By turning the attention and affections of the soul towards the mysteries of our blessed Saviour's passion and death, which are thereby represented and shown forth according to these words, THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME; that is, for a perpetual and grateful commemoration of my sufferings and death, as the apostle explains it.
1 Corinthians xi. 26.
The Mass is called by St. Francis of Sales, Introd. p. 2, c. 14, the sun of spiritual exercises, the centre of religion, the heart of devotion, and the soul of piety. It is offered to none but God alone; as the nature of a sacrifice, in the common judgment of all mankind, is to acknowledge the supreme dominion of God over us, and our total subjection and dependence on him. It is a standing memorial and a commemorative sacrifice, that represents the sacrifice of the cross, and was prefigured by the sacrifice of Melchisedech, and foretold by the prophet Malichi.—c. i. v. 10. The faithful should go to it as if they were going to Mount Calvary, to be present at the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, and assist at it with a grateful remembrance and a feeling sense of his sufferings. The altar on which this great sacrifice is offered, with a crucifix erected thereon, is a figure of Mount Calvary, and of Christ crucified. The corporal and linen cloth that covered the altar, signify the linen cloth that wrapped the sacred body of Christ when he was buried. The chalice denotes the holy sepulchre of our Lord. The paten denotes the great stone that was rolled against the door of the sepulchre. The two candles signify the two testaments, and the light of faith revealed to the Jews and Gentiles. The priest who officiates represents the person of Christ, who is the High Priest of the New Law; his tonsure represents the crown of thorns which Christ wore; and the robes with which he is vested, represents the robes of derision with which Christ was ignominiously clothed. The amice represents the veil with which his eyes were muffled, when he was desired to prophesy who it was that struck him. The alb represents the white robe with which he was covered by Herod out of contempt. The cincture, maniple, and stole represent the cords and bandages with which he was bound like a malefactor. The chasuble, or outward vestment, represents the purple garment with which he was clothed like a mock king. The figure of a pillar on the front of the chasuble, represents the stone pillar at which he was scourged; and the figure of a cross on the back, represents the wooden cross which he carried on his shoulders from Jerusalem to Mount Calvary. The three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, which are used in the Mass, remind us of the title of the cross, which was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin letters. The different parts and ceremonies of the Mass correspond to the different stations of his passion, and represent all that happened from his entering into the Garden of Olives, until the day of his ascension into heaven, and the descent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles; as will appear to the devout reader of the explanations premised to each prayer.
A Prayer Before Mass.
O Divine Spirit, descend into my soul, purify it from the dross of its imperfections, and replenish it with the flames of thy sacred affections, that it may breathe nothing but thy love, and desire nothing but the accomplishment of thy will. O ye angels, saints, and all creatures, come help me to honour, praise, bless, and love our Lord Jesus Christ, who once offered himself a bloody sacrifice on the cross for my salvation, and now offers himself an unbloody sacrifice on the altar for the same end.
Give me grace, O sweet Jesus, to assist at this holy sacrifice with the fervour and devotion of the pious shepherds in the stable of Bethlehem; and with a lively faith, profound respect, and humility of the three wise men of the East, who came to adore thee in the manger, and to offer thee the three mystical presents of frankincense, gold, and myrrh, in testimony of thy divinity, royalty and humanity. And now, since I, who am but dust and ashes, have presumed to speak, permit me to follow thee in spirit through the different stages of thy passion, and accompany thee to Mount Calvary.—Make me partaker of that charity which conducted thee to it, that I may return love for love, life for life, death for death. Give me such a feeling sense of thy sufferings, as the daughters of Sion had, when they met thee with thy cross on thy shoulders, and a thorny crown on thy head. Grant me resignation of my will to thine, like that of thy Virgin Mother at the foot of the cross. Prostrate before the throne of thy divine Majesty, I humbly implore thy pardon for all my offences, and thy grace to avoid relapse into sin. I offer up this divine sacrifice, by the hands of thy priest, to the glory of thy name; in acknowledgment of thy infinite greatness, and of my own nothingness; in thanksgiving for all thy benefits; in satisfaction for all my sins; in memory of thy dolorous passion; and to obtain of thy bounty, for myself and for thy whole church, for my superiors, spiritual and temporal, for my parents, benefactors, friends, and enemies, and all mankind, those precious graces and favours which thou knowest us to stand in most need of.
Explanation.
"The priest going from the sacristy to the altar, and retiring to the foot of it, in order to recite the 42nd psalm, Judica me Deus, &c. represents Jesus Christ retiring from his last supper, and praying to his heavenly Father in the garden of Gethsemani, situate at the foot of Mount Olivet. The beginning of the Mass, with the sign of the cross, and the invocation of the three persons of the most Holy Trinity, signifies that it is in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that the faithful assembled, in order to celebrate the memory of Christ's passion and death. The psalm which is then repeated, expresses the deep concern of a soul kept at a distance from the temple of God, like David when he was persecuted by Saul, and the ardent desires with which we are to approach the altar, and partake of the divine mysteries. The Introit, or entrance of the Mass, and the Confiteor, or general confession made to the whole court of heaven, represent the fall of Adam, which was the source of all our miseries, and remind us that we ought to dispose ourselves for this great sacrifice by a sincere repentance for our sins."