St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-08
before him. His eyes have never b,

De1ore him. His eyes have never be-
fore rested upon such a scene. He
sees before him an altar, on which
lights are burning, at which the priest
is officiating in a language and after
q manner unintelligible to him. The
priest is clad in peculiar and striking
robes. An earnest crowd OF devout
worshipers Is intent upon the move.
ments of the priest at the altar, fully
realizing that an impressive and sol
emn act of religious worship is being
performed. AS the mysterious SER
vice proceeds, the earnest WorSh1pers
stand and kneel alternately, each one,
however, intent upon his private de-
votions The grandest music that ever
Vibrates upon human earl the I'M
eoualed compositions of the worlds
greatest masters of song, lends dignity
and grandeur to the elevating scene.
The Catholic church music, inspired
by the genius of melody, is the nobleSt
and most sublime that has ever stirred
the human soul. IT'S the language of
heaven moving the mind and hearts
of men. No other religion has given
birth to such enchanting combination
of melody and dedicated to the glori-
Gus service of God. But it is the mass
that has inspired the music, not the
celestial song that has created the
mass. The profound meaning of the
mass has aroused the genius of a
Mozart, Haydn and a Beethoven, to
express in swelling cadences the emo
bling emotions of the Christian soul.
In presence of such an awe-inSpiring
scene, no wonder that the bewildered
spectator anXiously inquiries after the
marvellous meaning of it all. Surely,
intelligent people, in the enjoyment of
their sound reason, would not so uni
versally and with such earnestness
engage in solemn act like this with
out understanding and being able to
explain its meaning. The giant intel
lects Of the world, like st. Thomas,
st Augustine, Abelard, Calico, Copper
nicus, Michael Angelo, Guido REM,
Columbus, Martin Luther, Shakes
peare, would not have believed in the
mass and revered it as the grandest
act of divine worship unless it's in
spring meaning could be made clear
to the human mind.
The mass is the unbloody sacrifice Of
the cross. In the mass 1--WE show
forth the death of the Lord until He
came" In the mass the substance of
the bread and wine is changed into
the substance of the body and blood
of Christ, by the almighty power of
God, acting through the ministry of
His priesthood, in accordance with the
command given to the apostles at the
last supper, do this in commemora-
ton of Me" duke xxi, 49, The mass
is the "clean oblation'' foretold by the
PTOnhat
sacrifice offered to the living God from
the rising to the setting sun, and in
every place. The mass is the memorial
service of Christ's suffering. In insti-
tuting this marvellous memorial of His
death, on the night before He suffered,
the Redeemer of the world we'll knew
that this perpetual remembrance of
His death would be the best means of
winning our love, and of exciting sor-
row for sin in our souls
All our Christian traditions testify
that the mass has come down to us
from the days of the apostles. The
liturgy of the church, which is the I'M
Improbable witness of the worship of
the church, proves beyond all doubt
the apostolic origin of the mass. The
mass is offered up as the most sublime
act of Christian worship. the oniv
worship that can be fully worthy Of
God, for it is God Himself that Is
offered in this wondrous sacrifice. It's
purpose is to honor and glorify God,
to thank Him for all His benefits, to
satisfy Gods justice for human sin,
and to obtain heavens graces and
blessings. The grand ceremonies at
tending this most sublime act of re-
ligious worship increase our reverence
and eloquently express the emotions
of believing hearts.