E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

APPENDIX. 189
Let us now consider the views of those who assert
that the Mass should be conducted in a language
The objection wherever
"understanded of the people."
found, implies an unconscious ignorance of the true
nature of the Holy Sacrifice. Mass is not merely a
prayer, in which the faithful join, as they take part in
a litany. Mass is the public official act of service which
is said in the name of the Church for the living and the
dead. Mass is offered, not by any one, but by a man on
whom a great Sacrament has been conferred to enable
him to convert bread and wine into the Body and Blood
of our Lord. This official act is always public, because
offered in the name of the Church. A private Mass,
strictly speaking, does not exist. Mass in a hermit s cell
without a server is a magnificent act of public worship
"
offered by the Church to God for all faithful Christians,
living and dead." The people do join in the Mass,
but they cannot offer sacrifice in the same manner as
the priest. They are bound to be present at Mass on
Sundays and holidays. There is, however, no obligation
to follow the Mass prayers. The poor man, saying his
beads, most certainly fulfils his obligation of hearing
Mass. Is it not strange, too, that there should be this
cry in favour of the vernacular, when half the Mass,
and that the more important, is said in secret, and is
inaudible to the congregation ?
But an interesting historical incident shows the
Church s mind as to the kind of language appropriate
for the solemn services of the Mass. Early in the
sixteenth century, Father Couplet, the Procurator
General of the Jesuit Missions in China, on behalf of
the missionaries, petitioned for leave from Paul V. to
say Mass and Office in Chinese, and to use the same
language in administering the Sacraments. Here is the