lord gave to St. Gertrude when she asked Him how it was that her prayers were so seldom granted. He replied: “If I, the unsearchable Wisdom, do not always grant thy petitions according to thy desire, I give thee something more profitable, for by reason of human frailty thou art unable to tell what is best for thee.” Another time the saint asked Our Lord: “What good do I do to my friends by praying for them so much, since I perceive no improvement in them?” He replied: “Do not wonder at seeing no apparent fruit of thy prayers; I, in My eternal wisdom, dispose of them so that they will be most productive of good. I say to you, every prayer that is offered for any one augments his eternal happiness; no sincere prayer ever fails of its effect, although the eye of man may not be able to perceive in what way or manner.”

Every one must content himself with this answer, and take comfort from the assurance Christ gives that no pious prayer fails in its object or passes without reward. And if no prayer fails of its object, how much less holy Mass, the best of all prayers? Lay to heart these words of Our Lord: “No sincere prayer fails of its effect.” The sincere prayer is one which is offered with confidence and fervor. He who prays without confidence receives little or nothing at all, as the following example will show.

We read in the life of the Abbot Severinus that a vast swarm of locusts having alighted on a certain part of the country, where they were devouring all the produce of the soil, the inhabitants of the region thus devastated betook themselves to the abbot, and entreated him to pray for the removal of this scourge. Compassionating their distress, the holy man bade the people assemble in the church, and in a forcible address set before them the necessity of penance and of prayer. In conclusion he said: “I know no better means of intercession than the holy sacrifice of the Mass; I will therefore offer it, that you may be spared the loss of your crops. Do you on your part unite with me in fullest confidence in offering it to God for this object.” The people did as they were admonished, with the exception of one farmer, who said: “You are fools to hope you will mend matters in this way. If you heard twenty Masses and prayed all day long, it would not help you to drive away a single locust.” Then he went his way to his work, while the others devoutly heard Mass and implored Almighty God to deliver them from the plague of locusts. Immediately after they went out into the fields; and behold! their prayer was already answered: the locusts had risen and were taking flight. The people raised their hands to God in joy and gratitude, and the unbelieving farmer, who was there too, could scarcely believe his eyes. His want of faith was not to go unpunished, however, for th-swarm of locusts when they had got some distance whirled round, descended like a thick cloud on his land, and began to consume everything with their proverbial voracity. The unlucky man cried to God for help, but he cried in vain; the locusts did not depart until every green leaf had disappeared*

This story teaches us the potency of holy Mass, and the guilt of despising it. It ought to inspire us with the firmest confidence, so that we may follow the injunction of St. Paul: “Let us go, therefore, with confidence to the throne of grace; that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid.” (Hebrews 4:16) What is the throne of grace which the Apostle exhorts us to approach? It is the sacred altar, whereon the Lamb ot God is immolated, whereon He gives His life for us, that we may find grace and mercy. We ought to go daily to this throne of grace to implore help in our necessity. We ought to go with devotion, reverence, and confidence, for it is a throne of grace, not of vengeance; a throne of mercy, not of justice; a throne where we shall find aid and shall meet with no rebuff. When, therefore, we pray for anything special at holy Mass, let us say with confidence:

“Behold, O Father of mercy, in this holy sacrifice I come in confidence to Thy throne of grace to obtain pardon of my sins and help in my misery. I place my whole trust in this holy sacrifice, hoping thereby to obtain from Thee all I need. For the dignity of the victim is infinite, the oblation is of infinite value, and the power of the sacrifice is infinite. On these three grounds Thou canst not refuse, O my God. to grant me the favor I ask, provided it be for Thy glory and for my good. Through the infinite satisfaction which this holy sacrifice affords Thee I ask in all confidence that Thou wouldst bestow on me the grace I implore for Thy greater glory, and wouldst increase the confidence wherewith I approach this throne of grace/*

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