The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-11-05
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8 .; " 81
Sermons on Catholic Worship.

devotion are known to thee, for whom
we offer or who offer up to thee this
sacrifice of praise, for themselves and
all pertaining to them, for the redemp.
ton of their souls, for the hope of
their salvation and well-being, and
who pay their VOWS unto thee, the
eternal God, living and true" The
priest says: Remember, O Lord!"-
not that the omniscient God can forget,
but to beseech Him that, mindful of
the necessities of His servants, He
may show them favor and mercy. At
the letters IN. and NJ the priest ST.
lently recalls the names of the persons
for whom the sacrifice is specially Of
fered. In the very early centuries, the
names were written on diptychs, or
writing tablets and, whilst the priest
made the memento silently, the deacon
turned and read the names to the peo-s
pie. Later, however, this practice was
discontinued, but the custom of placing
the diptychs on the altar continued in
the west until the 18th century and
among the Greeks until the 18th cen
fury. ~s
"For All Here Present"
After making his special intentions,
the priest prays for "all here present,
whose faith and devotion are known
to thee" Hence it follows" says Pope
Innocent III, "how holy and salutary it
is to assist at Mass, because it is of
fered in a special manner for those
present" But not only does the priest
offer the sacrifice for those assisting
at Mass; but all present, through the
priest, offer up to God ''this sacrifice of
praise, for themselves and all pertain
ing to them, for the redemption of
their souls, for the hope of their sal
walton and well-being." We have a
special duty towards those united to
us by blood, friendship, or other bond;
and we should ask for them as well as
for ourselves all desirable spiritual
and temporal blessings. In union with
the priest, the faithful offer the holy
Mass for themselves and for all those
who are dear to them, as an atoning
sacrifice ''for the redemption of their
SOULS and as sacrifice of petition
for the hope of their salvation and
safety" AS an atoning sacrifice the
Mass obtains for the sinner the grace
of repentance, and to the just it grants
remission of venial sins and of tenn
poral punishments due to sin. AS a
sacrifice of importation the Mass OBJ
tains both spiritual favors Expressed
hxy4s tbn 0g hot
temporal favors Expressed by safe
typ; and these favors should be
sought in the proper order, the spirit
ual before the. temporal AK
The concluding clause: "who pay
their VOWS unto thee, the eternal God,
living and true" is a continuation of
and supplement to the preceding
words: who offer to thee this sacri-
fee of praise" It accords with the ad-
monition of the prophet (XLIx, 14):
"Offer to God the sacrifice of praise
and pay thy vows to the Most High"
These vows are the holy desires and
promises to worship God, and are full
filled especially at the Mass, the inf
nitely perfect sacrifice of praise and
alteration. stt ~.-
| commemoration of the Saints.
Immediately after the remembrance
of the living comes the commemora-
ton of the saints. AS the Mass is a
distinctively sacrificial ritual, all it's
prayers are addressed directly to God
Himself but frequent mention is made
of the saints during Mass. AS the He
brews of old loved to recall the names
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that, in
view of their merits, they might OBJ
| tain for themselves the protection of
God, so the Church, in this prayer of
the Mass, recites the names of the
great saints of the Christian era in
order that, through their merits and
intercession, we may continually enjoy
the divine protection. Hence the
priest recites the following prayer:
'In communion with and honoring the
memory, in the first place, of the glori.
GUS ever Virgin Mary, mother of God
and our Lord Jesus Christ; as also of
thy blessed apostles and martyrs
Peter and Paul, Andrew, James,, John,
L hOlAdo, Jdl1Co, L H1Ilp, Odl eAOIOdlC"
Matthew, Simon and Thaddeus, Linus,
Cletus, Clement, xystus, Cornelius,
Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysegonus, John
and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and all
thy saints; by whose merits and pray.
ers grant that we may in all things be
made secure by the aid of thy protec
| ton, through the same Christ our
Lord. Amen"
First Ministers of the Mass.
In this commemoration are men.
toned by name the Blessed Vir
gin Mary, IL apostles, and IL other
martyrs. AS is fitting, foremost in
this sacred catalogue is the queen OF
saints and martyrs with her glorious
titles: Ever Virgin Mary, mother OF
God and our Lord Jesus Christ" Her
name heads the list because through
her was given to us Christ, the di
vine victim of the sacrifice of the
Mass. After the Blessed Virgin are
rightly commemorated the apostles
who were present when Christ insti
tuted the sacrifice of the Mass at the
Last Supper. who were the first or
dained ministers of the great sacri
fee, and who handed down it's sub
stantial rite and form. First among
the apostles are SIS. Peter and Paul
who are generally named together in
the liturgy, for, as the Church sings