Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/192

 God the  things  that  are  God's,  that  you perform your  religious  duties.

2. Among  the  first  and  foremost  of  these duties, I  place  attendance  at  divine  service on Sundays  and  holydays,  and  the  suitable observance of  these  days  in  a  religious spirit. Therefore assist,  whenever  you  possibly can,  at  Holy  Mass  on  all  Sundays and holydays. For there  is  nothing  in  the world more  pleasing  to  God  than  the  sacrifice of  the  altar. We do  not  pray  alone in Holy  Mass,  but  Jesus  Himself  pleads  in our  behalf  and  prays  with  us. He offers to His  heavenly  Father  all  that  He  did  and suffered His  whole  life  long  in  order  to honor  and  glorify  Him;  His  obedience,  His charity, His  humility,  and  so  on. He offers there His  body  which  was  crucified,  His blood which  was  shed  for  our  salvation;  in  a word,  He  now  offers  for  us  the  identical sacrifice which  He  once  offered  for  us  upon the cross.

3. For  nineteen  hundred  years  have  men journeyed to  the  Holy  Land,  in  order  to  gaze, once at  least  in  a  lifetime,  upon  the  hallowed spot where  the  sacred  Victim  was  slain,  in order  to  behold  the  Mount  of  Calvary  where the precious  blood  of  the  incarnate  Word was shed,  where  our  Blessed  Redeemer, Jesus Christ,  deigned  to  die  for  our  sins. Now to  assist  at  Holy  Mass  means  in  a  way to visit  the  place  where  Our  Lord  was  crucified,  to  ascend  Mount  Calvary  in  company