E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

34
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
the request. The Lord be with you is the first
greeting of the priest to the people, and with thy
Spirit, replies the server may He be in thy spirit
too, O priest.
Oremus is said in a loud voice, as a formal invitation
to prayer ; and the two prayers that follow are said
secretly to God, as the priest s private and personal
request for the pardon of his own offences before he
mounts the holy altar.
The priest prays in a low voice inaudible to the
congregation, secretly asking pardon for his personal
sins. The Council of Trent (Sess. xxii. c. 5) prescribes
that certain portions of the Mass should be said in a
loud, others in a low tone of voice. These outward
signs add solemnity to the prayers of the Church, and
lift the minds of the congregation to heavenly things.
These prayers are :
Aufer a nobis quaesumus Take away
from us our ini-
Domine iniquitates nostras : quities, we beseech Thee, O
ut ad Sancta Sanctorum puris Lord : that we may be worthy
mereamur mentibus introire. to enter with pure minds into
Per Christum Dominum nos- the Holy of Holies. Through
trum. Amen. Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bowing down over the altar, the Priest says :
Oramus te Domine per We beseech Thee, O Lord,
merita Sanctorum tuorum, by the merits of Thy Saints,
quorum reliquiae hie sunt, et whose relics are here, and of
omnium Sanctorum, ut in- all the Saints, that Thou
dulgere digneris omnia pec- wouldst vouchsafe to forgive
cata mea. Amen. me all my sins. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE ABOVE TWO PRAYERS.
Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech
Thee (notice the humble earnestness of the prayer