Chapter XVI

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Most Complete Satisfaction for Sin

For the right comprehension of what follows it is necessary to bear in mind that the consequences of every sin are twofold: there is its guilt and its penalty. The guilt, or withdrawal of God’s favor, and the eternal punishment are remitted by contrition and confession; the temporal punishment is likewise remitted by contrition, confession, and penance, but mostly only in part; that is to say, the deeper the contrition, the more sincere the confession, and the more severe the penance the larger the amount of temporal punishment of which they obtain the remission. The remainder of our debt must either be paid by means of tears, prayers, vigils, fasts, alms-giving, confession and communion, pilgrimages, Masses, and indulgences, or by the fire of purgatory. Such works of penance are most repugnant to our senses, and on that account many refuse to perform them. What remains to be done, then, if we desire to escape the pains of purgatory, and yet will not da penance?

We must do as did the servant in the Gospel of whom Our Lord speaks: “The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who would take an account of his servants. And when he had begun to take the account, one was brought to him that owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had not wherewith to pay it,... falling down, he besought him, saying: Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.” (Matthew 18:23-26) Must we not wonder at the boldness of this self-confident servant, who craves not the forgiveness of his enormous debt, or even of a part of it, but merely asks permission to postpone the payment of it? It was impossible for one m his position to find the means of defraying such a debt, even could he have lived another hundred years in his master’s service.

Let us remember that the story here related by the Saviour is no true story, but a parable or allegory; and that the servant represents one who has committed many grievous sins, and incurred a great debt towards Almighty God. Thou, O sinner, art the one of whom Christ speaks these words: “Thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” (Apocalypse 3:17) Thou hast no idea of the amount of the debt with which thou art burdened. How wilt thou with thy good works pay ten thousand talents, when as long as thou livest thou canst not earn one single talent? So great is the punishment incurred by one mortal sin that by thy own strength thou couldst not compensate for it to all eternity. Yet there is a means whereby thy heavy debt may be cancelled. With the servant in the Gospel, fall at the feet of thy God and Lord, beseech Him, saying: “Lord, have patience with me; give me time to do penance, and I will discharge my debts to the full. If it is beyond my power to have Mass said for me, I will hear Mass as often and as attentively as I can, and offer it to Thee in payment of my heavy debt.”

The learned Sanchez gives the same counsel: “When thou hearest Mass, think to thyself that it is thine own, given to thee by God the Father as well as by God the Son.” “That this is so the priest declares when, turning to the people, he says:” Brethren, pray that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty.“To all present he announces that this sacrifice is not his alone, but theirs; consequently it is thine also. Considering this, say to God:” Lord, how much do I owe Thee? A hundred, a thousand, or perhaps ten thousand talents? I acknowledge, Lord, my deep indebtedness. I am ready to discharge my obligations. I cannot, indeed, do this with my own merits, but I can with the abundant merits of Thy Son, present upon this altar, and given to me. I place this casket before Thee; take out of it as much as will defray my debt.“Meditate thus with lively faith, and it will bring thee much comfort to know that in holy Mass we have a sufficient and unfailing fund from which our debts may be defrayed.

Now let us see how great the power of holy Mass is in order that we may place our trust in it Theologians teach us that the Mass, as well in respect to him who celebrates it as to those who have it said for their intention and those who merely assist at it, never fails to effect the remission of the temporal penalty of sin, ex opere operato; that is to say, the potency and efficacy of the holy sacrifice of the Mass cannot be augmented by the piety of the celebrant, nor diminished by his sinfulness? but whenever it is rightfully and validly offered it is in itself, through its own inherent power, of infinite value and marvellous efficacy. Of itself, and not through our cooperation or that of the priest, does it avail for the remission of the temporal penalty of sin.

All poor sinners may take courage from this truth, since we are thereby assured that if they assist at Mass with contrition of heart they cannot fail to obtain remission of a part of the temporal punishment due to sin through the merits of Christ, which are applied to us in the Mass. Marchantius speaks of holy Mass as an effectual appropriation of the merits of Christ, the unlocking of His treasury, so that out of it we may take heavenly riches, and amply pay all that we owe. This is so vast and so full that if Christ were to give every sinner, past, present, and future, sufficient to cancel the penalty of his sins, there would still remain enough for countless worlds. Christ frequently gives us of this treasure: at our Baptism, when we awaken true contrition, when we go to confession and communion, when we perform good works; but never does He bestow it with such liberality as at the time of Mass. This the Church teaches in these words: “The fruits of that bloody oblation are received most plentifully in this unbloody one.” (Sess. xxii. ch. 2.) This is so because the Mass is the noblest sacrificial act, the one most pleasing to God, most salutary to mankind; because in it Christ is at once the high priest and the victim. It is in order that the faithful may take delight in holy Mass that Christ then bestows His gifts with so lavish a hand.

This distribution of the riches of Christ’s treasury is almost as if our divine Redeemer were to descend from the altar during Mass, and, passing from one to another of the persons present, were to place in the hand of each a piece of gold as the reward of his attendance there. No one is excluded from this bestowal of gifts, unless he be in mortal sin, or hear Mass with voluntary distractions. All others participate in this donation, but it varies in amount, according to the dispositions of the recipient. In what manner are these celestial coins to be expended? They may and ought to be presented to God the Father to discharge our debts, increase our measure of grace, and heighten our future felicity. Would that every sinner would lay this to heart, and, if he should fall into sin, hasten to church, hear Mass piously, and offer it to God to obtain forgiveness of sin, remission of its penalty, and amendment of life. This is the best and surest way to obtain these graces, and be preserved from the sin of relapse.

THE AMOUNT OF TEMPORAL PUNISHMENT THAT CAN

BE CANCELLED BY ONE MASS.

The reader who perceives, from what has been said, that the temporal punishment of sin may be cancelled by holy Mass will perhaps be desirous to know to what extent the Mass avails for this purpose. Before answering this inquiry it is necessary first to expound the great excellence of holy Mass. The learned Father Lancicius says: “The value of the Mass is infinite. When celebrated by the priest it has, on account of the divine nature of the victim and the oblation, a value no less great than it had when offered by Christ Himself in the Last Supper. It was then an act of infinite value, as were all the works He performed when on earth, because of the infinite dignity of His divine person. Consequently the sacrifice of the Mass is of infinite value.”

The same writer proceeds to explain at length that although the value of the Mass is unlimited, the measure of benefit each one derives from it is limited. Otherwise with one single Mass a man might expiate all his guilt and acquit himself of his huge debt, an idea quite at variance with the teaching of the Church. Yet it is certain that the infinite value of the Mass renders it a means of compensating for a great number of offences; in fact, were any one to hear Mass with perfect devotion, that one Mass would be sufficient to cancel his guilt and its penalty. What fervent thanks we owe to Our Lord for having, in this precious oblation, placed within our reach so easy a means of discharging our heavy debt! Since the Mass is of such infinite excellence, we do more * by hearing it than by performing hard works of penance.

St. Laurence Justinian confirms this assertion when he says: “Take a pair of scales, and place in one scale all manner of good works: prayers, fasts, vigils, mortifications, pilgrimages, and what not; in the other scale place one single Mass. Hold up your scales, and you will see how entirely the latter outweighs the former; for in the Mass He is offered in Whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead corporally, as St. Paul says [Col. ii. 9], Who in His person possesses an incomparable treasure of merits, and Whose intercession is alone omnipotent.” This is as much as to say: If thou hadst performed all those works of penance, and piously offered them to God, thou wouldst only have offered human works, which are nothing in comparison to the infinite majesty of God. But when thou hearest Mass thou offerest divine gifts, the merits of Christ, the wounds of Christ, the body of Christ, the blood of Christ, the passion of Christ, the virtues of Christ, and thereby thou renderest to God infinite honor, infinite praise, infinite service, infinite satisfaction. Hence we may conclude how much of the punishment due to sin may be cancelled by one Mass, since in the balance of divine justice it so far outweighs all our works of penance. And since these penances, performed in a state of grace, suffice for the remission of the temporal penalty of one mortal sin, a Mass heard devoutly will surely atone for several.

And if any one should inquire further what is the exact amount of the pains of purgatory remitted or alleviated by one Mass, we reply that God has not revealed to His Church the severity or duration of the punishment to be undergone for mortal or venial sin.

It may, however, be asked: “If by hearing Mass we obtain exemption from so much of the penalty of sin, what may we not hope to escape by having Mass said?” I answer: A man gains much more by having Mass said for himself in his lifetime than by simply hearing Mass, for then the whole satisfaction or merit of the Mass belongs to him, and will be applied to him by the priest and by God. In this no one shares but he for whom the Mass is said. The amount of the temporal punishment thereby remitted is not revealed by God, but we may be sure that the satisfaction is of great value and efficacy. This efficacy is increased if the individual for whom the Mass is said is present at it. The learned Marchantius teaches this: “Holy Mass is of greater profit to the person for whom it is said if he be present at it than if he be absent. For although in his absence he receives all the benefit which the priest assigns to him, yet he does not derive from it the merit to which his presence would entitle him.”

Here it may be well to mention a fact which is not generally known: When any one has Mass said in honor of some saint, or to obtain some petition, or to avert some dreaded calamity, he asks for the Mass for the special intention which he has in his mind, but does not think to appropriate to himself or to another person the satisfaction or merit of that Mass. If the priest also omits to do this, and the satisfaction of the holy Mass is not applied to any one in particular, it will probably go to the treasury of the Church, unless God, in His goodness, applies it to those who, through ignorance, have neglected to appropriate it to themselves. When, therefore, pious reader, thou dost have Mass said in honor of a saint, or for thine own intention, see that thou reserve for thyself the satisfaction or merit of the Mass. In this way thou wilt derive a twofold benefit from it: thou wilt honor the saint, and thou wilt discharge some of the debt yet due on account of thy sins. And if thou dost have Mass said to obtain some favor thy request will be heard if it be for the welfare of thy soul, and thou wilt obtain remission of a part of the temporal penalty awaiting thee. Remember this when thou hast Mass said, for it is of no slight importance.

All these considerations ought to inspire us with fresh zeal, and make us anxious to hear Mass daily, and on Sundays and festivals, if possible, to hear more than one Mass, and thus discharge in this world the penalty of our sins. The following example will show how profitable this practice is to us and how well-pleasing to God.

In his History of Spain Mariana speaks of a Spanish warrior named Pascal Vives who had a great devotion to holy Mass and assisted daily at one or more. It happened while he was serving under the standard of the Count of Castile that a large body of Moors, who at that time had conquered the greater part of Spain, laid siege to the castle of the count. The garrison, being totally unprepared to stand a siege, were reduced to dire distress, and the count resolved to make a sally with all his men, and risk their lives in a desperate attempt to drive back the Moors.

The next morning he heard Mass with all his soldiers, and, trusting in the divine assistance, sallied forth against his enemies. But Pascal Vives remained in the church and heard eight Masses, one after another, praying fervently that victory might be on the count’s side. While he thus prayed and his comrades fought, behold! the latter saw Pascal Vives mounted on his charger making a gallant onslaught upon the Moors, hewing them down on every side. Calling to the soldiers to follow him fearlessly, he broke the ranks of the enemy, carried off their colors, and wrought great havoc amongst them. The contest lasted nearly four hours, only ceasing at the time when the eighth Mass, at which Pascal had assisted, was ended. The Moors were completely routed. The victory was universally ascribed to Pascals heroic bravery, and the count gave orders that he should have all the honor of it. But when all was over Pascal had disappeared. He was sought for all over the battlefield, but nowhere was he to be found. The fact was he had stayed in the church, and there he remained almost all day, for he was ashamed to leave it, fearing lest the soldiers should mock at him for a coward, and the count dismiss him from his service. No tidings of the battle had reached him, and he did not know which side had gained the day. Presently the count, thinking it very likely that Pascal had gone to the church to give thanks to Almighty God for the victory, bade his followers go there in search of him. Pascal was accordingly found and brought into the presence of the count and his officers. When they all began to compliment him on his prowess and say that the victory they had won was, under God, to be ascribed to him, he was perfectly astonished and knew not what to say. After a short space, interiorly enlightened by God, he confessed the truth, declaring that he had taken no part in the contest, but had during the whole time been in the church, where he had heard eight Masses. The soldiers would not believe what he said, persisting that they had seen him with their own eyes in the thick of the fray, and had heard him calling on them to fight valiantly.

Then Pascal answered: “If it really is as you say, the brave knight who bore my semblance must have been my guardian angel, for I assure you I have not been out of the church to-day. Praise God with me and give thanks to Him from your hearts for having sent you an angel, through whose assistance you were enabled to vanquish the foe. But learn from this how pleasing it is to God that we should assist at Mass, and how profitable it is to us, for I am convinced that had I not heard those Masses my angel would not have appeared to you and led you on to so signal a victory.” In these and other words he exhorted the soldiers to be very fervent in hearing Mass.

It is to be hoped that this incident will have a like effect on those who read it and make them for the future more diligent in their attendance at Mass. Above all, great sinners who have done little penance should do this. We know that so strict is divine justice no sin will go unpunished; it must be expiated in this world or in the next. Far better is it for thee, O sinner, to atone for thy sins of thy own accord in this world than to leave it to the just Judge to chastise thee for them in the next. And if thou canst not undertake difficult penances, choose the easy one of hearing Mass, whereby \thou canst pay off all thy debts.

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