grace in

God contrite and penitent, with a true heart and sincere faith, with fear and reverence, we obtain 6 mercy and find seasonable aid.' (Heb. iv. 16.) For assuredly God is appeased by this oblation, bestows grace and the gift of repentance, and forgives all crimes and sins, how great soever: for the sacrifice which is now offered by the ministry of the priests is one and the same as that which Christ then offered on the cross, only the mode of offering is different.* And the fruits of that bloody oblation are plentifully enjoyed by means of this unbloody one; so untrue is it that the latter derogates from the glory of the former. Wherefore it is properly offered, according to apostolic tradition, not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities of living believers; but also for the dead in Christ, who are not yet thoroughly purified.†

receiver a source of merit, and brings with it all those advantages which we have already mentioned; as a sacrifice, it is not only a source of merit but also of satisfaction. As, in his passion, our Lord merited and satisfied for us; so in the oblation of this sacrifice, which is a bond of Christian unity, Christians merit the fruit of his passion, and satisfy for sin."-Catechism, p. 247.

"We therefore confess that the sacrifice of the mass is one and the same sacrifice with that of the cross; the victim is one and the same Christ Jesus, who offered himself, once only, a bloody sacrifice on the altar of the cross. The bloody and unbloody victim is still one and the same, and the oblation of the cross is daily renewed in the eucharistic sacrifice, in obedience to the command of our Lord, 'This do for a commemoration of me.' The priest is also the same, Christ our Lord; the ministers who offer this sacrifice consecrate the holy mysteries not in their own, but in the person of Christ. . . . That the holy sacrifice of the mass, therefore, is not only a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or a commemoration of the sacrifice of the cross, but also a sacrifice of propitiation, by which God is appeased and rendered propitious, the pastor will teach as a dogma defined by the unerring authority of a general council of the church. As often as the commemoration of this victim is celebrated, so often is the work of our salvation promoted, and the plenteous fruits of that bloody victim flow in upon us abundantly through this unbloody sacrifice."-Ibid. pp. 249, 250.

"Such is the efficacy of this sacrifice, that its benefits extend not only to the celebrant and communicant, but also to all the faithful, whether living or numbered amongst those who have died in the Lord, but whose sins have not yet been fully expiated."-Ibid. p. 250.

The following prayer is presented at the "Oblation of the Host:"-"Accept, O Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this unspotted host, which I thy unworthy servant offer unto thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, and for all here present; as also for all faithful Christians, both living and dead; that it may avail both me and them to life everlasting. Amen."-Ordinary of the Mass.

"CHAP. III. Of masses in honour of the saints.

"Although the church is accustomed to celebrate sometimes certain masses in honour and memory of the saints, nevertheless it teaches that sacrifice is not offered to them, but to God only, who has crowned them with glory: whence the priest does not say, 'I offer sacrifice to thee, Peter, or Paul,' but, giving thanks to God for their victories, he implores their patronage, that they whom we commemorate on earth may vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven.*

"CHAP. IV. Of the canon of the mass.

"And since it is fit that holy services should be administered in a holy manner, and this sacrifice is the holiest of all, the Catholic church hath many ages ago instituted a sacred canon, in order that it might be worthily and reverently offered and received; which canon is so free from every error, as to contain nothing which does not powerfully savour of holiness and piety, and tend to raise the minds of the worshippers to God; for it is composed of the words of our Lord himself, the traditions of the apostles, and the pious institutions. of holy pontiffs.†

* The following prayers will further explain the meaning of the council :66 Receive, O holy Trinity, this oblation which we make to thee in memory of the passion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honour of the blessed Mary, ever a virgin, of blessed John Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints; that it may be available to their honour and our salvation; and may they vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven, whose memory we celebrate on earth. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."-Ordinary of the Mass.

"May the intercession, we beseech thee, O Lord, of Bishop Peter, thy apostle, render the prayers and offerings of thy church acceptable to thee; that the mysteries we celebrate in his honour may obtain for us the pardon of our sins."

"Sanctify, O Lord, the offerings of thy people by the prayers of Paul, thy apostle; that what is acceptable to thee, because by thee instituted, may become still more acceptable by his intercession."-Breviar. Jan. 18, the feast of St. Peter's chair at Rome.

The "offering" is Christ himself, and the prayer is, that the Redeemer's sacrifice may avail to procure pardon, through the intercession of Peter and Paul. Christ himself offered in honour of a saint. Is not this setting the servant above the Lord? Is it less than blasphemy?

+ The canon of the mass is "the most sacred and solemn part of this divine service, which is read with a low voice, as well to express the silence of Christ

"CHAP. V. Of the solemn ceremonies of the sacrifice of the mass.

"Seeing that such is the nature of man, that he cannot easily be raised to the contemplation of divine things without external aid, holy mother church hath instituted certain rites, as, for instance,-that some parts of the mass should be spoken in a low tone of voice, others in a louder. Ceremonies are also used, such as mystical benedictions, lights, incense, vestments, and others of the same kind, gathered from apostolic discipline and tradition, whereby the majesty of this great sacrifice is set forth, and by these visible signs of religion and piety, the minds of the faithful are excited to the contemplation of the deep truths which are therein contained.*

in his passion, and his hiding at that time his glory and his divinity, as to signify the vast importance of that common cause of all mankind, which the priest is then representing, as it were in secret, to the ear of God; and the reverence and awe with which both priest and people ought to assist at these tremendous mysteries."-Garden of the Soul, p. 83.

* The following explanations of the meaning and intention of these ceremonies are supplied by Roman-catholic writers :

"These ceremonies are, in general, very ancient, and may be traced as far back as the second or third century. The language is that which prevailed at the period o fthe introduction of Christianity; the dresses are nearly of the same era. The surplice, called in Latin, alba, was probably borrowed from the linen ephod worn by the Levites in their functions under the old law. The other vestments are Roman. . . . . . The use of torches and of incense is supposed to have been introduced into the church in the third century; it originated in the East, but soon became general; it was founded on figurative reasons. The former were borne before the book of the gospel, and reminded the faithful of the light diffused over the universe by the promulgation of the sacred volume, and of the true light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world.' The latter had been expressly commanded in the old law, and was considered in the new as a fit accompaniment to be offered with the prayers of the saints, upon the golden altar before the throne."Eustace's Italy, vol. ii. pp. 183-187.

"With regard to the vestments in which the priest says mass; as the mass represents the passion of Christ, and the priest there officiates in his person, so these vestments in which he officiates represent those with which Christ was ignominiously clothed at the time of his passion. Thus the amice represents the rag or clout with which the Jews muffled our Saviour's face, when at every blow they bid him prophesy who it was that struck him. St. Luke, xxii. 64. The alb represents the white garment with which he was vested by Herod; the girdle, maniple, and stole, represent the cords and

"CHAP. VI. Of masses in which the priest only communicates.

"This holy council could wish, that at every mass the faithful who are present would communicate, not in spiritual affection only, but also in the sacramental reception of the eucharist, in order that the fruit of this most holy sacrifice might be more plentifully enjoyed. But although this is not

bands with which he was bound in the different stages of his passion; the chasuble, or outward vestment, represents the purple garment with which he was clothed as a mock king; upon the back of which there is a cross, to represent that which Christ bore on his sacred shoulders: lastly, the priest's tonsure, or crown, is to represent the crown of thorns which our Saviour

wore.

"Moreover, as in the old law, the priests that were wont to officiate in sacred functions, had, by the appointment of God, vestments assigned for that purpose, as well for the greater decency and solemnity of the divine worship, as to signify and represent the virtues which God required of his ministers; so it was proper that in the church of the new testament, Christ's ministers should in their sacred functions be distinguished in like manner from the laity, by their sacred vestments, which might also represent the virtues which God requires in them; thus the amice, which is first put upon the head, represents divine hope, which the apostle calls the helmet of salvation; the alb, innocence of life; the girdle (with which the loins are begirt), purity and chastity; the maniple (which is put on the left arm), patient suffering of the labours of this mortal life; the stole, the sweet yoke of Christ, to be borne in this life, in order to a happy immortality; in fine, the chasuble, which is uppermost, and covers all the rest, represents the virtue of charity.

66

In these vestments the church makes use of five colours,-viz., the white, on the feasts of our Lord, of the blessed Virgin, of the angels, and of the saints that were not martyrs; the red, on the feasts of Pentecost, of the invention and exaltation of the cross, and of the apostles and martyrs; the violet, which is the penitential colour, in the penitential times of Advent and Lent, and upon vigils and ember days; the green, on most of the other Sundays and Ferias [common days] throughout the year; and the black, on Good Friday, and in the masses for the dead.

"We make a reverence to the altar upon which mass is said, because it is the seat of these divine mysteries, and a figure of Christ, who is not only our priest, and sacrifice, but our altar too, inasmuch as we offer our prayers and sacrifices through him. Upon the altar we always have a crucifix, that, as the mass is said in remembrance of Christ's passion and death, both priest and people may have before their eyes, during this sacrifice, the image that puts them in mind of his passion and death. And there are always lighted candles upon the altar during mass, as well to honour the victory and triumph of our great King (which is there celebrated) by these lights, which are tokens of our joy and of his glory, as to denote the light of faith, with which we are to approach to him."-Garden of the Soul, pp. 96—98.

always done, the council does not therefore condemn those masses in which the priest only sacramentally communicates, as if they were private and unlawful, but approves and commends them. For even such masses ought to be deemed common to all, partly because in them the people do spiritually communicate, and partly because they are celebrated by the public minister of the church, not for himself only, but also for all the faithful who belong to the body of Christ.

"CHAP. VII. Of mixing water with the wine in offering the сир.

"Further, the holy council reminds all men that the priests are commanded by the church to mix water with the wine in the cup, when they offer the sacrifice; partly, because Christ the Lord is believed to have done the same, and partly because water, together with blood, flowed from his side, which sacrament is brought to remembrance by this mixture; and since people are represented by water, in the apocalypse of blessed John, the union of believers with Christ the head is thus also represented.

"CHAP. VIII. The mass not to be celebrated in the vulgar tongue-its mysteries to be explained to the people.

"Although the mass comprises abundant instruction for those who believe, it has not been deemed expedient by the fathers that it should be everywhere celebrated in the vernacular tongue. Wherefore, lest the sheep of Christ hunger, and the children ask bread and there be none to break it to them, through the universal retention of a custom which has been approved by the holy Roman church, the mother and mistress of all churches, the holy council commands all priests having cure of souls, to intersperse in the celebration of the mass, either personally or by others, explanations of what has been read, and frequently to expound the mystery of this most holy sacrifice, especially on Sundays and feast-days.*

* Pallavicini gives three reasons for the prohibition contained in the decree:— 1. The difficulty of procuring thoroughly accurate translations, so as to preserve the true sense of the church. 2. The inconvenience that would arise from priests being able to officiate only in one country. 3. The importance of preventing the mysteries of the faith from becoming the subject of common conversation and discourse, lest contempt or heresy should be promoted.