E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

72
THE OFFERING OF THE CHALICE.
And negligences, such as want of purity of inten
tion, want of correspondence with the special grace God
gives His priest, which mars the beauty of an action.
And for all here present; the Mass is offered for
all present in a special way, because the congregation
assisting at Mass gains more abundant fruit from the
Sacrifice. For all faithful Christians, the Mass is
offered too, for the members of the true Church in the
first place, and for all the baptized who serve God
outside the body of the Church according to their con
science ; living and dead, on earth and in Purgatory,
that it may be profitable for mine own and for their
salvation unto life eternal. Amen.
Then making the sign of the Cross with the paten, the
Priest places the Host upon the corporal.
THE OFFERING OF THE CHALICE.
The Chalice is offered to God the Father in the same
way as the Host, because to Him the Sacrifice is offered.
The priest pours wine into the chalice, and by the
command of the Church adds a drop or two of water,
of the Cross.
having previously blessed it with the sign
The wine is said
water the people.
to represent Jesus Christ and the
The wine is not blessed, since it will
soon be changed into the Blood of Christ at the Con
secration; the sign of the Cross is made over the water,
as representing the people who need to be blessed before
they are united with Jesus Christ. The mingling of
water with wine is also said to represent the union of the
people with Jesus Christ (Council of Trent, Sess. xxii. c. 7.)
Dens, qui humanae sub- O God, who, in creating
stantiae dignitatem mirabi- human nature, didst wonder-
liter condidisti, et mirabilius fully dignify it, and hast still