E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
all the pain due to sin on this earth, nevertheless it is
to those for whom it is offered or to the
satisfactory
offerer according to the quality of his devotion, and not
for all the punishment due to his sin." (S. Th. 3. q. 79.
ad 3.)
In the case of the dead, Mass infallibly cancels
a portion of the punishment in Purgatory, though how
much we cannot tell. The Church sanctions a perpetual
Mass for the same soul, and thereby admits that she
does not know how far the satisfactions of Christ are
applied to that soul.
Again, it should be remembered that the propitiatory
or appeasing power of the Mass saves the world in
general and men in particular from many punishments
which otherwise their sins would receive, such as war,
famine, plague, sickness, and other temporal misfortunes.
Fourthly ;
the impetratory power of the Mass obtains
all graces and blessings through Jesus Christ. If all
prayer be a means of obtaining graces and blessings from
God, prayer joined with Sacrifice, as in the Mass, ought
to be more powerful still. Are our petitions as made
through the Mass infallibly heard ? Yes, if and in accordance with
they be for
God s Providence.
our good
But the power of the Mass as a means of obtaining
a favourable answer to our prayers depends on the
dispositions of the person for whom it is offered, and of
the person who offers.
We have considered the Mass with Jesus Christ
as Chief Celebrant, and those graces and advantages
which, because of the Chief Offerer, are placed within
our reach, if we choose to take them. These graces
are obtained ex opere opemto, by virtue of the act done.
Mass for the Dead, or a Black Mass, as we call it,
so far as concerns the essential part of the Sacrifice,