Page:The Catholic prayer book.djvu/40

22 Father, in the name of the Holy Catholic Church: and the prayer of the Church, together with the pious desires and prayers of the faithful, are united with this holy sacriﬁce. It is Jesus Christ rather who upon the altar offers himself up, and prays for us, and we may conﬁdently hope that what we cannot obtain from God by our prayers alone, we can obtain through the Holy Mass, in which Jesus Christ himself prays for us and with us.

It is an excellent practice, therefore, for those who can, to be present daily at this most holy sacriﬁce, of which St. Augustine says: “One who devoutly hears the Holy Mass will fall into no mortal sin, and will obtain the pardon of his venial sins.” It is good to be present every day; for to hear Mass on a Sunday or holiday is, of course, not only good, but a necessary duty; and to be absent on these days, without a strong reason, is a mortal sin. Be present then, as often as you can, and while the sacriﬁce goes on, imagine yourself standing near the Saviour when he celebrated his last supper with his disciples; or, if you please, on Mount Calvary, at the foot of the cross, upon which he offered himself to his heavenly Father for the sins of the world.

In order to have a part in the merits of the holy Sacriﬁce of the Mass, either you must follow the actions and prayers of the Priest, especially at the three principal points, namely, at the Offertory, the Consecration, and the Communion; or make a meditation upon the passion of Christ; or you may make use of devout prayers as you ﬁnd them in your prayer-book; or, in ﬁne, any other devout exercise best suited to your own feelings of devotion, uniting all the while your intention to the intention of the sacriﬁcing Priest.