to be so holy as to dispose him remotely for the worthy celebration of Mass.

The immediate preparation consists first in mental prayer. How can a Priest celebrate Mass devoutly who does not prepare himself beforehand by meditation? Father Avila says, that a Priest ought to make an hour and a half's meditation before celebrating the Holy Sacrifice. I should be satisfied with half an hour, and, for the more tepid, with even a quarter of an hour; but I cannot help saying that a quarter is too little. O God, how many beautiful books are there of meditation by way of preparation for Mass! but how few make use of them! Hence is Mass so frequently celebrated with such grievous negligence and want of devotion. St. Thomas says, that our Blessed Redeemer instituted the most holy sacrament of the altar, in order to keep alive within us the remembrance of his love shown to us in his passion, and of the great benefits obtained for us by the sacrifice of himself on the altar of the cross; and hence the apostle admonishes us that, as often as we receive the holy communion, we should do so in remembrance of the death of our Lord: Quotiescumque enim manducabitis panem hunc, et calicem bibetis, mortem Domini annunciabitis. 1 Cor. xi. Now, if all the

faithful are required to commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ as often as they communicate, how much more is a Priest required to do this, when he celebrates Mass; in which he not only receives the most sacred body and blood of Christ, but also represents and renews upon the altar, although in a different manner, the sacrifice itself of the cross.

Besides making his meditation, a Priest should also, before he celebrates, recollect himself, at least for a short time, and reflect on the greatness of the action which he is about to perform. Thus it was ordained by the Council of Milan, in the time of St. Charles: Antequam celebrent, se colligant, et orantes mentem in tanti Mysterii cogitationem defigant. When a Priest enters the sacristy to say Mass, let him leave behind him all worldly thoughts, saying to them with St. Bernard: Wait here all earthly cares and solicitude, until after I have celebrated Mass, which will require all my attention. St. Francis of Sales writes in one of his letters to St. Jane Frances de Chantal: When I approach the altar to begin Mass, I banish all temporal affairs from my mind. Let a Priest, therefore, consider that he is going to call down from heaven the Word incarnate, to treat familiarly with him, to offer him again

in sacrifice to his Eternal Father, and to nourish himself with his divine body and blood; after the example of the venerable John of Avila, who was accustomed to excite himself to devotion by saying: I am going to consecrate, to call down the body and blood of the Son of God, I am going to take him into my hands, to speak to him, and to treat with him, and to receive him into my breast.

Let him also reflect that he is going to the altar to make intercession for all sinners. Sacerdos dum celebrat, says St. Laurence Justinian, mediatoris gerit officium; propterea delinquentium omnium debet esse precator. Serm. de Corp. Christi. So that a Priest at the altar, according to St. John Chrysostom, stands between God and his creatures, offers up their prayers, and obtains for them the graces of heaven: Medius sit Sacerdos inter Deum et humanam naturam, illinc beneficia ad nos deferens. Hom. 6. in 2. Tim. ii. In the old law the High Priest was permitted only once in the year to enter into the Sancta sanctorum, to pray for the people; but now every Priest is permitted to offer the Lamb without spot to the Eternal Father every day, to obtain for himself and or the whole Church all necessary graces and favours. Hence, says the Council of Basil: Si quis principem sæculi rogaturus, habitu honesto, estu decenti,

prolatione non præcipiti, attenta quoque mente, seipsum studet componere; quanto diligentius in sacro loco rogaturus Deum hæc facere curabit. Conc. Basil. Sess. 21. Can. Quomodo.

SECTION II.

OF THE REVERENCE WITH WHICH MASS OUGHT TO

BE CELEBRATED.

In the second place, a Priest celebrating Mass ought to behave with all the reverence due to so great a sacrifice. To induce him to do this is the intent, or at least the principal point of this tract. Let us then see what is meant by reverence. It means first, a proper attention to the words of the Mass; and secondly, an exact observance of the ceremonies prescribed by the rubrics. As regards attention to the words, a Priest sins, by being voluntarily distracted during Mass; and as divines say, if it be during the consecration and elevation, or during a notable part of the canon, he sins mortally; so the Roncaglia teach, cap. 3. q. 2. Reg. 3., Concina Theol. Moral. pag. 516. num. 13., and Tamburino, who, although lenient, even too lenient in his opinions, yet speaking on this point, says: Si Sacerdos per notabile tempus voluntarie distractus eas Missæ partes,

quæ canonem continent recitet, peccabit mortaliter. Videtur autem mihi gravis irreverentia, qua quis dum profitetur Deum summe venerari, cum illo irreverenter per voluntariam distractionem se gerat. Meth. cel. Miss. cap. 3. num. 9. And I am of the same opinion, whatever certain authors may say to the contrary: because, waiving the question, whether the interior intention is or is not the essence of prayer, I maintain that the holy Sacrifice is not only an act of prayer, but also a most sublime act of religious worship, in which a Priest appears to commit great irreverence, if, while he actually professes religiously to honour God, he is voluntarily distracted with thoughts of other subjects. Hence this admonition of the rubrics: Sacerdos maxime curare debet, ut distincte et apposite proferat, non admodum festinanter, ut advertere possit quæ legit, etc.

As regards the performing of the ceremonies prescribed by the rubrics for the celebration of Mass, St. Pius V. in the Bull inserted in the Missal, commands, districte, et in virtute sanctæ obedientiæ, Mass to be celebrated according to the rubrics of the Missal: Juxta ritum, are the words, modum, et normam in Missali præscriptam. Hence Suarez very properly says, that the omission of any ceremony prescribed in the rubrics,