Page:Complete ascetical works of St Alphonsus v6.djvu/40

38 have received. The priest entreats the Lord to accept our prayers united with those of the angels, who celebrate his glory by repeating without ceasing the can ticle,, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth! ("Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!"); and he concludes by repeating the words used by the Jewish people in their acclamations at the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem: Benedictus, qui venit in nomine Domini! Hosanna in excelsis! ("Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!")

Te igitur, clementissime Pater, etc. ("We therefore humbly pray and beseech Thee, most merciful Father, etc."). Here begins what we call the Canon of the Mass, which the Council of Trent declares to be free from every error, since it is composed of the very words of our Lord, of the traditions of the apostles, and of pious regulations of the Holy See. The Canon is very ancient: it was already in use in the fourth century, according to the testimony of St. Ambrose. The priest first prays to his heavenly Father in the name of the whole Church, and through the merits of Jesus Christ, to accept and to bless the offerings that are made to him, and that are called gifts without spot: Hæc dona, hæc munera, hæc sancta sacrificia illibata ("These gifts, these presents, these holy unspotted sacrifices"). These words apply not only to the bread and the wine that have been offered, but refer by