Welcome to the House of God
In this sacred place, the highest act of adoration the world can offer God is celebrated :
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass or Celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice.
During this true and proper act of Sacrifice, Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest and Lamb of God,
present at the Altar, offers through the ministry of his priest His most Holy Body and Blood
in acceptable Sacrifice to His Heavenly Father at the moment of the words of Consecration :
“Take this, all of you, and eat it, This is My Body which will be given up for you….
Take this, all of you, and drink from it, This is the Chalice of My Blood,
The Blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and many so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of Me.”
By the separate Consecration of the bread and of the wine, the same and one Sacrifice of Christ in Calvary
is made present or renewed at the Altar of the Church but in an unbloody manner :
Christ upon the Cross won for us the redemption and at the Altar it’s applied to us.
“Et quoniam in divino hoc sacrificio quod in Missa peragitur, idem ille Christus continetur et incruente immolatur,
qui in ara crucis semel Se Ipsum cruente obtulit....cujus quidem oblationis, cruentæ inquam, fructus per hanc incruentam uberrime
percipiuntur, tantum abest ut illi per hanc quovis modo derogetur….”
The faithful, spiritually united to the priest, also participate in this Holy, Pure, and Immaculate Oblation to God :
To adore Him, to thank Him for all His benefits, to ask Him for the remission of sins, and
satisfaction of punishment due to sin for the living and dead, and to obtain other favors they have asked for.
During the Consecration, the miracle of the Transubstantiation takes place:
The bread and wine become the most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord,
called the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. Thus, Christ the Lamb of God is truly, really
and substantially present together with His soul and divinity under the species of bread and wine.
“In almo sanctæ eucharistiæ sacramento, post panis et vini consecrationem, Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum,
verum Deum atque hominem, vere; realiter ac substantialiter sub specie illarum rerum sentibilium coutineri….”
When we receive the August Sacrament of the Eucharist during Holy Communion, our soul
is sanctified, and at the same time we become truly united to Jesus Christ, building one Body in Him.
A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to receive this admirable Sacrament
without prior sacramental confession.
Those who cannot participate sacramentally are invited to do so by spiritual desire.
The faithful must observe the fast of the Roman Church, which is one hour before receiving
Holy Communion, and convey the respect and solemnity of this so sublime moment
by their bodily demeanor, such as gestures and clothing.
All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
because they are the works of men, but the Mass is the work of God.
Martyrdom is nothing in comparison, for it is but the sacrifice of man to God;
but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.
In memoriam Patris mei (1936-1996)