E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

1 4 o THE POSTCOMMUNION.
Fourth Sunday. Behold a Virgin shall conceive
and bring forth a Son and His name shall be called
Emmanuel.
For Easter. Christ our Pasch is sacrificed,
therefore let us feast with the unleavened bread
of sincerity and truth.
For the feast of St. Aloysius there is an allusion to
the Blessed Sacrament. He gave them the bread
of Heaven : Man has eaten the bread of angels.
The Requiem Mass preserves its primitive form.
Eternal light shine upon them, O Lord. With
Thy saints for ever, because Thou art merciful.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may
perpetual light shine upon them. With Thy saints
for ever, because Thou art merciful.
The Postcommunion is a prayer which immediately
follows the Communion and ends the Mass. In earlier
times up to the eleventh century it was called Oratio
ad Complendwn prayer at the finish because this
prayer with the lie Missa est ended the Mass. The
Postcommunions correspond in number, form, and cere
monies with the Collects and Secrets for the day. There
is, however, a characteristic difference ; the Collect
relates exclusively to the feast of the day, and the
Secret mainly to the Sacrifice (oratio super oblata],
while the Blessed Eucharist, as a Sacrament, forms
not unfrequently the subject of the Postcommunion.
In the Postcommunion the plural form is always
used, for this prayer is said for those or in the
name of those who have assisted at Mass. This
assumes that at least a great proportion of the congre-