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Type of Sacrament:
'Sacrament of the Living' (click
here for more info.)
Is Sacrament Obligatory?
Yes,
for those who have reached the age of reason.
"Jesus
said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh
of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within
you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my
blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent
me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who
feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that
came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still
died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.'" (Jn.
6:53-58)
Note:
As Scripture makes clear, reception of the Holy Eucharist is one
essential condition for salvation. To be saved, one must also live
according to God's laws. Recipients:
Baptized Catholics (men and women, young and old) in
the state of grace who have reached the age of reason and are
properly disposed. Can This Sacrament Be Repeated?
Yes. Frequent (even daily) reception of Holy Communion is
highly recommended.
"It is an excellent thing to go to Communion often, and
even daily in accordance with the desire of the Church, provided
we do so with the requisite dispositions." (Catechism of St.
Pius X)
"It is well to receive Holy Communion often, as nothing is
a greater aid to a holy life than often to receive the Author of
all grace and the Source of all good." (Baltimore Catechism)
When Should Sacrament Be Received?
As
soon as possible after reaching the age of reason, according to
the dictates of the Church. Note that the Church may require
Catholics to receive Holy Communion at least once a year, at
Easter, and at death. Note: Of course, those receiving Holy
Communion must be properly disposed and in the state of grace. Any
who have committed a mortal sin must first make a sacramental Confession and receive absolution prior to receiving Holy
Communion.
"We are bound to receive Holy Communion, under pain of
mortal sin, during Easter time and when in danger of death."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"We
are bound to go to Communion once a year, at Easter, each one in
his own parish; and also when in danger of death." (Catechism
of St. Pius X)
"The precept of paschal Communion begins to bind as soon
as a child is capable of receiving with the requisite
dispositions." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"If
any one denieth that all and each of Christ's faithful of both
sexes are bound, when they have attained to years of discretion,
to communicate every year at least at Easter, in accordance with
the precept of holy mother Church; let him be anathema."
(Council of Trent)
"Can.
920 §1 Once admitted to the blessed Eucharist, each of the
faithful is obliged to receive holy communion at least once a
year. §2 This precept must be fulfilled during paschal time
(the Easter season), unless for a good reason it is
fulfilled at another time during the year." (1983 Code of
Canon Law)
General
Prerequisites: Those receiving Holy Communion must
be in a state of grace, they must have proper faith, and must have
made all required preparations (e.g. fasting, continence, etc.).
Note:
Any who have committed a mortal sin must first make a sacramental
Confession and receive absolution prior to receiving
Holy Communion. Ordinary
Ministers:
Priests (or Bishops)
The
power to consecrate the bread & wine (which become the Body
& Blood of Christ, the Holy Eucharist) is given ONLY
to validly ordained priests (and bishops).
Traditionally,
the responsibility of distributing Holy Communion to the faithful
belongs to the priest (or bishop) alone:
"Can. 845 § 1 The ordinary minister of Holy Communion is
only a priest. § 2 A deacon is an extraordinary [minister],
authorized by the local Ordinary or a pastor, granted for a grave
cause, which in case of legitimate necessity is presumed."
(1917 Code of Canon Law)
The
1983 Code of Canon Law also permits deacons to distribute Holy
Communion:
"Can. 910 §1 The ordinary minister of holy communion is a
Bishop, a priest or a deacon." (1983 Code of Canon Law).
It
should be noted that deacons have been ordained ("the
deaconate is the first order or grade in ordained
ministry").
In
contrast, lay persons have not been ordained and have always
been forbidden by the Church to handle the Sacred Species and the
sacred vessels. Illustrative quotations regarding this matter
include those below...
"To
safeguard in every possible way the dignity of so august a
Sacrament, not only is the power of its administration entrusted
exclusively to priests, but the Church has also prohibited by law
any but consecrated persons, unless some case of great necessity
intervene, to dare handle or touch the sacred vessels, the linen,
or other instruments necessary to its completion. Priests
themselves and the rest of the faithful may hence understand how
great should be the piety and holiness of those who approach to
consecrate, administer or receive the Eucharist." (Catechism
of the Council of Trent)
"To
touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own
hands is a privilege of the ordained" (Pope John Paul II,
1980 A.D.)
"For
just as temple, altar, vessels, and vestments need to be
consecrated, so do the ministers who are ordained for the
Eucharist; and this consecration is the sacrament of Order."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
"There
is nothing which belongs more to the Church and there is nothing
Jesus Christ wanted more closely reserved for its shepherds than
the dispensation of the sacraments He instituted." (Pope
Gregory XVI, "Commissum Divinitus", 1835 A.D.)
"[L]aymen
are officially incompetent to dispense any sacrament: and that
they can baptize in cases of necessity, is due to the Divine
dispensation, in order that no one may be deprived of spiritual
regeneration." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"The
dispensing of Christ's body belongs to the priest for three
reasons. First, because...he consecrates as in the person of
Christ. But as Christ consecrated His body at the supper, so also
He gave it to others to be partaken of by them. Accordingly, as
the consecration of Christ's body belongs to the priest, so
likewise does the dispensing belong to him. Secondly, because the
priest is the appointed intermediary between God and the people;
hence as it belongs to him to offer the people's gifts to God, so
it belongs to him to deliver consecrated gifts to the people.
Thirdly, because out of reverence towards this sacrament, nothing
touches it, but what is consecrated; hence the corporal and the
chalice are consecrated, and likewise the priest's hands, for
touching this sacrament. Hence it is not lawful for anyone else to
touch it except from necessity, for instance, if it were to fall
upon the ground, or else in some other case of urgency." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
According to the Catechism of the Council of
Trent, this practice is traced to Apostolic times:
"It
must be taught, then, that to priests alone has been given power
to consecrate and administer to the faithful, the Holy Eucharist.
That this has been the unvarying practice of the Church, that the
faithful should receive the Sacrament from the priests, and that
the officiating priests should communicate themselves, has been
explained by the holy Council of Trent, which has also shown that
this practice, as having proceeded from Apostolic tradition, is to
be religiously retained, particularly as Christ the Lord has left
us an illustrious example thereof, having consecrated His own most
sacred body, and given it to the Apostles with His own
hands." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
Breaking
with all tradition, modernists in the wake of the Second Vatican
Council have - by calculated disobedience to papal authority -
sought to push 'Extraordinary Ministers of Holy
Communion'
(lay persons - even women - distributing Holy Communion) upon the
faithful. Such persons may also wrongly attempt to usurp the
priest's very title of "Eucharistic Minister" - an abuse
of the title which may only rightly be applied to priests. The
Second Vatican Second Vatican Council did NOT authorize the distribution of the Holy
Eucharist by lay persons, nor was it ever the desire of the Pope. Rather, the practice was implemented in direct defiance of the
pope and became widespread. Unfortunately, the disobedience
resulted in a partial 'surrender' by the Vatican (the practice may
be reluctantly tolerated under certain conditions). As predicted,
however, this practice has led to much sacrilege, loss of faith, and to the blurring of the priestly role.
For more information on this topic, see below (or
click here).
Form /
Matter: Formula for Consecration ["The form of
the sacrament of the Eucharist consists of the words used by Jesus
Christ Himself: 'This is My Body: This is My Blood.'"
(Catechism of St. Pius X)], Wheaten bread (unleavened) and wine
(from the grape) (which should be mixed with a little water).
Note: For the
validity of the consecration, both the form and the matter must be
licit, and the priest also must have the proper intention.
Note:
Unfortunately, there has been a well-known mistranslation in the
words of consecration in the vernacular Novus Ordo (New Order)
Mass which was imposed upon the faithful in the 1960's. This
mistranslation remained uncorrected for decades and indicates
that Jesus shed his blood for "all" rather than for
"many". (Note that the official Latin edition of the
Novus Ordo Mass correctly states "many", but
previous translations in English and other languages incorrectly
stated "all".) As stated by the Catechism of the Council
of Trent:
"For if we look to its value, we must
confess that the Redeemer shed His blood for the salvation of all;
but if we look to the fruit which mankind have received from it,
we shall easily find that it pertains not unto all, but to many of
the human race. When therefore ('our Lord) said: For you, He meant
either those who were present, or those chosen from among the
Jewish people, such as were, with the exception of Judas, the
disciples with whom He was speaking. When He added, And for many,
He wished to be understood to mean the remainder of the elect from
among the Jews or Gentiles. With reason, therefore, were
the words for all not used, as in this place the fruits of the
Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion
bring the fruit of salvation. And this is the purport of the Apostle when he
says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; and
also of the words of our Lord in John: I pray for them; I pray not
for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, because they
are thine." (Catechism of the Council of Trent, emphasis
added)
Although
this mistranslation is generally believed not to affect the validity
of the consecration (the incorrectly translated word follows the
words necessary to effect the consecration), the Church has always
considered it gravely sinful to tamper with important elements of
the Sacraments. In this case, it is clear that there is a
mistranslation and that the mistranslation seems to be
intentional since the very same mistranslation has occurred
over and over again throughout the world, and in many languages. Although many Catholics have, for years, expressed
concern over the widespread error and its lack of correction, the
situation persisted.
In
order to have a valid consecration, the proper matter is also required. In the wake of the Second Vatican Council, there have
been a number of cases in which invalid materials were used in the
Mass. Faithful Catholics should note that improper materials
generally invalidate the Sacrament (and even if
materials used are improper, but not sufficiently improper to
invalidate a sacrament, their use is still illicit). This
means that if a priest celebrates Mass - even using the correct
words of consecration and having the correct intention - but uses
invalid materials instead of wheaten bread and wine from the
grape, NO consecration occurs, and there is NO Real Presence.
"Christ instituted this sacrament under the species of
bread and wine, as is evident from Matthew 26. Consequently, bread
and wine are the proper matter of this sacrament." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"The matter of the sacrament of the Eucharist is that
which was used by Jesus Christ Himself, that is, wheaten bread and
wine of the vine." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Can. 926 In the
eucharistic celebration, in accordance
with the ancient tradition of the Latin Church, the priest is to
use unleavened bread wherever he celebrates Mass." (1983 Code
of Canon Law)
"The matter of this Sacrament is
twofold. The first element is wheaten bread...the second [is wine
pressed from the fruit of the vine, with which is mingled a little
water]."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[O]nly wine from the grape
[along with wheaten bread] is the proper matter of this
sacrament." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Can. 924 §1 The most holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist
must be offered with bread and with wine in which a little water
must be mixed. §2 The bread must be wheaten only and recently
made so that there is no danger of corruption. §3 The wine must
be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt."
(1983 Code of Canon Law)
"What is required is this: bread made from wheat flour, wine from
grapes, and the presence of these materials before the priest at
the time of the Consecration." (De Defectibus)
"If the bread is not made of wheat
flour, or if so much other grain is mixed with the wheat that it
is no longer wheat bread, or if it is adulterated in some other
way, there is no Sacrament." (De Defectibus)
"If the wine has become mere
vinegar, or is completely bad, or if it has been made from sour or
unripe grapes, or if so much water has been mixed with it that the
wine is adulterated, there is no Sacrament." (De Defectibus)
"There
is no Sacrament [of the Mass] if any of these is missing: the
proper matter, the form, including the intention, and the priestly
ordination of the celebrant. If these things are present, the
Sacrament is valid, no matter what else is lacking." (De
Defectibus)
"Defects
on the part of the form may arise if anything is missing from the
complete wording required for the act of consecrating....the words
of the Consecration...are the form of this Sacrament... If the
priest were to shorten or change the form of the consecration of
the Body and the Blood, so that in the change of wording the words
did not mean the same thing, he would not be achieving a valid
Sacrament. If, on the other hand, he were to add or take away
anything which did not change the meaning, the Sacrament would be
valid, but he would be committing a grave sin." (De
Defectibus)
"But as wheaten bread alone is to be
considered the proper matter for this Sacrament - a doctrine which
has been handed down by Apostolic tradition and confirmed by the
authority of the Catholic Church - so it may be easily inferred
from the doings of Christ the Lord that this bread should be
unleavened. It was consecrated and instituted by Him on the first
day of unleavened bread, on which it was not lawful for the Jews
to have anything leavened in their house... This quality of the
bread [being unleavened], however, is not to be deemed so essential that, if it be
wanting, the Sacrament cannot exist; for both kinds are called by
the one name and have the true and proper nature of bread. No one,
however, is at liberty on his own private authority, or rather
presumption, to transgress the laudable rite of his Church. And
such departure is the less warrantable in priests of the Latin
Church, expressly obliged as they are by the supreme Pontiffs, to
consecrate the sacred mysteries with unleavened bread only." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"With the wine, however, the Church
of God has always mingled water. First, because Christ the Lord
did so, as is proved by the authority of Councils and the
testimony of St. Cyprian; next, because by this mixture is renewed
the recollection of the blood and water that issued from His side.
Waters, also, as we read in the Apocalypse, signify the people;
and hence, water mixed with the wine signifies the union of the
faithful with Christ their Head. This rite, derived as it is from
Apostolic tradition, the Catholic Church has always observed. But
although there are reasons so grave for mingling water with the
wine that it cannot be omitted without incurring the guilt of
mortal sin, yet its omission does not render the Sacrament null.
Again as in the sacred mysteries priests must be mindful to mingle
water with wine, so, also, must they take care to mingle it in
small quantity, for, in the opinion and judgment of ecclesiastical
writers, that water is changed into wine." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
It should be noted that although the
celebrating priest is obliged to receive Holy Communion under
both species, others are not obliged to
receive Holy Communion under both species (the species of
bread and wine). Once again, modernists in the wake of the Second
Vatican Council have attempted - by calculated disobedience to
papal authority - to restore the practice of Communion under both
species in the Church. [It should be noted that the
Second Vatican Council never commanded this practice.] This
has left some Catholics to erroneously (and heretically)
believe that it is necessary to Communicate under both
species or that they receive Christ "more fully" if they
receive Holy Communion under both species. Further, this practice
has led to many and serious problems and abuses. For more information
on this subject, see below (or
click here).
Chief
Effects:
Although "no language can convey an adequate
idea of its utility and fruits" (Catechism of the Council of
Trent), the following are some chief effects of the Holy
Eucharist:
*
Increases grace, remits sin and strengthens us against future
sin, and gives consolation: "The principal effects which the Most Holy Eucharist
produces in those who worthily receive it are these: (1) It
preserves and increases the life of the soul, which is grace, just
as natural food sustains and increases the life of the body; (2)
It remits venial sins and preserves us from mortal sin; (3) It
produces spiritual consolation." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
Is the source of life and the 'antidote against [eternal]
death':
"Now if any one will seriously consider the benefits
which flow from the Eucharist he will understand that conspicuous
and chief among them all is that in which the rest, without
exception, are included; in a word it is for men the source of
life, of that life which best deserves the name. 'The bread which
I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world' (St. John vi.,
52)." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
"...breaking one Bread, which is the medicine of
immortality, the antidote against death, enabling us to live
forever in Jesus Christ." (St. Ignatius of Antioch, c. 110
A.D.)
*
Unites us to Christ and to one another and is the symbol of
unity:
"For, as
[St.
John] Damascene has explained, this Sacrament unites us to
Christ, renders us partakers of His flesh and Divinity, reconciles
and unites us to one another in the same Christ, and forms us, as
it were, into one body." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[T]he Eucharist is the end of all the
Sacraments, and the symbol of unity and brotherhood in the Church"
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Weakens concupiscence, increases charity, is a pledge of future
glory: "Yes; the Most Holy Eucharist produces three other effects
in (1) It weakens our passions, and in particular it allays in us
the fires of concupiscence; (2) It increases in us the fervor of
charity towards God and our neighbor, and aids us to act in
conformity with the will of Jesus Christ; (3) It gives us a pledge
of future glory and of the resurrection of our body."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
Brings happiness & spiritual joy:
"Without the Holy Eucharist there would be no happiness in
this world; life would be insupportable." (Catechism of the
Cure of Ars)
"How happy are the pure souls that have the happiness of
being united to Our Lord by Communion! They will shine like
beautiful diamonds in Heaven, because God will be seen in
them." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"When we receive Holy Communion, we receive our joy and
our happiness." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"Nothing contributes more to the spiritual joy and
advantage of pious persons than the contemplation of the exalted
dignity of this most august Sacrament [of the Holy Eucharist]. In
the first place they learn how great is the perfection of the
Gospel Dispensation, under which we enjoy the reality of that
which under the Mosaic Law was only shadowed forth by types and
figures. Hence St. Denis divinely says that our Church is midway
between the Synagogue and the heavenly Jerusalem, and consequently
participates of the nature of both. Certainly, then, the faithful
can never sufficiently admire the perfection of the holy Church
and her exalted glory which seems to be removed only by one degree
from the bliss of heaven... Furthermore the faithful experience in this Sacrament the most
perfect love of Christ our Savior. It became the goodness of the
Savior not to withdraw from us that nature which He assumed from
us, but to desire, as far as possible, to remain among us so that
at all times He might be seen to verify the words: My delight is
to be with the children of men. (Prov. viii. 31)." (Catechism
of the Council of Trent)
*
Transports us to heaven: "When you see the Lord immolated and lying upon the altar,
and the priest bent over that sacrifice praying, and all the
people purpled by that precious blood, can you think that you are
still among men and on earth? Or are you not lifted up to
heaven?" (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, c. 387 A.D.)
*
Nourishes and transforms the soul:
"For what bread and wine are to the
body, the Eucharist is to the health and delight of the soul, but
in a higher and better way. This Sacrament is not, like bread and
wine, changed into our substance; but we are, in some wise,
changed into its nature, so that we may well apply here the words
of St. Augustine: I am the food of the grown. Grow and thou shalt
eat Me; nor shalt thou change Me into thee, as thy bodily food,
but thou shalt be changed into Me." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
"My children, all beings in creation require to be fed,
that they may live; for this purpose God has made trees and plants
grow; it is a well-served table, to which all animals come and
take the food which suits each one. But the soul also must be fed.
Where, then, is its food? My brethren, the food of the soul is
God. Ah! what a beautiful thought! The soul can feed on nothing
but God. Only God can suffice for it; only God can fill it; only
God can satiate its hunger; it absolutely requires its God!"
(Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"If you were to put your tongue into molten gold - if that
were possible - you would make your hand or tongue golden. In much
the same way, the [Eucharistic] Mystery lying before us here
affects the soul." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the
Church)
*
Allows us to possess Christ:
"In common with the inhabitants of
heaven, we too possess Christ, God and man, present with us. They
are raised a degree above us, inasmuch as they are present with
Christ and enjoy the Beatific Vision; while we, with a firm and
unwavering faith, adore the Divine Majesty present with us, not,
it is true, in a manner visible to mortal eye, but hidden by a
miracle of power under the veil of the sacred mysteries."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"No one can fail to see that the divine Eucharist bestows
an incomparable dignity upon the Christian people. For it is not
just while the Sacrifice is being offered and the Sacrament is
being confected, but also after the Sacrifice has been offered and
the Sacrament confected - while the Eucharist is reserved in
churches or oratories - that Christ is truly Emmanuel, which means
'God with us.' For He is in the midst of us day and night; He
dwells in us with the fullness of grace and of truth. He raises
the level of morals, fosters virtue, comforts the sorrowful,
strengthens the weak and stirs up all those who draw near to Him
to imitate Him, so that they may learn from his example to be meek
and humble of heart, and to seek not their own interests but those
of God. Anyone who has a special devotion to the sacred Eucharist
and who tries to repay Christ's infinite love for us with an eager
and unselfish love of his own, will experience and fully
understand - and this will bring great delight and benefit to his
soul - just how precious is a life hidden with Christ in God and
just how worthwhile it is to carry on a conversation with Christ,
for there is nothing more consoling here on earth, nothing more
efficacious for progress along the paths of holiness." (Pope
Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)
*
Allows us to experience the love of Christ: "Furthermore the faithful experience
in this Sacrament the most perfect love of Christ our Savior. It
became the goodness of the Savior not to withdraw from us that
nature which He assumed from us, but to desire, as far as
possible, to remain among us so that at all times He might be seen
to verify the words: My delight is to be with the children of men."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Increases our desire for heavenly things: "Again, just as the body is not only
supported but also increased by natural food, from which the taste
every day derives new relish and pleasure; so also is the soul not
only sustained but invigorated by feasting on the food of the
Eucharist, which gives to the spirit an increasing zest for
heavenly things." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Remits venial sins:
"It cannot be doubted that by the
Eucharist are remitted and pardoned lighter sins, commonly called
venial. Whatever the soul has lost through the fire of passion, by
falling into some slight offence, all this the Eucharist, canceling
those lesser faults, repairs, in the same way - not to
depart from the illustration already adduced - as natural food
gradually restores and repairs the daily waste caused by the force
of the vital heat within us. Justly, therefore, has St. Ambrose
said of this heavenly Sacrament: That daily bread is taken as a
remedy for daily infirmity. But these things are to be understood
of those sins for which no actual affection is retained."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Two things may be considered in this sacrament, to wit,
the sacrament itself, and the reality of the sacrament: and it
appears from both that this sacrament has the power of forgiving
venial sins. For this sacrament is received under the form of
nourishing food. Now nourishment from food is requisite for the
body to make good the daily waste caused by the action of natural
heat. But something is also lost daily of our spirituality from
the heat of concupiscence through venial sins, which lessen the
fervor of charity, as was shown in the SS,Q24, A10. And therefore
it belongs to this sacrament to forgive venial sins. Hence Ambrose
says (De Sacramentis v) that this daily bread is taken 'as a
remedy against daily infirmity.' The reality of this sacrament is
charity, not only as to its habit, but also as to its act, which
is kindled in this sacrament; and by this means venial sins are
forgiven. Consequently, it is manifest that venial sins are
forgiven by the power of this sacrament." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
*
Preserves us from sin and temptation and reduces concupiscence:
"There is, furthermore, such a power in the
sacred mysteries as to preserve us pure and unsullied from sin,
keep us safe from the assaults of temptation, and, as by some
heavenly medicine, prepare the soul against the easy approach and
infection of virulent and deadly disease. Hence, as St. Cyprian
records, when the faithful were formerly hurried in multitudes by
tyrants to torments and death, because they confessed the name of
Christ, it was an ancient usage in the Catholic Church to give
them, by the hands of the Bishop, the Sacrament of the body and
blood of our Lord, lest perhaps overcome by the severity of their
sufferings, they should fail in the fight for salvation. It also
restrains and represses the lusts of the flesh, for while it
inflames the soul more ardently with the fire of charity, it of
necessity extinguishes the ardor of concupiscence."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The Holy Eucharist remits venial sins by disposing us to
perform acts of love and contrition. It preserves us from mortal
sin by exciting us to greater fervor and strengthening us against
temptation." (Baltimore Catechism)
*
Heals us: "Or again, glancing at the admirable
actions of Christ our Lord, they may show that if those who
received Him beneath their roof during His mortal life, or were
restored to health by touching His vesture or the hem of His
garment, were justly and deservedly deemed most blessed, how much
more fortunate and happy we, into whose soul, resplendent as He is
with unfading glory, He disdains not to enter, to heal all its
wounds, to adorn it with His choicest gifts, and unite it to
Himself." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Leads us to eternal glory:
"Holy Communion is the shortest and safest way to heaven.
There are others; innocence, but that is for little children;
penance, but we are afraid of it; generous endurance for the
trials of life, but when they come we weep and ask to be spared.
The surest, easiest, shortest way is the Eucharist." (Pope
St. Pius X)
"Finally, to comprise all the
advantages and blessings of this Sacrament in one word, it must be
taught that the Holy Eucharist is most efficacious towards the
attainment of eternal glory. For it is written: He that eateth my
flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life, and I will
raise him up on the last day. That is to say, by the grace of this
Sacrament men enjoy the greatest peace and tranquility of
conscience during the present life; and, when the hour of
departing from this world shall have arrived, like Elias, who in
the strength of the bread baked on the hearth, walked to Horeb,
the mount of God, they, too, invigorated by the strengthening
influence of this (heavenly food), will ascend to unfading glory
and bliss." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Will shine in us in eternity:
"At the Day of Judgment we shall see the Flesh of Our Lord
shine through the glorified body of those who have received Him
worthily on earth, as we see gold shine in copper, or silver in
lead." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"O my children, how beautiful will a soul be in eternity
that has worthily and often received the good God! The Body of Our
Lord will shine through our body, His adorable Blood through our
blood; our soul will be united to the Soul of Our Lord during all
eternity. There it will enjoy pure and perfect happiness. My
children, when the soul of a Christian who has received Our Lord
enters paradise, it augments the joy of Heaven. The Angels and the
Queen of Angels come to meet it, because they recognize the Son of
God in that soul. Then will that soul be rewarded for the pains
and sacrifices it will have endured in its life on earth. My
children, we know when a soul has worthily received the Sacrament
of the Eucharist, it is so drowned in love, so penetrated and
changed, that it is no longer to be recognized in its words or its
actions... It is humble, it is gentle, it is mortified,
charitable, and modest; it is at peace with everyone. It is a soul
capable of the greatest sacrifices; in short, you would not know
it again." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
*
Pleases God: "A soul can do nothing that is more pleasing to God than
to communicate (receive Holy Communion) in a state of grace."
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church)
*
Allows us to make a return to God for His benefits:
"This Sacrament is not only a
treasure of heavenly riches, which if turned to good account will
obtain for us the grace and love of God; but it also possesses a
peculiar character, by which we are enabled to make some return to
God for the immense benefits bestowed upon us." (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
*
Feeds our souls and expiates sins: "They should teach, then, in the
first place, that the Eucharist was instituted by Christ for two
purposes: one, that it might be the heavenly food of our souls,
enabling us to support and preserve spiritual life; and the other,
that the Church might have a perpetual Sacrifice, by which our
sins might be expiated, and our heavenly Father, oftentimes
grievously offended by our crimes, might be turned away from wrath
to mercy, from the severity of just chastisement to clemency."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
Fuels a 'devouring fire' inspiring us to good and repugnance to
evil: "So if you were to keep Our Lord well and recollectedly,
after Communion, you would long feel that devouring fire which
would inspire your heart with an inclination to good and a
repugnance to evil. When we have the good God in our heart, it
ought to be very burning. The heart of the disciples of Emmaus
burnt within them from merely listening to His voice."
(Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
*
Purifies the soul and comforts the body: "When you have
[worthily] received Our Lord, you feel your soul
purified, because it bathes itself in the love of God. When we go
to Holy Communion, we feel something extraordinary, a comfort
which pervades the whole body, and penetrates to the extremities.
What is this comfort? It is Our Lord, who communicates Himself to
all parts of our bodies, and makes them thrill. We are obliged to
say, like St. John, "It is the Lord!" Those who feel
absolutely nothing are very much to be pitied." (Catechism of
the Cure of Ars)
*
Is the best good work possible and of the highest value to us:
"There is nothing so great, my children, as the Eucharist!
Put all the good works in the world against one good Communion;
they will be like a grain of dust beside a mountain."
(Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"There is no prayer or good work so great, so pleasing to
God, so useful to us as the Mass." (St. Lawrence Justinian)
"My children, if we understood the value of Holy
Communion, we should avoid the least faults, that we might have
the happiness of making it oftener. We should keep our souls
always pure in the eyes of God." (Catechism of the Cure of
Ars)
"[The] day you hear Mass is worth a thousand days to you,
that all the labors and works of a day, or a week, or a whole year
are nothing in comparison with the value of one Mass." (Fr.
O'Sullivan)
*
Gives us immense favors and blessings: "No human tongue can describe the immense favors and
blessing which we receive from the Mass. The sinner obtains
pardon, the good man becomes more holy, our faults are corrected
and our vices uprooted by hearing Holy Mass." (St. Lawrence
Justinian)
*
Makes our prayers irresistible to God: "Make a prayer when you have the good God in your heart;
the good God will not be able to refuse you anything, if you offer
Him His Son, and the merits of His holy death and Passion."
(Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
*
Appeases God: "[The Mass] is the only Holy Act which keeps the wrath of
God from a sinful world, because it holds the Cross between heaven
and earth, thus renewing that decisive moment when our sad and
tragic humanity journeyed suddenly fourth to the fullness of
supernatural life." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
*
Gives glory, praise, and thanksgiving to God, and makes reparation
to God:
"No greater glory can be given to God than the celebration
of this sacrifice, wherein God Himself is the Victim; at the same
time, nothing can be more advantageous to man than to partake of
this divine Victim, to become himself this Victim, by
incorporating it with himself by holy Communion, whereby is
realized that wonderful promise of our Redeemer: He that eateth My
Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him."
(Dom Gueranger)
"Now a remedy must be found for this wickedness on the one
hand, and this sloth on the other, in a general increase among the
faithful of fervent devotion towards the Eucharistic Sacrifice,
than which nothing can give greater honor, nothing be more
pleasing, to God. For it is a divine Victim [that is, Christ]
which is here immolated; and accordingly through this Victim we
offer to the most blessed Trinity all that honor which the
infinite dignity of the Godhead demands; infinite in value and
infinitely acceptable is the gift which we present to the Father
in His only-begotten Son; so that for His benefits to us we not
only signify our gratitude, but actually make an adequate
return." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902
A.D.)
*
Gives us grace and advances us in virtue:
"Those who receive [the sacrament of the Eucharist]
worthily, receive an increase of grace. And all the effects which
material food and drink have on the life of our body - maintaining
and increasing life, restoring health and bringing pleasure - all
these effects this sacraments has on our spiritual life. As Pope
Urban says, in this sacrament we think of our Savior with
gratitude, we are drawn away from evil, we are encouraged to do
good, and we advance in virtue and in grace." (Council of
Florence)
"Moreover, in this most admirable Sacrament, which is the
chief means whereby men are engrafted on the divine nature, men
also find the most efficacious help towards progress in every kind
of virtue." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902
A.D.)
*
Benefits the living and the dead: "This oblation abounding with an unspeakable richness of
fruit embraces the present and future life. For by this oblation
God is pleased and, granting the grace and gift of repentance,
remits even great crimes and sins. Although grievously offended by
our sins, He is moved from anger to mercy, from the severity of
just chastisement to clemency; by it the title and obligation of
temporal punishment is dissolved; by it the souls of the departed
in Christ who have not yet been fully purged are aided; by it
temporal goods also are obtained, if they do not stand in the way
of greater benefits; by it singular honor and cult are procured
for the saints and especially for the Immaculate and most holy
Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. Wherefore, from the apostolic
tradition, we offer the divine Sacrifice of the Mass 'for the
universal peace of the Churches; for the right disposition of the
world; for rulers, soldiers, allies; those laboring with
infirmity; those oppressed by afflictions; for all who are in
need; for those detained in purgatory; with the belief that it
will be a help to those souls for whom prayer is offered before
the holy and most awesome Victim [that is, Christ] lying before
us.'" (Pope Pius IX, "Amantissimi Redemptoris",
1858 A.D.)
*
Assists us in our spiritual combats with the devil:
"The Holy Communion is the principal and indispensable
weapon of the Christian in his spiritual combats with the infernal
powers" (Fr. Delaporte)
"Christ did this to bring us to a closer bond of
friendship, and to signify His love toward us, giving Himself to
those who desire Him, not only to behold Him, but also to handle
Him, to eat Him, to embrace Him with the fullness of their whole
heart. Therefore as lions breathing fire do we depart from that
Table, rendered objects of terror to the devil." (St. John
Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, 4th century A.D.)
*
Is a powerful means of supplication and atonement
*
Shortens one's own Purgatory time as well as satisfies for those
already in
Purgatory
*
Makes persons refrain from wickedness (it is an impediment to
sin)
*
Is a powerful means for the conversion of sinners
*
Gains graces for ourselves and others
*
Gives us the merit of faith
*
Increases our glory in Heaven
*
Continues the Sacrifice of the Cross in Christ's Church
Additional
Information:
*
The Word 'Eucharist' may mean "good grace" (Catechism of the
Council of Trent) or thanksgiving. It refers to the Body &
Blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.
*
The Holy Eucharist is the greatest Treasure in the Church:
"All good works together are not of equal value with the
sacrifice of the Mass, because they are the works of men, and the
holy Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison;
it is the sacrifice that man makes of his life to God; the Mass is
the sacrifice that God makes to man of His Body and of His
Blood." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
*
The Holy Eucharist is "the very life of the Church". In
fact, the entire Church revolves around the Holy Eucharist.
"The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme object of
our worship." (St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier)
"The Eucharist is the principal and central raison d'etre
of the sacrament of the priesthood" (Pope John
Paul II)
"This
Sacrament, whether as the theme of devout meditation, or as the
object of public adoration, or best of all as a food to be
received in the utmost purity of conscience, is to be regarded as
the center towards which the spiritual life of a Christian in all
its ambit gravitates; for all other forms of devotion, whatsoever
they may be, lead up to it, and in it find their point of rest." (Pope
Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
* The Holy Eucharist is the most worthy thing we
can offer God. Nothing else we can do or have done can be
compared with the Holy Eucharist - God's own Son. Not even the
angels can offer God anything greater or more pleasing to God.
*
We cannot sufficiently praise the Holy Eucharist:
"But indeed a Sacrament so great and so rich in all manner
of blessings can never be extolled as it deserves by human
eloquence, nor adequately venerated by the worship of man." (Pope
Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)
*
The Holy Eucharist is our Highest Good.
*
If we could have asked God for anything, we would not have dared
to ask for the Holy Eucharist - the Flesh and Blood of God
incarnate, our Creator: "Should we ever have dared to ask of God to put His Son to
death for us, to give us His Flesh to eat and His Blood to
drink?" (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
*
The Holy Eucharist is proof of God's immeasurable love for us,
His children.
"Christ's love towards men was so great that not only was
He willing to endure the most cruel sufferings for our salvation
and an atrocious death on the cross, but also He wished to nourish
us eternally in the sacrament of His body and bloody." (Pope
Pius IX)
"To show the love He has for us, He has made it possible
for those who desire it not merely to look upon Him, but even to
touch Him and to consume Him and to fix their teeth in His flesh
and to be commingled with Him - in short, to fulfill all their
love." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"No tongue can express the greatness of the love which
Jesus Christ bears to our souls. He did not wish that between Him
and His servants there should be any other pledge than Himself, to
keep alive the remembrance of Him." (St. Peter of Alcantara)
*
God desires to be with us ["my delights were to be with the
children of men" (cf. Prov. 8:31)] and the Holy Eucharist
allows Christ to remain with us, even after ascending to the
Father:
"Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And
behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the
world." (Mt. 28:20)
"Our Lord, having loved his own, loved them to
the end. As a divine and admirable pledge of this love, knowing
that the hour had now come that He should pass from the world to
the Father, that He might not ever at any period be absent from
His own, He accomplished with inexplicable wisdom that which
surpasses all the order and condition of nature." (Catechism
of the Council of Trent)
"Eternal Wisdom, on the one hand, wished to prove his love
for man by dying in his place in order to save him, but on the
other hand, he could not bear the thought of leaving him. So he
devised a marvelous way of dying and living at the same time, and
of abiding with man until the end of time. So, in order to fully
satisfy his love, he instituted the sacrament of Holy Eucharist
and went to the extent of changing and overturning nature
itself." (St. Louis de Montfort)
* The
Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
was instituted at the Last Supper, on Holy Thursday:
"Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper,
the night before He died." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist at
the last supper, which He took with His disciples, the evening
before His passion." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Jesus Christ Himself instituted the Sacrifice of the Holy
Mass when He instituted the Sacrament of the Blessed Eucharist and
said that this should be done in memory of His passion."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
This Sacrament differs from all the others in various ways:
"How
much this Sacrament differs from all the others is easily
inferred. For all the other Sacraments are completed by the use of
the material, that is, while they are being administered to some
one. Thus Baptism attains the nature of a Sacrament when the
individual is actually being washed in the water. For the
perfecting of the Eucharist on the other hand, the consecration of
the material itself suffices, since neither (species) ceases to be
a Sacrament, though kept in the pyx. Again in perfecting the other
Sacraments there is no change of the matter and element into
another nature. The water of Baptism, or the oil of Confirmation,
when those Sacraments are being administered, do not lose their
former nature of water and oil; but in the Eucharist, that which
was bread and wine before consecration, after consecration is
truly the substance of the Body and Blood of the Lord."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The Eucharist also has a unique mark of distinction. The
other sacraments do not have the power of sanctifying until
someone makes use of them, but in the Eucharist the very author of
sanctity is present before the sacrament is used" (Council of
Trent)
"The most holy Eucharist has indeed this in common with
the rest of the sacraments, that it is a symbol of a sacred thing,
and is a visible form of an invisible grace; but there is found in
the Eucharist this excellent and peculiar thing, that the other
sacraments have then first the power of sanctifying when one uses
them, whereas in the Eucharist, before being used, there is the
Author Himself of sanctity. For the apostles had not as yet
received the Eucharist from the hand of the Lord, when
nevertheless Himself affirmed with truth that to be His own body
which He presented (to them). And this faith has ever been in the
Church of God, that, immediately after the consecration, the
veritable Body of our Lord, and His veritable Blood, together with
His soul and divinity, are under the species of bread and wine;
but the Body indeed under the species of bread, and the Blood
under the species of wine, by the force of the words; but the body
itself under the species of wine, and the blood under the species
of bread, and the soul under both, by the force of that natural
connexion and concomitancy whereby the parts of Christ our Lord,
who hath now risen from the dead, to die no more, are united
together; and the divinity, furthermore, on account of the
admirable hypostatical union thereof with His body and soul.
Wherefore it is most true, that as much is contained under either
species as under both; for Christ whole and entire is under the
species of bread, and under any part whatsoever of that species;
likewise the whole (Christ) is under the species of wine, and
under the parts thereof." (Council of Trent, 1551 A.D.)
*
Three things signified by this Sacrament: "Three
things, then, are signified by this Sacrament. The first is the
Passion of Christ our Lord, a thing past; for He Himself said: Do
this for a commemoration of me, and the Apostle says: As often as
you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show
the death of the Lord, until he come. It is also significant of
divine and heavenly grace, which is imparted at the present time
by this Sacrament to nurture and preserve the soul. Just as in
Baptism we are begotten unto newness of life and by Confirmation
are strengthened to resist Satan and openly to profess the name of
Christ, so by the Sacrament of the Eucharist are we nurtured and
supported. It is, thirdly, a foreshadowing of future eternal joy
and glory, which, according to God's promises, we shall receive in
our heavenly country." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
The Holy Eucharist is usually given in Mass, but It may be given
outside of Mass (especially as Viaticum)
"When the Holy Communion is given to one in danger of
death, it is called Viaticum, and is given with its own form of
prayer." (Baltimore Catechism)
Note:
For more on Viaticum, click
here.
* The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was
promised in the Old Testament: "Should we look for
figures and prophecies of this Sacrifice in the Old Testament, in
the first place Malachy most clearly prophesied thereof in these
words: From the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name
is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is
sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for
my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of
hosts. (Mal. 1:11)" (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
The Holy Eucharist was prefigured in the New Testament by the
multiplication of bread (one of the relatively few things that are
mentioned in all four gospels).
* The Holy Eucharist is both a
Sacrament and a Sacrifice.
"The Holy Eucharist, besides being a sacrament, is also
the permanent Sacrifice of the New Law, which Jesus Christ left to
His Church to be offered to God by the hands of His priests."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament when we receive it in
Holy Communion and when it remains in the Tabernacle of the Altar.
It is a sacrifice when it is offered up at Mass by the separate
Consecration of the bread and wine, which signifies the separation
of Our Lord's blood from His body when He died on the Cross."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"This
sacrament is both a sacrifice and a sacrament. It has the nature
of a sacrifice inasmuch as it is offered up; and it has the nature
of a sacrament inasmuch as it is received. And therefore it has
the effect of a sacrament in the recipient, and the effect of a
sacrifice in the offerer, or in them for whom it is offered. If,
then, it be considered as a sacrament, it produces its effect in
two ways: first of all directly through the power of the
sacrament; secondly as by a kind of concomitance, as was said
above regarding what is contained in the sacrament (Q76,AA1,2).
Through the power of the sacrament it produces directly that
effect for which it was instituted. Now it was instituted not for
satisfaction, but for nourishing spiritually through union between
Christ and His members, as nourishment is united with the person
nourished. But because this union is the effect of charity, from
the fervor of which man obtains forgiveness, not only of guilt but
also of punishment, hence it is that as a consequence, and by
concomitance with the chief effect, man obtains forgiveness of the
punishment, not indeed of the entire punishment, but according to
the measure of his devotion and fervor. But in so far as it is a
sacrifice, it has a satisfactory power. Yet in satisfaction, the
affection of the offerer is weighed rather than the quantity of
the offering. Hence our Lord says (Mark 12:43; Luke 21:4) of the
widow who offered 'two mites' that she 'cast in more than all.'
Therefore, although this offering suffices of its own quantity to
satisfy for all punishment, yet it becomes satisfactory for them
for whom it is offered, or even for the offerers, according to the
measure of their devotion, and not for the whole punishment."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest
theologian in the history of the Church")
* Some differences between the Mass as
a Sacrament and Sacrifice include: "But (between the
Eucharist as a Sacrament and a Sacrifice) the difference is very
great; for as a Sacrament it is perfected by consecration; as a
Sacrifice, all its force consists in its oblation. When,
therefore, kept in a pyx, or borne to the sick, it is a Sacrament,
not a Sacrifice. As a Sacrament also, it is to them that receive
it a source of merit, and brings with it all those advantages
which have been already mentioned; but as a Sacrifice, it is not
only a source of merit, but also of satisfaction. For as, in His
Passion, Christ the Lord merited and satisfied for us; so also
those who offer this Sacrifice, by which they communicate with us,
merit the fruit of His Passion, and satisfy." (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
*
The Sacrifice of the New Law is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It
is the unbloody sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ.
"This Sacrifice of the New Law is called the Holy
Mass." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The
Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the Body and Blood of
Christ." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The Holy Mass is the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ offered on our altars under the appearances of bread
and wine, in commemoration of the Sacrifice of the Cross."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
In the Mass, "Jesus Christ offers Himself for us to His heavenly Father by the hands of the priest."
(Catechism of St. John Neumann)
* In Mass, Christ is not re-sacrificed,
but rather the Sacrifice of the Mass is the same
as the Sacrifice on the Cross - that is, the same sacrifice is
made present on the Altar in an unbloody manner. There are not
many sacrifices, but one Sacrifice.
"The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the
Cross." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The Mass makes present the sacrifice of the Cross; it
does not add to that sacrifice nor does it multiply it."
(Pope John Paul II)
"The Mass is not an imitation, or a memory of Calvary, it
is identically the same sacrifice and differs only from Calvary in
appearance." (Fr.
O'Sullivan)
"The Eucharist is the perfect sacrament of our Lord's
Passion, as containing Christ crucified" (St. Thomas Aquinas,
Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history
of the Church")
"The Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross
because the offering and the priest are the same - Christ our
Blessed Lord; and the ends for which the sacrifice of the Mass is
offered are the same as those of the sacrifice of the Cross."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"Between the Sacrifice of the Mass and that of the Cross
there is this difference and relation, that on the Cross Jesus
Christ offered Himself by shedding His Blood and meriting for us;
whereas on our altars He sacrifices Himself without the shedding
of His Blood, and applies to us the fruits of His passion And
death." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The Sacrifice of the Mass is substantially the same as
that of the Cross, for the same Jesus Christ, Who offered Himself
on the Cross, it is Who offers Himself by the hands of the
priests, His ministers, on our altars; but as regards the way in
which He is offered, the Sacrifice of the Mass differs from the
Sacrifice of the Cross, though retaining the most intimate and
essential relation to it." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The
Sacrifice of the Cross is the one only Sacrifice of the New Law,
inasmuch as through it Our Lord satisfied Divine Justice, acquired
all the merits necessary to save us, and thus, on His part, fully
accomplished our redemption. These merits, however, He applies to
us through the means instituted by Him in His Church, among which
is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"[The difference between the sacrifice of the
Cross and the sacrifice of the Mass is] the manner in which
the sacrifice offered is different. On the Cross, Christ really
shed His blood and was really slain; in Mass there is no real
shedding of blood or real death, because Christ can die no more;
but the sacrifice of the Mass, through the separate consecration
of the bread and wine, represents His death on the Cross."
(Baltimore Catechism)
"We
therefore confess that the Sacrifice of the Mass is and ought to
be considered one and the same Sacrifice as that of the cross, for
the victim is one and the same, namely, Christ our Lord, who
offered Himself, once only, a bloody Sacrifice on the altar of the
cross. The bloody and unbloody victim are not two, but one victim
only, whose Sacrifice is daily renewed in the Eucharist, in
obedience to the command of our Lord: Do this for a commemoration
of me. The priest is also one and the same, Christ the Lord; for
the ministers who offer Sacrifice, consecrate the holy mysteries,
not in their own person, but in that of Christ, as the words of
consecration itself show, for the priest does not say: This is the
body of Christ, but, This is my body; and thus, acting in the
Person of Christ the Lord, he changes the substance of the bread
and wine into the true substance of His body and blood."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The august [Eucharistic] Sacrifice of the Altar is, as it
were, the supreme instrument whereby the merits won by the divine
Redeemer upon the cross are distributed to the faithful: 'as often
as this commemorative [Eucharistic] Sacrifice is offered, there is
wrought the work of our Redemption.' This, however, so far from
lessening the dignity of the actual sacrifice on Calvary, rather
proclaims and renders more manifest its greatness and its
necessity, as the Council of Trent declares. Its daily immolation
reminds us that there is no salvation except in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ and that God Himself wishes that there should be
a continuation of this sacrifice 'from the rising of the sun till
the going down thereof' (Mal. 1:11), so that there may be no
cessation of the hymn of praise and thanksgiving which man owes to
God, seeing that he required His help continually and has need of
the blood of the Redeemer to remit sin which challenges God's
justice." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947
A.D.)
"And forasmuch as, in this divine sacrifice which is
celebrated in the Mass, that same Christ is contained and
immolated in an unbloody manner, who once offered Himself in a
bloody manner on the altar of the cross; the holy Synod teaches,
that this sacrifice is truly propitiatory and that by means
thereof this is effected, that we obtain mercy, and find grace in
seasonable aid, if we draw nigh unto God, contrite and penitent,
with a sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence.
For the Lord, appeased by the oblation thereof, and granting the
grace and gift of penitence, forgives even heinous crimes and
sins. For the victim is one and the same, the same now offering by
the ministry of priests, who then offered Himself on the cross,
the manner alone of offering being different. The fruits indeed of
which oblation, of that bloody one to wit, are received most
plentifully through this unbloody one; so far is this (latter)
from derogating in any way from that (former oblation). Wherefore,
not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other
necessities of the faithful who are living, but also for those who
are departed in Christ, and who are not as yet fully purified, is
it rightly offered, agreeably to a tradition of the apostles."
(Council of Trent, 1562 A.D.)
"[Jesus Christ has offered Himself in] two ways: in a bloody and in an unbloody manner (in a bloody
manner at His death on the Cross and in an unbloody manner 'at the Last Supper; and this He always does at every Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass')" (Catechism of St. John Neumann)
* The
Sacrifice of the Mass is not a mere commemoration or a merely a
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, but a truly propitiatory sacrifice:
"In the Mass there is offered to God a true sacrifice,
properly speaking, which is propitiatory for the living and the
dead." (Pope Pius IV)
"If any one saith that in the mass a true and proper
sacrifice is not offered to God; or that to be offered is nothing
else but that Christ is given us to eat; let him be
anathema." (Council of Trent)
"If any one saith that the sacrifice of the mass is only a
sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving; or that it is a bare
commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the Cross, but not a
propitiatory sacrifice; or that it profits him only who receives;
and that it ought not to be offered for the living and for the
dead for sins, pains, satisfactions, and other necessities; let
him be anathema." (Council of Trent)
"The holy council teaches that this Sacrifice [of the
Mass] is truly propitiatory, so that if we draw near to God with
an upright heart and true faith, with fear and reverence, with
sorrow and repentance, through the Mass we may obtain mercy and
find grace to help in time of need (see Heb. 4:16). For by this
oblation the Lord is appeased" (Council of Trent).
"And thenceforth, the Apostles, and their
successors in
the priesthood, began to lift to heaven that 'clean oblation'
foretold by Malachy, through which the name of God is great among
the gentiles. And now, that same oblation in every part of the
world and at every hour of the day and night, is offered and will
continue to be offered without interruption till the end of time:
a true sacrificial act, not merely symbolical, which has a real
efficacy unto the reconciliation of sinners with the Divine
Majesty." (Pope Pius XI, "Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
"The august sacrifice of the altar, then is no mere empty
commemoration of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, but a true
and proper act of sacrifice, whereby the High Priest by an
unbloody immolation offers Himself a most acceptable victim to the
Eternal Father, as He did upon the cross. 'It is one and the same
victim; the same person now offers it by the ministry of His
priests, who then offered Himself on the cross, the manner of
offering alone being different. The priest is the same, Jesus
Christ, whose sacred Person His minister represents." (Pope
Pius XII, "Mediator Dei")
"[T]he sacred and holy Sacrifice of the Mass is
not a Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving only, or a mere
commemoration of the Sacrifice performed on the cross, but also
truly a propitiatory Sacrifice, by which God is appeased and
rendered propitious to us. If, therefore, with a pure heart, a
lively faith, and affected with an inward sorrow for our
transgressions, we immolate and offer this most holy victim
[Christ], we
shall, without doubt, obtain mercy from the Lord, and grace in
time of need; for so delighted is the Lord with the odor of this
victim [Christ] that, bestowing on us the gift of grace and repentance, He
pardons our sins." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
We must be on guard today against the movement of those who
propagate Protestant errors - those who want
to turn the Sacrifice of the Mass into a mere meal, where
communion is the culmination, rather than the
consecration. These errors amount to heresy and have been
condemned by the Church. Also,
we must be on guard against the common error today that considers Mass
not as a Sacrifice, but as a socializing occasion or a stage show.
We must keep in mind that we gather as a community not to
socialize with each other or to be entertained, but to propitiate
God, whom we have offended, and worship Him
in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Communion with our neighbor is
always secondary to communion with God. The proper time to
socialize with our neighbor and to enjoy entertainment is outside
of Mass. When we are in church, we are in the Lord's house
["a house of prayer" (Our Lord Jesus Christ, Mt.
21:13)]. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - the true re-presentation
of Calvary - is a solemn, holy occasion and it is a prefigurement
of heavenly worship of God. If you read in Revelation how those in
heaven worship God, you will see that they are not directing their
attention towards each other, engaging in private conversation,
adopting irreverent postures, enjoying 'modern music', seeking
entertainment, etc... Rather, they seem to follow admonitions such
as...
"Enter,
let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made
us. For this is our God, whose people we are, God's well-tended
flock." (Ps. 95:6-7)
"[B]ow down to the LORD, splendid
in holiness. Tremble before God, all the earth; say among the
nations: The LORD is king. The world will surely stand fast, never
to be moved. God rules the peoples with fairness." (Ps.
96:9-10)
"Serve the LORD with fear; with trembling bow down
in homage" (Ps. 2:11)
"All the ends of the earth will
worship and turn to the LORD; All the families of nations will bow
low before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, the ruler over
the nations." (Ps. 22:28-29)
"Give to the LORD the glory
due God's name. Bow down before the LORD'S holy splendor!"
(Ps. 29:2)
"My hand made all these things when all of them
came to be, says the LORD. This is the one whom I approve: the
lowly and afflicted man who trembles at my word." (Isa. 66:2)
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; prudent are
all who live by it." (Ps. 111:10)
Catholics
must recognize
and appreciate that Mass is the re-presentation of Calvary. Mass
is not a party! Socializing should be conducted outside the
church building (i.e. in the hall).
"When you hear
Mass, do you come in the same frame of mind as the Blessed Virgin
at Calvary? Because it is the same God, and the same
Sacrifice." (St. John Vianney)
"Now
the exhortation of the Apostle, 'Let this mind be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus," requires that all Christians should
possess, as far as humanly possible, the same dispositions as
those which the divine Redeemer had when He offered Himself in
sacrifice: that is to say, they should in a humble attitude of
mind, pay adoration, honor, praise and thanksgiving to the supreme
majesty of God. Moreover, it means that they must assume to some
extent the character of a victim, that they deny themselves as the
Gospel commands, that freely and of their own accord they do
penance and that each detests and satisfies for his sins. It
means, in a word, that we must all undergo with Christ a mystical
death on the cross so that we can apply to ourselves the words of
St. Paul, 'With Christ I am nailed to the cross.'" (Pope Pius
XII, "Mediator Dei")
For
more information on proper behavior in church, continue reading
below and try
here.
*
Although "it has always been the desire of the Church that at every
Mass some of the faithful should be present and should communicate" (Pope Leo
XIII), a Mass is just as valid even if there is no
congregation. It is the priest alone - acting in the name of
Christ - which effects the transubstantiation, and no lay
communicants (or 'spectators') are necessary.
Remember that
"the essence
of Mass is in consecration, NOT in Communion".
"Can. 904 Remembering always that in the mystery of the
eucharistic Sacrifice the work of redemption is continually being
carried out, priests are to celebrate frequently. Indeed, daily
celebration [of the Mass] is earnestly recommended, because, even if it should
not be possible to have the faithful present, it is an action of
Christ and of the Church in which priests fulfill their principal
role." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"They, therefore,
err from the path of truth who do not want to have Masses
celebrated unless the faithful communicate; and those are still
more in error who, in holding that it is altogether necessary for
the faithful to receive holy communion as well as the priest, put
forward the captious argument that here there is a question not of
a sacrifice merely, but of a sacrifice and a supper of brotherly
union, and consider the general communion of all present as the
culminating point of the whole celebration." (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei")
"For each and every Mass is not something private, even if
a priest celebrates it privately; instead, it is an act of Christ
and of the Church... [T]here is no reason to criticize but rather only to approve a
Mass that a priest celebrates privately for a good reason in
accordance with the regulations and legitimate traditions of the
Church, even when only a server to make the responses is present.
For such a Mass brings a rich and abundant treasure of special
graces to help the priest himself, the faithful, the whole Church
and the whole world toward salvation - and this same abundance of
graces is not gained through mere reception of Holy
Communion." (Pope Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)
"The proposition of the synod in which, after it states
that 'a partaking of the victim [that is, Christ in the Holy
Eucharist] is an essential part in the sacrifice,' it adds,
'nevertheless, it does not condemn as illicit those Masses in
which those present do not communicate sacramentally, for the
reason that they do partake of the victim, although less
perfectly, by receiving it spiritually,' since it insinuates that
there is something lacking to the essence of the sacrifice [of the
Mass] in that sacrifice which is performed either with no one
present, or with those present who partake of the victim neither
sacramentally nor spiritually, and as if those Masses should be
condemned as illicit, in which, with the priest alone
communicating, no one is present who communicates either
sacramentally or spiritually, [is condemned as] false, erroneous,
suspected of heresy and savoring of it." ('Auctorem fidei',
Condemning the Errors of the Synod of Pistoia, Aug. 28, 1794 A.D.)
"We must, however, deeply deplore certain exaggerations
and over-statements which are not in agreement with the true
teaching of the Church. Some in fact disapprove altogether of
those Masses which are offered privately and without any
congregation, on the ground that they are a departure from the
ancient way of offering the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice; moreover,
there are some who assert that priests cannot offer Mass at
different altars at the same time, because, by doing so, they
separate the community of the faithful and imperil its unity;
while some go so far as to hold that the people must confirm and
ratify the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice if it is to have its proper
force and value. They are mistaken in appealing in this matter to
the social character of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, for as often as
a priest repeats what the divine Redeemer did at the Last Supper,
the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice is really completed. Moreover, this
[Eucharistic] Sacrifice, necessarily and of its very nature, has
always and everywhere the character of a public and social act,
inasmuch as he who offers it acts in the name of Christ and of the
faithful, whose Head is the divine Redeemer, and he offers it to
God for the holy Catholic Church, and for the living and the dead.
This is undoubtedly so, whether the faithful are present - as we
desire and commend them to be in great numbers and with devotion -
or are not present, since it is in no wise required that the
people ratify what the sacred minister has done." (Pope Pius
XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
"For We can see that some of those who are dealing with
this Most Holy Mystery in speech and writing are disseminating
opinions on Masses celebrated in private or on the dogma of
transubstantiation that are disturbing the minds of the faithful
and causing them no small measure of confusion about matters of
faith, just as if it were all right for someone to take doctrine
that has already been defined by the Church and consign it to
oblivion or else interpret it in such a way as to weaken the
genuine meaning of the words or the recognized force of the
concepts involved. To give an example of what We are talking
about, it is not permissible to extol the so-called community Mass
in such a way as to detract from Masses that are celebrated
privately; or to concentrate on the notion of sacramental sign as
if the symbolism - which no one will deny is certainly present in
the Most Blessed Eucharist - fully expressed and exhausted the
manner of Christ's presence in this Sacrament; or to discuss the
mystery of transubstantiation without mentioning what the Council
of Trent had to say about the marvelous conversion of the whole
substance of the bread into the Body and the whole substance of
the wine into the Blood of Christ, as if they involve nothing more
than transignification, or transfinalization as they call it; or,
finally, to propose and act upon the opinion that Christ Our Lord
is no longer present in the consecrated Hosts that remain after
the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass has been completed.
Everyone can see that the spread of these and similar opinions
does great harm to belief in and devotion to the Eucharist."
(Pope Paul VI, 1965 A.D.)
"The august [Eucharistic] Sacrifice of the Altar is
concluded with communion or the partaking of the divine feast.
But, as all know, the integrity of the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice
only requires that the priest partake of the heavenly food.
Although it is most desirable that the people should also approach
the holy table, this is not required for the integrity of the
[Eucharistic] Sacrifice. We wish in this matter to repeat the
remarks which Our predecessor Benedict XIV makes with regard to
the definitions of the Council of Trent: 'First We must state that
none of the faithful can hold that private Masses, in which the
priest alone receives Holy Communion, are therefore unlawful and
do not fulfill the idea of the true, perfect and complete unbloody
sacrifice instituted by Christ our Lord. For the faithful know
quite well, or at least can easily be taught, that the Council of
Trent, supported by the doctrine which the uninterrupted tradition
of the Church has preserved, condemned the new and false opinion
of Luther as opposed to this tradition.' 'If anyone shall say that
Masses in which the priest only receives communion, are unlawful,
and therefore should be abolished, let him be anathema.' They,
therefore, err from the path of truth who do not want to have
Masses celebrated unless the faithful communicate; and those are
still more in error who, in holding that it is altogether
necessary for the faithful to receive Holy Communion as well as
the priest, put forward the captious argument that here there is
question not of a [Eucharistic] sacrifice merely, but of a
sacrifice and a supper of brotherly union, and consider the
general communion of all present as the culminating point of the
whole celebration. Now it cannot be over-emphasized that the
Eucharistic Sacrifice of its very nature is the unbloody
immolation of the divine Victim [Christ], which is made manifest
in a mystical manner by the separation of the sacred species and
by their oblation to the eternal Father. Holy Communion pertains
to the integrity of the Mass and to the partaking of the august
Sacrament; but while it is obligatory for the priest who says the
Mass, it is only something earnestly recommended to the
faithful." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947
A.D.)
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