The Unbloody Sacrifice of the Altar

22. The Participants of the Fruits of the Mass

The principal purpose of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is to render to God due worship of adoration and thanksgiving, of propitiation and petition;¹⁸⁸188Sacrificium Missae principaliter et universaliter semper offerendum est ad finem colendi Deum: non quidem semper ad solum finem latreuticum, sistendo solum in intentione colendi Deum in recognitionem supremi ejus dominii, in actu signato, absit; sed simul etiam ad finem eucharisticum, impetratorium et satisfactorium. Quemcunque enim ex his finem expresse intendas, eo ipso etiam implicite, imo in ipso actu exercito etiam intendis et exerces cultum divinum soli Deo debitum. An non etiam, si sacrificio tuo Deo gratias agis pro beneficiis acceptis, supplicas pro nobis accipiendis, deprecaris remissionem peccatorum: in actu exercito et ipso facto Deo divinum cultum exhibes, ejus supremum in te dominium, potestatem, eminentiam tuamque humillimam submissionem, dependentiam, indigentiam contestaris? Quis enim peccata remittit nisi solus Deus? Quis beneficia et bona salutaria ad ultimum finem aeternae beatitudinis conferre potest efficienter nisi solus Deus? Laudandus esses et laudabilis valde, mi sacerdos, si praedictos fines omnes semper explicite et expresse intenderes et bene applicares tanquam fidelis dispensator (Sporer, Theol. sacram. P. 2, cap. 5, sect. 3, § 1). at the same time, it is also offered for men and it benefits them. Among the effects flowing from the Mass, those graces, those spiritual advantages and blessings, those temporal gifts and favors which God bestows by reason of the Sacrifice offered, are in a more restricted sense called sacrificial fruits.¹⁸⁹189Fructus sacrificii sunt ipsa bona, quae sacrificium oblatum vel potius ratione et intuitu sacrificii oblati motus ipse Deus confert offerenti et iis pro quibus offertur (Sporer, Theol. sacram. P. 2, cap. 4, sect. 2, § 1). As a rule, the application of the fruit is meant, when it is said that the Mass is offered for some particular person. It is evident that herein the propitiatory and supplicatory character of the Mass is to be chiefly considered, since, as a Sacrifice of petition and propitiation, it procures for man the fulness of blessings; considered, therefore, in this twofold character, the Sacrifice of the Mass is in a strict sense offered for the needy.¹⁹⁰190Sacrificium sub hac duplici ratione—quatenus propitiatorium et impetratorium est—fructum aliquem seu effectum habere potest praeter ipsum cultum, et ideo sub his rationibus proprie offertur pro aliquo (Suarez disp. 78, sect. 1, n. 1). — To offer Mass for some one may be understood also to mean, but rarely, to offer it in the name and in the place of another. In this sense, the Mass may likewise, in so far as it is a Sacrifice of adoration and thanksgiving, be offered for, i. e., in the place of others, without any sacrificial fruits being especially applied to them or falling to their share. The adoration and thanksgiving offered to God by Christ in the Mass is, indeed, beneficial to men also, but only in as far as the adoration and thanksgiving of the Eucharistic Sacrifice supplies for the defects that invariably accompany their imperfect adoration and thanksgiving. On the contrary, as a Sacrifice of propitiation and petition, the Mass tends in quite a different manner to the benefit and advantage of persons for whom it is offered; for by its propitiatory and impetratory efficacy it procures for them benefits and graces of all kinds. These blessings accruing to man we have in view, when treating of participation in the fruits of the Sacrifice and of its participants.

We have previously mentioned the different sources whence the fruits of the Mass flow and descend upon man. Here we shall chiefly treat of the participation in the essential sacrificial fruit (ex opere operato), which has its source directly from Christ as the Chief Priest. This principal fruit of the Sacrifice is shared in by different participants and is gained by them in different ways. Among the complicated questions which have been discussed on this subject, the following one occupies the first place. On what does the participation in the designated sacrificial fruit depend—and who then participates therein? Some¹⁹¹191Suarez disp. 79, sect. 8. hold that all have a share in this sacrificial fruit who in any manner co-operate in the Sacrifice of the Mass—whether or not the Mass be offered for them; others,¹⁹²192Pasqualigo, De sacrif. N. L., q. 57. — Stentrup, Soteriologia, th. 101. on the contrary, are of opinion, and justly, that the Sacrifice (ex opere operato) benefits persons only in so far as it is offered for them.¹⁹³193Eucharistia effectum sacramenti habet in eo qui sumit, effectum autem sacrificii in eo qui offert vel in his pro quibus offertur (S. Thom. 3, q. 79, a. 5). In reality both conditions usually concur, that is, it is always at least in a general way offered for those who themselves offer it or who offer it along with them; thus far both requisite conditions, therefore, may conduce to secure said sacrificial fruit. In this fruit there share the entire Church, the faithful who actually take part in the Mass, the celebrating priest, and they to whom the priest especially applies the fruit of the Mass.

1. The sacrificial fruit, which falls to the share of the whole Church, is called the general fruit (fructus generalis vel generalissimus). It has a twofold source: first, the offering of Christ, inasmuch as He offers Himself for the Church; and then the offering of the Church, inasmuch as she also offers the Mass herself through the priest for her own welfare. Both sources flow into each other and pour out a stream of blessings throughout the Church and unto all her children.

a) Every holy Sacrifice of the Mass has its efficacy and advantage for the whole Church—for all that are incorporated in the mystical Body of Christ and still need to be assisted by grace, whether they be numbered among the living or the dead. And, indeed, in a less degree, and indirectly at least, this general fruit is diffused even among those without the pale of the Church, who, though out of it, are called and required to enter or return into its bosom. The chalice of the Precious Blood rises daily from the altar heavenward, in order that all men may come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved (1 Tim. 2, 1–4). Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world (John 3, 17); for He shed His Blood and underwent the torments of the Cross, to obtain for all men without exception the forgiveness of sin, grace and eternal happiness. Without intermission and in all places there gushes forth and flows this universal well-spring of grace and of salvation of the Sacrifice of the Cross in the Mass, whose blessings benefit the entire world. It is, moreover, to this Holy Sacrifice, as a very sun of grace, that these words of the Psalmist are applicable: “His going out is from the end of heaven—and his circuit even to the end thereof, and there is no one that can hide himself from the heat” (Ps. 18, 7). Yea, unto thousands of hearts, that are unaware of it, there radiate from the altar rays of supernal light, to enlighten and to lead back the stray sheep to Christ, the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls (1 Peter 2, 25), into His sheepfold, to the maternal home of the one true Church, in which the treasures of all the ways of grace and its gifts are unfolded to them and placed at their disposal.

Far more abundantly and more richly still, certainly, is the blessing of the Mass poured out over the Church militant on earth and suffering in purgatory; for the Mass is, by the will and institution of Christ, the property of the Church. It is for the welfare and benefit of the Church that the daily Sacrifice was instituted, and for this end it is principally offered. The general fruit accruing from the Mass is applied, in the first place, for the common welfare of the Church, that is, it is bestowed on the Church in its entirety, inasmuch as the Church is a divine work and institution, the kingdom and Spouse of Christ. With His heart’s blood Christ acquired the Church (Apoc. 20, 28); upon the altar He continually renews, in an unbloody manner, the bloody Sacrifice of Golgotha for His Church, so as always gloriously to present her—without spot or wrinkle, holy and immaculate (Eph. 5, 25–27). By virtue of the Blood of the Lamb (Apoc. 12, 11), that daily flows in the chalice, the Church gains the victory over her enemies, and invariably comes forth triumphant from her combat with the gates of hell and the anti-Christian powers of the world. In the Sacrifice of the Altar, Christ comes p. 177forward as mediator and advocate with God in behalf of the Church, to sustain and exalt her in all her necessities and tribulations, to humble her enemies and put them to confusion. From this we may conclude, that those members of the mystical body of Christ have a particularly large share in this universal sacrificial fruit, who chiefly contribute to the common weal of the Church—namely, the pastors and teachers of the Church (Pope, bishops and priests). It behooves them principally to promote the glory and holiness of the Church; they stand in great need of supernatural light, of strength and endurance, courageously to persevere in the distressing combats which they are almost constantly obliged to wage in behalf of the flock of Christ which is confided to them, for the unity and freedom, for the treasures of faith and grace of the Catholic Church. The guardians and protectors of the Spouse of Christ, therefore, experience, in the first place, the salutary influence and the beneficent effects of the Eucharistic Sacrifice bestowed on them in order that they may ever prove themselves servants of God by much patience in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in watchings, in weariness . . . . in the word of truth, through the power of God, by the armor of justice (2 Cor. 6, 4–13).

In what this fruit of the Sacrifice actually consists, and whether it extends to each individual member of the Church, cannot be positively determined. Some theologians¹⁹⁴194Valentia, Comment. theol. IV, disp. 6, quaest. 11, punct. 1. — Vasquez, In III, disp. 231, cap. 6. — Gotti, Theol. schol. dogm. tr. 8 de Euch., quaest. 2, dub. 1, § 3. — Tanner, Theol. schol. IV, disp. 5, quaest. 9, dub. 4, n. 98. — Cf. in particular Stentrup, l. c. thes. 112. are of opinion that the general sacrificial fruit includes not only those blessings obtained by way of petition, but also a satisfactory effect, namely, the remission of temporal punishment due to sin—and, moreover, a remission more or less abundantly imparted to all the members of the Church who are disposed to receive it.

b) Christ, the invisible Priest, therefore, continually offers Himself for the entire Church by the hands and through the ministry of the visible priest. The latter, at the same time, stands at the altar in the name and by the commission of the Church. The Church offers and prays by the lips of the priest who, in every Mass, is her delegate and mediator with God for all her children upon earth and in purgatory. As she, the holy and well-beloved Spouse of Christ, is ever acceptable to God, her petitions, especially when united to the Mass, are always answered; hence, in consideration of the Sacrifice and prayer of the Church, the Most High day after day pours out the richest blessings upon her needy children. In the liturgical prayers of the Mass, mention is usually made of those gifts and graces which the Church desires to obtain, by means of the Mass, for herself in general or for individual members in particular. Thus, for example, she implores the Almighty during the celebration of Mass for the grace “that, after overcoming all attacks and errors, p. 178she may serve God with perfect liberty” and “be able to enjoy undisturbed devotion.”

c) Christ and the Church offer the Mass continually for the body of the faithful. Therefore, the general fruit of the Sacrifice benefits the Catholic people simply because the priest exercises his ministry at the altar as prescribed; for this a special and express application on his part is not required. — Excommunicated persons who are excluded from the Church, do not share in the general sacrificial fruit; those of the faithful who are in the state of mortal sin, participate proportionately in a much less degree than do persons in the state of grace, who are more intimately incorporated in the mystical body of Christ. The better the faithful dispose themselves by virtue and piety, the more closely they unite themselves to the Mass and the more perfectly they co-operate in its offering, the more abundant will be their share in the general sacrificial fruit of the Church. — For this reason, it is a pious custom and a very salutary practice of many Christians each morning in spirit to commend themselves to and to include themselves in all the Masses that may be celebrated at all hours of the day throughout the world; for they thereby draw upon themselves in greater abundance the blessing and fruit of the Holy Sacrifice.¹⁹⁵195Die quadam, cum (sancta Mechtildis) prae debilitate longius ire non valens, Missam in ambitu audiret, ingemuit, conquerendo se Deo esse remotam. Cui Dominus statim respondit: “Ubicunque tu es, ego sum.” Tunc illa requisivit, si aliquid obesset quod homines de longe Missam audirent. Cui Dominus: “Bonum est ut homo praesens sit; quod dum nullo modo potest, sic tamen prope sit, ut verba valeat audire, quia secundum quod Apostolus dicit: Sermo Dei vivus est et efficax et penetrabilis (Hebr. 4, 12). Verbum enim Dei animam vivificat, infundens ei spirituale gaudium, sicut etiam apparet in hominibus laicis et idiotis, qui licet non intelligant quae leguntur, sentiunt tamen gaudium Spiritus, et inde ad poenitentiam animantur. Verbum etiam Dei efficacem reddit animam ad virtutes et quaeque bona, et penetrat eam, omnia ejus interiora illustrando. Sed cum infirmitate vel obedientia vel alia rationabili de causa praepeditur, ubicunque tunc homo est, ibi eidem praesens et cum illo sum . . . dico tibi: qui Missam devote et studiose audierit, in extremis ejus tot nobiles Sanctorum meorum personas in ejus consolationem et defensionem, ad animam ejus cum honore deducendam, sibi transmittam, quot Missas in terris audivit” (S. Mechtild., Lib. special. grat. p. 3, c. 19).

How great and inestimable in this respect also is the happiness of being of the household of Christ and one of the fellow-citizens of the Saints (Eph. 2, 19), that is, a believing, faithful and obedient child of the Catholic Church, in the communication of grace with Christ! Whoever remains a spiritually living member of God’s great family, spread all over the earth, can draw his full share of the stream of blessings and mercies that is daily poured out over the Church from Masses innumerable. Again, how consoling to the heart is the thought: Even were I to die on the most isolated spot of the earth, forgotten by everybody,—Holy Church, my spiritual Mother, forgets me not; for upon thousands of altars, she prays and offers for my poor soul also Christ’s Precious Reconciling Blood, p. 180letting it trickle down into the flames of purgatory in order to relieve or abridge my painful banishment in that abode of suffering.

2. All the members of the Church do not gain in the same manner and measure this general sacrificial fruit. Those of the faithful who personally co-operate in the celebration of Mass, who share in the offering of the Sacrifice and who thus, in a certain sense, appear as joint celebrants (co-offerentes), obtain without doubt a greater share of heavenly blessings, and this not only ex opere operantis, but even ex opere operato.¹⁹⁶196That on all the faithful who, through and with the priest, actually offer the Sacrifice, an impetratory and satisfactory fruit ex opere operato from the Sacrifice is bestowed, Suarez holds (Disp. 79, sect. 8, n. 5) as a “devout and reliable opinion.” Lugo remarks thereon: Haec sententia probabilis est et deservit ad commendandam magis utilitatem audiendi Missam,—but adds: sed non video firmum fundamentum ad eam persuadendam. — He believes that there is no well founded reason for the assertion, that to them who assist at Mass is granted a remissio poenae residuae ex opere operato; on the contrary, he regards it as established, that the assistants receive a fruit ex opere operato, quatenus per modum saltem impetrationis sacerdos offert specialiter pro circumstantibus (Disp. 19, sect. 11, n. 230–238). — Cf. on this also Arriaga tom. VII, disp. 53, sect. 3. These graces, imparted to the faithful who co-operate in the Sacrifice, are termed the special fruit (fructus specialis). — Among the various ways of participating by personal co-operation in the offering of the Sacrifice, is chiefly to be mentioned the assisting at Holy Mass. Whoever assists at Mass with reverence and devotion, enters into the closest and most intimate connection with the Sacrifice, because as the priest prays and offers the Mass, such a one joins his prayers, praying and offering with the priest—and because in addition to this, the Church also prays and offers for all there present. The faithful who worthily assist at Mass, gain thereby a special sacrificial fruit, more or less abundant according to the measure of their co-operation, their worthiness and devotion. Justly, therefore, is the devout attendance at Mass regarded as one of the most efficacious means to draw on ourselves and others the fulness of spiritual and temporal blessings.¹⁹⁷197Magna dignitas est, quam Deus homini christiano Missam cum spiritu devotioneque audienti impertit, et magna valdeque mira sunt bona, quae is sic illam audiens lucratur. Quantae dignitatis, gloriae utilitatisque homini christiano est, quod Deo Patri donum offert ac munus infiniti valoris, et quod illi infinite gratum est, et quo ipsum placat propitiumque reddit, si peccatis iratus est, voluntatem ejus conciliat, summamque ei voluptatem affert et in ejus amore ac gratia crescit, familiarior eidem Domino fit, majorem cum ipso amicitiam contrahit, novos ab illius liberalitate favores, dona et gratias percipit, et ab eodem suorum bonorum desideriorum complementum consequitur, quoque non soli sibi tantum bonum procurat, sed etiam a Deo ingentia bona ac misericordias pro omnibus illis impetrare potest, pro quibus idem sacrificium vult offerre? Nam Missam audiendo, quemadmodum offert sacrificium corporis et sanguinis Christi pro seipso, sic etiam potest illud offerre pro omnibus iis, quibus bene vult, et omnibus magno adjumento erit pro anima proque salute ac vita temporali, quae animae bono conducit (Arias, Thesaur. inexhaust. II, tr. 7, cap. 7). The Mass is a spiritual mine of gold, where we may dig and enrich ourselves with little labor; it is a treasure-house inexhaustible in its riches, that is ever open to us and to which we can always gain admittance. But where are our faith and love? Do we esteem and make use of this overflowing fountain of heavenly blessings? Is the holy hour of Mass, so full of graces, what is dearest to us and the most precious portion of the day? Do we consider the celebration of the Holy Mass, or assisting thereat, as the highest and most important action of our daily duty? We have in this certainly much to lament, much to atone for. Holy Mass should be the treasure, the joy and comfort of our life.

3. While the whole Church receives the general fruit of the Mass, and the assisting faithful the particular fruit, the very special or personal fruit (fructus specialissimus vel individualis) is imparted to the celebrant.¹⁹⁸198The worthy celebration of Mass is, indeed, in the highest degree meritorious, satisfactory and impetratory for the priest ex opere operantis. The fructus specialissimus, on the contrary, of which there is question here, is ex opere operato. — Some theologians (for example, Suarez, Henriquez, Amicus, Laymann) assert, that the priest has also the fruit ex opere operato, inasmuch as he offers the Sacrifice (quatenus offert); others more correctly affirm (for instance, Vasquez, Coninck, Isambert, Pasqualigo), that it is granted to him because the Mass also is specially offered for him (quatenus pro ipso offertur). — The opinion that the fructus specialissimus of the celebrant and the fructus specialis of the assisting faithful cannot be applied to others, is better founded than the contrary view. Cf. Pasqualigo, De sacrif. N. L. tr. 1, q. 99, 115. — Stentrup l. c. thes. 113. This is easy to understand. The priest has the closest and most prominent part in the celebration of Mass. By virtue of his ordination, he is empowered and called to celebrate, in the name of Christ and of the Church, the holy Sacrifice. He is not only the real offerer, but according to the will of Christ and in the name of the Church he also expressly offers the Sacrifice for himself: should not then the Mass, as a Sacrifice of propitiation and petition, be rich in graces and blessings for him? It is a never-failing fountain of salvation, open more especially to the celebrant than to any one else. Therefore, he cannot fail to be enriched in quite a signal manner with the blessings of Heaven, if, besides approaching the altar in the state of grace, he, moreover, celebrates with attention and devotion.¹⁹⁹199Nemo plus utilitatis recipit ex sanctissimo Missae sacrificio, quam sacerdos ipse qui offert; nemo enim tam est propinquus, intimus et, ut sic loquar, practicus et totalis executor tanti operis, tam Deo placiti, tam ex sese naturaque sua fructiferi, tam ad miserationes liberalitatesque divinas evocandas ac emungendas instituti; nemo tam illimitatus et arbitrarius dispensator atque arbiter tanti thesauri fructuumque ac effectuum ejus quam sacerdos (Druzbicki, Tract. de effect. fruct. et applicat. ss. Missae sacrif. cap. 8). This personal sacerdotal fruit the celebrant receives by simply performing his sacrificial duty in the proper manner. No special application or wish to gain this fruit of the Sacrifice is required, its source is not in the priest’s devout sentiments, which are only a necessary condition to gain this fruit in a more plentiful measure. — For this reason also, it is of vital importance that the priest do his utmost to prepare well for the daily celebration of Mass. If he wishes to obtain at the altar the many and great graces of which he stands in need for the discharge of his responsible office in an edifying manner, he must endeavor to lead a spotless life and ever celebrate the Divine Mysteries with ardent love. The Church admonishes him to use every exertion and care always to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice with the utmost purity and devotion. Before approaching the altar, let him ask himself the following questions:²⁰⁰200In omni sacrificio quatuor sunt pensanda, ut puta quis, quid, cui et quare. Ideo antequam celebremus aut communicemus, perpendamus haec omnia. Imprimis unusquisque attendat, quis sit, i. e. quam fragilis, defectuosus, indignus et reus: ac per hoc indignissimum se recognoscat sicque pro viribus ad communionem seu celebrationem se praeparet ac suo modo se dignificare Deo auxiliante conetur. Secundo consideret quid, i. e. quale et quantum sit sacrificium istud, in quo Christus Deus et homo offertur; et ita cum ingenti humilitate, filiali amore, reverentia praecordiali, puritate praecipua, charitateque fervida progrediatur ad Sancta sanctorum. Tertio penset, cui fit ista oblatio, ut puta Deo Patri, Regi ac Domino majestatis immensae, cui cum omni sinceritate, humilitate, attentione, diligentia adstare et immolare oportet. Nam et oblatio sacrificii hujus opus est valde privilegiatum, ad cujus dignam executionem devotio requiritur actualis et esse in charitate, quam qui habuerit, ceteris non carebit virtutibus. Quarto advertat, quare, i. e. propter quas causas institutum sit et immoletur sacrificium istud, videlicet pro communi bono totius Ecclesiae, pro vivis et mortuis, pro ereptione ab omni periculo et peccato, pro virtutum et gratiae incremento, pro pace patriae et omni rationabili causa. Idcirco cum pro tot tantisque causis nequaquam sit segniter deprecandum nec tepide offerendum, satagamus cum grandi instantia integroque affectu sancti fervoris celebrare ac celebrando aut communicando orare (Dion. Carthus. in hymn. “Verbum supernum” enarrat.). How sinful, how full of imperfection, how slothful am I in the service of God, I who venture to offer the Holy Sacrifice? How unspeakably exalted, glorious and precious is the Divine Victim, who is about to rest in my hands and in my heart? How inconceivably sublime the greatness and the majesty of the Most High, whom I am expected to honor and glorify by the celebration of Mass? How manifold, how weighty are the cares and tribulations of the Church and of her children, for which they expect help and assistance by the power of the Eucharistic Sacrifice? — Such reflections will inflame the soul with love and devotion.

4. Finally, there proceeds moreover from the Mass a propitiatory and impetratory fruit (ex opere operato), which is imparted to those for whom the priest, in a special manner, celebrates Holy Mass—and this fruit is called the ministerial or mediatorial fruit (fructus ministerialis vel medius). Inasmuch as the priest is a servant of Christ and a dispenser of the mysteries of God (1 Cor. 4, 1), he has not only the power to offer the Sacrifice, but also to determine to whom the fruit of the Sacrifice should be applied. With regard to the ministerial fruit of the Sacrifice, the priest can freely dispose of it in his own favor or in favor of others, but to the celebrant and to him only does it appertain to make the special application of the Mass.²⁰¹201Dicendum est, sacrificium determinari, ut huic potius prosit speciali modo quam illi, ab ipso offerente, quatenus determinat offerre pro hoc vel pro illo, et in hoc consistere applicationem, qua dicitur applicari (Pasqualigo, De sacrif. N. L. tr. 1, q. 161, n. 1). — The power and the right of especially offering the Holy Sacrifice for others, of applying its fruits in their behalf by special intention, is inviolably imparted to the priest at his ordination. And the obligation of celebrating the Mass for such special obligation can arise from various causes. It arises in general from the order of ecclesiastical authority, or the free consent of the priest, who, on receiving an alms or some stipend (eleemosyna vel stipendium), obliges himself thereto.²⁰²202Sacerdos non accipit pecuniam quasi pretium consecrationis Eucharistiae aut Missae decantandae (hoc enim esset simoniacum), sed quasi stipendium (gift, alms) suae sustentationis (S. Thom. 2, 2, q. 100, a. 2 ad 2.) That such a special application of the sacrificial fruit is lawful, useful and salutary, is manifest not only from the nature of the Sacrifice considered in itself, but also from the constant practice from ancient times and the explicit teaching of the Church. From the very beginning it has always been the practice of the Church to offer Holy Mass for individual persons and for certain intentions. Thus pastors are strictly obliged on Sundays and holidays to celebrate Holy Mass for the flock committed to their care. The assertion that the special application of the Mass for certain persons or certain classes of people is of no special advantage to them, has been condemned by the Church.²⁰³203Cfr. Prop. 30 of the Constitution Auctorem fidei of Aug. 28, 1794.

As this application of the sacrificial fruit is exclusively an act of the power received at the ordination of the priest, it can always be validly (valide) made for all that are capable or in need of the effects of the Mass; but in order that it may be lawfully (licite) done, no prohibition of the Church must intervene or be opposed to the application. By the will of Christ, the Eucharistic Sacrifice is the property of the Church; He has commanded it to be celebrated by her and in her. The highest ecclesiastical authority, consequently, has the power to limit and regulate more definitely the right of application. Therefore the question still remains to be considered, namely, in behalf of what persons may the priest celebrate Holy Mass with a special intention, that is, to whom especially may he apply the ministerial sacrificial fruit? To answer this question, we must distinguish several classes of persons, among the living as well as among the departed.

a) The living are either members of the Catholic Church or outside of her communion.

a) The members of the Church are either in the state of grace or in the state of sin: for either class the Holy Mass may be offered. The just members of the Church, animated by an active charity, are alone disposed to gain in their fulness the fruits of the Mass; for the participation in the Mass is so much the greater, the more p. 184intimate is one’s communion with Christ and the Church. — To the dead members of the Church, that is, to those of the faithful who are deprived of the life of grace, who are spiritually dead through mortal sin, not all the fruits of the Sacrifice can be applied; for as long as they are enemies of God, no temporal punishment can be remitted them. The chief and the weightiest need they have, and which oppresses them and from which they should be freed by the propitiatory virtue of the Mass, is the need entailed by sin. The Sacrifice of the Mass will, above all, obtain for them the mercy and reconciliation of God, light and strength from on high, so that with a resolute will they may be enabled to abandon the path of sin, sincerely turn to God and be restored to the life of grace. — Moreover, for baptized children who have not as yet attained the use of reason, the Mass can be celebrated, but only as a Sacrifice of petition, and not of propitiation.

b) If we pass over to those persons who are outside of the Church and are separated from her visible communion, there is no doubt that, at least indirectly and in a general way, they are included in the Sacrifice, since the Mass is celebrated for the conversion of Jews and pagans, the extirpation of heresy and schism, to obtain and promote the increase and exaltation of the kingdom of God. The first object in this is, indeed, the welfare of the Church; while, at the same time, the greatest benefit and advantage accrues from the Mass to those who receive the grace of becoming children of the true Church. — On the contrary, according to the positive definitions of the Church, the direct and special application of the Mass is not permitted so unconditionally to all classes of persons. Thus it is strictly forbidden to offer the Holy Sacrifice for those excommunicated persons who are not tolerated, but are to be avoided (excommunicati vitandi), and this prohibition holds good so long as the ban of excommunication has not been removed by absolution. According to some theologians, on the contrary, such an application for the excommunicated who are tolerated is regarded not only as valid, but also as permitted. — The Holy Sacrifice may be lawfully offered, but only under certain restrictions, for schismatics and heretics, as well as for the unbaptized or unbelievers (Jews, Turks, heathens). And in so doing everything is to be avoided that would cause scandal or offence to the Christian people. The Holy Mass may be offered for schismatics and heretics first and chiefly to obtain their conversion, that is, with the intention of appeasing the anger of God in their regard, as well as of obtaining for them from the goodness of God various graces and benefits, whereby they may the more easily work out their salvation, be brought to the knowledge of the true faith and into communion with the Church.²⁰⁴204Proposito dubio: Utrum possit aut debeat celebrari Missa ac percipi eleemosyna pro Graeco-schismatico, qui enixe oret atque instet, ut Missa applicetur pro se sive in ecclesia adstante sive extra ecclesiam manente? S. Congr. Officii die 19. April. 1837 respondit: Juxta exposita non licet, nisi constet expresse, eleemosynam a schismatico praeberi ad impetrandam conversionem ad veram fidem. Quam resolutionem P. M. Gregorius XVI. approbavit. Proposito dubio: Utrum liceat sacerdotibus Missam celebrare pro Turcarum aliorumque infidelium intentione, et ab iis eleemosynam pro Missae applicatione accipere? S. Congr. Officii die 12. Julii 1865 respondit: Affirmative, dummodo non adsit scandalum, ac nihil in Missa specialiter addatur, et quoad intentionem constet, nihil mali aut erroris aut superstitionis in infidelibus eleemosynam offerentibus subesse.

b) The salutary and saving influence of the Holy Sacrifice extends even beyond the tomb. Can and may the Holy Mass be offered for all the departed?

They who have departed out of this world have either entered heaven, where they rejoice in happiness and reign in glory—or they are buried in the abyss of hell, whence there is no redemption; or they sojourn in the abode of purification until they are purified in the pain of fire and in the fire of pains, until cleansed from all defilement and found worthy to appear before the face of God.

a) It is for the last only of these three classes of deceased persons that the Mass can strictly be offered and according to apostolical tradition²⁰⁵205Trident. sess. 22, cap. 2. is truly offered.²⁰⁶206Cum alia sacramenta non prosint post mortem, unde est, quod hoc sacramentum altaris prodest? — Dicendum, quod aliorum sacramentorum dispensatio respicit actum in persona vel circa personam, sicut patet in baptismo, et ideo non potest baptizari, nisi qui praesto est in aquam mergi; sed sacrificium est actus pro persona. Et quoniam actus in personam requirit personam actu existentem, sed pro persona non; sicut Christus obtulit se Patri pro illis, qui fuerunt et qui futuri sunt, sic sacrificium prodest his qui finierunt vitam (S. Bonav. IV, dist. 45, dub. 3). The Syriac Bishop Balæus, who lived toward the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth century, proves that prayer and sacrifice are useful to the departed. “It is evident to all reasonable minds, that the faithful departed have the benefit of the Church vigils and of the Sacrifice of the Mass and of the incense of propitiation, when the priest is mindful of them at the altar. Then the citizens of heaven rejoice, and they that live upon earth are gladdened, and the departed, too, exult, for they are summoned in order to be refreshed by the heavenly Sacrifice.” The suffering souls, who are helplessly suffering and enduring pains in purgatory, stand in great need of the propitiatory Sacrifice of the Mass, that the divine justice may be induced to abridge their tedious punishment, or alleviate their intense sufferings. The Church has declared, that the Mass most especially (potissimum) procures help and relief for the faithful departed.²⁰⁷207Trident. sess. 25 de Purgat. The Sacrifice of the Altar, accordingly, is the most effectual, all-sufficient and sure means of obtaining for the suffering souls in purgatory comfort and refreshment; for it helps them more than prayers and indulgences, more than fasting, alms and night-vigils, more than works of charity, mercy and piety which the living may offer for the departed. As these suffering souls are always in the best dispositions, the Holy p. 186Mass, in all probability, is never without effect when said for them. This is all we know, the rest is entirely enveloped in great darkness, for it is hidden from us, in what measure and to what extent the Holy Sacrifice each time abridges or relieves the sufferings of a poor soul. How soon such a soul may be released from purgatory depends upon the will of God, whose justice is equally as infinite and impenetrable as His mercy. Therefore it is not useless, but rather necessary, to have the Holy Sacrifice repeatedly offered for one and the same soul, to assist it all the more speedily and surely to enter into possession of heaven. This is true also of the so-called privileged Mass, in which, by virtue of the privileged altar, there is added a plenary indulgence to the fruit of the Sacrifice for the benefit of the soul in behalf of whom the Mass is celebrated; for the real effect of such an indulgence, which can be applied to the departed only by way of petition, remains yet subject to the merciful acceptance of God.

Of the different effects of the Mass, the faithful departed can receive but a single one, namely, the remission of the temporal punishment by satisfying the Divine Justice. — These punishments are the last impediments which withhold them from entering into the longed-for rest and joy of their Lord. As a Sacrifice of propitiation, the Mass disarms God’s justice, resting heavily upon these souls, and cancels the punishments to be undergone by them. — As a Sacrifice of petition, the Mass may also contribute to the alleviation and deliverance of the suffering souls: on the one hand, by procuring for them from the goodness of God a gracious release from punishment; on the other, by obtaining many graces, whereby the living are incited and animated to offer constantly for the departed penitential works, indulgences and prayers.²⁰⁸208Constat inter omnes doctores catholicos, sacrificium Missae vere prodesse defunctis, nedum quatenus satisfactorium, sed etiam ut est impetratorium, ut colligitur ex Trident. sess. 22, cap. 2, et ex praxi Ecclesiae, quae orat in sacrificio pro defunctis, etiam pro illis, quibus non applicatur fructus satisfactionis ex opere operato, et quia praescribit, ut oretur pro illis in secundo Memento post consecrationem, propter solum fructum impetrationis, quia tunc facta est jam applicatio et distributio fructus satisfactionis ex opere operato (Quarti, In Rubr. Missal. p. 1, tit. 5, dub. 6). — According to the opinion of this author, the Mass as a Sacrifice of petition can benefit the departed only indirectly, quia per orationes sacrificio innixas impetramus a Deo, ut excitet fideles ad offerenda sacrificia et suffragia pro defunctis vel indulgentias, quibus immediate liberantur a poenis.

In a general way, the Church in her liturgy offers and prays for “all the faithful departed” and for “all resting in Christ”—and, therefore, in behalf of all the souls suffering in purgatory. For important reasons the special or direct application of the Mass is far more limited in regard to the departed than to the living. It depends on whether the person died in or out of the communion of the Church. All who in life and at death were in visible communion with the Church, are after death considered as connected in a living manner with the Church, that is, if not already in heaven, at least p. 187as being on the sure way to eternal blessedness, namely, in the place of purification. Therefore, she allows the Holy Sacrifice to be celebrated for all that have died in her fold. — The case is quite different with respect to those who have departed not as members of the Catholic Church. It is, indeed, possible that they were separated without fault of their own from the visible communion of the Church, that they died in the state of grace and, consequently, were saved; the judgment of this the Church leaves to God. As a visible society, she judges according to external facts; outwardly they did not belong to her—the only true and saving Church. The Church cannot, then, recognize and treat as her own those who previous to their death were not in a visible manner her children. Such would be the case if she permitted them to share in her public prayers and sacrifices, in her ceremonies and marks of honor. To these common spiritual treasures they only have a claim who were and who remained children of the Church until death, and that not merely in the sight of God, but also before man. In all justice, therefore, the Church forbids every kind of funereal celebration, foundation Masses and application of Mass for those who have died outside of her visible communion—that is, for all deceased non-Catholics, whether members of sects or unbelievers. Were she to act otherwise, she would endanger the dogma of her exclusive truth and authority, and open both door and gate to indifference in matters of faith.²⁰⁹209Cf. the Brief of Gregory XVI. of Feb. 16, 1842, to the Bishop of Augsburg, and that of July 9, 1842, to the Benedictine Abbot of the Bavarian Monastery of Scheyern. — To the question: An liceat in die anniversarii obitus principissae ad Protestantium sectam pertinentis celebrare Missam in levamen defunctorum regiae familiae? was replied by the S. R. C. of May 23, 1859: Non licere, et detur exemplum epistolae in forma Brevis die 9. Julii 1842 s. m. Gregorii XVI. — As long as heretics and unbelievers are alive, the Sacrifice of the Mass may be offered for them, to obtain in their behalf the grace of conversion. With their death their conversion ceases to be possible: hence the difference in the ecclesiastical regulation which permits the celebrant’s application of the fruit of the Mass, on the one hand, for living non-Catholics and, on the other, forbids it to deceased non-Catholics. Recently it was attempted to make a distinction between public and private application for departed non-Catholics, and to represent the latter application as permissible. But this distinction has no foundation in the law and, therefore, appears unreliable (Ubi lex non distinguit, neque nos distinguere debemus—Where the law makes no distinction, neither ought we). The opinion of the lawfulness of applying the Mass in this case is, therefore, at least insecure and doubtful.²¹⁰210For such as die in manifest heresy (in manifesta haeresi) Mass may not be said, even if the application were known only to the priest and the giver of the stipend (C. S. O. April 7, 1875). The Church has prohibited every special application of the Mass and its celebration for deceased non-Catholics for weighty reasons; therefore, she is not responsible for the injury that the separation from her visible communion may have entailed even beyond the tomb. As to the rest, deceased non-Catholics are not totally deprived of the blessed influence of the Mass; for prayers and the Mass also are offered in general for them, and when Mass is celebrated for all the suffering souls, they also derive advantage therefrom.

None the less true is it, that the children of the Catholic Church in life and after death enjoy many graces and special advantages, from which non-Catholics are excluded. This is an unmerited blessing and an inappreciable privilege for which we should be most grateful to God. At the same time we ought to “praise and magnify His infinite goodness and benignity, by which we are enabled to make satisfaction for one another,”—and for the reason that in the Sacrifice of the Mass principally He has given us such an excellent and efficacious means of procuring untold comfort, relief and solace in behalf of the suffering souls in their painful banishment. The ingenious love of the Church has appointed a special solemnity for the comfort and peace of these souls. For centuries on All-Souls’ Day she stands in robes of mourning at the altar and at the tomb. It is a mournful day; but one on which Masses for the dead are multiplied, when prayers and sighs are more fervent, the faithful more recollected and better disposed, when streams of grace descend to the sufferers in purgatory, when heaven throws open its gates to them, and signs of peace hover over the abyss. Oh, that is a blessed day! Though the darkness that envelops us be ever so dense and to us impenetrable, yet from thousands of altars shines the light of the glorified Body of Christ, casting its rays into heaven, into the very face of the infinitely just Father, causing it to be lit up in friendly and gracious clemency, and, from the throne of God, it reflects its rays downward into the darkness of the subterranean prison, in order that the perpetual light of the heavenly home may shine upon them.²¹¹211Cf. P. Keel, Die jenseitige Welt, 1. Buch (Das Fegfeuer), p. 156 &c.

b) For the reprobate the Holy Sacrifice cannot and may not in any manner whatever be offered: for them there is neither redemption (in inferno nulla est redemptio) nor alleviation of their torments.²¹²212Mitigatio poenae damnatorum dupliciter potest intelligi: aut quantum ad taxationem et inflictionem poenae et sic absque dubio est ibi mitigatio, quia divina justitia non totum exigit, pro eo quod, ejus pietate interveniente, aliquam partem poenae infligendo remittit. — Alio modo potest intelligi mitigatio post poenae taxationem et inflictionem, et hoc modo nulla cadit mitigatio a divina misericordia, quia ex tunc claudit eis Dominus viscera pietatis (S. Bonav. IV, dist. 46, a. 1, q. 2). As withered branches they are completely severed from the true vine, Jesus Christ; for all eternity they are excluded from the communion of the Saints. Their torments in the ocean of fire and brimstone are not alleviated, even by a drop of cold water; no single ray of light or of hope ever penetrates the dark abode of hell. p. 189Equally unlawful is it to celebrate Mass for children who have not reached the age of reason and who have died without baptism. Whatever their eternal destiny may be, this much is certain that they are irrevocably excluded, not only from the bliss of heaven, but in general from all participation in the supernatural goods which Christ acquired for the human race, and which are applied to individual men mainly through the Sacrifice of the Mass.

c) In contrast with the reprobate, whom, in their eternal separation from Christ, grace can neither reach nor influence, “the spirits of the just made perfect” in heaven are most intimately united to Him and, consequently, stand in no need of the help of grace. The blessed dwell in the land of the living, where they are free from all evil and in full possession of all the riches of the Lord. From this the reason is clear, why the Sacrifice of the Mass can never properly (proprie) be offered for them.²¹³213Pro Beatis sacrificium non dicitur offerri nisi improprie. Potest quidem offerri in gratiarum actionem pro beneficiis in Sanctos collatis; potest etiam offerri ad impetrandam gloriam et venerationem alicujus Sancti in terra: hoc tamen non sufficit ut dicamus offerri Missam pro tali Sancto, quia hoc videtur significare imperfectionem et indigentiam in illo, pro quo offertur. . . . Quando ergo apud aliquos antiquos reperitur ille modus loquendi, quod offerimus pro Sanctis, explicandus est in sensu minus proprio, quod vel offerimus loco illorum, h. e. ad agendas gratias pro beneficiis a Deo in eos collatis, quas gratias ipsi libenter agerent; vel quod offerimus, ut redundet in eorum honorem, quem sensum significant illa verba Missae: ut illis proficiat ad honorem, nobis autem ad salutem; vel denique quod illos invocamus in oblatione sacrificii, ut ipsi pro nobis intercedant, quem etiam sensum significat Ecclesia in verbis sequentibus: et illi pro nobis intercedere dignentur in coelis, quorum memoriam agimus in terris; et eundem sensum expressit Concil. Trident. sess. 22, cap. 3 (Lugo disp. 19, sect. 10, n. 192). — Cfr. Ejus auxilio tua beneficia capiamus, pro quo tibi laudis hostias immolamus (Secr. in festo s. Barthol. Apost.). They are free from all guilt of sin and its punishment; therefore, the Mass as a sacrifice of propitiation cannot be offered for them. Moreover, since their essential glory cannot be increased, for it remains unchangeably the same, Mass cannot be celebrated even as a sacrifice of petition for them in this respect, that is, to obtain for them an increase of their essential glory. Now, although the Mass may not be offered to the Saints, or in reality for them, still the celebration of it conduces in various ways to their honor and glory.

Inasmuch as the Mass is a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, it may in a certain sense be celebrated or heard for the blessed, that is, in their name for the purpose of praising and thanking God for the gifts of grace and glory which He has bountifully bestowed upon them.²¹⁴214Laudis hostia, Domine, quam pro sancto Ignatio gratias agentes obtulimus, ad perpetuam nos majestatis tuae laudationem, ejus intercessione, perducat (Postcomm. in festo s. Ignatii Conf.). For this the blessed rejoice; for the Mass is a more glorious homage of praise and of thanksgiving to the Lord than that which the combined choirs of the blessed and of the angels could render p. 190Him, and it is, therefore, a means of responding to their ardent desires of ever more and more glorifying God. — The blessed also rejoice that their graces and virtues, their actions and miracles, their combats and victories, their power and greatness afford us an opportunity and give us matter worthily to praise and honor God, the bestower of all holiness, by the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice.²¹⁵215Ad sacra mysteria celebranda trahat te laus Dei et Sanctorum, cum non habeamus, quo possimus Deum et Sanctos pro sua dignitate laudare quam Christum sacramentaliter Deo Patri offerre et immolare (S. Bonav. tr. de praep. ad Miss. c. 1, § 4, n. 15).

As a Sacrifice of petition, the Mass may also be celebrated with the intention of promoting on earth the greater glory of the blessed. But offered in this way, the Mass is not so much for the advantage of the Saints, to whom the increase of external glory brings no real profit, but rather for us men, for we are thereby enriched with spiritual favors. The fruit that God in this case imparts by reason of the Sacrifice offered by way of petition, consists of graces by which the faithful are animated and spurred on to honor, invoke and imitate the Saints. The diffusion of the veneration of the Saints on earth brings great blessings to man, and to the blessed in heaven new joy, since thereby the Most Blessed Trinity is glorified, the communion of Saints made active, the life of the Church enhanced and the salvation of the faithful promoted.

These effects, which the Mass produces with regard to the blessed in heaven, that is, for their honor and joy, proceed simply from the celebration of the Mass offered with an appropriate intention. The Church has connected with the Divine Sacrifice a copious rite, in which the veneration of the Saints finds manifold expression. The liturgy of the Divine Sacrifice, in which their names occur, their intercession is invoked and the example of their virtues is set forth to us, already in itself sheds great glory on the blessed friends of God and children of the Church—the Saints of heaven.²¹⁶216In manibus est hostia (θυσία) et omnia parata prostant: adsunt angeli, archangeli, adest Filius Dei: cum tanto horrore adstant omnes, adstant illi clamantes omnibus silentibus. . . . Quid putas, pro martyribus offerri, quod nominentur in illa hora? Licet martyres sint, etiam pro martyribus magnus honos nominari Domino praesente, dum mors perficitur illa, horrendum sacrificium, ineffabilia mysteria (S. Chrysost. Homil. 21 in Act. Apost., n. 4). This is especially the case with regard to the festal and votive Masses, composed expressly to honor individual Saints or whole classes of them. In the collects of these Masses, the intercession of the Saints holds a prominent place; in the Secreta and Post-Communion prayers, it is brought in the closest connection with the Sacrifice. Very frequently the petition is addressed directly to God, as follows, that He may through the intercession, by the merits, through the merits and intercession, through the intercessory merits of the Saints,²¹⁷217Ejus meritis et precibus; ejus suffragantibus meritis; ejus exemplo et intercessione; ejus patrocinio; ejus interventione; intercessionis ejus auxilio; ejus meritis et intercessione; ejus intercedentibus meritis; ejus interventu; intercedentibus sanctis Martyribus; ejus supplicatione; ejus suffragiis &c. p. 191whom we honor and whose feast we celebrate, take us under His merciful protection, or favorably receive the Sacrifice of the Church and of the faithful, and abundantly grant them its fruits. — Often the petition addressed directly to God runs thus, that He grant that this or another particular Saint may be our constant intercessor, obtain pardon for us, assist us by his prayers, that we may partake of his assistance, be supported by his intercession and be defended by his protection. — In these liturgical prayers the intercession of the Saints is placed in a dual relation to the Eucharistic Sacrifice. On the one hand, the petition is frequently repeated, that the Sacrifice, inasmuch as it is offered by us sinful men, may, through the merits and intercession of the Saints, be more pleasing to the Divine Majesty and more advantageous to us;²¹⁸218Oblationes populi tui, quaesumus Domine, beati Jacobi Apostoli passio beata conciliet: et quae nostris non aptae sunt meritis, fiant tibi placitae ejus deprecatione (Secr. in festo s. Jacobi Apost.). — Munera, quae conscientiae nostrae praepediuntur obstaculis, sanctorum Apostolorum meritis grata reddantur (Secr. in Vigilia ss. Ap. Sim. et Jud.). — Sanctifica, quaesumus Domine, oblata libamina; et beatae Dei genitricis Mariae saluberrima intercessione, nobis salutaria fore concede (Secr. in festo B. M. V. de Monte Carmelo). — Ut nobis, Domine, tua sacrificia dent salutem: beatus Confessor tuus Augustinus et Pontifex, quaesumus, precator accedat (Postcomm. in festo s. August.). on the other hand, the intercession of the Saints is again implored after a manner more intimately connected with the Holy Sacrifice offered in their honor and to their memory²¹⁹219Dum eorum merita recolimus, patrocinia sentiamus; quorum solemnia celebramus, eorum orationibus adjuvemur; cujus natalitia colimus, de ejusdem etiam protectione gaudeamus; quorum gloriamur triumphis, protegamur auxiliis; quae pro illorum veneranda gerimus passione, nobis proficiat ad medelam; quorum festa solemniter celebramus, continuis foveamur auxiliis etc.—or to speak more correctly, the intercession of the Saints is invoked because of the efficacy of the Holy Sacrifice; and this is but proper, since the Saints possess and exercise the right of intercession in our favor only by the power of Christ and of His Sacrifice. For whatever the Saints are and can do, they hold and accomplish in virtue of the Sacrifice of Christ, renewed upon the altar in an unbloody manner. By virtue of this Sacrifice they became holy and persevered in holiness until the end of their life; by its virtue they overcame themselves, the world and the devil; by its virtue they entered, rich in merits, into the glory of heaven, where they have become intercessors in our behalf; by its virtue God listens to their petitions, hence the confidence which we have in the merits and intercession of the Saints and with which we invoke their intercession, is based upon the efficacy of this Sacrifice. It is but proper then, indeed, that in offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice unto the honor of God and His Saints and for our own salvation, we acknowledge and confess this; and this we do by beseeching the Heavenly Father, unto whom the Mass is offered, that p. 192He would deign, by virtue of this Sacrifice, to make us share in the intercession of the Saints, and, in view of the merits they have acquired by their union with the self-same Sacrifice and through their intercession, the efficacy of which is derived from this Sacrifice, to grant us His powerful protection. Want of confidence in the Divine Mercy cannot be associated with such a petition, based as it is upon the Sacrifice of His infinite love and goodness. On the contrary: such a petition serves to promote the honor of Christ, since we thereby acknowledge and confess that it is Himself who has glorified the Saints by the power of His Sacrifice; yet more, this petition conduces to the praise of the Saints, who, by the grace of the Sacrifice of Christ, have offered themselves for Christ and, consequently, now reign with Him and are our intercessors.²²⁰220Cf. Augsburger Pastoralblatt 1876, p. 277. Thus, while the celebration of Mass covers the Saints of heaven with honor and glory, it confers on us men, in need of assistance, every spiritual advantage.²²¹221Illis proficiat ad honorem, nobis autem ad salutem; quod pro illius gloria celebramus, nobis prosit ad veniam; quae pro illius celebrata sunt gloria, nobis proficiat ad medelam etc.