Chapter VII
In the Holy Mass Christ Renews His Intercession
St. John, the beloved disciple of Our Lord, says in his first Epistle: “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just, and He is the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 2:1,2) What a comforting assurance of our salvation these words afford us, since Holy Scripture expressly tells us that the Son of God Himself, the Judge of the living and the dead, is our defender and our intercessor.
The question now arises, When and where does Christ fulfil this His office? The Catholic Church believes and teaches that not only in heaven, but also on earth, in the holy Mass, Christ pleads for us, and commends us to the mercy of God. The learned Suarez says: “As often as the sacrifice of the Mass is offered, so often does Christ plead both for those who offer it and those for whom it is offered.” He pleads, that is to say, for the priest who officiates, for the people who unite their prayers to his, and for all those for whom priest and people offer the holy sacrifice.
St. Laurence Justinian thus describes the manner in which Christ offers this intercession: “When Christ is spiritually slain upon the altar, He calls upon His heavenly Father, He shows Him His wounds, that in virtue of His earnest supplication man may escape eternal damnation.” These are consoling words, for they show how faithfully Christ intercedes for us, how deeply He interests Himself in our behalf. During His sojourn upon earth, He took our salvation so much to heart that He oftentimes spent the whole night in prayer and watching, as St. Luke expressly tells us: “He went out into a mountain to pray, and He passed the whole night in the prayer of God.” (Luke 6:12) This was no infrequent occurrence, as we learn from the same evangelist: “In the daytime He was teaching in the temple; but at night, going out, He abode in the mount that is called Olivet.” (Ibid. 21:37). And in the following chapter he adds: “He went, according to His custom, to the Mount of Olives.” (Ibid. 22:39) These words testify unmistakably that Jesus was accustomed to go out to the Mount of Olives, and remain all night long at prayer under the open vault of heaven. For what or for whom did He pray? St. Ambrose answers this question: “Not for Himself did the Lord ask anything, but for me.” It was not, therefore, on His own behalf that the Saviour spent whole nights in prayer: it was on man’s behalf, that we might be saved from everlasting perdition. And since He foresaw how many millions of human beings would be eternally lost in spite of His having suffered and died for them, we may believe that the loss of these souls caused many tears to flow from His pitying eyes, many a sigh to rise from His compassionate heart.
These fervent prayers which our blessed Saviour offered when on earth He renews and repeats in every Mass that is celebrated, setting them before God the Father, as it were, in a brief summary, but just as definitely as if they were all said over again. Moreover, He bids Him behold the bitter tears which He shed for the salvation of sinners; He counts over to Him the sighs that rent His breast on account of man’s transgressions, the nights He spent in watching and prayer for those who had wandered far from God. All these He offers for the salvation of the world, but more especially for the salvation of each individual who is present at Mass. Consider what must be the sanctity, the fervor, the cogency of these prayers, uttered by the Holy of holies, Jesus Christ the Son of God, in person, in all the power of His divinized humanity! How all-powerful must such a prayer be with God! How pleasing in His sight! How efficacious for those on whose behalf it is offered! How acceptable to the Most Holy Trinity, to Whom it is addressed!
Furthermore, observe that Christ does not confine Himself to pleading from the altar for all who are present, but, to enhance the potency of His prayer, He sacrifices Himself to God on their behalf. Who can rightly estimate the power, the efficacy, of this sacrifice? In the revelations of St. Gertrude it is stated that, at the elevation of the host, the saint saw Christ with His own hands lifting on high His heart in the form of a golden chalice, presenting it to His heavenly Father, and offering Himself for His Church in an ineffable manner, which it surpasses human understanding to comprehend.
Consider well, and lay to heart, how sublime a mystery, how exalted and divine a sacrifice, is holy Mass. Consider well, and admire profoundly, the inscrutable manner in which our blessed Redeemer immolates Himself in every Mass for the safety of all believers. Neither saint nor angel, not even the Mother of God herself, can fully penetrate this mystery. Our Lord Himself told St. Mechtilde (as has already been said) that no created intelligence could fully understand this daily sacrifice He makes of Himself. From His words we see how fervently and powerfully He pleads from the altar for His people, especially for those who assist it Mass; nor does He plead only, He makes an oblation of Himself in a manner so unspeakably sublime that the highest powers of heaven are incapable of fully comprehending it How great the grace, how great the salvation, herein vouchsafed to us!
In addition to this it must be remembered that in holy Mass Christ does not offer Himself up in the splendor of His divine majesty, but in a state of abasement so complete that no parallel can be found to it. For upon the altar He is present not only in the whole undivided host, but in the minutest particle of it; and He can well apply to Himself the words of David: “I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.” (Psalms 21:7)
In this contemptible form, in this extreme abasement, He speaks from the altar in a voice so powerful that it pierces the clouds, rends the heavens, and awakens the divine mercy. We read in the prophecy of Jonas that when the King of Ninive heard that in forty days the city would be destroyed he rose from his throne, laid aside his regal robes, clothed himself in the garment of penance, and commanded his subjects to cry to the Lord with all their strength. This humiliation and penance on the part of the king had the effect of turning away the wrath of God, and inducing Him to revoke the sentence, and spare the guilty city» If by
Humbling himself this heathen king obtained mercy for his city, what will not Jesus obtain from God, since He does far more in holy Mass? For He descends from His celestial throne, He lays aside His regal glory, He conceals Himself under the insignificant appearance of the host, and calls with all His strength upon Almighty God for mercy for His people addressing Him in words such as these:
“Behold, O heavenly Father, the profound humility and deep abasement wherewith I cast Myself before Thee, in the semblance of a worm rather than of a man. It is on behalf of these unhappy sinners that I plead, entreating Thee to pardon and to spare them. They have revolted against Thee, but I humble Myself before Thee. They have provoked Thee to anger by their iniquities: I desire to appease Thee by My humility. They have incurred Thy just vengeance: let My earnest petitions avert from them that vengeance. Spare them, O My Father, for My sake, and chastise them not according to their misdeeds. Deliver them not over to Satan, let them not go into everlasting perdition. I cannot let them be lost: they are Mine, purchased at a great price with My own blood. Especially I pray for those who are here present, for whom once again I give My life and shed My blood, that through the merits of that sacred blood and cruel death they may be preserved from eternal death.”
To what lengths, O Jesus, does Thy love for us carry Thee, impelling Thee to interest Thyself so deeply in us, to do so much for us, to intercede so fervently on our behalf! Who but would rejoice to hear Mass if he knew that Christ Himself was pleading for his salvation—pleading not with words alone, but, in order to give weight to His petition, offering Himself upon the altar, and renewing His passion in a mystical manner?
Who could fail to place confidence in such an intercessor? Who would not desire to have this intercessor for his own? This desire can easily be fulfilled. We can readily make Him our own, by hearing Mass devoutly. We know beyond a doubt that Christ, when hanging upon the cross, commended those of His followers who stood by the cross in a special manner to His heavenly Father, and applied to them the fruits of His passion; He even promised paradise to the thief on His right hand. No less is it beyond a doubt that Christ does the same for those who are present at holy Mass, above all if they entreat Him to intercede for them, and grant them a share in His sacrifice of Himself. He then pleads as powerfully for them as He did for His enemies upon the cross. Can we question the efficacy of such a prayer? Nothing can serve to strengthen our hope more than the knowledge that the only-begotten Son of God vouchsafes daily to intercede for us, and makes the affair of our salivation His own.
If the Blessed Virgin Mary were to come down from heaven, to appear to thee, and speak to thee these condoling words: “Fear not, my child; I promise thee to take upon myself the important work of thy salvation, to «entreat my Son on thy behalf, to persist in my entreaties until He promises to make thee a partaker of eternal felicity,” would not thy heart overflow with happiness? Wouldst thou not exult and rejoice at this favor on the part of the blessed Mother of God, and no longer entertain a doubt of thy salvation, since she had assured thee •of her all-powerful intercession?
If, then, we have (as is only right) such great confidence in the intercession of the Mother of God, why have we not the same, nay, even yet more, confidence in the most potent advocacy of the all-glorious Son of God, Who does not merely promise to be our mediator with His Father that we may attain the bliss of heaven, but actually does intercede for us in every Mass at which we are present in person, and restrains the execution of divine justice, so that we may not be punished as our misdeeds deserve, but be saved through grace? Not with words alone does He plead; His tears speak too; the five wounds of His adorable body, each drop of blood that fell from those wounds, every throb of His Sacred Heart, every sigh that escaped His breast—all these are voices eloquent on our behalf, voices whose cry ascends on high, which reach the throne of God, and move to compassion the tender heart of our Father in heaven. What is the grace which prayers such as these cannot obtain? What the evil which they cannot avert? What the favors they are impotent to procure?
Since the foregoing pages will have sufficed thoroughly to convince us that Christ intercedes in holy Mass after a special manner on behalf of all who are present, why do we not go to Mass more frequently, in order to have a share in His intercessory supplications? We are often heard to complain and deplore that we pray but ill; although if we go to Mass Christ will pray for us, and make amends for all our deficiencies. Hear how kindly He invites us: “Come to Me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (Matthew 11:28) This He said when He was on earth; and now from the altar He seems to say: “Come to Me, all you who cannot pray for yourselves, and I will pray for you.” Why do not we, miserable sinners, avail ourselves of this invitation, and hasten to Him in holy Mass? We are accustomed when misfortunes overtake us to go to our fellow-creatures, to acquaint them with our trouble, and ask for their prayers. If we trust to the prayers of men to help us, should we not place far more confidence in the all-efficacious, all-powerful prayer of Christ? No one can be certain of his salvation; when the disciples asked Oui Lord: “Who, then, can be saved?” He answered: “With men it is impossible, but not with God.” (Mark 10:26,27) Since we hear from Christ’s own lips that it is impossible of ourselves to insure our salvation, let us take refuge in holy Mass from the dangers that surround us, and Christ will intercede for us, and obtain for us an eternity of bliss.
Do not, then, lament, and say: “Wretched sinner that I am, I do not deserve, I am not worthy, that Christ should plead for me,” but rather rest assured that if at holy Mass thou dost breathe but one sigh to Christ He will pray for thee; in fact He is bound to pray for thee. For St Paul says in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “Every high priest is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins.” (Hebrews 5:1) Now since Christ has been appointed by God the Father to be our high priest, and since He fulfils His priestly functions in holy Mass, He is bound in virtue of His office to pray for the people, and offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Nor does He only offer it for the congregation taken as a whole, but for every individual member of it; just as He died for the whole world, and for each believer personally; as also He watches over all mankind in general, and over each one of us in particular. Therefore doubt no longer that Christ prays for thee, but believe it confidently if thou dost hear Mass with due devotion.
From all that has been said we now understand full well how powerful and how earnest is the prayer Christ offers for us upon the altar, and how beneficial is its effect upon us. Only one thing yet remains, that we should unite our prayer to His, or rather should implore Him to make it one with His. For this union will render it so powerful that no other prayers can compare with it.
u The prayers said at Mass,“Bishop Fornerus tells us, H offered in union with the holy sacrifice, have infinitely more value than any other prayers, however long, however fervent, more even than ecstatic contemplations, in virtue of the merits of Christ’s passion, the power of which is manifested in holy Mass by a superabundance of celestial gifts and graces. For as the head is the noblest portion of the body, no other member being comparable to it, so does the prayer offered by Christ, our head, when He prays for us in the Mass surpass in dignity the prayers of all Christian people, who are His members.”
Therefore, if we unite our poor petitions which we offer during the Mass to the perfect prayer of Our Lord, they will, like a copper coin immersed in molten gold, be beautified and ennobled, and rendered meet to be borne to heaven, together with Our Lord’s prayer, and with it presented to God as a precious oblation. Hence it follows that prayers which are said at Mass-time, even if less good in themselves (provided this be not through our own fault), will have far more value than more fervent prayers said at home. How foolish, then, and blind to their own interests are they who choose to say their prayers in their own house when they might go to Mass, and thus greatly enhance their merit! For if they were to perform their ordinary devotions whilst the holy sacrifice was being offered, with the intention of assisting at it, only interrupting their prayers at the consecration to-adore the sacred body and precious blood of the Saviour, they would merit far more than if they said the same prayers at home or out of doors. For they would be made partakers in all the graces that have been enumerated in these pages, and lay up a store of treasures in heaven. Wherefore take heed, O pious reader, that, as often as is possible, thou dost unite thy petitions to those of our blessed Lord in holy Mass.
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