A Devout Method of Hearing Mass

CONFORMABLY TO THE MYSTERIES OF THE PASSION.

IT is the common opinion of the Saints that among all the exercises of piety, none is so pleasing to God, and so profitable to our souls, as frequent reflection on the sufferings of Jesus Christ, and a continual effort on our part to commemorate and honour His sacred Passion and Death. Respect, justice, love, and above all, gratitude, oblige us to this, and should concur to make the sufferings of our Divine Redeemer the most ordinary and familiar reflection of our lives. Our own interest should likewise urge us to adopt this holy practice, since it is considered by the saints a short and secure road to perfection. St. Bonaventure says, that “he who devoutly applies himself to meditate upon the life and death of Jesus, finds there all he requires, and needs not seek anything out of Jesus Christ. As one of the most perfect methods of assisting at Mass, is to meditate devoutly on the Passion of Christ, so the best means of honouring that sacred Passion is to hear Mass for that end; for in this adorable Sacrifice, which St. F. de Sales justly styles “the centre of religion, the heart of devotion, and the soul of piety;” we are furnished with an offering of thanksgiving for our redemption, proportioned to the benefit; and also with a motive for daily increasing in gratitude for such blessings, as eternity itself will not appear too long to acknowledge.

A PRAYER BEFORE MASS.

O DIVINE Jesus! sacred Victim, immolated for the redemption of mankind! I earnestly beseech Thee that I may assist at this adorable sacrifice with the most lively faith, animated hope, unbounded gratitude, and tender love. Permit me to follow Thee in spirit through the different stages of Thy sacred Passion, and give me an abundant share of that infinite charity which induced Thee to suffer such excessive torments for my sake.

With the daughters of Sion who met Thee carrying Thy cross, and Thy blessed Mother, who saw Thee expire for our salvation, I desire to compassionate Thy sufferings, and to detest sin, as the only sovereign evil. I offer this divine sacrifice, to commemorate, in an especial manner, Thy dolorous Passion, and to obtain through its efficacious merits the grace of true and sincere devotion towards Thy life-giving sufferings and death.

AT THE BEGINNING OF MASS.

The priest going from the sacristy to the altar, represents Jesus Christ retiring from the Cenacle to the Garden of Gethsemani. Unite your sentiments with the divine dispositions of the Son of God, and dispose yourself by sincere repentance to assist worthily at the great sacrifice about to be offered.

O DIVINE Lord! in the multitude of Thy mercies I will enter Thy house, and adore Thee in Thy holy temple. Though my sins are multiplied beyond number, yet I will appeal to Thy unbounded mercies, which far exceed my malice, or the extent of my ingratitude. I will confide in the sufferings of my Redeemer, and hope through His infinite merits, to find grace and salvation. O dear Jesus! Thou who hast washed me heretofore in the laver of baptism, wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin; sprinkle me with Thy blood and I shall be cleansed; wash me and I shall be made whiter than snow.

AT THE INTROIT.

When the priest bows and kisses the altar, contemplate our divine Lord prostrate before His heavenly Father, loaded with the sins of mankind, and bathed in blood through excess of sorrow. Reflect on the anguish which the treacherous kiss of Judas caused our divine Redeemer.

O GOOD Jesus! I fervently bless Thee, for all Thou hast done and suffered for my salvation. Give me grace to weep over those sins which drew streams of blood from Thy sacred veins. I desire to commemorate with the most lively and humble contrition Thy agony in the garden, and I firmly resolve to detest my sins to the last moment of my life. Pierce my soul with grief, for having repaid Thy goodness with ingratitude, and let me frequently cry out with the humble publican: O God, be merciful to me a sinner. May those bonds which confined Thy sacred hands, burst the fetters of my sins, and restore me to the sweet liberty of Thy children. I cast myself at Thy sacred feet, and conjure Thee to strengthen me by Thy all-powerful grace, that under every trial and affliction, I may submit cheerfully to the decrees of Thy adorable providence, and never cease to bless Thy holy name.

AT THE KYRIE ELEISON AND GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.

The Kyrie eleison is repeated three times to honour the adorable Trinity; it may also serve to remind you of the denials of St. Peter, and to excite the deepest regret for your much more frequent denials of so good a master. At the Gloria in excelsis, reflect on the miraculous conversions which signalised the public life of Jesus Christ, and beg that one benign glance may convert and penetrate your soul, as it did that of St. Peter.

O MY God! have mercy on me, according to Thy great mercy; pardon me, who have so often had the misfortune of denying Thee, by a life altogether opposite to Thy sacred maxims. Look on me, divine Jesus, with that compassion and tenderness which the sight of misery always excited in Thy most amiable heart. Purify me, as Thou didst Thy penitent apostle, that I may worthily unite with Thy Church in celebrating the wonderful work of man's redemption. O how fervently should I join in Thy praises, most amiable Jesus! How ardently should I sing, glory be to God on high, glory to that admirable Being, who, forgetful of His own glory, underwent for my sake such prodigious humiliations! O my sovereign King, my divine and adorable Model! since Thou wert pleased to descend so low as my frail nature, grant that I may place all my glory, honour, and happiness, in sharing Thy humiliations, and carrying Thy cross.

AT THE EPISTLE AND GOSPEL.

When the priest goes from the middle of the altar to the Epistle side, and thence to the Gospel side, represent to yourself the eternal Son of God, dragged about to the different tribunals of Annas, Caiphas, Pilate, and Herod; and when you stand to hear the Gospel, remember that it is the word of Him, who alone has the words of eternal life; of Him, who came from heaven to instruct you, and who, for your sake, confirmed His doctrine by shedding His precious blood.

O ETERNAL God! unerring Truth! whose sacred Word I am so happy to hear, penetrate my heart by the influence of Thy grace, that I may not hear it to my eternal reprobation, like the Jews who so long and so fruitlessly listened to Thy sacred maxims. O spotless Lamb of God! while Thy judges proclaim Thee an impostor, I rise without fear or shame to declare in the face of heaven and earth, that I believe Thee to be Christ, the Son of the living God, and I most unreservedly assent to all and every article proposed by Thy holy Church to my belief. But, O divine Lord! give me grace to profess my faith by my actions as well as by my words. Have mercy on all who are involved in the dreadful night of infidelity; may the light of Thy grace shine upon them, and so penetrate their hearts, that they may embrace the truth, and be united in the communion of Thy holy Church.

AT THE OFFERTORY.

When the priest unveils the chalice, and offers the bread and wine, contemplate your merciful Redeemer, stripped of His garments, bound to a pillar, and cruelly scourged; offer yourself, in union with the sacrifice He then offered of His precious blood, and which He renews on the altar.

ADORABLE Jesus! when I reflect on the torments Thou didst endure when fastened to the pillar, I begin to conceive the enormity of my sins, and the immense extent of Thy eternal love. I behold in Thy wounds the greatness of my ingratitude, and the depth of the misery to which I am reduced. But, O Lord, how happy am I in being able to present Thee, at this moment, a victim of thanksgiving and atonement, fully proportioned, or rather far exceeding, the magnitude of my obligation, and the multitude of my crimes. I offer Thee the streams of blood that flowed from Thy sacred body during Thy ignominious scourging, and also the bread and wine which is now presented to Thy divine Majesty. Accept, in union with this precious oblation, my body and soul, my thoughts, words, desires, affections, and sufferings; in fine, my whole being, that henceforward I may be entirely Thine by the bonds of ardent charity.

AT THE LAVABO AND ORATE FRATRES.

When the priest washes his hands, call to mind the testimony which Pilate gave to the innocence of Jesus Christ; and at the Orate Fratres adore your Saviour, exhibited to the people as a mock king. Prostrate yourself in spirit before the sovereign Lord, and pour out at His sacred feet the grateful effusions of your compassion and love.

O MOST adorable blood! which flowed a remedy for all human woes, I beseech Thee to wash, purify, and sanctify my sinful soul, that I may, with a pure and upright conscience, assist at these awful mysteries. I cannot, O my God! presume to wash my hands among the innocent, for, alas! I have been long since excluded from the happy few who never offended Thee; but, at least, I can claim a privilege not reserved to the innocent alone, but mercifully granted even to the most guilty. I can wash my hands, my heart, my soul, in Thy precious blood. I can cast myself on Thy divine mercy, with a firm resolution rather to die than to offend Thee during the remainder of my life. O King of my soul! I acknowledge Thee for my sole and sovereign Lord. O Jesus! I implore, by the sorrow and agony of heart Thou didst endure when Barabbas was preferred to Thee, that Thou wouldst preserve me from ever preferring any created object to Thy friendship and favour. By Thy ignominious clothing with a purple garment, I entreat Thee to give me a garment of justice, when I shall appear before Thy dread tribunal, and I fervently conjure Thee that, through Thy infinite mercy, and the merits of Thy thorny crown, I may hereafter obtain a crown of immortal glory.

AT THE PREFACE.

The priest praying some time in secret before the Preface, represents and commemorates the admirable silence observed by Jesus Christ in the course of His sacred Passion. Do you now address your divine Lord in the secret of your heart; represent to Him all your spiritual necessities; implore an application of His infinite merits to the wounds of your soul; and when the priest raises his voice to recite the Preface do you redouble your fervour, and join in spirit with the Church militant, triumphant, and suffering, in praising and magnifying that divine Lamb who was slain for the health and life of His own creatures.

O DIVINE Searcher of Hearts! from whom nothing is hidden, since Thou desirest so ardently to establish Thy reign in my soul, permit me to represent to Thee its miseries, and all the obstacles which unfortunately oppose the sweet empire of Thy love in my heart. O Lord, Thou needst not my representations to discern my wants. I am too insensible to feel my miseries as I ought—too weak to call loudly on Thy mercy—too guilty to deserve being heard. Let my silence then speak, O most merciful Saviour! let my multiplied miseries plead on my behalf. Thou wilt not be deaf to their eloquent supplications; and surely, my God! Thou needst but consult Thy own Sacred Heart, and that infinite love which brings Thee daily to our altars, to find motives for granting pardon and mercy to the most unworthy of Thy creatures. O blessed spirits of heaven! holy and happy saints of God! who in the mirror of His adorable sanctity, behold the enormity of sin, supply for me, who am unworthy to join with the Church in celebrating His praises and magnifying His goodness.

AT THE CANON.

Let the low and solemn voice in which the Canon is read, remind you of that mourning and consternation which amazed and silenced all nature at the sufferings of Jesus Christ: and when the priest spreads over the oblation, making the sign of the cross, call to mind the torments our divine Redeemer endured when fastened to the cross.

O MY God! when I reflect on the number and enormity of my sins, I am sensible that I have no claim to a share in those precious graces which Thou hast died to purchase for Thy creatures; but when I contemplate that cross on which Thou didst agonise—when I turn my eyes on this altar, this new Calvary on which Thou art about to descend, and again offer Thyself for my salvation, I feel convinced that Thou wilt always be to me a Jesus, a Saviour. Accept, therefore, of my whole being, in union with the sacred oblation I am about to offer. Purify my soul in those strains of blood which gushed from Thy adorable wounds, and which will soon flow on this altar. Grant to us all, through its efficacious merits, the grace to practise what Thy holy law commands, and to avoid what it prohibits. Extend the blessing of peace and unity to Thy Church; repentance and pardon to all sinners; comfort to the sick, the dying, and the afflicted; in a word, mercy and eternal happiness to all, since for all, O divine Victim! Thou didst shed Thy adorable and saving blood. I particularly implore Thy precious graces, O my God, for those for whom I am bound to pray—those who have recommended themselves to my prayers—who pray for me, or who at this moment may specially want Thy divine assistance. O may this adorable and august sacrifice be received by Thy Divine Majesty, as was the victim which Christ offered in His own Person on the altar of the cross.

AT THE ELEVATION.

At the Elevation of the Sacred Host and Chalice, reflect on the pangs which Jesus endured, when, lifted up between heaven and earth, His precious blood flowed abundantly for the remission of your sins, for the conversion of the world, and of His greatest enemies. Let the first fruit of His Cross and Passion, applied to the penitent thief on the cross, encourage you to recur confidently to His mercies, and to hope that His infinite love will one day assign you likewise a place in Paradise.

HAIL, O King of Glory! Prince of Peace! and Saviour of the World! Hail! O Immaculate Victim! sacrificed for me and all mankind on the altar of the cross. I bless Thee, I adore Thee, I love Thee, O divine Jesus! and I ardently invite the whole universe to join in praising and blessing Thy holy name. O bleeding and adorable Victim of my sins, why have I not the faith, the love, the anguish which penetrated the hearts of those who beheld Thy sacred blood flow from Thy precious wounds? Hear, O eternal God! the voice of this blood, which cries loudly, not for vengeance, but for pardon and mercy. Oh, let it plead powerfully in my behalf; let it blot out my sins, cleanse every stain from my soul, and render me pure and pleasing in Thy sight.

AFTER THE ELEVATION.

BEHOLD, O Almighty and all-gracious God! Thy Son Jesus, in whom Thou art well pleased. Look upon the face of Thy Jesus and my Saviour here present; look upon this spotless Lamb, this adorable Victim, this pure holocaust of obedience, humbled to the ignominious death of the cross. Behold in Him what may move Thee to look upon us with an eye of mercy and compassion. He is our High Priest, sprinkled with His own blood. Receive the sacrifice He has offered for us, in consideration of the honour and homage that are due to Thy sovereign goodness from me and all creatures. Extend, O compassionate Creator! its efficacious virtue to the souls of the faithful departed, and grant them rest and life everlasting, particularly to N. N.: deign to mitigate their punishment, and translate them to that place of glory for which they were destined. Thou didst once promise that, looking on the rainbow, Thou wouldst remember the covenant made between Thee and the patriarch Noah (Gen. ix.), canst Thou then look on the blood of Thy beloved Son Jesus, offered to Thee in sacrifice, without remembering the great covenant of the New Law, sealed and confirmed with the effusion of His sacred blood?

O dearest Jesus! why cannot I love Thee as Thy goodness deserves? The more Thou hast humbled Thyself for my sake, the more I am bound to love Thee, and spend my life in Thy service. Remember Thou hast purchased my soul at a dear rate; oh, let not Thy blood be lost or shed in vain, but receive me into the number of Thy elect. I detest my sins, which are the cause of Thy sufferings; alas! they were the nails that pierced Thy hands and feet, and fastened Thee to an ignominious cross. Oh, who will give sorrow to my heart, and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may bewail them in the bitterness of my soul all the days of my life, and thus, at the hour of death, be entitled to hear those consolatory words addressed to the penitent thief: This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise. I acknowledge that I do not deserve to be ranked among the number of Thy children; yet, in obedience to Thy precept, and with profound veneration for Thy sacred words, I will presume to say that heavenly prayer which Thou hast taught me: Our Father, &c.

AT THE AGNUS DEI.

When the priest says the Agnus Dei, reflect on the miraculous change of heart wrought in the centurion and other witnesses of the death of Jesus Christ, and be careful, as far as it depends on you, not to depart from this new Calvary without participating in their holy dispositions.

O INNOCENT Lamb of God! who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on me, for Thy peculiar and distinguishing property is infinite mercy. Give to my heart the sorrow and repentance of those who mourned Thy cruel death, and teach me, like them, to place all my hopes in Thee, and to love and seek Thee as my only Sovereign Good. I most humbly beseech Thee by all the anguish Thou didst endure during the course of Thy Passion, especially at the separation of Thy Sacred Soul from Thy Body, that Thou wouldst have mercy and compassion on me, when I shall be on the point of appearing before Thy dread tribunal. Let Thy Passion and death then interpose between my soul and the rigours of Thy justice. Ah! while I yet sojourn in this valley of tears, let the remembrance of Thy bitter draught of vinegar and gall preserve me from delighting in the false pleasures of this world, and let Thy burning thirst upon the cross make me thirst only after the enjoyment of Thy promise. May the recollection of Thy saving death penetrate my soul with such lively gratitude, that from this moment I may place all my happiness in loving and serving Thee, my only joy and sovereign felicity.

AT THE COMMUNION.

The Priest's Communion represents the burial of Jesus Christ's sacred body when it was taken from the cross; and the covering of the chalice is a figure of the sepulchre shut up, and covered with a stone. This is the time peculiarly adapted to invite our Lord by a spiritual communion to repose in your heart, and to honour it frequently by His sacramental presence, or habitually by the influence of His holy grace.

O MY God! how can I reflect on the happiness of those who approach worthily to the Holy Eucharist, without ardently desiring to enjoy the like blessing? how can I assist at this adorable sacrifice without regretting the sins and miseries which justly deter me from receiving Thee sacramentally; I am not worthy, O infinite purity! to lodge Thee in my heart; I am not worthy to share in the happiness of those who now enjoy Thy sacramental presence. But, Lord! though I cannot unite myself to Thee really, yet I am not forbidden to do so in spirit and desire. I believe most firmly that Thou art present in this sacred host; I hope in that infinite mercy which detains Thee therein, and I ardently love and desire to receive Thee, notwithstanding my unworthiness. I unite in the adoration, love, humility, and fervour of all who this day received Thee, throughout the universe, with the most perfect dispositions; and I earnestly beg of Thee, by that tender love which induces Thee to give Thyself to Thy creatures, to accept of every thought, word, and action, from this to my next communion, as so many acts of love, desire, and preparation to receive Thee; and I earnestly conjure Thee to crown all Thy blessings by the inestimable grace of a worthy communion at the hour of my death.

AT THE LAST COLLECTS.

The Last Collect represents the apparitions and instructions of Jesus Christ to His Apostles and Disciples after His resurrection; and the Priest's Blessing denotes that parting benediction given by our Divine Lord, when ascending into heaven. Remember when the last Gospel is read at the left side of the altar, that Jesus Christ did not come to call the just but sinners to repentance, and that His infinite mercy in thus daily renewing on our altars the Sacrifice of the Cross, should animate even the most guilty to recur with confidence to His infinite goodness and abundant merits.

O BLESSED Redeemer, who, coming forth from the grave, didst rise triumphant over death, I praise and glorify Thee for all Thy mercies, and in particular for having conversed so long with Thy apostles, and confirmed them in that saving faith, which they were destined to transmit to succeeding ages. Oh! how shall I thank Thee for the inestimable advantage of having beheld Thee sacrificed on this altar, and for having thereby participated in the abundant merits of Thy Passion and death? Let me not depart from this sanctuary without those sentiments of piety, and that spiritual strength for the amendment of my life, which may be always drawn from this adorable sacrifice. Pardon, O Lord! my distractions and irreverences. Engrave on my heart the remembrance of Thy sufferings, that I may henceforward glory only in Jesus Christ, and in Him crucified. Teach me to follow Thy divine example, that rising with Thee to a new life, I may, through Thy powerful grace, advance daily and hourly in virtue, and at length attain to the unlimited and eternal enjoyment of Thee, my God and my All! in the kingdom of Thy glory. Amen.