E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
self-sacrifice, and humiliation of a Divine Person lies
before them in the Eucharist ; they have eyes and see
not. With an intelligent grasp of the doctrine of the
Mass they would discover a method of discharging
every obligation of the creature to the Creator, and of
procuring all they want from His gracious bounty.
Let me explain simply the object of the Mass. Mass
is the supreme act of worship, in which Christ as the
Head of our race, offers His own Body and Blood in
acknowledgment of the Creator s dominion over Him
and over all mankind. Our Lord is the chief celebrant
at every Mass, and at the altar renews His profession
of perpetual service. Reason alone proves the obliga
tion of giving God honour and glory. Our best is
indeed small, whether we consider the deeds performed
or the abject condition of every man, clad in infirmity
from head to foot. Our deficiency is supplied in the
Mass, which gives infinite honour and glory to God s
Supreme Majesty. One Mass, for which we cannot
spare half an hour, yields more honour and glory to
God than the adoration of the blessed in Heaven and
of their Queen. Once more. Thanksgiving is another
duty of the creature to the Creator.
"
" Thank you
are almost the first words a mother teaches her child.
The duty of thanking God is so obvious that any
explanation weakens its claims. The duty is self-
evident. We are surrounded by the unmerited blessings
of Heaven as a fish by the waters of the sea. Man is
the neediest and most helpless and most ungrateful of