E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
the offering of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is
the same in value as Mass for the living. But if we
consider the value of the prayers, that Mass, according
to the teaching of St. Thomas, is more profitable to
the soul in which there are fixed prayers for the
dead and the dead only. The devotion of the priest
who says Mass for the dead, or of him who has the
Mass offered, or the intercession of the Saint in whose
honour the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated, may more
than compensate for the loss of those accidental graces
which belong to the Requiem Mass. (S. Th. Supplem.
q. 72. a. g. ad 5.)
Mass said by a bad priest is of the same value as
said by a good one, so far as the essential value of the
Mass is concerned. But it is certain that the better
disposed, the holier, the more fervent a priest is, the
greater grace and glory :
he merits with God he obtains
more graces for others and secures for himself a larger
share in our Lord s satisfactions. (Sporer, Theol. Sacram.
p. ii. ch. 5.)