E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
all creatures, and for him God has done incomparably
more than for the angels. The Crib, the Cross, and
the Tabernacle are three fountains of mercy and love
whence grace floods this earth. Man is powerless to
thank God for all His benefits.
" The
unsearchable
"
riches of Christ paid the debt of gratitude a thousand
fold in the first Mass in the Supper Room. The Church
calls the Sacrament of the Body
and Blood of Christ
the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, just as pain
means punishment. At the Mass Christ chants His Te
Deum in honour of His Father, or rather the Mass is
His Te Deum, and the faithful on earth, in Purgatory,
and Heaven, join the song of praise. You have received
great temporal and spiritual blessings ; have the Mass
offered in thanksgiving, and assist at the Holy Sacrifice
for the same intention. And though we may not aim so
high, it is useful to remember that the saints recognized
mercy even in crushing sorrow. "Although He should
kill me I will trust in Him." (Job xiii. 15.) And they
thank God at the Mass for sending it to them.
Once again : We
are sinners. In this all men are
akin ; and we need some Being to appease the anger
of God, to obtain His forgiveness and to avert or
lessen the punishment due to crime. Mass is the great
appeasing power of the world, for Mass is Calvary
over again. The scene on Calvary is re-presented to
us in the drama of the Mass. Death on Calvary was
the consummation of the Sacrifice. That death was
caused by the separation of the Blood of our Lord