The Holy Mass
The Holy Mass is a divine reality, the re-presentation of Christ’s unique sacrifice on Calvary. As such it contains many rich facets that can provide abundant reflection. Here are several considerations. A person could consider one of them each day of the month.
From the four ends of the Mass:
Adoration: We adore you, we worship you, we glorify you, we praise you.
2. Thanksgiving: “We do well always and everywhere to give you thanks.” (Preface)
3. Reparation: “Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church.” (Ordinary of the Mass)
4. Petition: we pray for the Church and the Pope, the Hierarchy, our family and friends, for all Christians, for all souls, for peace in the world and for the needs of all.
5. The Mass “is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit.”(CCC 1366)
6. The Mass has infinite value because it is a divine act: “In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.” (CCC 1367)
7. “The whole Church is united with the offering and intercession of Christ.” (CCC 1369)
8. The Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ are present in this Pascal Mystery.
9. Through the Mass, the fruits of the Redemption are applied to all men and women of all times and places.
10. The Mass is a perfect act of worship; nothing is more pleasing to God.
11. The Mass is the sum of all Christ’s saving life and work.
12. The heavenly hosts of angels and saints are in awe and wonder at the Mass. (Cf. CCC 1370)
13. “The Pope is associated with every celebration of the Eucharist, wherein he is named as the sign and the servant of the unity of the universal Church.”(CCC 1369)
14. In the Mass we are joined to all men and women who have lived in the past, are living now and are yet to come.
15. The Mass is offered in union with Christ for all his intentions for the good of all souls.
16. “Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist.” (JPII, The Eucharist in the Church, n. 57b)
17. Through the Mass and Communion we enter into the mind and heart of Christ.
18. Like the first Christians we are united as “one heart and one soul.” (Acts 4:32)
19. “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.'” (CCC 1324)
20. “The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.” (CCC 1377)
21. The Holy Spirit “gathers the children of God into the one Body of Christ.” (CCC 1097)
22. “In each celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique mystery present.” (CCC 1104)
23. “The Spirit gives life to those who accept him.” (CCC 1107)
24. “Every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church.” (CCC 1097)
25. In the Mass, we offer ourselves with Christ in the Holy Spirit to God the Father.
26. In the Mass, we can unite ourselves to all those who have offered this sacrifice down through the ages.
27. We can strive to imitate the faith and love of those persons in history who have most loved the Mass.
28. The Mass has the power to bring peace to a troubled world.
29. In the Mass, heaven and earth, God and human beings meet.
30. The Eucharist “is the culmination both of God’s action sanctifying the world in Christ and of the worship men offer to Christ and through him to the Father in the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1325)
31. The Eucharist is the source of all that we need on the way to sanctity.
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