The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-03-13
THE GREAT ENDS FOR WHICH
7 THE HOLY SACRIFICE is
81. OFFERED.

=" In reply to the question: "What
are the ends fer which the Mass is
offered?% our Catechism tells us that
& is offered: f'To give God honour and
glory, to thank Him for His benefits,
10 Obtain remission of our sins, and all
Sthers graees and blessings through
Jesus Christ orr Lord Here we have
tAge, dis distinct jge ends for which Mass is
<fs4et us take up each in turn and
dwellse little on it. ii
To Give God Honour and Glory.
! To give God honour and glory, and
Thereby to save our souls, is the one
great end of our existence. Man was
Created says ST. IgnatuS in the be-
ginning of the Spiritual Exercises, ''to
praise, reverence, and serve God, and
thereby save his soul" For this we
were, sent by God into the world.
Now, in the Mass we fulfil, in a SUI
preme degree, our function on the
earth, as rational beings, of praising
and reyerencing God.
says Sanchez, 1.-THE glory that we give
Him in the Mass, is so great that no
greater service, no greater honour,
>could@he shown Him upon earth. For
thereby we testify that in His Sover-
jeign Majesty He is worthy that, not
the blood of calves and goats, but the
Most Precious Blood of His first-born
Son should be offered to Him in sacri;
Mct.' .
I. what is Holy Mass" asks Mar
lchantius, "but an embassy sent to the
Ever Blessed Trinity with gift OF
priceless value, which we present to
the Three Divine Persons, in recosni-
ton Of Their dominion over all crea-
lures, and of our dependence upon
..them&2'1 49, s,.aa,.t.
st, Laurence ,Justinian says: ''It is
certain that nothing gives God greater
glory than the, Spotless Victim of the
altar, Which Christ ordained to be
sacrificed in order that His fChurch
might offer praise to God" I'm other
words, we cannot offer higher praise
tosG God than by, celebrating or assist
Molina explains thus: In the Mass,
he says, "the first.born Son of God is
offered to the Father with all the
praise and glory which He rendered
Him on earth" Now, this praise was,
sobviously, infinite and in every way
.Worthy of the Divine Majesty, since
1T was offered by the Manhood. There
fore, it is clear that one Mass gives
more honour and praise to God than
all, the efforts of all creatures to the
END Of time and through eternity.
To this effect a learned writer Of
the seventeenth century, already cited,
.sRealpss as fellows. If all the. powers
Of heaven should unite to form a sol
'emn procession in honour Of the
Holy Trinity, at the head Of which
would be the Mother of God, the chief
of all creatures, surrounded by the
Nine Chotrs Of Angels, followed by in
Vulnerable companies of the saints
and Blessed singing with the sweetest
voices, playing on the most melodious
instruments, this triumphant process
sion would doubtless be to the praise
and glory Of God, and would be pleas
ing in His sight. But if at the close
of the procession the Church Militant
were to commission one single priest
to say one Mass in honour of the Ever
Blessed Trinity, this one priest, with
his one Mass, would offer an incom-
parably higher tribute of praise than
that glorious, procession had done.
l,o fov chr wi N
glory and sublimity as the Son of God
is exalted above all created things
Hence we learn how transcendant
is the praise and glory that we offer
ito God, even by a single Mass, and
show supremely great a happiness we
should esteem it to be able to assist
so often at the. Holy Sacrifice.
To Give God Thanks for His Benefits.
We .can-riever- be sufficiently thank
tful to God for all that He has done
for us. He has created us, making
us, in dignity of being, little less than
.the angels" in heaven; He has re.
&deemed us from hell and the slavery
of Satan at such terrible cost to Him.
Faith, giving us innumerable means
of securing our salvation-the Sacra-
ments, especially the Blessed Eucha-
rist, the Mass itself and many other
helps. He has spared us when perhaps
lie might have cast us into hell;
ygiven lis health, the use Of our senses
sand faculties-what, for example,
Nshould we be without sight, hearing,
speech, power. Of moving, ETC., or de-
tprived of the use of our intellect, or
%memory or will? He provides for our
sbodily wants: the bread we eat, the
Nmeat that gives us strength, the water
ave drink, the air we breathe. the sun
;that gives us light and heat, the
sliouses that shelter us, the clothes
sthat cover usr-aH these and thou
dsand other things are all ultimately
Ellis gifts Think, too, of all the graces
Me gives you every day: He gives you
Mgrace~ to avoid sin, to pray to Him,
ITO serve Him4 For all these things
1--WE have, if 1eft to ourselves, no means
sof thanking Him, but in the Mass we
Eiave a means, not merely of showing
9dur gratitude, but of doing so in the
sa1nost adequate and perfect manner.
7 What sshall render to the Lord
sfor all the things that He hath rem
3 dered to me-" asks the Royal Prophet
and he answers: 81 shall take the