Holy mass by ifyrichard

HOLY MASS; THE SACRIFICE THAT PERPETUATES THE EVERLASTING COVENAN

Fraternity of Holy Tortures and tears of blood. P. O. Box 10752 Port Harcourt. Website: www.marytearsofblood.org Phone:08073099456.

PREFACE There was a pious woman who attends Mass regularly, but she was very poor. On one occasion, she needed to prepare soup with meat but was unable to afford the meat. Nevertheless, she decided to go to the meat seller and make her request; “I need meat to prepare my soup”. The meat seller asked, “how much do you have? The woman replied, I don't have money! The meat seller asked, “Why should you come to request for meat with nothing? The woman answered, “I will attend Mass for you”.

The woman went home and the following morning she attended Mass for the meat seller. She took a piece of paper and wrote, “I attended mass for you”. When she got to the meat seller, she presented the paper and said “Give me meat, I have attended Mass for you”. The man took the piece of paper from her and intending to give her the worth of what she came with; meanwhile the meat is sold with scale. He placed the piece of paper on a scale and took a little portion of the meat and put on the other side of the scale, but the paper weighed more than the meat. He cut a larger portion and added to the scale and the paper weighed more than that. The man took a very big part of about ten pounds and added but the paper weighed more than all the meat. At this point, all of them became afraid.

Those present at the scene of this incident were the woman, the meat seller and an old man who used to be a lukewarm Catholic, but has abandoned the Faith. The meat seller was not a Christian but the lesson of this incident filled them with awe and converted his whole family. The old man who has fallen from the faith regained faith, love and strong devotion to the Holy Mass, with his family. He had two sons, and one later became a priest who documented and published this story for the public.

There was a pious woman who attends Mass regularly, but she was very poor. On one occasion, she needed to prepare soup with meat but was unable to afford the meat. Nevertheless, she decided to go to the meat seller and make her request; “I need meat to prepare my soup”. The meat seller asked, “how much do you have? The woman replied, I don't have money! The meat

seller asked, “Why should you come to request for meat with nothing? The woman answered, “I will attend Mass for you”.

Indeed, one of the greatest torments of hell is the remorse of conscience, especially when you see the opportunities given you to gather the graces you needed to save your soul and how you neglected and misused them. Jesus has warned and continues to warn us - “The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here (Matt. 12:41-43).

The real Presence of Christ in the Eucharistic mystery or His saving Presence according to Pope John Paul II is destined for the falling and the rising of many in the Church (cf. Lk. 2:34), depending on your disposition and manner of approach. The Bible has warned us of the dangers of approaching the Eucharistic mystery with wrong disposition (cf.I Cor. 11: 17 - 34). The catechism says that the Sacraments give grace to those who receive them with good disposition. It is therefore necessary that Catholics should understand the Mass, it’s infinite value (merits) and its great need for our salvation so as to know the serenity and piety with which to approach it.

We thank God for the gifts of wisdom and knowledge endowed on the doctors of the Church. The great men of knowledge He promised to His Church (cf. Matt. 23: 43) who made the mysteries of God and His Words clearer for our understanding. This book was inspired through the study of some teachings of these doctors and some mystics of the Church; like: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by St. Alphonsus De Liguori; The Holy Eucharist by St. Alphonsus De Liguori; Apostolic letter Ecclisia De Eucharistia of Pope John Paul II, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Fr. Michael Muller, The Mystical City of God by Venerable Mary of Agreda; Friends of the cross by St. Louis Maria De Montfort; and Preparation for Death, by St. Alphonsus De Liguori.

Table of Content Preface .................................................. i Acknowledgment ...................................iv Table of Content .....................................v Dedication .............................................vi Holy Mass; The Sacrifice that Perpetuates the everlasting covenant.....1 Those who prove Victorious, will feed from the Tree of Life......................65 What can you give in Exchange for your Soul? (The Torments of Hell)........90

Dedication We humbly dedicate this Book to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus Christ; Whose Passion and Death has brought us peace. We pray for the speedy triumph of Thy kingdom on earth.

HOLY MASS, THE SACRIFICE THAT PERPETUATES THE EVERLASTING COVENANT On coming into the world, the Son of God said to His Father, “You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering, but You gave Me a Body, You took no pleasure in burnt offering or sacrifice for sin, then I said, here I am, I am coming to do Your will, O God: to explain further, He said: and His “will” was for us to be made holy by the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ made once and for all” (Heb. 10:5 -10).

The Bible thus reveals to us that the covenants and the sacrifices of the old testament are symbols pointing to the spiritual grace which the death of Christ on the Cross (i.e the everlasting covenant) will accomplish for us. The worship of the old testament was incapable of bringing the worshippers to perfection (cf. Heb. 10:1) until Christ came and accomplished the redemption of man; God accepted those sacrifices in anticipation of what they represent and what will be fulfilled in Christ. Meanwhile, in those covenants and sacrifices, God used some physical signs to reveal the spiritual grace which the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross will impact on mankind. While explaining the mystery of the Holy Mass, the council of Trent said: “It is that Sacrifice which was prefigured by various types of sacrifices during the period of nature and of the law, which, namely, comprises all the good things signified by them, as being the consummation and perfection of them all” (The cannons and decrees of the council of Trent P.145).

THE FOUR KINDS OF SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LAW According to St. Alphonsus de Liguori, there are four major kinds of sacrifices that God prescribed for the worship of the old testament, namely: The sacrifice of peace, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the sacrifice of expiation, and the sacrifice of impetration. God in His perfect

wisdom and knowledge instituted these sacrifices to correspond to the four ends for which the holy Mass is being offered, as being the perfection and fulfilment of the sacrifices of the old law. THE SACRIFICES OF PEACE (Lev. 1,2,3,4,): These were used to render to God the worship of adoration that is due to Him as the sovereign Master of all things. Of this kind were the holocausts.

THE SACRIFICES OF THANKSGIVING: These were destined to give thanks to God for all His benefits (Lev. 7: 12).

THE SACRIFICES OF EXPIATION (Lev. 16): These were offered to obtain pardon for sin. This kind of sacrifice was specially represented in the feast of the Expiation by the emissarygoat, which, having been laden with all the sins of the people, was led forth out of the camp of the Hebrews, and afterwards abandoned in the desert to be there devoured by ferocious beasts. This sacrifice was the most expressive figure of the sacrifice of the Cross. Jesus Christ was laden with all the sins of men, as Isaiah had foretold: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us allâ&#x20AC;? (Isa. 53:6). He was afterwards ignominiously led forth from Jerusalem, where the Bible invites us to follow Him by sharing in His suffering (cf Heb. 13:13) to where He was abandoned to the ferocious beast; that is to say, to the Gentiles, who crucified Him.

THE SACRIFICES OF IMPETRATION: These were offered to God in order to obtain from Him, His grace and needs of the people, that is petition. It was similar to holocausts or burntoffering.

THE MAJOR COVENANTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THEIR SYMBOLS

There are three major covenants in the old testament. In these covenants, God used the chosen holy patriarchs as figures of Jesus Christ to reveal the effects of the everlasting covenant on all mankind.

daily into more grievous sins. God in His foreknowledge also knew that life and justification of mortals will come through the sacrificial death of His Son (Rom. 5: 18), therefore, He told Noah to offer a sacrifice and entered into covenant with him, and He used Rainbow to prefigure the blood which His Son will shed on the Cross and which will be offered Him as a daily sacrifice for sin, He said: “when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember My covenant that is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9:14-16). This can help us to understand the teaching of great theologian and stigmatist, St. Padre Pio as quoted by an author: “The world can do more easily without the sun than without the Mass; in other words, the Mass is so essential that not even the air we breathe can do without it. It is because of the Mass that the world exists. Without the Mass atoning for our sins daily, the world would turn to ashes instantly. Even sinners keep on sinning because the Mass is there to sustain the world in which they sin. Once the Mass is stopped or profaned to such a degree as to make it ineffective, all manner of evils would descend on the world to destroy it”. (ii) The covenant with Abraham: in this covenant, God revealed the depth of His faithfulness to fulfil the promise of Redemption, God swore to Abraham that his children will be like the sand in the sea who will take possession of the promised Land-a prefiguration of paradise(Gen 17:4-8). Thus, the promise of redemption made after the fall of man was ratified in this covenant. The promise that a woman (i.e. Mary) will crush the head of the serpent (i.e. defeat sin and all its allurements) and be worthy to conceive with a sinless Blood, the Redeemer of the world, (Gen. 3:15) thus, the Divine presence and the nourishment from the tree of life which was lost as a consequence of sin (Gen. 3:22-24) was restored in the mystery of the bread of life (Jn 6:48). It was on this account that when she received the good news of the annunciation, Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, according to the promise He made to our ancestors, Abraham and to his descendants forever” (Lk. 1:55). In this covenant, God sealed the Promised Land to Abraham as a certain possession of his descendants forever (Gen.15:17-21). This covenant is truly fulfilled in the holy Mass- the chief source of grace and light for our heavenly journey, but most especially, when we worthily receive the holy Eucharist, being the pledge of the future resurrection and life everlasting- “Those who eat My flesh and drink My Blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day” (Jn. 6:55).

(iii) The covenant of Mt. Sinai: where God liberated His people Israel from the bondage of slavery in the hands of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Pharaoh controlled the life of Israelites in Egypt: their worship, their source of income, their positions, their fortunes as such that they tend to forget their fore father's commitment with the true God and the covenant which they were heirs.

This represents the dominion of satan and his demons over the world which makes it impossible for anyone to know the true God and be able to live a righteous life that is pleasing to Him, because we have fallen short of the grace of God (Rom.3:23 ); meanwhile, the blood of the Passover lamb (Exo. 12) and the blood of the ratification of the covenant (Exo. 24) were symbols of the Blood of Christ and what it does for us-He has wiped out the record of our debt to the law, which stood against us; He has destroyed it by nailing it to the Cross, and He has stripped the sovereignties and the ruling forces, and paraded them in public, behind Him in His triumphal procession (Col. 2: 14 - 15, Heb. 2: 15).

The Passover feast which was commanded by God to be remembered every year in honour of the freedom it won for the old Israelites; and it was on this feast that Christ instituted the everlasting covenant, the sacrifice of His own Body and Blood to replace the symbolical sacrifice of the animal lamb that cannot satisfy the debt of sin-“Christ our Passover has been sacrificed” (I Cor.5:7).

HOLY MASS RENEWS THE SACRIFICE OF THE CROSS The Catholic dogma teaches: “The Sacrifice of the Mass is the presenting again of the Sacrifice of the Cross, in so far as the sacrificial Body and the sacrificial Blood of Christ are made present under separate species, thus symbolically representing the real separation of the Body and Blood of Christ on the Cross. It is the means whereby the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Cross are applied to mankind in need of salvation”. St Augustine said, “The daily Sacrifice of the Church is the Sacrament that is, the mysterious replica of the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross which was made once and for all time, and in which Christ was the sacrificing priest and the sacrificial gift in one person”. St Alphonsus de Liguori said, “Infact, the sacrifice of the Mass, instituted by our Lord before His death, is a continuation of the Sacrifice of the Cross. Jesus Christ wished that the price of His Blood, shed for the salvation of men, should be applied to us by the sacrifice of the altar, in which the victim offered is the same, though it is there offered differently from what it was on the Cross, that is without the shedding of blood”.

The Holy Mass does not multiply the sacrifice of the Cross but renews it. It is the presenting again to the Father, that sacrifice which His Son accomplished on the Cross once and for all (cf. Heb. 10: 10-14), in His memory, as He commanded us. That is to say; this great and august sacrifice may neither be abandoned nor forgotten by man, rather it is often adored and commemorated as the Bible remarks (I Cor. 11:26), so that its fruits may be applied to mankind. God is not bound by time and space, to Him, one thousand years ago or to come is the same as

the present time. The Holy Mass makes present, the sacrifice of the Cross wherever it is celebrated, as Pope John Paul II re-affirmed- “A Lamb standing that seemed to have been sacrificed” (Rev. 5:6).

The council of Trent teaches: “Our God and Lord, though He was by His death about to offer Himself once upon the altar of the cross to God the Father, that He might there accomplish an eternal redemption, nevertheless, that His priesthood might not come to an end with His death, at the last supper, on the night He was betrayed, that He might leave to His beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice, such as the nature of man requires, whereby that bloody sacrifice once to be accomplished on the cross might be re-presented, the memory thereof remain even to the end of the world, and its salvation bringing power applied to the remission of those sins which we daily commit, declaring Himself constituted a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech ( Heb. 7 :17 ), offered up to God the Father His own Body and Blood under the form of bread and wine, and gave to His Apostles, whom He then made priests of the new testament, that they might partake, as He has empowered them and their successors in the priesthood with these words to do likewise: “Do this in commemoration of Me, as the Catholic Church has always understood and taught”.

Note: We must hold firmly what the Bible said that Jesus Christ is a priest forever of the order of Melchisedech (Heb.7:1-3). That means, someone who continues to offer sacrifice to God forever.

PROOF FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice at the last supper when He took the bread and gave thanks to the Father, (according to the vision of Mary of Agreda, He prayed and asked the co-operation of His Father that now and ever afterwards in virtue of the words about to be uttered by Him, and later to be repeated in His Holy Church, He should really and truly become present in the Host, Himself to yield obedience to these sacred words) and said: “This is My Body, which is given up for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me''. Also with the wine He said: ''this is the chalice, the new testament in My Blood, which shall be shed for you” (Lk. 22:19-20). With the expression, “which is given up for you” and “which shall be shed for you”, He indicated the sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic worship. That is, He expressed that what is happening at the table of the last supper will be physically fulfilled the following day on the Cross. Meanwhile, since there cannot be a sacrifice without a priest, He empowered His Apostles and their lawful successors to continue the same sacrifice on His behalf - “Do this”…

THE EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES Throughout the ages, God has in many ways revealed the mysteries in the Eucharist. Some of these events were proved, documented and published by the Church for our growth. The miracle of Regensburg, Germany; 1257, the miracle of Bolsna-Orvieto, Italy, 1263, and that of Macerate, Italy 1356, were among the occasions where God confirmed the faith of some doubting priests about the true presence of Christ in the Eucharistic Mystery. Also many saints like St. Padre Pio, St. Francis Borgia, St. Philip Neri, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, St. Mary Frances etc. were gifted with ecstasies and mystical experiences during the consecration and elevation of the Eucharist. Here is a short narration of one of such experiences: “Immediately the Archbishop said the words of the consecration of wine, and as the words were being said, lightning appeared from the heavens and in the background. The walls and ceiling of the church disappeared. All was dark but for that brilliant light from the altar. Suddenly, suspended in the air, I saw Jesus crucified. I saw Him from the head to the lower part of the chest. The cross beam was sustained by some large, strong hands…

Above was Jesus crucified, His head fallen upon His right shoulder. I was able to contemplate His face, beaten arm and torn flesh. On the right side of His chest He had an injury, and blood was gushing out toward the left side, and toward the right side, what looked like water, but it was very brilliant. They were more like jets of light coming forth toward the faithful, and moving to the right and to the left. I was amazed at the amount of blood that was flowing out toward the chalice. I thought it would overflow and stain the whole Altar, but not a single drop was spilled. At that moment the Virgin Mary said: This is the miracle of miracles. I have said to you before that the Lord is not constrained by time and space. At the moment of consecration, all the assembly is taken to the foot of Calvary, at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.” (the Testimony of Catalina; published by the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archdiocese of Mexico).

THE FOUR ENDS OF THE MASS There are four major aims for which the holy Mass is being offered to God (i)To honour and adore God (ii) To make satisfaction for our sins, (iii) To thank God for His benefits, (iv) To obtain Divine graces.

HOLY MASS, A SACRIFICE OF ADORATION AND OF INFINITE PRAISE The God who created us, on whom we depend for every moment of our existence, is a God of infinite majesty and glory. The psalmist said that all the firmament proclaims the glory of God ( Ps.8). St. John heard all the creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the sea, crying: “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power forever and ever. And the elders prostrated themselves to worship Him” (Rev. 5:13-14). The heavenly beings adore God day and night saying holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty (Isa. 6:3, Rev. 4:8). God created us for Himself in His image, that we may join the heavenly beings to praise and adore Him. But can we worthily praise God on ourselves?

The mouth and tongue we use to praise God, as the Bible says, is the most sinful part of the body (Jm. 3:5-6). The praise worship and long prayers that we may say, proceed from the canal body, thus they are human (canal) efforts which Isaiah says, are like a filthy rags before God (cf. Isa. 64:5), unless they are sanctified with the Blood of the Lamb- “If the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement, may restore their bodily purity. How much more will the Blood of Christ, who offered Himself, blameless as He was, to God through the Eternal Spirit, purify our conscience from dead actions so that we can worship the living God” (Heb. 9:13-14). And how must we do this? “For us to be made holy by the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ” (Heb. 10:10). Let us listen to the teaching of Fr. Michael Muller: ”The honour rendered by sacrifice belong, then essentially and solely to God. This honour, as already has been seen, He demanded from the beginning of the world, but more strictly under the Mosaic law. He prescribed that everyday, morning and evening, the priest should offer a lamb for a continual burnt-offering, besides, additional sacrifices on the Sabbath, the new moon, at the feast of the unleavened bread, and at

the feast of the first-fruit” (Num. 28). The book of Hebrews authoritatively explains that these demands of God laid down through the Mosiac law, which were symbols and quite incapable of bringing the worshipers to perfection (cf. Heb. 10), were fulfilled by Christ in the new covenant of His own Body and Blood, and handed down to us through His Apostles, as a means to worship the Father (cf. Heb. 8). A sacrifice is the highest act of religion in which a duly authorized person (Priest) offers to God some sensible thing which is visibly immolated, either physically or mystically, in acknowledgment of God’s dominion over all things and of our total dependence on Him. It is the only adequate, visible expression of that supreme adoration due to God. The destruction or immolation of the victim fittingly express our interior acknowledgment that God is the sovereign Master of life and death, and worthy of even the sacrifice of our life if He require it - MSGR. G.J. Moorman. The Angelic Doctor (St. Thomas) said that by this, we testify that God is the primary source of all creation, the final end of all our felicity, the sovereign ruler of all things, whom we adore and to whom, in evidence of our just subjection, we offer a visible victim, worthy of His August Majesty. We may bow, kneel, prostrate, these honours are equally given to kings and monarch’s. We may pray, sing melodious hymns and Psalms, burn incense and so on, they were also part of the practices of the old law which was quite incapable of bringing the worshipers to perfection (Heb. 10:1). It cannot worthily honour God. Let us listing to Fr. Muller again: “Now, God, being infinite in all His perfections, deserves an honour and reverence corresponding to His greatness. Only an infinite honour is adapted to an infinite Being: nothing limited is becoming of a Being without limits. Where, then, in the whole range of created nature, shall we find a being that is capable of offering a homage such as this?

“God, to be really and adequately glorified, can be glorified by no other than Himself. A God can be truly glorified only by a God, this glorification has literally come to pass. Almighty God has given us a man-God to supply our deficiency in adoring and honouring the Blessed Trinity”. Jesus Christ testifies to this when after the sacrifice of the last supper, He said: “Now the Son of man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him. God will also glorify Him in Himself and will glorify Him at once” (Jn. 13:31-32)

Therefore, the faithful who attend Mass with devotion and reverence united with their priest will through Jesus Christ our head give an infinite praise and adoration to God, because, by offering to Him a present of infinite value-the Body and Blood of His Son, we make a worthy return for all the benefits He ever bestowed upon us.

HOLY MASS, A SACRIFICE OF PROPITIATION /EXPIATION The holy Mass is mainly instituted for the satisfaction of the sins that are daily committed in the world. Hence, Jesus prayed while consecrating the wine: “this is My Blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). We must have understood from the first covenant (Noah) the gravity and malice of sin and how intolerable it is to God. The old testament is full of examples of how God punishes sin: the great flood; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ( Gen.19:24-26 ), the death of the sons of Eli and the capture of the Ark of Covenant ( I Sam. 4:10-11), the instant death of those who sinned against the holy of holies (II Sam.6:6-7) etc. We may then ask, do we no longer commit those sins and even more in our time? The answer is this: “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (I Jn. 2:2); “He gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2); “who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34).

Fr. Michael Muller said: “The fruits and graces of the bloody sacrifice of the Cross being applied to us by the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass. The voice of the blood of the Lamb of God prevails over the sins which cry to heaven for vengeance (Heb. 12:24), and benedictions descend where punishments are due”. The council of Trent therefore says: “Appeased by the sacrifice of the Mass, God forgives even the most heinous crimes”. The property of this sacrifice, continued Fr. Muller, is to appease God. St. Odo, Abbot of Clunny said, “The Mass is the act on which is based the salvation of the world”. Timothy of Jerusalem adds, “it is to the Mass that the entire world owes its preservation: without it, the sins of man would have annihilated it long ago”. It is on this account that Christ suffered severely and all the senses of His body were horribly tortured so as to pay for all the sins committed through all the senses of the body from beginning to the end of the world.

for whom He offers it, that He is the same with them also (Heb. 2:17).A true Mediator, who in the form of God, He received sacrifice together with the Father, with whom also He is one God, yet, in the form of a servant, He chose rather to be, than to receive sacrifice lest, even on this account, anyone might think that sacrifice was to be offered to any creature. For this cause also He is a priest, Himself the offerer, Himself also the oblation”.

The holy Mass is far superior to the sacrifice of the old testament whereby the high priest is also a sinful man who offers the victim (a mere animal) to God, first for his own sins and then for the people (cf.Heb. 9:7). And the Bible made it clear that such sacrifices were incapable of taking away sin (Heb. 10:11), until the coming of the Lamb of God (Jn. 2:29). It is necessary to repeat that God used those sacrifices to prefigure the sacrifice of Christ; to reveal to us the grave nature of our sins and the price it takes to make atonement for them. To sin against God is to offend an infinite being, the gravity of an offence is determined by the greatness of the person insulted. We need an infinite being to appease an infinite being, nothing less can do this. During the sacrifice for sin (old law), the penitent confess his sins and lay his hands on the head of the lamb, which imply that this innocent animal is to bear his sins and to die in his place.

Earlier, God had warned our ancestors: ''if you eat of this tree you shall die” (Gen. 2:17); “the soul that sinneth shall die” (Ezk. 18:20). Indeed, the price of sin is death -the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and to atone for it costs life -''for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you for making atonement for your souls on the altar, for blood is what makes atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11);” infact, according to the law, practically every purification takes place by means of blood; and if there is no shedding of blood, there is no remission'' (Heb.9:22); “this is My Blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

Jesus Christ is our high priest forever, of the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:20, Ps. 110:4). The Bible says “forever” because He continues to offer Himself to God on our altar through the hands of the priests until He comes again (I Cor.11:26). On this account, the priest who celebrates Mass may not be seen as representing the person of Jesus Christ; but they say the Mass in His name and as His minister. That is why they say: “This is My Body” not “This is the body of Jesus Christ”. He (Christ) use them as mere agent, to pronounce in His name and place, the words of consecration over the bread and wine.

HOLY MASS, A SACRIFICE OF THANKSGIVING Man by nature is so ungrateful. This ingratitude is mainly express by not having time to recount the goodness and benefits of God, which surround us daily. It is one in a million that remembers to show love in return to God for His immense love- “were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner” (Lk.17:17-19). He has drawn us from the abyss of nothingness and placed all the work of His hands under our feet (Ps. 8:6); He created us in His own image and likeness (Gen.1:26); through love for us God preserves the universe and placed His Angels to guide everything that exits in this world (Rev. 7:1-3); He multiplies animals and makes the trees grow so as to provide food for His people and for other uses; He provides the natural resources for all nations and the ability to utilize them for our good. In the work of redemption, God humbled Himself to become one of us in all things expect sin, thus raised the nature of man to hypostatic union with God, a favour not shown to the angels and archangels or any other creature (Heb. 2:14-17); the Holy Ghost is given to us, a pledge of the adopted sons of God. The Holy Ghost makes us temples of God, heavenly citizens (heirs), and sharers in the Divine life, nature, glory and perfections of God through the sanctifying grace which we receive in baptism and recovers in the sacrament of penance if we lose it by sin ( Rom.8:14-17). God made Himself a prisoner of love in the Blessed Sacrament so as to stay with us and with all the graces that accompany His Divine presence till the end of time. (Matt. 28:20).

But how can we thank God enough for all His benefits? The whole universe and all it contains comes from Him. If we are to offer Him our life, we already belong to Him, and can do nothing good without His grace( Phil. 2:13). If we are to offer Him all we have, they came from Him. Hence, St. Gregory Nyssen rightly said: “I think that if our whole life long we conversed with God without distraction, and did nothing but give thanks, we should really be just as far from adequately thanking our heavenly benefactor, as if we had never thought of thanking Him at all. For time has three parts, the past, the present and the future. If you look at the present, it is by God that you are now living; if the future, He is hope of everything you except; If the past, you would never have been if he had not created you. That you were born was His blessing, and after you were born, your life and your death were equally His blessing”.

Meanwhile, the Bible says, “we shall give to the most high according to what He hath given to us (Eccl. 35:12). Where can we get what we can offer to the Most High as a pleasing thanksgiving for His love towards man? The answer was foretold by the Holy Ghost, through the psalmist: “what shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that He had rendered to me? I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord... I shall offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Ps.115/116:12-17).

Fr. Michael Muller said: ''it is God Himself who, in His mercy, has given the devout soul a means of paying off this immense debt of gratitude, through the holy Mass. The Mass is a Eucharistic sacrifice, that is to say, a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Jesus Christ has left us Himself to be offered in the Mass, by way of thanksgiving to His Heavenly Father. When the priest offers to God the sublimest act of homage possible, holding the Body and Blood of the Redeemer above the altar, suspended between heaven and earth, he presents the great thanksgiving as the source and object of all honour and glory. In order to understand, in some measure, the great return we make in the Mass to the Almighty for all the benefits bestowed upon us, we have but to consider the gift we offer to God in gratitude-the glorious privileges of the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ and the excellence of our dear saviour on account of His Divinity”.

St. Catherine of Siena was told by God in revelation that thanksgiving makes the soul incessantly delightful before Him, that it frees men from negligence and lukewarmness. St. Mary Magadalen de Pazzi was also told that thanksgiving prepares the soul for the boundless liberality of the Eternal Word. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus asked our Lord how she can thank Him enough for all the gifts and graces with which she was favoured, our Lord answered her: “attend one Mass”.

HOLY MASS, A SACRIFICE OF IMPETRATION (To obtain God's graces) The Bible said categorically that it is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34); “we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up” (Heb. 8: 1- 2 ); “He entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb. 9:24). The prayer of the saints is so powerful with God because of their good works (cf Isa.58:8); we can then imagine what the prayer of Jesus Christ will be like.

Again, Fr. Michael Muller said: “All the good works of Jesus Christ are of an infinite value and dignity and when He prays to His Father for us at Mass, it is not mere prayers that He offers in our behalf, but in addition, all He has done for thirty-three years and a half to please Him. He offers to Him His Blood, His very life itself, in sacrifice, and thus lay before His Father the greatest gift possible -a gift far more precious than all He can ask for us, as great in power and dignity as is the Father Himself. This is the precise reason why Mass is so powerful a sacrifice of impetration, why it can obtain for us every favour possible. Ask of Me, says the Father to His Son, when lying upon the altar, ask of Me and I will give Thee the nations for Thy inheritance” (Ps. 2:8). We must remember says Fr. Muller that in the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, the Son of God not only worships His Father for us, but that He also prays for us, asks pardon and every kind of blessing for us - “He is the High priest of all the good things to come.”(Heb.9:11)

True repentance and perseverance depend on God's grace and our co-operation with the graces given -“No one can come to Me unless it is granted by the Father” (Jn.6:65). We have a great battle to fight before we can inherit the promised kingdom -“indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Tim. 3:12), “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). We have three major enemies namely: the world, our flesh and the devil. The world will lay serious obstacles for our souls through its seductions, scandals, persecutions, deceitful pleasures, vainglories, attractions and enjoyments. Our flesh will constitute a big

obstacle through the weakness it was infected as a consequence of the original sin. We are naturally more inclined to vices than to practise their opposing virtues (cf. Rom. 7:14-15) e.g: anger, hatred, revenge, lying, gratification of the lustful desires of our heart, indifference towards God and in practising virtue e.t.c. The devil will constitute a heavy obstacle to our souls through the many temptations, trials and persecutions he will raise up against us -“the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I pt . 5:8). His aim is to conquer everyone to receive the image of the beast (Rev. 13:17); that means, to pay him loyalty. He can do this by attacking your means of sustaining your life, your health, by blocking your necessary achievements in life, by raising up persecutions, hatred and wicked neighbours around you and depriving you of your lawful possessions.

We can see these things personified by Pharaoh to the old Israelites and some tyrannical rulers like Nero, Decius, Diocletian, Julian etc to the early Christians. We may then begin to ask like the old Israelites, if we must get to this land of promise, “who will lead us to the gate of Edom? (Ps.108:10-11) Fr. Muller said: “By our own efforts alone we shall never be able to overcome even one of our enemies. It is only by the constant efficacious grace and assistance of God that we can overcome them to the end of our life. But how are we to obtain this assistance? By prayer. But vile, abject, worthless and undeserving as we are, by what right shall we venture to implore the numberless favours of which we stand in need of in the order both of nature and grace? Certainly by no right of our own, for in truth, we have not the very least. But happily for us, our dear saviour came, and by His tears, His labours and suffering, by His prayers, He obtained for us from His heavenly Father the right to every grace and gift of the Lord. This right He obtained by His prayers particularly; for the heavenly Father had decreed not to grant any grace to man, not even to His Divine Son, except through prayer, which is the channel through which all grace flow”. What is Jesus Christ asking for us? Holy Father, keep those You have given Me true to Your name… protect them from the evil one. Consecrate them in the truth…. Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I Am, so that they may always see My glory (Jn. 17). Jesus offers Himself to God to appease Him and obtain for us all the graces necessary for salvation. This graces is very necessary to sustain the peaceful existence of the world and provide an enabling environment where righteousness can thrive -“The bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (Jn. 6:33).

This grace cares and provides the primary needs of His people without which they cannot persevere in His ways -“ I shall save you from everything that defiles you, I shall summon the wheat and make it plentiful and impose no famines on you” (Ezk. 36:29). This grace provide light in the hearts of man so as to live in fairness and justice, and elevate the merit of the new Israelites, who are fed with the bread of life, so as to share in the glory of God -“A light to reveal Your will to the Gentiles, and bring glory to Your people Israel” (Lk. 2:32). This grace is very necessary for the conversion of poor sinners and the perseverance of the just -“To give light

to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Lk. 1: 79).

Fr. Muller again posits: “It is certain that no one will do true penance for his sins unless he is very sorry for them. But to have this sorrow requires a particular grace from God” -“I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh… Then you shall remember your evil ways, and your dealings that were not good, and you shall loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds” (Ezk. 36 :26-31). Citing the teaching of the council of Trent, he said: “if anyone can repent in such a manner that can lead him to justification, he needed the inspiration and grace of the Holy Ghost (cf.Phil.2:12-13). Judas repented, as the Bible says, but his repentance proceeded only from natural motives, and consequently ended in despair -“when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, “ I have sinned by betraying innocent blood... he departed, and he went and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:3-6). Fr. Muller continued: “we may indeed, freely fall into sin without any assistance, but to rise from it we cannot, except by the special assistance of God. We can loose the grace of God, but to recover it again, without God's assistance is more than we can do. Meanwhile, before such graces should come to us, God must be appeased, that is what Jesus does for us in the Mass, which is the chief source of grace that the missionaries used to pull down the devil's strongholds (cf. II Cor.10:4-6 ) and planted the light of the gospel in all parts of the world. Fr. Muller relates of the mystical experience of St. Coleta in a Mass celebrated by her confessor. She said: “During the elevation of the scared Host, I saw our Lord Jesus Christ as if hanging on the Cross, shedding His Blood, and praying to His heavenly Father in Most lamentable accents: Behold, My Father, in what condition I was once hanging on the Cross and suffering for the Redemption of mankind. Behold My wounds, My sufferings, My death: I have suffered all this in order that poor sinners might not be lost. But now Thou wilt send them to hell for their sins. What good, then, will result from My sufferings and cruel death! Those damned souls, instead of thanking Me for My passion, will only curse Me for it; but should they be saved, they would bless Me for all eternity. I beseech Thee, My Father, to spare poor sinners, and forgive them for My sake; and for the sake of My passion, preserve them from being damned forever”.

HOLY MASS IS MOUNT ZION, THE CITY OF GOD'S PRESENCE The Bible reveals the mystery of the Holy Mass as follows: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb.12:22 24). Indeed, the Mass unites the mystical body of Christ together: the saints in heaven, the suffering souls and the Church on earth. This is so because the Bible says that wherever God goes, His angels and saints go with Him (cf. Rev. 14:1-5). And in the Mass, the bread we break is the true Body of the Lord, while the Chalice of benediction which we bless is the true Blood of Christ (cf. I Cor. 10:16) that separates from His Body in a sacrificial manner as on Mt. Calvary. In view of this, the priest consecrates the bread before the wine as the Lord did at last supper. Meanwhile, the Father and the Son are inseparable-the Father and I are one(Jn.10:30). The holy Roman Catholic Church teaches under the pain of excommunication, that in the Eucharist, we have the Real presence of God, i.e Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Pope Paul VI said that “Real presence” does not mean that God cannot be present in any other form or place, but presence in the fullest sense.

Since the fall of man and the banishment from God's presence (Gen. 3:22), the soul of man is thirsty for God's presence;- “As a dear longs for flowing streams, so My soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? (Ps. 42: 1-2). That is why the patriarchs wherever they encountered God, built altars to honour His presence (cf Gen.28:12-19) The most outstanding was when Moses encountered God in the burning bush at Mt. Sinai, and God sent him for the liberation of Israelites (Ex.3:1-6 ). God instructed him that when they come out of Egypt, they will come and worship Him at that mountain. Indeed, when they came to worship Him at Mt. Sinai, God manifested His presence such that everyone was convinced of His presence at that mountain. Before they left Mt. Sinai, God instructed them on how to make a Tent and an Ark where His presence will dwell to lead them to the promised land ( Ex.25:1-10). When they built and dedicated this Tent, God also manifested His presence in it ( Ex.40:34-38).

Meanwhile, when they entered the promised land, the Ark of God's presence stayed in the Tent and in the house of some chosen patriarchs until Solomon built a temple to house it. When Solomon dedicated this temple, God manifested His presence in a special way ( II Chr.5:11-14); thus, the Jews believe that everyone must come to worship God in this temple at least once every year as God have commanded (Deut. 12:5-7).

Now, we may recall the encounter between Jesus and the woman of Samaria. She said: “our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you (i.e Jews) say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem (i.e where the Ark was, and God's presence was assured). Jesus said to her, “woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… But the hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4: 20-23). Jesus is actually telling the woman, 'the Christ', the true Lamb of sacrifice is already here, to fulfil the will of God (Heb. 10:10). Henceforth, the true worshippers (i.e those who escape the heresies of all ages), will adore the true presence of God wherever the Eucharistic sacrifice is celebrated. The presence of God is so vital in the life of His people in their journey to the promised land, because it gives light to their souls, so as to be able to discern what is good from what is evil in this deceitful Babylon- “give Thy servant therefore an understanding mind... able to discern between good and evil” (1 Kgs. 3: 9) .This was prefigured in the sojourn of the old Israelites, when God threatened to withdraw His presence from them (Ex.33:2-3); they wept bitterly and did penance until God assured them of His presence, which was fulfilled in the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire to provide light for them (Ex.40 :34-38).It is our co-operation and disposition to this light that determines the level of sanctity we can attain on earth. But those who obstinately refused to co-operate with the operations of this light by their stubbornness, God can allow them to be blinded and deceived by the vanities and trials of life-''He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them'' (Jn.12:40).

God's presence in the Eucharist is sealed with a covenant, and it pours abundant grace on mankind for him to accept and preserve the truths about God; as it happened to the two disciples at Emmaus, after Jesus had preached to them, when He broke the bread and gave to them, the Bible says; ''Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him'' (Lk.24:31).

Jesus Christ assured us of His true presence at the Eucharist by the very words of the institution: ''This is My Body; this is My Blood''. He did not say ''this represents My Body'' or ''this is a symbol of My Body''. At that moment, He was establishing a covenant, so He meant everything He said. He is the truth Himself who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Before He said, this is

My Body, He knows that an actual change has taken place (Transubstantiation) on the substance of the bread, as it continues to take place on our altars, whenever those sacred words are repeated. In His teaching at Capernaum, He said; “My Body is real food and My Blood is real drink” (Jn. 6:56). The Bible further clarify more; “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, will be answerable for the Body and Blood of the Lord… for all who eat and drink without discerning the Body, eats and drinks judgement against themselves” (I Cor. 11: 27 -29). With these words of admonition, the Bible wants us to profess that the Blessed Sacrament is God, and should be reverenced more than the symbolic presence of God in the old Ark of the covenant.

THE WHOLE WORLD DEPENDS ON THE HOLY MASS FOR PRESERVATION AND SALVATION The prophet Obadiah says: “And in mount Zion shall be salvation, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess those that possessed them” (Ob. 1:17). Indeed holy Mass is mount Zion , where God's children recover the heavenly treasures and graces that was promised. While revealing the mystery of the holy Mass, the book of Hebrews (12:24) says, “you have come to mount Zion where the sprinkled Blood of Christ speaks better word than the blood of Abel”.

The blood of Abel refers to all the innocent blood that are being shed on earth (Matt.23:35) which continues to cry for vengeance to God (cf. 11 Esdras 15: 7-9). While the Blood of Christ makes atonement and pleads for pardon (Lk. 23:34) and peace for the world. The prophet Ezekiel saw the vision of the new temple; water was flowing from the sanctuary and enters the sea (i.e the world); as it enters the sea, it makes the stagnant water of the sea to become fresh, and every living creatures will live and bear fruit, because they were nourished by the water from the sanctuary (Ezk. 47:1-12). This vision clearly explains how the grace of God issues from the Bread of Life in the sanctuary and effects healing and transformation of the world - “The Bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world” (Jn. 6: 33).

How and why does this happen? We have to consider these two points: the conversion of sinners and the preservation of the just.

The conversion of sinners: We have stated earlier that before a sinner can have sorrow and contrition for his sins, such that can lead him to justification, the grace of God is absolutely

necessary (cf. Ezk. 11:19 20, Phil.2:13,). Jesus Christ is the sun that gives light to those in darkness and guides our feet in His way of peace (Lk. 1:79).But sinners in their stubbornness abuse the grace of God in many ways and become unworthy of it -“I stand at the door knocking” (Rev. 3:20). And the sentence hanging over them says; “See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears” (Heb. 12:16 -17).

It is through the holy sacrifice of the Mass that Jesus offers Himself to the Father, an expiatory sacrifice of infinite value to satisfy for all our debts and merit for us the graces we need, especially for those who place no obstacles (cf Ezk. 11:21, Ps. 95:7-8). The hearts of unrepentant sinners and heretics are always blinded and fortified by the gods of this world (cf. II Cor. 4:4) to which St Paul says, “the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have Divine power to destroy strongholds, arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (II Cor. 10: 4-5). The most efficacious of these weapons is the holy sacrifice of the Mass: “it is in this sacrifice of propitiation, said Fr. M. Muller, that the eagerness of God to save sinners is truly manifest”.

Our Lord Jesus said to St. Mechtilde: “At Mass, I come with such humility that there is no sinner, no matter how depraved he may be, that I am not ready to receive, if only he desires it. I come with such sweetness and mercy to pardon my greatest enemies if they ask for forgiveness, I come with such generosity that there is no one so poor that I will not fill with the riches of my love. I come with such heavenly food as will strengthen the weakest, with such light as will illumine the blindest, with such a plentitude of graces as will remove all miseries, overcome all obstinacy and dissipate all fears”.

The Preservation of The Just: It has always been the promise of God to save the entire populace because of His few chosen ones-the apples of His eyes (cf. Zec. 2:8), or to destroy many nations in order to preserve His people. Through the intercession of Abraham, He promised to save Sodom and Gomorrah, if five just men were found there (Gen.18:32). Through the intercession of Moses, He spared the nation of Israel from the destruction He threatened (Ex.32:7-14). Jesus Christ foretold that when the great anger of God will chastise the world for their sins, the days will be shortened so that the elects (i.e Holy ones) will survive (cf. Matt. 24: 22). He says: “I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in My sight, and honoured, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life” (Isa. 43:3 4).

The perseverance of the just in virtuous life needs a lot of graces from God, as He said: “Your fruitfulness comes from Me (Hos.14: 8 9); He can keep you from failing and bring you safe to His glorious presence”(Jude 1:24).You need God's re-vivifying strength (Jn. 4:13-14), you need His providential care that provides all you needed to survive virtuously (Ezk. 36:29-30), you need His mighty hand to spare you from situations of difficult trials that may swallow your soul, you need God's light in your soul which makes you feel shameful and shrewd at evil -“Give me not over to a shameless and foolish mind” (Sirach 23:6, I Kg. 3:9, Rom. 1:28). This light is also responsible for the peace of the world. Jesus Christ as the Bible says, is the Prince of Peace-’'in His days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon (i.e the source of light, the Eucharist) is no more” (Ps. 72:7). He brings peace not with arms and military strength but by providing light in the hearts of men, which reveals even to the Gentiles, the will of God (Lk. 2:32), to embrace justice and fairness. It was earlier revealed through prophet Jeremiah that the grace of the new covenant will enlighten all men to do God's will (Jer. 31:31-34). God's grace flows to the good and the wicked alike (cf. Matt. 5:45). But they are mostly provided for the sake of the good ones so that wickedness will not grow to the point where righteousness cannot flourish -“you are salt for the earth” (Matt. 5:13). It is in the holy Mass that Jesus atones for our sins and merits these graces for us- ''I am the living Bread which has come down from heaven… And the bread that I shall give is My flesh, for the life of the world” (Jn. 6:51); “And the life was the light of all people” (Jn. 1:4). Pope John Paul II testified: The Church draws her life from Christ in the Eucharist; by Him She is fed and by Him She is enlightened. The Eucharist is both a mystery of faith and mystery of light. Whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist, the faithful can in some way relive the experience of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus: "Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him". (Lk. 2:24-34, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Par. 6).

WE MUST WORSHIP GOD IN REVERENCE AND FEAR The Bible says: “we must worship God in the way that please Him, in reverence and fear” (Heb. 12:28). This is very necessary because God respects our freewill on earth. The great mystery of our salvation is for us to accept and cherish, or reject and bear the consequences. St. Alphonsus de Liguori quoted the decrees of the council of Trent as follows: ''The Mass, then being the most holy and divine action in which we can be engaged, it plainly follows, that all diligence ought to be used in order that so great a sacrifice may be celebrated with the greatest possible interior purity and exterior devotion. The malediction fulminated by Jeremias against those who perform negligently their sacred functions, is especially to be directed against priests who celebrate Mass irreverently, which is the greatest and most sublime action that man can perform for the honour of his creator”.

To explain this fact in a clearer terms, let us reflect on the teaching of these theologians: St Alphonsus de Liguori said, “although the Mass is of infinite value, God accepts it only in a finite manner, according to the dispositions of those who attend the Holy sacrifice”. St. Thomas Aquinas said: “The amount of grace we got when we receive a Sacrament is proportional to our disposition at the very moment we receive the Sacrament”.

In his book, Mass and the Sacraments, Fr. John Laux (M.A) said: “From the nature of the Mass it is evident that its value or fruit is infinite, if we regard the gift offered; but finite, limited, if we regard the offering of the gift. The fruit of each Mass is therefore proportioned to the dispositions, that is, the degree of holiness of those who offer it”. “We should try to realize more and more that the Masses which are being celebrated throughout the world are being offered by us as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, and that the fruit of these Masses is increased or diminished by the degree of holiness which we possess”. The Seraphic Doctor, St. Bonaventure said, “All Masses are equally good, as far as Christ is concerned; but as far as the priest is concerned, one may be better than another. Therefore it is more profitable to hear the Mass of a good priest than of an indifferent one”. Fr. Martin von cochem wrote: “ The more devoutly the priest says the Mass, the more acceptable to God is the sacrifice he offers and the more abundant are the graces it bring down from above, both upon the priest, who celebrates the Mass and the individuals for whom he offers it”.

St. Peter of Alcantara related that the Mass which he said devoutly, produced more fruit than all the sermons of the preachers of the province in which he then was. And St. Alphosus de Liguori added: “So does an indevout Mass destroy all devotion and reverence due to so great a sacrifice”. The Council of Trent says that the ceremonies of the Mass have been ordained by the Church for no other purpose but to instil into the faithful, the reverence which is due to the sacrifice of the altar, and to the sublime mysteries which it embraces.

Pope John Paul II while reaffirming the observance of liturgical discipline in Eucharistic celebration used the words of St Paul to re-echo its consequences. He said: ''the Apostle Paul had to address fiery words to the community of Corinth because of grave shortcomings in their celebration of the Eucharist, resulting in divisions (schismata) and the emergence of factions” (heresies). Precisely, the Bible clearly says that such celebrations do more harm than good (cf.ICor.11:17-34). As we can see, the immediate result was divisions, heresies, weakness, sickness and death which are clear signs of loss of grace and effects of Divine justice. The Bible says:'' How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who trample on the Son of God, profaned the Blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outrage the Spirit of grace? (Heb.10:29).

The Congregation for Divine worship and Discipline of the Sacraments said: “Abuses contribute to the obscuring of the Catholic Faith and doctrine concerning this wonderful sacrament. Thus, they also hinder the faithful from re-living in a certain way the experience of the two disciples of Emmaus: and their eyes were opened, and they recognize Him. In the presence of God’s power and Divinity and the splendour of His goodness, made manifest especially in the sacrament of the Eucharist, it is fitting that all the faithful should have and put into practice that power of acknowledging God’s saving passion of the only Begotten Son” (Redemptionis Sacramentium, Article No 6, 25/3/04).

St. Alphonsus de Liguori, while teaching on the merit of the holy Mass, said:'' On this account the devil has always endeavoured to abolish the Mass throughout the world by means of heretics, making them the precursor of Antichrist”. Indeed, the devil will desire to see that where God should have been highly honoured is where He is mostly insulted. Therefore, it is evidently clear that the grace we receive at Mass depends on our dispositions and the manner in which the Mass was celebrated. If we try to dignify the liturgy with interior and exterior devotions, the more glory is given to God and more graces for His people. The wise ones (Dan. 12:10) should therefore desire and make effort to attend Mass with good disposition, and also wherever they know that God will be more solemnly reverenced and honoured.

HOW TO ATTEND MASS PROPERLY St. Alphonsus de Ligori said: “In order to hear Mass with devotion, it is necessary to know that the sacrifice of the altar is the same as that which was once offered on Calvary, with this difference, that on Calvary the Blood of Jesus Christ was really shed, but on the altar it is shed only in a mystical manner. Had you been present on Calvary, with what devotion and tenderness would you have attended that great sacrifice! Enliven your faith, then, and consider that the same sacrifice is offered not only by priest, but also by all who attend Mass. Thus, all perform, in a certain manner, the office of priests during the celebration of the Mass, in which the merits of the passion of our Saviour are applied to us in a particular manner. It is, moreover, necessary to know that the sacrifice of the Mass has been instituted for four ends: To honour God, to satisfy our sins, to thank God for His benefits and to obtain Divine graces'' (The Holy Eucharist, St. Alphonsus de Liguori).

re-enacted. Avoid dancing, noise making/discussions and all manner of worldliness; the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in the church deserves absolute reverence and profound adoration- This people honour Me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from Me. Their reverence of Me is worthless (Mk. 7: 6 - 7).

It is necessary to meditate on the passion of our Lord and on our sins as well as the inumerable sins being commited in the world, for which Jesus Christ is offering Himself in expiratory sacrifice. Your watch word must be to “pray the Mass” not just to attend the Mass. Fr. Martin von cochem wrote: “Hearing Mass does not merely consist in being present in person when it is celebrated, but in offering it to God conjointly with the priest”. The great need for this is to assure yourself of the benefits of the Mass. Among the graces derived from assisting at the Mass as written in the pieta numbers 4 & 5 says that each Mass well attended will plead for you at the judgement throne of God. This was earlier revealed to John, where the books were opened and everyone is judged according to what is written in the book (Rev. 20:12). The multitude of Angels in the Mass as many privileged souls have seen, do take account of the quality of each person’s participation.

St. Leonard of Port Maurice said, “It is a very good plan to divide the whole Mass into four parts, corresponding with the four principal objects for which Mass is offered, that is to say: To consider the Mass from the beginning to the Gospel as a sacrifice of propitiation; from the Gospel to the elevation, as a sacrifice of impetration; from the elevation to the communion, as a sacrifice of adoration; and from the communion to the end, as a sacrifice of Thanksgiving.

In the first part, we may consider the holiness of God and the enormity of sin, and bewailing our offenses, offer the Immaculate Lamb to the Father, and ask in the name of Jesus a more complete forgiveness of our sins, and of the temporal punishments due to them, and a more profound spirit of penance.

In the second part, we may offer this sacrifice to obtain special graces from God for ourselves and others, for the welfare of Christendom, for the heretics, for peace among Christian rulers, for grace to fight against our besetting sin, and in remembrance also of the poor souls in purgatory.

In the third part we may consider our own nothingness and God’s greatness; then offer up to Him the homage of His well-beloved Son, and in union with the same sublime homage of Jesus Christ, our own acts of adoration to the Heavenly Father. We may rejoice in His glory, and desire that all men render Him due honour.

In the fourth part we may consider what God is in Himself and what He is in His Saints and offering to Him the Thanksgiving which Jesus Christ makes in the Mass, add an affectionate oblation of ourselves and of all we have in return for the great mercies He has shown us. Here an especial acknowledgment of the graces which the Lord has bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, and on all the angels and Saints of Heaven, may be made.

Meditations and Reflections at the Mass Your reflections at Mass must center on the passion of Christ, your sins and the sins of the world. Use these short prayers to unite your heart with the mysteries that are taking place.

An Offering at Commencement

ETERNAL Father, I offer Thee the sacrifice which Thy beloved Son Jesus made of Himself on the Cross, and now renews on this altar. I offer it in the name of all creatures, together with the Masses which have been said and which will be said throughout the whole world, to adore Thee and to give Thee honor and glory, which Thou deservest; to render to Thee the thanks which are due Thee for Thy numberless benefits, to appease Thy anger, and to satisfy for our many sins, to supplicate Thee for myself, for the Church, for the whole world, and for the holy souls in purgatory.

Indulgence of 3 years, once a day for each prayer. Pius IX, April 11, 1860. AT THE COLLECT Omnipotent Lord! Who dost permit evil that good may spring from it, listen to the humble prayers by which we ask of Thee the grace of remaining faithful to Thee, even unto death. Grant us also, through the intercession of Mary ever blessed, that we may always conform ourselves to Thy most holy will. Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. - Leo XIII, July 19, 1879.

Prayer

O MOST compassionate Jesus! Thou alone art our salvation, our life, and our resurrection. We implore Thee, therefore, do not forsake us in our needs and afflictions, but, by the agony of Thy most sacred Heart, and by the sorrows of Thy Immaculate Mother, succor Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy most Precious Blood. Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. - Pius IX, Oct. 6, 1870.

EJACULATIONS Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all things. Indulgence of 500 days, every time. - Pius IX, May 7, 1854. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine. Indulgence of 300 days, once a day. - Pius IX, Jan. 25, 1868.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere! Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. - Pius IX, Sept. 23, 1860.

At the Offertory and Secret Prayers AN OFFERING

My loving Jesus! I (N.N.) give Thee my heart, and I consecrate myself wholly to Thee, out of the grateful love I bear Thee, and as a reparation for all my unfaithfulness and with Thy aid I purpose never to sin again.

Indulgence of 100 days once a day - Pius VII, June 9, 1807.

AN OFFERING

ETERNAL Father, we offer Thee the blood, the passion, and the death of Jesus Christ, the sorrows of Mary most holy, and of St. Joseph, in satisfaction for our sins, in aid of the holy souls in purgatory, for the needs of holy Mother Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Indulgence of 100 days. once a day. - Pius IX, April 30, 186o.

During the Canon IN COMMEMORATION OF THE LIVING

We humbly pray and earnestly beseech Thee, most merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, to look with favor upon these gifts, which we present to Thee in union with the priest at the altar, to accept ,and to bless this sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, and propitiation, which we offer Thee, in the first place, for Thy holy Catholic Church, to which vouchsafe to grant peace and union throughout the world. Bless our Holy Father, the Pope, our bishops, priests, Religious, and apostolic missionaries that their labor in the propagation of the Faith and for the salvation of souls may be fruitful. Lord, through the merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I especially recommend to Thee the intentions for which I am assisting at this Mass; the interests of my relatives, friends, and benefactors; and the wants of all those for whom I have promised to pray and for whom I am bound to pray in justice and charity. I beseech Thee, also, to bless my enemies, those who are dying, and all the faithful who are in the state of grace; grant us the gift of perseverance in Thy love. Finally, I recommend to Thy goodness and clemency all infidels, heretics, and sinners. Vouchsafe to enlighten and strengthen them, that they may know Thee and love Thee and serve Thee and be happy with Thee forever in heaven.

Prayer To The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus MOST Sacred Heart of Jesus, shower copiously Thy blessings on Thy holy Church, on the Supreme Pontiff, and on all the clergy; grant perseverance to the just, convert sinners, enlighten infidels, bless our parents, friends, and benefactors; assist the dying, liberate the souls in purgatory, and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Indulgence of 300 days. -Pius X, June 16, 1906.

AT THE ELEVATION Look at the sacred Host and say with strong faith, firm hope, tender love, and earnest devotion: My Lord and My God!

His Holiness, Pope Pius X, on May 18, 1907, granted an indulgence of 7 years and 7 quarantines, to all the faithful, who, at the Elevation during Mass, or at public exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, look at the sacred Host and say: â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Lord and my God!â&#x20AC;?

EJACULATIONS O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine! All praise and all thanksgiving, be every moment Thine.

Indulgence of 100 days, once a day; and once during each Mass to all, who, at the elevation of both species, shall say this ejaculation.

Saviour of the world, have mercy on us Indulgence of 50 days, once a day. Leo XIII, Feb. 21, 1891.

Jesus, my God, I adore Thee here present in the Sacrament of Thy love. Indulgence of 100 days, while genuflecting before a tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament, and an indulgence of 300 days, while genuflecting on both knees before the Blessed Sacrament exposed. - Pius X July 3, 1908.

INVOCATION My God, grant that I may love Thee, and be the only reward of my love to love Thee always more and more.

Indulgence of 100 days. once a day. - Leo XIII, March 15, 1890.

At the Elevation of the Sacred Chalice Hail, saving Victim, offered upon the scaffold of the Cross for me and for the whole human race! Hail, Precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world! Remember, O Lord, Thy servant, the work of Thy hands, whom Thou has redeemed by Thy Precious Blood. His Holiness, Leo XIII, by a rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, June 30, 1893, granted to the faithful who shall recite the above prayer at the Elevation during Holy Mass, an indulgence of 6o days, once a day. EJACULATION ETERNAL Father! I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus, in satisfaction for my sins and for the wants of holy Church. 1ndulgence of 100 days, - Pius VII, Sept. 22, 1817.

Note: These few prayers were selected from a Mass Book “With God” to throw more light on the meaning of active and prayerful participation in the Mass.

THE DANGER OF APOSTASY It happened in the time of the old Israelites, as it continues to happen in our time, as the Bible recorded: “In those days certain renegades came out from Israel and misled many, saying, let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles around us, for since we separated from them many disasters have come upon us. This proposal pleased them, and some of the people eagerly went to the King, who authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem (i.e empty worship, without Sacrifice) according to Gentile custom and removed the marks of circumcision and abandoned the Holy covenant” (I Macc. 1:11 -15).

which arose in the West from the sixteenth century onwards and are separated from the Catholic Church remain fully pertinent; the Ecclesial communities separated from us lack that fullness of unity with us which should flow from Baptism, and we believe that especially because of the lack of the Sacrament of Orders, they have not preserved the genuine and total reality of the Eucharistic mystery. Nevertheless, when they commemorate the Lord's death and resurrection in the Holy supper, they profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and they await His coming in glory (i.e. they do not believe in the Eucharistic sacrifice). The Catholic faithful, therefore, while respecting the religious convictions of these separated brethren, must refrain from receiving the communion distributed in their celebrations, so as not to condone an ambiguity about the nature of the Eucharist and, consequently, to fail in their duty to bear clear witness to the truth. Similarly, it is unthinkable to substitute for Sunday Mass ecumenical celebration of the word or services of common prayer with Christians from the aforementioned Ecclesial communities, or even participation in their own liturgical services ''(Ecclesia de Eucharistia, article No.30).

The Catholic Church was built on the faith of the twelve apostles (cf. Eph.2: 20) who remained faithful when Christ taught about the Eucharist, and all His disciples left Him (cf.Jn.6:66). So she does not compromise with anyone who denies any part of Her doctrines, especially on the Eucharist. She therefore held that all those separated brethren are in error - “if any body does not remain in the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he does not have God with him; only those who remain in what He taught can have the Father and the Son with them” (II Jn. 1: 9). Therefore, if any of her faithful dares to worship together with those false worshipers, the person has accepted and professed that they are also in the truth, and thus make himself a victim of that Biblical warning: ''if anyone comes to you bringing a different doctrine, you must not receive him into your house or even give him a greeting. Whoever greets him has a share in his wicked activities'' (II Jn. 1:10 -11). In many other passages, the Bible continue to issue similar warnings-''The gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you; believing anything else will not lead to any thing'' (I cor.15:2); “But even if we ourselves or an Angel from heaven preaches to you a Gospel other than the one we preached to you let God’s curse be on him. Anyone who preaches to you a Gospel other than the one you were first given is to be under God’s curse” (Gal. 1: 8-9).

punished with eternal torment, who has not the guilt of deliberate sin. But, the Catholic dogma that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church is well known; and also that those who are obstinate towards the authority and definitions of the same Church, and who persistently separate themselves from the unity of the Church, and from the Roman pontiff, the successors of Peter, to whom the guardianship of the vine has been entrusted by the saviour, cannot obtain eternal salvation” (encyclical letter, Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, Aug. 10, 1863). He taught with the authority of the chair of St. Peter (Lk 10:16, Matt. 16:18-19), in line with his predecessors: Boniface VII (Unam Sanctam, Nov. 18,1302), Pius IV (Injunctum Nobis, Nov. 13,1565), Gregory XVI (Mirari Vos, Aug. 15, 1932). Therefore, all those who denied or lost the true faith because of the favourites of life are modern day Esaus who sold their birthright for a single meal (Heb. 12:16-17). Jesus Christ says; Anyone who does not enter the fold through the valid gate is a thief (Jn.10:7), and since they do not gather with Him in the true fold, they are scattering (Lk.11:23). Seeing the humble souls who will follow His footsteps in all ages through the narrow way of perfection, the Lord Jesus humbly prayed; while standing trials before Caiphas, in the midst of insults, mockery, kicking, slapping and spitting on His adorable face, for having testified to His Divinity: “Blessed are you in being stripped of the earthly goods: for by My Passion and Death, I am to entail upon you the heavenly kingdom as a secure and certain possession of voluntary poverty”.

“Blessed are those who meekly suffer and bear adversities and tribulations; for, besides the joy of having imitated Me, they shall possess the land of the hearts and the good will of men through the peacefulness of their intercourse and the sweetness of their virtues”. “Blessed are they that weep while they sow in tears; for in them, they shall receive the bread of understanding and life, and they shall afterwards harvest the fruits of everlasting joy and bliss”. “Blessed are also those who hunger and thirst for justice and truth; for I shall earn for them satisfaction far beyond all their desires, as well in the reign of grace as in the reign of glory”. “Blessed are they, who imitating Me in My offers of pardon and friendship, mercifully pity those that offend and persecute them; for I promise them the fullness of mercy from My Father”.

“Blessed be the pure of heart, who imitate Me in crucifying their flesh in order to preserve the purity of their souls. I promise them the vision of peace and of My Divinity, by becoming like unto Me and by partaking of Me”.

“Blessed are the peaceful, who, yielding their rights, do not resist the evil-minded and deal with them with a sincere and tranquil heart without vengeance; they shall be called My children, because they imitate My Eternal Father, and I shall write them in My memory and in My mind as My adopted sons”.

“Those that suffer persecution for justice's sake, shall be the blessed heirs of My celestial kingdom, since they suffer with Me; and where I am, there also they shall be in eternity. Rejoice, ye poor; be consoled all you that are, and shall be afflicted; glory in your lot, you little ones and despised ones of this world, you who suffer in humility and longaminity, suffer with an interior rejoicing; since all of you are following Me in the path of truth. Renounce vanity, despise the pomp and haughtiness of the false and deceitful Babylon; pass ye through the fires and the waters of tribulation until you reach Me, who am the light, the truth and your guide to the eternal rest and refreshment” (Excerpt from the visions of Venerable Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God. P.519, imprimatur + Edwin V. Byrne D.D. Archbishop of Santa Fe. New Mexico, 9-2-49).

So fortunate indeed are those who are enlightened by the eternal wisdom to see the merit and the necessity of the holy cross; and who meekly carry their crosses following Jesus in this our pilgrim journey to the celestial kingdom.

THE TRUE WISDOM The Bible says: “the message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation, it is the power of God… Do you not see how God has shown up human wisdom as folly? Since in the wisdom of God, the world was unable to recognize God through wisdom. It was God's own pleasure to save believers through the folly of the gospel. While Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews (i.e. heretics) an obstacle they cannot get over, to the gentiles (i.e. non Christians) foolishness, but to those who have been called… a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God… God chose those who by human standards are fools to shame the wise; He chose those who by human standards are weak; to shame the strong, those who by human standards are common and contemptible -indeed those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing all those that do count for something, so that no human being might feel boastful before God” (1 Cor. 1:18-29).

blinded by the god of this world (11 Cor.4:4), the Lord hide from their knowledge that, "all that we suffer in the present time is nothing in comparison with the glory which is destined to be disclosed to us" (Rom.8:18).

Among them are: many in the Church who have reduced the truths of the Gospel to the standard of the Modern world; many who have gathered for themselves questionable Pastors and Preachers who preach to them what they want to hear (II Tim. 4:3); many who are living today as if there is no God, by total negligence of their duties as baptized Christians; many who earn their living, and achieve their heart desires by total neglect and disregard to God's commandments. To identify them, St. Louis Maria de Montfort taught: “The Christians you see around you, fashionably attired, super-sensitive, excessively haughty and sedate, are neither true disciples nor true members of the crucified Jesus. To think otherwise would be an insult to our thorn-crowned Head (Jesus) and His gospel truth. How many [would-be] Christians there are who imagine they are members of the Savior when in reality they are His most insidious persecutors, for while blessing themselves with the sign of the Cross, they crucify Him in their hearts” (Excerpt from Friends of the Cross, by St. Montfort).

The Bible gives more clearance to this as follows: “There are so many people of whom I have often warned you and now I warn you again with tears in my eyes, who behave like the enemies of Christ's Cross. They are destined to be lost; their god is the stomach; they glory in what they should think shameful (e.g. seductive fashions), since their minds are set on earthly things” (Phil. 3:18-19). St. Montfort further said: 'if you have not the patience to suffer and the generosity to bear your cross like the chosen ones of God, then you will have to trudge under its weight, grumbling and fretting like reprobates; like the two animals that dragged the Ark of the covenant, lowering as they went (1 Kings 6:12); like Simon the Cyrenean who unwillingly put his hand to the very cross of Christ (Matt. 27:32); complaining while he carried it. You will be like the impenitent thief who from the summit of his cross plunged headlong into the depths of the abyss. The cursed earth on which we live cannot give us happiness. We can see none too clearly in this benighted land. We are never perfectly calm on this troubled sea. We are never without warfare in a world of temptation and battlefields. We cannot escape scratches on a thorn-covered earth. Both elect and reprobate must bear their cross here, either willingly or unwillingly. Remember these words: Three crosses stand on Calvary's height. One must be chosen, so choose wisely; like a Saint you must suffer, or a penitent thief, or like a reprobate, in endless grief. This means that if you will not suffer gladly as Jesus did, or patiently like the penitent thief and earn the merit of your pains, then, you must suffer despite yourself like the impenitent thief” (cf. Lk. 23:39).

Those who are enlightened by Divine grace, always see in all the vanities and our toils on earth that only one thing is necessary (cf. Lk. 10:42); and they unite with Christ in carrying their own

crosses, with total submission to the will of God. And this makes their crosses to be a sweet yoke (cf. Matt. 11:30). Thus, they will earn the merit of their suffering, because, God never wished that any of our pains should be wasted, rather that they may be treasures to our souls-To them that Love God, all things work together unto good (Rom. 8:28).

God is glorified in all our sorrows, pains, hardships, humiliations and deprivations that are accepted with the spirit of penance(Rom.8:17), they reveal the depth of love we have for God-"so that the world may know that I love the Father" (Jn. 14:31). Jesus Christ in His Divinity was incapable of suffering, therefore He took the human nature so as to glorify the triune God for us and confer merit in every aspect of our life through His life and sufferings (cf. Jn.12:23-28). On this account, the Angels who are incapable of suffering envy mortals when they suffer meritoriously.

Listen to St. Montfort: “Carry your cross with patience, a cross patiently borne will be your light in spiritual darkness, for someone who has never had his trials knows little (Sirach 34:10). Carry your cross with Joy and you will be inflamed with Divine love, for only in suffering can we dwell in the pure love of Christ. Roses are only gathered from among thorns. As wood is fuel for the fire, so too is the cross the only fuel for God's love”… “ Be glad, therefore and rejoice when God favours you with one of His choicest crosses, for without realizing it you are being blessed with the greatest gift that Heaven has, the greatest gift of God. Yes, the cross is God's greatest gift. If you could only understand this, you would have Masses said, you would make novenas at the tombs of the Saints; you would undertake long pilgrimages, as did the Saints, to obtain this Divine gift from Heaven”. (Friends of the Cross)

THE FORMS OF CROSSES Jesus gave us the condition of being His disciple when He said: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross everyday and follow Me. Anyone who wants to save his life (i.e. comfort of the flesh) will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for My sake, will save it” (Lk. 9:23-24). We may then ask, what forms does these cross take in our lives? St. Montfort gave us a little breakdown of the four dimensions of the cross. He said: “Your cross, made up in its thickness of temporal loss, humiliation, disdain, sorrow, illness and spiritual trials which His providence will not fail to supply you everyday of your life. Your cross, made-up in its length of a definite period of days or months when you will have to bear with slander or be helplessly stretched out on a bed of pain, or forced to beg, or else a prey to temptation, dryness, desolation and many mental anguish. Your cross, made up in its breath of hard and bitter situations stirred up for you by your relatives, friends or servants. Your cross, finally, made up in its depth of secret sufferings which you will have to endure nor will you get

any comfort from created beings, for they will be permitted to turn from you too and even join in making you suffer”.

Jesus gave us a parable of the ten wedding attendants; while five of them were wise enough to carry their lamps and the flasks of oil. The foolish ones carried only their lamps and could not bear the burden of the flasks of oil, (Matt. 25:1-13). The Bible scholars told us that this flask of oil is something spherical in shape, seven litres in size and without handle. Obviously, someone carrying something of this nature cannot have the liberty to dance, move around and behave the way he likes; this is exactly what the responsibilities of our baptismal vows and submission to God's Will impose on us, and they are the crosses inside which the graces necessary to stay awake till the master comes is hidden. So, do not count yourself unfortunate when you see yourself denied of some attractive opportunities in this life, cheated by nature, unpleasant health condition, worrisome children or deprived of children, unpleasant life partner, poverty, persecution, mockery and ridiculed for bearing witness to Christ and His demand for purity, hatred from those you showed love, humiliated in the affairs of life etc. It is a sign that God is showing you greater love and care for your soul - "Even though it may be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine" (1Pet.1:6-7); “Do not be overawed when someone get’s rich and lives in ever greater splendour; when he dies he will take nothing with him… in prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than dumb animals” (Ps. 49:16-20).

It is evident to us today that those who are masters in the goods of this world are mostly coarsened in their hearts (cf. Lk. 21:34) and they get so attached to created things, loving them more than God (cf. Lk. 16:13): We can see that the more beautiful women are more attached to the exploitation of their flesh; the affluent men find it more difficult to apply self-control; those in authority are more exposed to pride, etc.

THE MERIT AND NECESSITY OF THE HOLY CROSS (For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure (11 Cor. 4:17)

St. Montfort says: “If we agree to God's punishing us here below, this punishment will be dictated by love. For mercy, which holds sway in this world, will mete out the punishment and

not strict justice. This punishment will be light and momentary, blended with merit and sweetness and followed up with reward both in time and eternity. But if the punishment due to our sins is held over for the next world, then God's avenging justice, which means fire and blood, will see to the punishing. What a horrible punishment! Punishment devoid of mercy (Jm. 2:13), pity, mitigation or merit; without limit and without end. That mortal sin of a moment that you committed, that deliberate evil thought which now escapes your memory, the uncontrolled words that had gone with the wind, (Matt. 12:36) that act of such short duration against God's law, they shall all be punished for an eternity, punished with the devils of hell, as long as God shall be God! Do we think of this, my dear brothers and sisters, when we have some trials to undergo here below? Blessed indeed are we who have the privilege of exchanging an eternal and fruitless penalty for a temporary and meritorious suffering, just by patiently carrying our crosses" (Friends of the Cross).

As already said above, all the crosses that God sends to us here are for the good of our souls; for every sin must be atoned for, both venial and mortal sins. Even the confessed sins still have temporal punishments attached to it, which must be atoned for, either in this world or in the next (i.e. purgatory, Matt. 5:25-26). That is why the Bible refers to those who are humiliated in suffering as the beloved sons of God-“My son, do not scorn correction from the Lord, do not resent His training, for the Lord trains those He loves, and chastises every son He accepts” (Heb. 12:5-6, Pro. 3:11, Rev. 3:1); “My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal…whatever happens to you, accept it and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire and the chosen in the furnace of humiliation” (Sirach 2:15).

St. Montfort teaches that the measure which determines our closer friendship with God and the glory will shall enjoy for eternity depends on the weight of the cross He gives you. Those who enter eternity with the greatest merit are those who suffered the highest tribulation in this life. On this account, the Lord sends great tribulation to those He loves-"Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (Jm.1:12, Acts 14:22).

was slain by his own brother; Abraham, a righteous man, journeyed on the earth like a wanderer; Lot, a righteous man, was driven from his own country; Jacob, a righteous man, was persecuted by his own brother; Tobias, a righteous man, was stricken with blindness; Job, a righteous man, was pauperized, humiliated and covered with sores. Consider the countless Apostles and Martyrs who were bathed in their own blood; the countless Virgins and Confessors who were pauperized, humiliated, stripped of their properties, exiled and cast aside-"Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (11 Tim.3:12); And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee" (Tb.12:13, Douary Rheims). IDENTIFYING YOUR OWN CROSS The Bible says: “Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). And He urge His genuine friends: “pick up your cross”. While teaching about this, St. Montfort says: “Let this man or this woman, take up with joy, fervently clasp in his arms and bravely set upon his shoulders this cross that is his own and not that of another; his own cross, the one that Divine wisdom designed for him in every detail of number, weight and measurement. “Let him place it on his forehead and say with St. Paul: “God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14); "We glory also in tribulations" (Rom.5:3).

This is very necessary because there are many who live without giving God His proper place in their lives. They do not pray, they ridicule the word of God and things of Heaven. This attitude gives Satan power to totally control their lives and determine their fate. In every cross that God offers or permits, there is always the grace to carry it. When He allows a cross, He gives the grace to carry it. That was why St. Paul prayed three times about his cross; the sting with which the angel of Satan tortured him, so as to humiliate him, and the Lord trice answered him; “My grace is enough for you” (II Cor. 12:7-9). The Bible says: “God will not let you be put to the test beyond your strength, but with any trial will also provide a way out by enabling you to put up with it ” (1 Cor. 10:13). So we must pray persistently, work hard and look for genuine solutions to our problems according to the will of God, if you keep quiet, it amounts to pride- “God opposes the proud” (Jm. 4:6).

God); but if they are well accepted, through it we achieve the will of God- “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father knowing. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; you worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31): “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all” (Ps. 34:19). St. Alphonsus de Liguori said, "it is necessary to know that every tribulation, though it may come from men, is sent to us by God".

As already stated above, the good thief repented on his cross and accepted his suffering and gained the salvation of his soul; while the unrepentant thief was angry, murmuring, criticizing, cursing God and rejecting his cross; yet, he perished with that anguish to enter the everlasting torments. It is the same today with many who betrayed their faith and baptismal vows running around searching for means of removing their crosses at all cost. It is true that nobody feels happy at the moment of trial (cf. Heb. 12:11), but for those who conquer, the brightness of the merit will outweigh the pains (cf. Heb. 12:2). Nevertheless, so few are the Christians who accept this message of the cross-“Enter by the narrow gate; since the road that leads to destruction is wide and spacious and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it ” (Matt. 7:13). St. Montfort said that this road is made all the more narrower by the world's corruption which the faithful ones must avoid; while on the left side, the fashionable folk, their highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver. Jesus made this loving appeal through a seer: “There are many who pretend that they are friends of Mine and love Me but in reality they hate Me, because they have no love for My Cross. I have many friends of My table, but few indeed of My Cross” (quoted by St. Montfort).

MY FATHER AND MY GOD, THIS IS MY ETERNAL WILL (On the Cross, Jesus conferred on the reprobates, the task of toiling in vain for vanities (Eccl. 2:11); And thereby be deprived of the saving graces He bestowed on mortals). When the holy wood of the Cross had been raised on Mount Calvary, bearing aloft with it the Incarnate Word Crucified; before speaking any of the seven Words, Christ prayed interiorly to His Heavenly Father and said: “My Father and My Eternal God, I confess and magnify thee from this tree of the Cross, and I offer thee a sacrifice of praise in My passion and Death”…

Now, at this moment, My Lord and Eternal Father, when I Am returning from this world to Thy right hand through this death on the Cross, by which I completed the task of the Redemption of Man assigned to Me, I desire that this same Cross shall be the tribunal of Our justice and mercy…I have sought to gain all mortals and invited them to partake of My friendship and grace; from the first moment of My Incarnation, I have ceaselessly labored for them… But in Our knowledge and foresight, We are aware, My God and Father, that on account of their malice and rebellious obstinacy, not all men desire to accept Our eternal salvation, nor avail themselves of Our mercy and of the way I have opened to them by My labors, life and death; but that many will prefer to follow their sinful ways unto perdition… Now then, My Eternal Father, in My and Thy Name and for Thy glorification, I made My last bequest according to My human will, which is conformable to Thy Eternal and Divine will… “From the multitudes of men, in the fullness of My good will, I call, select and separate all the just and the predestined, who through My grace save themselves by imitating Me, doing My Will and obeying My holy law. These, next to My most pure Mother, I appoint as the inheritors of all My mysteries, My blessings, My sacramental treasures, My mysteries concealed in the holy Scriptures; of My humility, meekness of heart; of the virtues of faith, hope, and charity; of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance; of My Divine gifts and favors; of My Cross, labors, contempt, poverty and nakedness. This shall be their portion and inheritance in this present and mortal life. Since they must choose this in order to labor profitably, I assign to them the trials I have chosen for Myself in this life, as a pledge of My friendship, in order that they may undergo them with joy. I offer them My protection and defense, My holy inspirations, My favors and powerful assistance, My blessings and My justification, according to each one's disposition and degree of love. I promise to be to them a Father, a Brother and a Friend, and they shall be My chosen and beloved children, and as such I appoint them as the inheritors of all My merits and treasures without limitation. I desire that all who dispose themselves shall partake of the goods of My holy Church and of the Sacraments; that, if they should lose My friendship, they shall be able to restore themselves and recover My graces and blessings through My cleansing Blood. For all of them, shall be open the intercession of My Mother and of the Saints, and She shall recognize them as her children, shielding them and holding them as her own. My Angels shall defend them, guide them, protect them and bear them up in their hands lest they stumble, and if they fall, they shall help them to rise”…

I consent that the foreknown and reprobates (though they were created for another and much higher end), shall be permitted to possess as their portion and inheritance, the concupiscence of the flesh and the eyes, pride in all its effects, that they eat and be satisfied with the dust of the earth, namely, with riches, with the fumes and the corruption of the flesh and its delights, and with the vanity and presumption of the world.

For such possessions have they labored, and applied all the diligence of their mind and body; in such occupations have they consumed their powers, their gifts and blessings bestowed upon them by Us, and they have of their own free will chosen deceit, despising the truth I have taught them in the holy law.

They have rejected the law, which I have written in their hearts and the one inspired by My grace; they have despised My teachings and My blessings, and listened to My and their own enemies; they have accepted their deceits, have loved vanity, wrought injustice, followed their ambitions, sought their delight in vengeance, persecuted the poor, humiliated the just, mocked the simple and the innocent, strove to exalt themselves and desired to be raised above all the cedars of Lebanon in following the laws of injustice”. “Since they have done all this in opposition to Our Divine goodness and remained obstinate in their malice, and since they have renounced the rights of sonship merited for them by Me, I disinherit them of My friendship and glory, just as Abraham separated the children of the slave, setting aside some possessions for them and reserving the principal heritage for Isaac, the son of the free woman Sarah. Thus, I set aside their claims of My inheritance by giving them the transitory goods, which they themselves have chosen, separating them from Our company and from that of My Mother, of the Angels and Saints, I condemn them to the eternal dungeons and the fire of hell in the company of Lucifer and his demons, whom they have freely served, I deprive them forever of all hope of relief. This is, O My Father, the sentence which I pronounce as the Head and the Judge of men and Angels and this is the testament made at My Death, this is the effect of My Redemption, whereby each one is rewarded with that which he has justly merited according to his works and according to Thy incomprehensible wisdom in the equity of Thy strictest justice”. (Mystical City of God, P. 567 - 573) So miserable indeed are those who foolishly follow the fortunes of this earthly goods and forget to think of their last end. The holy Bible offers many exhortative words against this unfortunate deluge that massively plunder so many souls to hell daily-“In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin” (Sirach. 7:40); “For gold and silver hath destroyed many, and perverted the heart of kings” (Sirach. 8:3); “Better is a child that is poor and wise, than a king that is old and foolish who knows not to foresee hereafter” (Sirach 4:13)

St. Alphonsus de Liguroi Says: “poor sinners labour and toil for the attainment of worldly sciences, or the art of gaining the goods of this life, which will soon end, and neglect the goods of the next life, which is everlasting. They lose their reason to such a degree that they become not only fools, but senseless beasts; for living like brute animals, they only follow the beastly instincts of the senses, and embrace what is pleasing to the flesh, without ever reflecting on what they lose, or on the eternal ruin which they bring upon themselves; the Lord weeps for them: “O, that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end” (Deut. 32:29).

How great then is the folly of sinners, who for a worthless gain, for a little smoke, for a transient delight lose the grace of God! Some are foolish through the love of honors, vainglories, positions of authority, eating and drinking, wealth, fruit of the womb, life partners, fashions and beautifying their bodies and sensual pleasures (lust). These are all vanities (Eccl. 1:14); because they only give a very transient happiness. A happiness that can come and pass. But God created man in His own image to live forever. The state of that life everlasting (happy or unhappy) is what really matters. The unhappy ones are perpetually tortured in a dungeon where their worm will never die nor their fire be put out (Mk.9:48). The worm refers to the remorse of conscience and the fire refers to the pains of suffering. May the Lord teach us as the Psalmist says, to count up the days that are ours, and we shall come to the heart of wisdom (Ps. 90:12).

One Queen of England once said that if God will give her a reign of forty years, she will renounce paradise. God fulfilled her request by giving her a reign of forty-five years; but since she died, many years ago, what then is that forty five years to eternity. St. Paul, one of the leading Pharisees, with all the wealth of his wisdom and possessions, counted as nothing and looked upon them as filth, all that he lost for accepting Christ, with hope of eternal life (cf. Phil. 3:7-8)

St. Alphonsus de Liguroi said: “but the greatest misery and misfortune is that, these miserable men esteem themselves wise and prudent though they are the most foolish and imprudent of mortals. And unfortunately, they are exceedingly numerous: "The road that leads to destruction is wide and smooth and many follow it” (Matt. 7:13). He continued: And great as their folly is, they have the temerity to call the saints fools, because they despise the goods of this life in order to gain eternal salvation and the possession of God, who is the true and supreme good. They deem it folly to embrace contempt, and to pardon injuries; folly to abstain from sensual pleasures, and to practice mortification, folly to renounce honours and riches, to love solitude and a humble and hidden life. But they never reflect that the Lord has called their wisdom folly -for the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God (1 Cor. 3:19). Oh! how much wiser is the peasant who saves his soul than the monarch who brings himself to hell - “Better is a child who is poor and wise, than a king that is old and foolish, who knoweth not to foresee hereafter” (Sirach. 4:13).

So unfortunate indeed are the sinners whom God has reserved their chastisements for all eternity. To His beloved ones, He chastises and trains them with crosses and denials of some earthly attractive opportunities that can coarsen the heart (cf. Lk. 21:34) -“When You punish Your people and correct their faults, You eat like moth, what they hold dear” (Ps. 39:11 ); “I reprove and train those whom I love” (Rev. 3:19). Such is the rough way that leads to life which very few people follow. Meanwhile, to the obstinate sinners, He deprives them of the real treasures in life, the saving graces He has bestowed on mortals through His sacrificial death on the Cross and appears to be silent till their cup is filled up (cf. II Macc. 6:13-15, Hakk. 1:13-17) - “He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty” (Lk. 1:52-53). Indeed, how precious is the saving grace of God, which He purchased for us at a very high price. But the reprobates treat it as nothing, but the Lord, just like in the case of the prodigal son offers them what they demand for; the dust of the earth, knowing fully well as the psalmist says (cf. Ps. 49:10) that they will soon be deprived of it - “the people’s toil is fuel for the fire, and the nations’ labour came to nothing” (Hakk. 2:13).

The Lord says: “Let Us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord” (Isa. 26:10). While explaining this passage, St. Bernard Said: “This mercy I do not wish for; it is above all wrath. Oh' what a chastisement is it when God abandons the sinner into the hands of his sins, and appears not to demand any further account of them -"The sinner hath provoked the Lord, according to the multitude of His wrath. He will not seek him” (Ps. 10:4; Douay Rheims). God appears not to be enraged against such sinners-“My jealously shall depart from you, and I will cease, and be angry no more” (Ezk. 16:42). He appears to allow them all that they desire in this life-“I let them go according to the desires of their hearts” (Ps. 81:12-13). Miserable the unrepentant sinner that prospers in this life! His prosperity is a sign that God waits to make him a victim of His justice for all eternity”. How blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs (Matt. 5:3). The humble ones who ask for His mercy, God gives them the light to see the true value in the things of this life, their real worth and the level at which they will be helpless-“Can any of you, however much you worry, add one cubit to your span of life”? (Matt. 6:27); we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it, but as long as we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that” (I Tim. 6: 7 - 8). He enlightens them to make wise use of earthly things which is not our own (cf. Lk. 16:12), so as to acquire the merits for which He has sent us here-“Use money, tainted as it is to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you they will welcome you into eternal dwellings” (Lk. 16:9-12). By money, the Bible refers to all the gifts and potentials we have on earth.

But the reprobates, who had lost the grace of God, their minds get blinded by the god of this world (cf. II Cor. 4:4) and focus all aspects of their life on the attainment of earthly goods which must be taken away from them at the appointed time; thus, they become the Judas’s of the subsequent ages, who betrayed his master to posses the money that was taken away from him, when he went to his fate. The Bible thus gives us more enlightment about this issue-“Wisdom, knowledge and joy, God gives to those who please Him, but on the sinners, He lays the task of gathering and storing up for someone else who is pleasing to Him (Sirach 2:26); “However many years you live, enjoy them all, but remember, the days of darkness will be many” (Sirach. 11:8); Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal (Matt. 6:19).

THE TORMENTS OF HELL AS EXPLAINED BY ST. ALPHONSUS DE LIGUROI

THE PAIN OF SENSES. In committing sin, the sinner does two evils. He abandons God, the Sovereign Good, and turns to creatures-“For My people have done two evils. They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns; broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). Since then, by turning to creatures the sinner offends God, he will be justly tortured in hell by the same creatures-by fire, and by devils: in this punishment consists the pain of senses. But because his greatest guilt and the malice of his sin consists in turning his back on God, his principal torment, his hell, will be the pain of loss, or that pain arising from having lost God.

Let us first consider the pain of senses: It is of faith, that there is a hell. In the middle of the earth, there is a prison reserved for the chastisement of rebels against God. What is this hell? It is what the glutton who was damned called a place of torment. A place of torments, where all the senses and powers of the damned will have their proper torments and where, the more a person has offended God by any sense, the more he will be tortured in that sense- By what things a man sinneth, by the same also he is tormented. So much torments and sorrow give ye to her (Rev.18:7). The sight will be tormented with darkness- A land, says Job, that is dark, and covered with the mist of death.(Job 10:21). How pitiable the condition of a man who is shut up in a dark cave for forty or fifty years, or during his whole life! Hell is a dungeon closed up on every side, into which a ray of the sun, or of any other light, shall never enter- He shall never see the light. The fire of this world sends forth light; but the fire of hell is utterly dark- “The voice of the Lord divided the fire” (Ps. 29:7). In explaining these words, St. Basil says, that the Lord will separate the light from the fire, so that this fire will burn, but will not illuminate. Albertus Magnus expounds them more briefly, and says that God “will divide the flame from the heat.” The very smoke that issues from that fire shall form a storm of darkness which, according to St. jude, will blind the damned- “To whom the storm of darkness is reserved forever”(Jude 1: 3). St. Thomas teaches that the damned have only the light which serves to increase their torments. In

that flimmering light they will see the deformity of their associates, and of the devils, who will assume horrible forms in order to increase the terror of the damned.

The sense of smell will also be tormented. How painful to be confined in a close room along with a putrefied corpse! Out of their carcasses, says the Prophet Isaiah, shall rise a stench (Isa 34:3). The damned must remain in the midst of so many millions of the reprobate, who, though forever alive to pain, are called carcasses on account of the stench which they send forth. St. Bonaventure says, that if the body of one of the damned were placed on this earth, it would, by its stench, be sufficient to cause the death of all men. Miserable fools! The greater the number of the damned in hell, the more insufferable will be their torments. “There,” says St. Thomas,-“the society of the reprobate will cause, not a diminution, but an increase of misery.” Their sufferings are more intolerable on account of the stench, on account of the shrieks of the damned, and on account of the narrowness of the place.

In hell, they will be one over the other, like sheep gathered together in the winter. They are, said David, laid in hell like sheep. “They will be even like grapes pressed under the wine-press of God's wrath- “And He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Rev. 19:15) “From this will arise the pain of immobility- “Let them become immovable as a stone” (Exo. 15:16). Thus, in whatsoever position the damned will fall into hell after the last day, in that they must remain, without ever changing their posture, and without ever being able to move hand or foot, as long as God will be God.

(Matt 25:41). Even in this life, the pain of fire is the greatest of all torments; but according to St. Augustine, our fire, compared with the fire of hell, is but painted fire. St. Vincent Ferrer says, that in comparison with the fire of hell our fire is cold. The reason is, that the fire of this earth has been created for our use; but God has made the fire of hell purposely to torment the damned. As Tertullian remarks:“Fire which is made for the use of man in this world, is very different from that which is used for the justice of God.” The wrath of God lights up this avenging fire-. "A fire is kindled in My rage" (Jer. 15:14). Hence, the Prophet Isaiah calls the fire of hell the spirit of heat-. "If the Lord shall wash away the filth of the daughters of Sion by the spirit of burning". (Isa. 4:4). The damned will be sent, not to the fire, but into the fire. “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire.” Thus, like a piece of wood in the furnace, they will be surrounded by fire. They will have an abyss of fire below, an abyss of fire above, and an abyss of fire on every side. If they touch, or see, or breathe, they touch and see, and breathe nothing but fire. They will live in fire, like a fish in water. But this fire will not only surround the damned, but will also enter into their very bowels to torment them. Their bodies will become all fire. Thus, this fire will burn the bowels, the heart, the brain, the blood within the veins, and even the marrow within the bones. Each of the damned will be in himself a furnace of fire-. "Thou shalt make them as a furnace of fire"-(Ps. 20:10).

Some cannot bear to walk under a strong sun, or to remain in a close room before a large fire; they cannot endure a spark that flies from a candle; and still they fear not the devouring flames of hell. Which of you, says the Prophet Isaiah, can dwell with devouring fire?(Isa. 33:14) As a wild beast devours a lamb, so the fire of hell devours the damned; but it devours them without ever causing death. “Fools,” says St. Peter Damian, addressing the unchaste, “continue to indulge your flesh; a day will come when your impurities, like pitch, will nourish and increase within your bowels the flame which will torment you in hell.” St. Jerome says that this fire will bring with it, all the pains and torments to which men are subject on this earth, pains in the sides, in the head, in the bowels, in the nerves. In this fire the damned will suffer even the pain of cold. Let him, says Job, pass from the snow waters to excessive heat.(Job 24:19) But we must always keep in mind, that all the torments of this earth are, as St. Chrysostom says, but the shadow of the pains of hell.

The powers of the soul will also have their proper torment. The damned will be tormented in the memory by the remembrance of the time which was given to them in this life, that they might save their soul, and which they spent in procuring their own damnation; by the remembrance of the graces which they have received from God, and of which they have not profited. They will be tormented in the understanding by thinking of the great good which they have lost in losing heaven and God, and that this loss is forever irreparable. In the will, by seeing that they will be refused whatsoever they ask- “The desire of the wicked shall perish” (Ps. 111:10). The miserable beings will never have anything which they desire, and will be forever afflicted with the eternal

torments which they abhor. They would wish to be rid of these torments, and to enjoy peace; but in these torments they will forever remain, and peace they will never find.

THE PAIN OF LOSS But all these torments are nothing, compared with the pain of loss. Hell does not consist in the darkness, stench, shrieks, and fire; the pain which constitutes hell is, the pain of having lost God. “Let torments,” says St. Bruno, “be added to torments, and let them not be deprived of God. And St. John Chrysostom says that a thousand hells are not equal to this pain. According to St. Augustine, if the damned enjoyed the vision of God, they should feel no pain, and hell should be converted into a paradise.

To conceive some notion of this pain, consider that, should a person lose a jewel worth a hundred crowns, the loss would occasion great pain, but were the jewel worth two hundred crown, his pain is doubled; and if it were worth four hundred crown, the pain is still greater. In a word, the pain which he suffers increases in proportion to the value of what he has lost. What have the damned lost? They have lost God who is an infinite good. Hence St. Thomas says that the pain of the damned is, in a certain manner, infinite.

great was the pain which the nobleman felt, that, after having returned home, he died of grief. What will be the anguish of the reprobate at the hour of death, when God will say to him: Begone; I will never see you again! “I will hide My face from thee, and they shall be devoured, all evils and afflictions shall find them. So that they shall say in that day: In truth it is because God is not with me, that these evils have found me” (Deut. 31:17) .On the Day of Judgment Jesus Christ will say to the reprobate: You are no longer mine; I am no longer yours- “Call his name not, my people; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours” (Hos 1:9).

With what pain does a son at the death of a father, or a wife at the death of a husband, say: My father, my wife, I shall never see you again! Ah! If we now heard the wailing of one of the damned, and asked him why he weeps so bitterly, his answer would be: I weep because I have lost God, and shall never see him more. Perhaps the miserable man can love God in hell, and can resign himself to his will? No, if he could do this, hell would not be hell. The unhappy being can never resign himself to the divine will? Neither can he love his God; he hates and will hate him forever; and his hell will consist in the conviction that God is an infinite good, and that he is compelled to hate Him, while he sees that He is worthy of infinite love. When St. Catherine asked a devil who he was, he said: I am that wicked wretch that is deprived of the love of God.” The damned will hate and curse God; and in cursing God, they will also curse the benefits He has conferred upon them; they will curse the benefits of creation, of redemption, of the Sacraments, particularly the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, and above all, the most Holy Sacrament of the altar. They will hate all the Angles and Saints, but especially their angelguardians and their holy advocates, and above all the divine Mother. But they will principally hate the Three Divine Persons, and among them they will hate in a special manner the Son of God, who once died for their salvation; they will curse His wounds, His Blood, His Pains, and His Death.

eternity- "They shall be tortured forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10) “This belief in eternity is an article of faith; it is not an opinion, but a truth attested by God in so many places in Holy Scripture - Depart from Me. You accursed, into everlasting fire. And these shall go into everlasting punishment (Matt 25:41-46);“Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction (II Thess. 1:9): ” Every one shall be salted with fire” (Mk 9:48). As salt prevents putrefaction, so the fire of hell, while it tortures the damned, performs the office of salt by preserving their life.

Now, how great would be the folly of the man who, for the sake of a day's amusements, would voluntarily condemn himself to be shut up in a dungeon for twenty or thirty years! If hell lasted but a hundred, or even but two or three hundred years it would be the extreme of folly in a Christian to condemn himself to fire for two or three hundred years for the vile pleasure of a moment. But there is not the question of thirty, of a hundred, or of a hundred thousand years; but there is question of eternity; there is question of suffering forever the same torments-torments which will never end, and will never be mitigated in the slightest degree. The Saints then had reason, as long as they were on this earth, and in danger of being lost, to weep and tremble. Blessed Isaiah, even while he lived in the desert in fasting and penitential rigors wept and said: Ah! Unhappy me, who am not as yet free from the danger of losing my soul.

THE WEIGHT OF ETERNITY He that enters hell, will not depart from it for all eternity. This thought made David tremble and say; let not the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.(Ps. 69 : 16) “As soon as the damned fall into that pit of torments, its mouth is closed never to be opened. In hell there is a gate for admission, but none for egress. There will be a descent, says Eusebius, “but there will be no ascent.” In explaining the words of the Psalmist, this author says, and let not the pit shut her mouth; because, when it shall have receive them, it will be closed above and opened downward! As long as the sinner remains on this earth; he may hope to reverse the sentence of his damnation; but as soon as death overtakes him in sin, all his hopes are at an end forever-“when the wicked man is dead, there shall be no hope any more” (Prov.11:7). Perhaps the damned may flatter themselves with a false hope, and thus find some relief in their despair. The man who is mortally wounded, confined to his bed, and given over by his physician, may console himself with the hope of finding a physician or a remedy to heal his wounds. The man who is condemned to the galleys for life may also find comfort in the expectation of being one day delivered from his chains. And may not the damned at least say: who knows but I shall one day escape from this prison? And thus delude himself with this false hope. No, in hell there is no hope, whether true or false: there is no perhaps-“I will set before thy face”. (Ps. 49:21). The unhappy damned will always see the sentence of their reprobation written before their eyes. In it they will read, that they will weep forever in that pit of torments-“And many shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always”. (Dan. 12:2). Hence the damned not only suffer the torments of each moment, but in each moment they endure the pain of

eternity, saying, what I now suffer, I must suffer forever. “They bear”, says Tertullian, “the weight of eternity.” Let us then pray to the Lord in the words of St. Augustine: “here burn, here cut, here spare not, that you may spare for eternity”. The chastisements of this life can pass away: Thy arrows pass; but the pains of the next life last forever, the voice of Thy thunder in a wheel.” Let us dread these punishments. Let us dread that thunder of eternal damnation, which will issue from the mouth of the judge in passing sentence against the wicked: “Depart from me, you cursed into everlasting “fire”, the Psalmist, says: “The voice of Thy thunder in a wheel” (Ps. 77:19). A wheel is a figure of eternity, which has no end-“I have drawn My sword out of its sheath, not to be turned back” (Ezk. 21:5). The punishment of hell will be great; but what ought to terrify us more is that it will be irrevocable.

But the unbeliever will say: can it be just to punish a sin, which lasts but a moment, with eternal torments? But how, I ask, can a sinner, for a momentary pleasure, dare to insult a God of infinite majesty? St. Thomas says that, even in human judgments, the punishment of crime is measured, not from its duration, but from its malice. Hell is but a small punishment for mortal sin; an offence against infinite majesty, deserves infinite chastisement. “In every mortal sin”, says St. Bernardine of Sienna, “an infinite insult is offered to God; but an infinite injury merits infinite punishment”. But, because, says St. Thomas, a creature is not capable of suffering pain infinite in point of intensity, God inflicts punishments infinite in extension or duration”. Besides, since the damned are incapable of making satisfaction for their sins, their punishment should be necessarily eternal. In this life penitent sinners can atone for their iniquities, only in as much as the merits of Jesus Christ are applied to them. But, from the application of these merits, the reprobates are excluded. Hence, since they cannot appease the anger of God, and since their sin is eternal, their punishment also must be eternal-“He shall not give to God his ransom,… and he shall labour forever” (Ps. 18:8-9). Hence Belluacensis says; there sin can be forever punished, and can never be expiated; for, according to St. Augustine, “there the sinner cannot repent”. Therefore the wrath of the Lord shall be always provoked against him-“The people with whom the Lord is angry forever” (Mal. 1:4). Moreover, the damned, though God shall wish to pardon them, are unwilling to be pardoned; for their will is obstinate and confirmed in hatred against God. And St. Jerome says that the reprobates “are insatiable in the desire of sinning”. Hence, because the damned refuse to be healed, their wounds are incurable-Why is my wound desperate, so as to refuse to be healed? (Jer. 15:18).

(Rev. 9:6). Hence St. Jerome has written: “O death, how sweet should you be to those to whom you have been so full of bitterness”. David says, that death will feast on the damned-“Death shall feed upon them”. In explaining this passage, St. Bernardine observes that as, in feeding, sheep eat the blades of grass, and leave the roots untouched; so death feeds on the damned: it kills them every moment, but leaves them life in order to continue to kill them by pains for all eternity. Thus, according to St. Gregory, the damned die every moment without ever dying. Delivered up to avenging flames, they will die always. A man who dies through pain is an object of pity to all who behold him. Perhaps the damned, too, experience commiseration from others? None; they die every moment, and have not, and never will have, anyone to take compassion on them. The Emperor Zeno, being one-day shut up in a pit, continually cried out: for pity's sake, open this grave and release me. But no one heard him, and he was found dead, after having eaten the flesh off his arms.

The damned cried out from the pit of hell, says St. Cyril of Alexandria, but no one comes to deliver them-no one feels compassion for them. And for how long will this their misery last? Forever, forever. In the spiritual exercises of Father Paul Segneri, written by Muratori, it is related that in Rome, a devil in the body of a man possessed, being asked how long he would remain in hell, began to beat his hand against a chair, and answered in a rage: forever, forever, many students of the Roman Seminary, who were present, made a general confession, and changed their lives. Poor Judas! He has spent more than eighteen hundred years in hell, and his hell is still at its commencement. Poor Cain, he is in hell fire for more than five thousand eight hundred years, and his hell is at its beginning.

Another devil was asked how long it was since he had been sent to hell. He answered, yesterday. “How” said the person who asked him, Could it be yesterday, when you are damned for more than five thousand years? He replied: Oh! If you knew what is meant by eternity, you would easily conceive how a thousand years, compared with it, are but a moment. If an angel said to one of the damned: you will leave hell, but only after the lapse of as many ages as there are drops of water in the ocean, leaves on the trees, or grains of sand in the sea; he would feel greater joy than a beggar would at hearing of his elevation to a throne. Yes; all these ages will pass away, they will be multiplied an infinite number of times, and hell will be at its commencement. Each of the damned would make this compact with God: Lord, increase my pain as much as thou wishes, let it last as long as thou pleases; but put an end to it, and I am content. But this end will never take place. In hell, the trumpet of divine justice will sound nothing else but these wordsforever, forever, never, never. The damned will ask the devils; what is the hour of the night-“Watchman, what of the night? (Isa. 21:11). When will it end? When will these trumpets, these shrieks, this stench, these flames, these torments cease? Their answer is never, never. And how long will they last? Forever, forever. Ah Lord! Give light to so many blind Christians, who, when entreated not to damn themselves, say: if I go to hell, I must have patience. O God! they have not patience to bear the least cold, to remain in an over-heated room, or to submit to a buffet on the check. And how can

they have patience to remain in a sea of fire, trampled by the devils, and abandoned by God and by all, for all eternity!

THE REMORSE OF THE DAMNED â&#x20AC;&#x153;Their worm dieth notâ&#x20AC;? (Mark 9: 47)

THE LITTLE FOR WHICH THE DAMNED WERE LOST. According to St. Thomas, this worm, which dieth not, is to be understood of remorse of conscience, which will eternally torment the damned in hell. The remorse which will gnaw the hearts of the reprobate will be many; but the most excruciating will be, first, the thought of the trifles for which they are damned; secondly, the thought of the little which they are required to do in order to save their souls; and thirdly, the thought of the great good which they have lost.

After Esau had eaten the pottage of lentils for which he had sold his birthright, the Scripture says that, through sorrow and remorse for the loss, He began to roar aloud (Gen. 27:34). Oh! how will the damned howl and roar at the thought of having for a few momentary poisoned pleasures lost an eternal kingdom of delights, and of having condemned themselves forever to a continual death! Hence they will weep more bitterly than Jonathan did when he saw himself condemned to death by his father for having eaten a little honey-I did but taste a little honey, and behold I must die, O God! (1 Kings 14:13). Oh God! what torture will each of the damned feel in thinking that he was the cause of his own damnation! At present, our past life appears to us but a dream, a moment. But what will he who is in hell think of the fifty or sixty years, which he spent on this earth, when he will be in the abyss of eternity, and, after the lapse of a hundred and a thousand millions of years, will see that this hell only begins? But were these fifty or sixty years all years of pleasure?

Perhaps a sinner living without God always feels happy in his sins! How long does the pleasure of sin last? Only for a few moments. All the remaining hours of the man who lives at enmity with God are full of pain and bitterness. But what will these moments of pleasure appear to the unhappy damned? How will he view that last sin in particular, by which he brought himself to perdition? Then he will say: for a miserable brutal pleasure, which lasted but a moment, and which was scarcely indulged when it vanished like air, I must burn in this fire, in despair, and abandoned by all, as long as God will be God for all eternity.

THE AWFUL VISION OF HELL, GIVEN TO THE CHILDREN OF FATIMA

Sister Lucy of Fatima described the vision of hell as follows: “We saw it as a vast sea of fire”, in which were plunged all blackened and burnt, demons and souls in human form like transparent embers. Raised into the air by the flames they fell back in all directions, like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or poise, amidst loud cries and horrible groans of pain and despair which caused us to shudder and tremble with fear. The horrible and repellent forms of terrible unknown animals, like embers of fire, black, yet transparent, distinguished the demons. This scene lasted an instant, and we must thank our Heavenly Mother who had prepared us beforehand by promising to take us to Heaven with her; otherwise, I believe that we should have died of fear and terror. Our Lady said: “ You have seen Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go, to save them, God wishes to establish in the world, devotion of my Immaculate Heart”. [Our Lady of Fatima]

Acknowledgment

Dedication We humbly dedicate this Book to the Agonizing Heart of Jesus Christ; Whose Passion and Death has brought us peace. We pray for the speedy triumph of Thy kingdom on earth.

THE SACRIFICES OF IMPETRATION: These were offered to God in order to obtain from Him, His grace and needs of the people, that is petition. It was similar to holocausts or burntoffering.

THE MAJOR COVENANTS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THEIR SYMBOLS

(I) The covenant with Noah, where God expressed His anger for human wickedness and how intolerable they are to Him, in His justice, He destroyed all living creatures with flood (Gen. 7:17-24). Meanwhile, sin entered into the world through one man (Rom. 5 :12), and the consequences of that original sin render the heart of mortals so weak that it continues to corrupt daily into more grievous sins. God in His foreknowledge also knew that life and justification of mortals will come through the sacrificial death of His Son (Rom. 5: 18), therefore, He told Noah to offer a sacrifice and entered into covenant with him, and He used Rainbow to prefigure the blood which His Son will shed on the Cross and which will be offered Him as a daily sacrifice for sin, He said: “when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember My covenant that is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9:14-16). This can help us to understand the teaching of great theologian and stigmatist, St. Padre Pio as quoted by an author: “The world can do more easily without the sun than without the Mass; in other words, the Mass is so essential that not even the air we breathe can do without it. It is because of the Mass that the world exists. Without the Mass atoning for our sins daily, the world would turn to ashes instantly. Even sinners keep on sinning because the Mass is there to sustain the world in which they sin. Once the Mass is stopped or profaned to such a degree as to make it ineffective, all manner of evils would descend on the world to destroy it”. (ii) The covenant with Abraham: in this covenant, God revealed the depth of His faithfulness to fulfil the promise of Redemption, God swore to Abraham that his children will be like the sand in the sea who will take possession of the promised Land-a prefiguration of paradise(Gen 17:4-8). Thus, the promise of redemption made after the fall of man was ratified in this covenant. The promise that a woman (i.e. Mary) will crush the head of the serpent (i.e. defeat sin and all its allurements) and be worthy to conceive with a sinless Blood, the Redeemer of the world, (Gen. 3:15) thus, the Divine presence and the nourishment from the tree of life which was lost as a consequence of sin (Gen. 3:22-24) was restored in the mystery of the bread of life (Jn 6:48). It was on this account that when she received the good news of the annunciation, Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour; He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, according to the promise He made to our ancestors, Abraham and to his descendants forever” (Lk. 1:55). In this covenant, God sealed the Promised Land to Abraham as a certain possession of his descendants forever (Gen.15:17-21). This covenant is truly fulfilled in the holy Mass- the chief source of grace and light for our heavenly journey, but most especially, when we worthily receive the holy Eucharist, being the pledge of the future resurrection and life everlasting- “Those who eat My flesh and drink My Blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day” (Jn. 6:55).

to forget their fore father’s commitment with the true God and the covenant which they were heirs.

HOLY MASS RENEWS THE SACRIFICE OF THE CROSS

The Catholic dogma teaches: “The Sacrifice of the Mass is the presenting again of the Sacrifice of the Cross, in so far as the sacrificial Body and the sacrificial Blood of Christ are made present under separate species, thus symbolically representing the real separation of the Body and Blood of Christ on the Cross. It is the means whereby the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Cross are applied to mankind in need of salvation”. St Augustine said, “The daily Sacrifice of the Church is the Sacrament that is, the mysterious replica of the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross which was made once and for all time, and in which Christ was the sacrificing priest and the sacrificial gift in one person”. St Alphonsus de Liguori said, “Infact, the sacrifice of the Mass, instituted by our Lord before His death, is a continuation of the Sacrifice of the Cross. Jesus Christ wished that the price of His Blood, shed for the salvation of men, should be applied to us by the sacrifice of the altar, in which the victim offered is the same, though it is there offered differently from what it was on the Cross, that is without the shedding of blood”.

sacrifice may neither be abandoned nor forgotten by man, rather it is often adored and commemorated as the Bible remarks (I Cor. 11:26), so that its fruits may be applied to mankind. God is not bound by time and space, to Him, one thousand years ago or to come is the same as the present time. The Holy Mass makes present, the sacrifice of the Cross wherever it is celebrated, as Pope John Paul II re-affirmed- “A Lamb standing that seemed to have been sacrificed” (Rev. 5:6).

Note: We must hold firmly what the Bible said that Jesus Christ is a priest forever of the order of Melchisedech (Heb.7:1-3). That means, someone who continues to offer sacrifice to God forever.

PROOF FROM THE SACRED SCRIPTURES

Jesus Christ instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice at the last supper when He took the bread and gave thanks to the Father, (according to the vision of Mary of Agreda, He prayed and asked the co-operation of His Father that now and ever afterwards in virtue of the words about to be uttered by Him, and later to be repeated in His Holy Church, He should really and truly become present in the Host, Himself to yield obedience to these sacred words) and said: “This is My Body, which is given up for you. Do this for a commemoration of Me”. Also with the wine He said: ”this is the chalice, the new testament in My Blood, which shall be shed for you” (Lk. 22:19-20). With the expression, “which is given up for you” and “which shall be shed for you”, He indicated the sacrificial nature of the Eucharistic worship. That is, He expressed that what is happening at the table of the last supper will be physically fulfilled the following day on the Cross. Meanwhile, since there cannot be a sacrifice without a priest, He empowered His Apostles and their lawful successors to continue the same sacrifice on His behalf – “Do this”…

The Bible explains further: “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took a loaf of bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way, He took the cup also, after supper, saying, this cup is the new covenant in My Blood: Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (I Cor. 11: 23 26). “The early Christians devoted themselves to the doctrine of the apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42) The Bible clearly states that as often as we eat this bread and drink the cup, we are proclaiming the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, and that was the sacrifice to which the early Christians devoted themselves after the Pentecost. The Bible says, “on the first day of the week (Sunday), they gather together for the breaking of bread” (Acts 20:7). The prophet Daniel, while predicting the events of the final days (Dan.10:14) also revealed the same as a perpetual sacrifice that sustains the peaceful existence of the world (Dan. 12:11). This prophecy was confirmed by Jesus Christ as one of the signs of the end (Matt. 24: 15). THE EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES Throughout the ages, God has in many ways revealed the mysteries in the Eucharist. Some of these events were proved, documented and published by the Church for our growth. The miracle of Regensburg, Germany; 1257, the miracle of Bolsna-Orvieto, Italy, 1263, and that of Macerate, Italy 1356, were among the occasions where God confirmed the faith of some doubting priests about the true presence of Christ in the Eucharistic Mystery. Also many saints like St. Padre Pio, St. Francis Borgia, St. Philip Neri, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, St. Mary Frances etc. were gifted with ecstasies and mystical experiences during the consecration and elevation of the Eucharist. Here is a short narration of one of such experiences: “Immediately the Archbishop said the words of the consecration of wine, and as the words were being said, lightning appeared from the heavens and in the background. The walls and ceiling of the church disappeared. All was dark but for that brilliant light from the altar. Suddenly, suspended in the air, I saw Jesus crucified. I saw Him from the head to the lower part of the chest. The cross beam was sustained by some large, strong hands…

Testimony of Catalina; published by the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archdiocese of Mexico). THE FOUR ENDS OF THE MASS There are four major aims for which the holy Mass is being offered to God (i)To honour and adore God (ii) To make satisfaction for our sins, (iii) To thank God for His benefits, (iv) To obtain Divine graces. HOLY MASS, A SACRIFICE OF ADORATION AND OF INFINITE PRAISE The God who created us, on whom we depend for every moment of our existence, is a God of infinite majesty and glory. The psalmist said that all the firmament proclaims the glory of God ( Ps.8). St. John heard all the creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the sea, crying: “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb, be all praise, honour, glory and power forever and ever. And the elders prostrated themselves to worship Him” (Rev. 5:13-14). The heavenly beings adore God day and night saying holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty (Isa. 6:3, Rev. 4:8). God created us for Himself in His image, that we may join the heavenly beings to praise and adore Him. But can we worthily praise God on ourselves?

of His own Body and Blood, and handed down to us through His Apostles, as a means to worship the Father (cf. Heb. 8). A sacrifice is the highest act of religion in which a duly authorized person (Priest) offers to God some sensible thing which is visibly immolated, either physically or mystically, in acknowledgment of God’s dominion over all things and of our total dependence on Him. It is the only adequate, visible expression of that supreme adoration due to God. The destruction or immolation of the victim fittingly express our interior acknowledgment that God is the sovereign Master of life and death, and worthy of even the sacrifice of our life if He require it – MSGR. G.J. Moorman. The Angelic Doctor (St. Thomas) said that by this, we testify that God is the primary source of all creation, the final end of all our felicity, the sovereign ruler of all things, whom we adore and to whom, in evidence of our just subjection, we offer a visible victim, worthy of His August Majesty. We may bow, kneel, prostrate, these honours are equally given to kings and monarch’s. We may pray, sing melodious hymns and Psalms, burn incense and so on, they were also part of the practices of the old law which was quite incapable of bringing the worshipers to perfection (Heb. 10:1). It cannot worthily honour God. Let us listing to Fr. Muller again: “Now, God, being infinite in all His perfections, deserves an honour and reverence corresponding to His greatness. Only an infinite honour is adapted to an infinite Being: nothing limited is becoming of a Being without limits. Where, then, in the whole range of created nature, shall we find a being that is capable of offering a homage such as this?

HOLY MASS, A SACRIFICE OF PROPITIATION /EXPIATION

The holy Mass is mainly instituted for the satisfaction of the sins that are daily committed in the world. Hence, Jesus prayed while consecrating the wine: “this is My Blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). We must have understood from the first covenant (Noah) the gravity and malice of sin and how intolerable it is to God. The old testament is full of examples of how God punishes sin: the great flood; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ( Gen.19:24-26 ), the death of the sons of Eli and the capture of the Ark of Covenant ( I Sam. 4:10-11), the instant death of those who sinned against the holy of holies (II Sam.6:6-7) etc. We may then ask, do we no longer commit those sins and even more in our time? The answer is this: “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (I Jn. 2:2); “He gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2); “who indeed intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34).

The Mass has infinite power and merit to expiate the sins of the world because of the dignity, the sanctity and the merits of the offerer and the victim being offered. St. Augustine said: ”There are four things which are to be considered in a sacrifice: the person to whom it is offered, he who offers it, what is offered and for whom it is offered. The infinite wisdom of God has here disposed things in such a manner that He who offers this sacrifice to reconcile us to God, is the same as He to whom it is offered, it is He Himself who is the victim, and He is so united to those for whom He offers it, that He is the same with them also (Heb. 2:17).A true Mediator, who in the form of God, He received sacrifice together with the Father, with whom also He is one God, yet, in the form of a servant, He chose rather to be, than to receive sacrifice lest, even on this account, anyone might think that sacrifice was to be offered to any creature. For this cause also He is a priest, Himself the offerer, Himself also the oblation”.

Earlier, God had warned our ancestors: ”if you eat of this tree you shall die” (Gen. 2:17); “the soul that sinneth shall die” (Ezk. 18:20). Indeed, the price of sin is death -the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23) and to atone for it costs life -”for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you for making atonement for your souls on the altar, for blood is what makes atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11);” infact, according to the law, practically every purification takes place by means of blood; and if there is no shedding of blood, there is no remission” (Heb.9:22); “this is My Blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

Man by nature is so ungrateful. This ingratitude is mainly express by not having time to recount the goodness and benefits of God, which surround us daily. It is one in a million that remembers to show love in return to God for His immense love- “were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner” (Lk.17:17-19). He has drawn us from the abyss of nothingness and placed all the work of His hands under our feet (Ps. 8:6); He created us in His own image and likeness (Gen.1:26); through love for us God

preserves the universe and placed His Angels to guide everything that exits in this world (Rev. 7:1-3); He multiplies animals and makes the trees grow so as to provide food for His people and for other uses; He provides the natural resources for all nations and the ability to utilize them for our good. In the work of redemption, God humbled Himself to become one of us in all things expect sin, thus raised the nature of man to hypostatic union with God, a favour not shown to the angels and archangels or any other creature (Heb. 2:14-17); the Holy Ghost is given to us, a pledge of the adopted sons of God. The Holy Ghost makes us temples of God, heavenly citizens (heirs), and sharers in the Divine life, nature, glory and perfections of God through the sanctifying grace which we receive in baptism and recovers in the sacrament of penance if we lose it by sin ( Rom.8:14-17). God made Himself a prisoner of love in the Blessed Sacrament so as to stay with us and with all the graces that accompany His Divine presence till the end of time. (Matt. 28:20).

Meanwhile, the Bible says, “we shall give to the most high according to what He hath given to us (Eccl. 35:12). Where can we get what we can offer to the Most High as a pleasing thanksgiving for His love towards man? The answer was foretold by the Holy Ghost, through the psalmist: “what shall I render to the Lord, for all the things that He had rendered to me? I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord… I shall offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving” (Ps.115/116:12-17).

Fr. Michael Muller said: ”it is God Himself who, in His mercy, has given the devout soul a means of paying off this immense debt of gratitude, through the holy Mass. The Mass is a Eucharistic sacrifice, that is to say, a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Jesus Christ has left us Himself to be offered in the Mass, by way of thanksgiving to His Heavenly Father. When the priest offers to God the sublimest act of homage possible, holding the Body and Blood of the Redeemer above the altar, suspended between heaven and earth, he presents the great thanksgiving as the source and object of all honour and glory. In order to understand, in some measure, the great return we

make in the Mass to the Almighty for all the benefits bestowed upon us, we have but to consider the gift we offer to God in gratitude-the glorious privileges of the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ and the excellence of our dear saviour on account of His Divinity”.

The Bible said categorically that it is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34); “we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent that the Lord, and not any mortal, has set up” (Heb. 8: 1- 2 ); “He entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb. 9:24). The prayer of the saints is so powerful with God because of their good works (cf Isa.58:8); we can then imagine what the prayer of Jesus Christ will be like.

Again, Fr. Michael Muller said: “All the good works of Jesus Christ are of an infinite value and dignity and when He prays to His Father for us at Mass, it is not mere prayers that He offers in our behalf, but in addition, all He has done for thirty-three years and a half to please Him. He offers to Him His Blood, His very life itself, in sacrifice, and thus lay before His Father the greatest gift possible -a gift far more precious than all He can ask for us, as great in power and dignity as is the Father Himself. This is the precise reason why Mass is so powerful a sacrifice of impetration, why it can obtain for us every favour possible. Ask of Me, says the Father to His Son, when lying upon the altar, ask of Me and I will give Thee the nations for Thy inheritance” (Ps. 2:8). We must remember says Fr. Muller that in the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, the Son of God not only worships His Father for us, but that He also prays for us, asks pardon and every kind of blessing for us – “He is the High priest of all the good things to come.”(Heb.9:11)

True repentance and perseverance depend on God’s grace and our co-operation with the graces given -“No one can come to Me unless it is granted by the Father” (Jn.6:65). We have a great battle to fight before we can inherit the promised kingdom -“indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Tim. 3:12), “through many tribulations we must enter

the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). We have three major enemies namely: the world, our flesh and the devil. The world will lay serious obstacles for our souls through its seductions, scandals, persecutions, deceitful pleasures, vainglories, attractions and enjoyments. Our flesh will constitute a big obstacle through the weakness it was infected as a consequence of the original sin. We are naturally more inclined to vices than to practise their opposing virtues (cf. Rom. 7:14-15) e.g: anger, hatred, revenge, lying, gratification of the lustful desires of our heart, indifference towards God and in practising virtue e.t.c. The devil will constitute a heavy obstacle to our souls through the many temptations, trials and persecutions he will raise up against us -“the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I pt . 5:8). His aim is to conquer everyone to receive the image of the beast (Rev. 13:17); that means, to pay him loyalty. He can do this by attacking your means of sustaining your life, your health, by blocking your necessary achievements in life, by raising up persecutions, hatred and wicked neighbours around you and depriving you of your lawful possessions.

light in the hearts of man so as to live in fairness and justice, and elevate the merit of the new Israelites, who are fed with the bread of life, so as to share in the glory of God -“A light to reveal Your will to the Gentiles, and bring glory to Your people Israel” (Lk. 2:32). This grace is very necessary for the conversion of poor sinners and the perseverance of the just -“To give light to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet in the way of peace” (Lk. 1: 79).

Fr. Muller again posits: “It is certain that no one will do true penance for his sins unless he is very sorry for them. But to have this sorrow requires a particular grace from God” -“I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh… Then you shall remember your evil ways, and your dealings that were not good, and you shall loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds” (Ezk. 36 :26-31). Citing the teaching of the council of Trent, he said: “if anyone can repent in such a manner that can lead him to justification, he needed the inspiration and grace of the Holy Ghost (cf.Phil.2:12-13). Judas repented, as the Bible says, but his repentance proceeded only from natural motives, and consequently ended in despair -“when Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. He said, “ I have sinned by betraying innocent blood… he departed, and he went and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:3-6). Fr. Muller continued: “we may indeed, freely fall into sin without any assistance, but to rise from it we cannot, except by the special assistance of God. We can loose the grace of God, but to recover it again, without God’s assistance is more than we can do. Meanwhile, before such graces should come to us, God must be appeased, that is what Jesus does for us in the Mass, which is the chief source of grace that the missionaries used to pull down the devil’s strongholds (cf. II Cor.10:4-6 ) and planted the light of the gospel in all parts of the world. Fr. Muller relates of the mystical experience of St. Coleta in a Mass celebrated by her confessor. She said: “During the elevation of the scared Host, I saw our Lord Jesus Christ as if hanging on the Cross, shedding His Blood, and praying to His heavenly Father in Most lamentable accents: Behold, My Father, in what condition I was once hanging on the Cross and suffering for the Redemption of mankind. Behold My wounds, My sufferings, My death: I have suffered all this in order that poor sinners might not be lost. But now Thou wilt send them to hell for their sins. What good, then, will result from My sufferings and cruel death! Those damned souls, instead of thanking Me for My passion, will only curse Me for it; but should they be saved, they would bless Me for all eternity. I beseech Thee, My Father, to spare poor sinners, and forgive them for My sake; and for the sake of My passion, preserve them from being damned forever”.

HOLY MASS IS MOUNT ZION, THE CITY OF GOD’S PRESENCE

The Bible reveals the mystery of the Holy Mass as follows: “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Heb.12:22 24). Indeed, the Mass unites the mystical body of Christ together: the saints in heaven, the suffering souls and the Church on earth. This is so because the Bible says that wherever God goes, His angels and saints go with Him (cf. Rev. 14:1-5). And in the Mass, the bread we break is the true Body of the Lord, while the Chalice of benediction which we bless is the true Blood of Christ (cf. I Cor. 10:16) that separates from His Body in a sacrificial manner as on Mt. Calvary. In view of this, the priest consecrates the bread before the wine as the Lord did at last supper. Meanwhile, the Father and the Son are inseparable-the Father and I are one(Jn.10:30). The holy Roman Catholic Church teaches under the pain of excommunication, that in the Eucharist, we have the Real presence of God, i.e Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Pope Paul VI said that “Real presence” does not mean that God cannot be present in any other form or place, but presence in the fullest sense.

Since the fall of man and the banishment from God’s presence (Gen. 3:22), the soul of man is thirsty for God’s presence;- “As a dear longs for flowing streams, so My soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? (Ps. 42: 1-2). That is why the patriarchs wherever they encountered God, built altars to honour His presence (cf Gen.28:12-19) The most outstanding was when Moses encountered God in the burning bush at Mt. Sinai, and God sent him for the liberation of Israelites (Ex.3:1-6 ). God instructed him that when they come out of Egypt, they will come and worship Him at that mountain. Indeed, when they came to worship Him at Mt. Sinai, God manifested His presence such that everyone was convinced of His presence at that mountain. Before they left Mt. Sinai, God instructed them on how to make a Tent and an Ark where His presence will dwell to lead them to the promised land ( Ex.25:1-10). When they built and dedicated this Tent, God also manifested His presence in it ( Ex.40:34-38).

Meanwhile, when they entered the promised land, the Ark of God’s presence stayed in the Tent and in the house of some chosen patriarchs until Solomon built a temple to house it. When Solomon dedicated this temple, God manifested His presence in a special way ( II Chr.5:11-14); thus, the Jews believe that everyone must come to worship God in this temple at least once every year as God have commanded (Deut. 12:5-7).

Now, we may recall the encounter between Jesus and the woman of Samaria. She said: “our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you (i.e Jews) say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem (i.e where the Ark was, and God’s presence was assured). Jesus said to her, “woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… But the hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4: 20-23). Jesus is actually telling the woman, ‘the Christ’, the true Lamb of sacrifice is already here, to fulfil the will of God (Heb. 10:10). Henceforth, the true worshippers (i.e those who escape the heresies of all ages), will adore the true presence of God wherever the Eucharistic sacrifice is celebrated. The presence of God is so vital in the life of His people in their journey to the promised land, because it gives light to their souls, so as to be able to discern what is good from what is evil in this deceitful Babylon- “give Thy servant therefore an understanding mind… able to discern between good and evil” (1 Kgs. 3: 9) .This was prefigured in the sojourn of the old Israelites, when God threatened to withdraw His presence from them (Ex.33:2-3); they wept bitterly and did penance until God assured them of His presence, which was fulfilled in the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire to provide light for them (Ex.40 :34-38).It is our co-operation and disposition to this light that determines the level of sanctity we can attain on earth. But those who obstinately refused to co-operate with the operations of this light by their stubbornness, God can allow them to be blinded and deceived by the vanities and trials of life-”He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them” (Jn.12:40).

God’s presence in the Eucharist is sealed with a covenant, and it pours abundant grace on mankind for him to accept and preserve the truths about God; as it happened to the two disciples at Emmaus, after Jesus had preached to them, when He broke the bread and gave to them, the Bible says; ”Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him” (Lk.24:31).

Jesus Christ assured us of His true presence at the Eucharist by the very words of the institution: ”This is My Body; this is My Blood”. He did not say ”this represents My Body” or ”this is a symbol of My Body”. At that moment, He was establishing a covenant, so He meant everything He said. He is the truth Himself who can neither deceive nor be deceived. Before He said, this is My Body, He knows that an actual change has taken place (Transubstantiation) on the substance of the bread, as it continues to take place on our altars, whenever those sacred words are repeated. In His teaching at Capernaum, He said; “My Body is real food and My Blood is real drink” (Jn. 6:56). The Bible further clarify more; “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, will be answerable for the Body and Blood of the Lord… for all who eat and drink without discerning the Body, eats and drinks judgement against themselves” (I Cor. 11: 27 -29). With these words of admonition, the Bible wants us to profess that the Blessed Sacrament is God, and should be reverenced more than the symbolic presence of God in the old Ark of the covenant.

THE WHOLE WORLD DEPENDS ON THE HOLY MASS FOR PRESERVATION AND SALVATION The prophet Obadiah says: “And in mount Zion shall be salvation, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess those that possessed them” (Ob. 1:17). Indeed holy Mass is mount Zion , where God’s children recover the heavenly treasures and graces that was promised. While revealing the mystery of the holy Mass, the book of Hebrews (12:24) says, “you have come to mount Zion where the sprinkled Blood of Christ speaks better word than the blood of Abel”.

The blood of Abel refers to all the innocent blood that are being shed on earth (Matt.23:35) which continues to cry for vengeance to God (cf. 11 Esdras 15: 7-9). While the Blood of Christ makes atonement and pleads for pardon (Lk. 23:34) and peace for the world. The prophet Ezekiel saw the vision of the new temple; water was flowing from the sanctuary and enters the sea (i.e the world); as it enters the sea, it makes the stagnant water of the sea to become fresh, and every living creatures will live and bear fruit, because they were nourished by the water from the sanctuary (Ezk. 47:1-12). This vision clearly explains how the grace of God issues from the Bread of Life in the sanctuary and effects healing and transformation of the world – “The Bread of God is that which comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world” (Jn. 6: 33).

How and why does this happen? We have to consider these two points: the conversion of sinners and the preservation of the just.

The conversion of sinners: We have stated earlier that before a sinner can have sorrow and contrition for his sins, such that can lead him to justification, the grace of God is absolutely necessary (cf. Ezk. 11:19 20, Phil.2:13,). Jesus Christ is the sun that gives light to those in darkness and guides our feet in His way of peace (Lk. 1:79).But sinners in their stubbornness abuse the grace of God in many ways and become unworthy of it -“I stand at the door knocking” (Rev. 3:20). And the sentence hanging over them says; “See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears” (Heb. 12:16 -17).

sinners and heretics are always blinded and fortified by the gods of this world (cf. II Cor. 4:4) to which St Paul says, “the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have Divine power to destroy strongholds, arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (II Cor. 10: 4-5). The most efficacious of these weapons is the holy sacrifice of the Mass: “it is in this sacrifice of propitiation, said Fr. M. Muller, that the eagerness of God to save sinners is truly manifest”.

all men to do God’s will (Jer. 31:31-34). God’s grace flows to the good and the wicked alike (cf. Matt. 5:45). But they are mostly provided for the sake of the good ones so that wickedness will not grow to the point where righteousness cannot flourish -“you are salt for the earth” (Matt. 5:13). It is in the holy Mass that Jesus atones for our sins and merits these graces for us- ”I am the living Bread which has come down from heaven… And the bread that I shall give is My flesh, for the life of the world” (Jn. 6:51); “And the life was the light of all people” (Jn. 1:4).

WE MUST WORSHIP GOD IN REVERENCE AND FEAR

The Bible says: “we must worship God in the way that please Him, in reverence and fear” (Heb. 12:28). This is very necessary because God respects our freewill on earth. The great mystery of our salvation is for us to accept and cherish, or reject and bear the consequences. St. Alphonsus de Liguori quoted the decrees of the council of Trent as follows: ”The Mass, then being the most holy and divine action in which we can be engaged, it plainly follows, that all diligence ought to be used in order that so great a sacrifice may be celebrated with the greatest possible interior purity and exterior devotion. The malediction fulminated by Jeremias against those who perform negligently their sacred functions, is especially to be directed against priests who celebrate Mass irreverently, which is the greatest and most sublime action that man can perform for the honour of his creator”. To explain this fact in a clearer terms, let us reflect on the teaching of these theologians: St Alphonsus de Liguori said, “although the Mass is of infinite value, God accepts it only in a finite manner, according to the dispositions of those who attend the Holy sacrifice”. St. Thomas Aquinas said: “The amount of grace we got when we receive a Sacrament is proportional to our disposition at the very moment we receive the Sacrament”.

Pope John Paul II while reaffirming the observance of liturgical discipline in Eucharistic celebration used the words of St Paul to re-echo its consequences. He said: ”the Apostle Paul had to address fiery words to the community of Corinth because of grave shortcomings in their celebration of the Eucharist, resulting in divisions (schismata) and the emergence of factions” (heresies). Precisely, the Bible clearly says that such celebrations do more harm than good (cf.ICor.11:17-34). As we can see, the immediate result was divisions, heresies, weakness, sickness and death which are clear signs of loss of grace and effects of Divine justice. The Bible says:” How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by those who trample on the Son of God, profaned the Blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, and outrage the Spirit of grace? (Heb.10:29).

St. Alphonsus de Liguori, while teaching on the merit of the holy Mass, said:” On this account the devil has always endeavoured to abolish the Mass throughout the world by means of heretics, making them the precursor of Antichrist”. Indeed, the devil will desire to see that where God should have been highly honoured is where He is mostly insulted. Therefore, it is evidently clear that the grace we receive at Mass depends on our dispositions and the manner in which the Mass was celebrated. If we try to dignify the liturgy with interior and exterior devotions, the more glory is given to God and more graces for His people. The wise ones (Dan. 12:10) should therefore desire and make effort to attend Mass with good disposition, and also wherever they know that God will be more solemnly reverenced and honoured.

Indeed, it is necessary that anyone who attends Mass should know what he has come to do, so as to know the best way of doing it. In the first place, we ought to go to the church in time and prepare our minds with prayers and meditations. On the way to the church, prepare your mind as if you are going to calvary and always make sure you have a Catholic prayer book in your hand in which you can find the prayers before, during and after the Mass. Do your best to avoid distractions so as to focus on God who is present at the altar and on the passion of our Lord being re-enacted. Avoid dancing, noise making/discussions and all manner of worldliness; the presence of the Blessed Sacrament in the church deserves absolute reverence and profound adoration- This people honourMe only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from Me. Their reverence of Me is worthless (Mk. 7: 6 – 7).

St. Leonard of Port Maurice said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a very good plan to divide the whole Mass into four parts, corresponding with the four principal objects for which Mass is offered, that is to say: To consider the Mass from the beginning to the Gospel as a sacrifice of propitiation; from the Gospel to the elevation, as a sacrifice of impetration; from the elevation to the communion, as a sacrifice of adoration; and from the communion to the end, as a sacrifice of Thanksgiving.

In the third part we may consider our own nothingness and Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatness; then offer up to Him the homage of His well-beloved Son, and in union with the same sublime homage of Jesus Christ, our own acts of adoration to the Heavenly Father. We may rejoice in His glory, and desire that all men render Him due honour.

An Offering at Commencement

Prayer O MOST compassionate Jesus! Thou alone art our salvation, our life, and our resurrection. We implore Thee, therefore, do not forsake us in our needs and afflictions, but, by the agony of Thy most sacred Heart, and by the sorrows of Thy Immaculate Mother, succor Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy most Precious Blood. Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. – Pius IX, Oct. 6, 1870.

EJACULATIONS Jesus, my God, I love Thee above all things. Indulgence of 500 days, every time. – Pius IX, May 7, 1854. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine. Indulgence of 300 days, once a day. – Pius IX, Jan. 25, 1868.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere! Indulgence of 100 days, once a day. – Pius IX, Sept. 23, 1860.

At the Offertory and Secret Prayers AN OFFERING

Indulgence of 100 days once a day – Pius VII, June 9, 1807.

AN OFFERING ETERNAL Father, we offer Thee the blood, the passion, and the death of Jesus Christ, the sorrows of Mary most holy, and of St. Joseph, in satisfaction for our sins, in aid of the holy souls in purgatory, for the needs of holy Mother Church, and for the conversion of sinners. Indulgence of 100 days. once a day. – Pius IX, April 30, 186o.

During the Canon IN COMMEMORATION OF THE LIVING

priests, Religious, and apostolic missionaries that their labor in the propagation of the Faith and for the salvation of souls may be fruitful. Lord, through the merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I especially recommend to Thee the intentions for which I am assisting at this Mass; the interests of my relatives, friends, and benefactors; and the wants of all those for whom I have promised to pray and for whom I am bound to pray in justice and charity. I beseech Thee, also, to bless my enemies, those who are dying, and all the faithful who are in the state of grace; grant us the gift of perseverance in Thy love. Finally, I recommend to Thy goodness and clemency all infidels, heretics, and sinners. Vouchsafe to enlighten and strengthen them, that they may know Thee and love Thee and serve Thee and be happy with Thee forever in heaven.

AT THE ELEVATION Look at the sacred Host and say with strong faith, firm hope, tender love, and earnest devotion: My Lord and My God!

EJACULATIONS O Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament Divine!

All praise and all thanksgiving, be every moment Thine.

Indulgence of 100 days, once a day; and once during each Mass to all, who, at the elevation of both species, shall say this ejaculation.

Saviour of the world, have mercy on us Indulgence of 50 days, once a day. Leo XIII, Feb. 21, 1891.

INVOCATION My God, grant that I may love Thee, and be the only reward of my love to love Thee always more and more. Indulgence of 100 days. once a day. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Leo XIII, March 15, 1890.

ETERNAL Father! I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus, in satisfaction for my sins and for the wants of holy Church. 1ndulgence of 100 days, – Pius VII, Sept. 22, 1817.

Note: These few prayers were selected from a Mass Book “With God” to throw more light on the meaning of active and prayerful participation in the Mass.

The Catholic Church, through adherence to her apostolic traditions, is the new Israel who holds the covenant of God with the world. The fruits of this new covenant she continues to communicate to her children through the Mass and the Sacraments. The Church continues to warn her children to guide the purity of faith they profess. Pope John Paul II while teaching on the Eucharist re-affirmed: ”The observations of the council concerning the Ecclesial communities which arose in the West from the sixteenth century onwards and are separated from the Catholic Church remain fully pertinent; the Ecclesial communities separated from us lack that fullness of unity with us which should flow from Baptism, and we believe that especially because of the lack of the Sacrament of Orders, they have not preserved the genuine and total reality of the Eucharistic mystery. Nevertheless, when they commemorate the Lord’s death and resurrection in the Holy supper, they profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and they await His coming in glory (i.e. they do not believe in the Eucharistic sacrifice). The Catholic faithful, therefore, while respecting the religious convictions of these separated brethren, must refrain from receiving the communion distributed in their celebrations, so as not to condone an ambiguity about the nature of the Eucharist and, consequently, to fail in their duty to bear clear witness to the truth. Similarly, it is unthinkable to substitute for Sunday Mass ecumenical celebration of the word or services of common prayer with Christians from the aforementioned Ecclesial communities, or even participation in their own liturgical services ”(Ecclesia de Eucharistia, article No.30).

The Catholic Church was built on the faith of the twelve apostles (cf. Eph.2: 20) who remained faithful when Christ taught about the Eucharist, and all His disciples left Him (cf.Jn.6:66). So she does not compromise with anyone who denies any part of Her doctrines, especially on the Eucharist. She therefore held that all those separated brethren are in error – “if any body does not remain in the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he does not have God with him; only those who remain in what He taught can have the Father and the Son with them” (II Jn. 1: 9). Therefore, if any of her faithful dares to worship together with those false worshipers, the person has accepted and professed that they are also in the truth, and thus make himself a victim of that Biblical warning: ”if anyone comes to you bringing a different doctrine, you must not receive him into your house or even give him a greeting. Whoever greets him has a share in his wicked activities” (II Jn. 1:10 -11). In many other passages, the Bible continue to issue similar warnings-”The gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you; believing anything else will not lead to any thing” (I cor.15:2); “But even if we ourselves or an Angel from heaven preaches to you a Gospel other than the one we preached to you let God’s curse be on him. Anyone who preaches to you a Gospel other than the one you were first given is to be under God’s curse” (Gal. 1: 8-9).

Pope Pius IX declared: “Beloved Sons and venerable Brothers, we should mention again and censure a very grave error in which some Catholics are unhappily engaged, who believe that man living in error, and separated from the true faith and from Catholic unity, can attain eternal life. Indeed, this is certainly quite contrary to Catholic teaching. It is known to us and to you that they who labour in invisible ignorance of our most holy religion and who, zealously keeping the natural law and its precepts engraved in the hearts of all by God and being ready to obey God, live an honest and upright life, can by the operating power of Divine light and grace, attain eternal life, since God who clearly beholds, searches and knows the minds, souls, thoughts and habits of all men, because of His great goodness and mercy, will by no means suffer anyone to be punished with eternal torment, who has not the guilt of deliberate sin. But, the Catholic dogma that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church is well known; and also that those who are obstinate towards the authority and definitions of the same Church, and who persistently separate themselves from the unity of the Church, and from the Roman pontiff, the successors of Peter, to whom the guardianship of the vine has been entrusted by the saviour, cannot obtain eternal salvation” (encyclical letter, QuantoConficiamurMoerore, Aug. 10, 1863). He taught with the authority of the chair of St. Peter (Lk 10:16, Matt. 16:18-19), in line with his predecessors: Boniface VII (UnamSanctam, Nov. 18,1302), Pius IV (InjunctumNobis, Nov. 13,1565), Gregory XVI (MirariVos, Aug. 15, 1932). Therefore, all those who denied or lost the true faith because of the favourites of life are modern day Esaus who sold their birthright for a single meal (Heb. 12:16-17). Jesus Christ says; Anyone who does not enter the fold through the valid gate is a thief (Jn.10:7), and since they do not gather with Him in the true fold, they are scattering (Lk.11:23).

Seeing the humble souls who will follow His footsteps in all ages through the narrow way of perfection, the Lord Jesus humbly prayed; while standing trials before Caiphas, in the midst of insults, mockery, kicking, slapping and spitting on His adorable face, for having testified to His Divinity: “Blessed are you in being stripped of the earthly goods: for by My Passion and Death, I am to entail upon you the heavenly kingdom as a secure and certain possession of voluntary poverty”.

“Those that suffer persecution for justice’s sake, shall be the blessed heirs of My celestial kingdom, since they suffer with Me; and where I am, there also they shall be in eternity. Rejoice, ye poor; be consoled all you that are, and shall be afflicted; glory in your lot, you little ones and despised ones of this world, you who suffer in humility and longaminity, suffer with an interior rejoicing; since all of you are following Me in the path of truth. Renounce vanity, despise the pomp and haughtiness of the false and deceitful Babylon; pass ye through the fires and the waters of tribulation until you reach Me, who am the light, the truth and your guide to the eternal rest and refreshment” (Excerpt from the visions of Venerable Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God. P.519, imprimatur + Edwin V. Byrne D.D. Archbishop of Santa Fe. New Mexico, 9-2-49).

THE TRUE WISDOM The Bible says: “the message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation, it is the power of God… Do you not see how God has shown up human wisdom as folly? Since in the wisdom of God, the world was unable to recognize God through wisdom. It was God’s own pleasure to save believers through the folly of the gospel. While Jews demand miracles and the Greeks look for wisdom, we are preaching a crucified Christ: to the Jews (i.e. heretics) an obstacle they cannot get over, to the gentiles (i.e. non Christians) foolishness, but to those who have been called… a Christ who is both the power of God and the wisdom of God… God chose those who by human standards are fools to shame the wise; He chose those who by human standards are weak; to shame the strong, those who by human standards are common and contemptible -indeed those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing all those that do count for something, so that no human being might feel boastful before God” (1 Cor. 1:18-29).

The Reprobates count themselves as wise, clever and fortunate, they direct all their time, strength and talent in the pursuit of worldly goods and pleasures; which must be taken away from them at the appointed time (cf. Lk. 16:9-12) and they treat the message of the cross as folly, being blinded by the god of this world (11 Cor.4:4), the Lord hide from their knowledge that, “all that we suffer in the present time is nothing in comparison with the glory which is destined to be disclosed to us” (Rom.8:18).

Among them are: many in the Church who have reduced the truths of the Gospel to the standard of the Modern world; many who have gathered for themselves questionable Pastors and Preachers who preach to them what they want to hear (II Tim. 4:3); many who are living today as if there is no God, by total negligence of their duties as baptized Christians; many who earn their living, and achieve their heart desires by total neglect and disregard to God’s commandments. To identify them, St. Louis Maria de Montfort taught: “The Christians you see around you, fashionably attired, super-sensitive, excessively haughty and sedate, are neither true disciples nor true members of the crucified Jesus. To think otherwise would be an insult to our thorn-crowned Head (Jesus) and His gospel truth. How many [would-be] Christians there are who imagine they are members of the Savior when in reality they are His most insidious persecutors, for while

blessing themselves with the sign of the Cross, they crucify Him in their hearts” (Excerpt from Friends of the Cross, by St. Montfort).

The Bible gives more clearance to this as follows: “There are so many people of whom I have often warned you and now I warn you again with tears in my eyes, who behave like the enemies of Christ’s Cross. They are destined to be lost; their god is the stomach; they glory in what they should think shameful (e.g. seductive fashions), since their minds are set on earthly things” (Phil. 3:18-19). St. Montfort further said: ‘if you have not the patience to suffer and the generosity to bear your cross like the chosen ones of God, then you will have to trudge under its weight, grumbling and fretting like reprobates; like the two animals that dragged the Ark of the covenant, lowering as they went (1 Kings 6:12); like Simon the Cyrenean who unwillingly put his hand to the very cross of Christ (Matt. 27:32); complaining while he carried it. You will be like the impenitent thief who from the summit of his cross plunged headlong into the depths of the abyss. The cursed earth on which we live cannot give us happiness. We can see none too clearly in this benighted land. We are never perfectly calm on this troubled sea. We are never without warfare in a world of temptation and battlefields. We cannot escape scratches on a thorn-covered earth. Both elect and reprobate must bear their cross here, either willingly or unwillingly. Remember these words: Three crosses stand on Calvary’s height. One must be chosen, so choose wisely; like a Saint you must suffer, or a penitent thief, or like a reprobate, in endless grief. This means that if you will not suffer gladly as Jesus did, or patiently like the penitent thief and earn the merit of your pains, then, you must suffer despite yourself like the impenitent thief” (cf. Lk. 23:39).

Those who are enlightened by Divine grace, always see in all the vanities and our toils on earth that only one thing is necessary (cf. Lk. 10:42); and they unite with Christ in carrying their own crosses, with total submission to the will of God. And this makes their crosses to be a sweet yoke (cf. Matt. 11:30). Thus, they will earn the merit of their suffering, because, God never wished that any of our pains should be wasted, rather that they may be treasures to our souls-To them that Love God, all things work together unto good (Rom. 8:28).

God is glorified in all our sorrows, pains, hardships, humiliations and deprivations that are accepted with the spirit of penance(Rom.8:17), they reveal the depth of love we have for God-“so that the world may know that I love the Father” (Jn. 14:31). Jesus Christ in His Divinity was incapable of suffering, therefore He took the human nature so as to glorify the triune God for us and confer merit in every aspect of our life through His life and sufferings (cf. Jn.12:23-28). On this account, the Angels who are incapable of suffering envy mortals when they suffer meritoriously.

Listen to St. Montfort: “Carry your cross with patience, a cross patiently borne will be your light in spiritual darkness, for someone who has never had his trials knows little (Sirach 34:10). Carry your cross with Joy and you will be inflamed with Divine love, for only in suffering can we dwell in the pure love of Christ. Roses are only gathered from among thorns. As wood is fuel for the fire, so too is the cross the only fuel for God’s love”… “ Be glad, therefore and rejoice when God favours you with one of His choicest crosses, for without realizing it you are being blessed with the greatest gift that Heaven has, the greatest gift of God. Yes, the cross is God’s greatest gift. If you could only understand this, you would have Masses said, you would make novenas at the tombs of the Saints; you would undertake long pilgrimages, as did the Saints, to obtain this Divine gift from Heaven”. (Friends of the Cross)

humiliated in the affairs of life etc. It is a sign that God is showing you greater love and care for your soul – “Even though it may be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine” (1Pet.1:6-7); “Do not be overawed when someone get’s rich and lives in ever greater splendour; when he dies he will take nothing with him… in prosperity people lose their good sense, they become no better than dumb animals” (Ps. 49:16-20).

THE MERIT AND NECESSITY OF THE HOLY CROSS (For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure (11 Cor. 4:17)

St. Montfort says: “If we agree to God’s punishing us here below, this punishment will be dictated by love. For mercy, which holds sway in this world, will mete out the punishment and not strict justice. This punishment will be light and momentary, blended with merit and sweetness and followed up with reward both in time and eternity. But if the punishment due to our sins is held over for the next world, then God’s avenging justice, which means fire and blood, will see to the punishing. What a horrible punishment! Punishment devoid of mercy (Jm. 2:13), pity, mitigation or merit; without limit and without end. That mortal sin of a moment that you committed, that deliberate evil thought which now escapes your memory, the uncontrolled words that had gone with the wind, (Matt. 12:36) that act of such short duration against God’s law, they shall all be punished for an eternity, punished with the devils of hell, as long as God shall be God! Do we think of this, my dear brothers and sisters, when we have some trials to undergo here below? Blessed indeed are we who have the privilege of exchanging an eternal and fruitless penalty for a temporary and meritorious suffering, just by patiently carrying our crosses” (Friends of the Cross).

resent His training, for the Lord trains those He loves, and chastises every son He accepts” (Heb. 12:5-6, Pro. 3:11, Rev. 3:1); “My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal…whatever happens to you, accept it and in the uncertainties of your humble state, be patient, since gold is tested in the fire and the chosen in the furnace of humiliation” (Sirach 2:15).

St. Montfort teaches that the measure which determines our closer friendship with God and the glory will shall enjoy for eternity depends on the weight of the cross He gives you. Those who enter eternity with the greatest merit are those who suffered the highest tribulation in this life. On this account, the Lord sends great tribulation to those He loves-“Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him” (Jm.1:12, Acts 14:22).

Just as John the most beloved apostle has to climb the summit of Calvary with His master. When James and John requested through their mother for greater glory in celestial kingdom (Matt. 20:22) Jesus told them; you know not what you ask. Can you drink My chalice? Indeed, the chalice of suffering is the determining factor. That is why the life of the earlier friends of God, remain a lesson for all generations; their lives, as the Bible says, proved that they were in search for a better homeland (Heb. 11:9-16). That means, there is always a cross that helps them to focus on where they were going and always reminds them that they were only strangers and nomads on earth: Abel, a righteous man, was slain by his own brother; Abraham, a righteous man, journeyed on the earth like a wanderer; Lot, a righteous man, was driven from his own country; Jacob, a righteous man, was persecuted by his own brother; Tobias, a righteous man, was stricken with blindness; Job, a righteous man, was pauperized, humiliated and covered with sores. Consider the countless Apostles and Martyrs who were bathed in their own blood; the countless Virgins and Confessors who were pauperized, humiliated, stripped of their properties, exiled and cast aside-“Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (11 Tim.3:12); And because thou wast acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove thee” (Tb.12:13, Douary Rheims). IDENTIFYING YOUR OWN CROSS The Bible says: “Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). And He urge His genuine friends: “pick up your cross”. While teaching about this, St. Montfort says: “Let this man or this woman, take up with joy, fervently clasp in his arms and bravely set upon his shoulders this cross that is his own and not that of another; his own cross, the one that Divine wisdom designed for him in every detail of number, weight and measurement. “Let him place it on his forehead and say with St. Paul: “God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14); “We glory also in tribulations” (Rom.5:3).

Meanwhile, when we have done all the things we should do and the situation continues, we must know that Jesus draws special consolation from that cross as Himself has explained to a seer, such people are being called to a higher level of love, the Simons’ of later ages. Meanwhile, we must also know that there are sins that need a longer period of purification. What mostly matters is the level of the humble heart and childlike simplicity with which we accept these crosses (i.e. our daily experiences); offering them to God in union with the passion of Christ, through our prayers for the needs of our souls and those that God may wish to save through our crosses. We must have the conviction that all the eventualities that happen in our lives are all permitted by God; those caused by nature, by your neigbour or enemies or by the devil. They were all permitted by God, but some are due to your own faults and weaknesses(i.e permissive will of God); but if they are well accepted, through it we achieve the will of God- “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father knowing. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; you worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31): “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all” (Ps. 34:19). St. Alphonsus de Liguori said, “it is necessary to know that every tribulation, though it may come from men, is sent to us by God”.

made all the more narrower by the world’s corruption which the faithful ones must avoid; while on the left side, the fashionable folk, their highways are overcrowded, although they are broad and ever broadening with the crowds that flow through in a torrent. These roads are strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions and paved with gold and silver. Jesus made this loving appeal through a seer: “There are many who pretend that they are friends of Mine and love Me but in reality they hate Me, because they have no love for My Cross. I have many friends of My table, but few indeed of My Cross” (quoted by St. Montfort).

It is a heavy cross to live a truthful and sincere life in a dark and corrupt world; it is a heavy cross to continue to pardon injuries and show charity in a world full of wickedness and betrayal of trust; it is a heavy cross to accept humiliation in an arrogant world; it is a heavy cross to always dress modestly and live a life of purity in our modern world where the power of seduction and impurity has become a means of achieving the heart desires of our women. It is a heavy cross to preach and practice the true faith in this time of darkness and apostasy. It is a heavy cross to wait and seek for God’s Will in choosing a life partner, so as to maintain your faith and follow the guidelines of the Church; especially in this time of faith crises and multiplication of false Churches; it is a heavy cross to humbly accept and train well, “all” the children with which God blesses your marriage, as you promised at the altar. In any of our lowly state, let us be encouraged by God’s words – “if you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed: for that which is of the honour, glory and power of God, and that which is His Spirit rest upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief… But if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Pet. 4:14). MY FATHER AND MY GOD, THIS IS MY ETERNAL WILL (On the Cross, Jesus conferred on the reprobates, the task of toiling in vain for vanities (Eccl. 2:11); And thereby be deprived of the saving graces He bestowed on mortals). When the holy wood of the Cross had been raised on Mount Calvary, bearing aloft with it the Incarnate Word Crucified; before speaking any of the seven Words, Christ prayed interiorly to His Heavenly Father and said: “My Father and My Eternal God, I confess and magnify thee from this tree of the Cross, and I offer thee a sacrifice of praise in My passion and Death”…

themselves of Our mercy and of the way I have opened to them by My labors, life and death; but that many will prefer to follow their sinful ways unto perdition… Now then, My Eternal Father, in My and Thy Name and for Thy glorification, I made My last bequest according to My human will, which is conformable to Thy Eternal and Divine will… “From the multitudes of men, in the fullness of My good will, I call, select and separate all the just and the predestined, who through My grace save themselves by imitating Me, doing My Will and obeying My holy law. These, next to My most pure Mother, I appoint as the inheritors of all My mysteries, My blessings, My sacramental treasures, My mysteries concealed in the holy Scriptures; of My humility, meekness of heart; of the virtues of faith, hope, and charity; of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance; of My Divine gifts and favors; of My Cross, labors, contempt, poverty and nakedness. This shall be their portion and inheritance in this present and mortal life. Since they must choose this in order to labor profitably, I assign to them the trials I have chosen for Myself in this life, as a pledge of My friendship, in order that they may undergo them with joy. I offer them My protection and defense, My holy inspirations, My favors and powerful assistance, My blessings and My justification, according to each one’s disposition and degree of love. I promise to be to them a Father, a Brother and a Friend, and they shall be My chosen and beloved children, and as such I appoint them as the inheritors of all My merits and treasures without limitation. I desire that all who dispose themselves shall partake of the goods of My holy Church and of the Sacraments; that, if they should lose My friendship, they shall be able to restore themselves and recover My graces and blessings through My cleansing Blood. For all of them, shall be open the intercession of My Mother and of the Saints, and She shall recognize them as her children, shielding them and holding them as her own. My Angels shall defend them, guide them, protect them and bear them up in their hands lest they stumble, and if they fall, they shall help them to rise”… I consent that the foreknown and reprobates (though they were created for another and much higher end), shall be permitted to possess as their portion and inheritance, the concupiscence of the flesh and the eyes, pride in all its effects, that they eat and be satisfied with the dust of the earth, namely, with riches, with the fumes and the corruption of the flesh and its delights, and with the vanity and presumption of the world.

the simple and the innocent, strove to exalt themselves and desired to be raised above all the cedars of Lebanon in following the laws of injustice”. “Since they have done all this in opposition to Our Divine goodness and remained obstinate in their malice, and since they have renounced the rights of sonship merited for them by Me, I disinherit them of My friendship and glory, just as Abraham separated the children of the slave, setting aside some possessions for them and reserving the principal heritage for Isaac, the son of the free woman Sarah. Thus, I set aside their claims of My inheritance by giving them the transitory goods, which they themselves have chosen, separating them from Our company and from that of My Mother, of the Angels and Saints, I condemn them to the eternal dungeons and the fire of hell in the company of Lucifer and his demons, whom they have freely served, I deprive them forever of all hope of relief. This is, O My Father, the sentence which I pronounce as the Head and the Judge of men and Angels and this is the testament made at My Death, this is the effect of My Redemption, whereby each one is rewarded with that which he has justly merited according to his works and according to Thy incomprehensible wisdom in the equity of Thy strictest justice”. (Mystical City of God, P. 567 – 573) So miserable indeed are those who foolishly follow the fortunes of this earthly goods and forget to think of their last end. The holy Bible offers many exhortative words against this unfortunate deluge that massively plunder so many souls to hell daily-“In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin” (Sirach. 7:40); “For gold and silver hath destroyed many, and perverted the heart of kings” (Sirach. 8:3); “Better is a child that is poor and wise, than a king that is old and foolish who knows not to foresee hereafter” (Sirach 4:13)

and the fire refers to the pains of suffering. May the Lord teach us as the Psalmist says, to count up the days that are ours, and we shall come to the heart of wisdom (Ps. 90:12).

St. Alphonsus de Liguroi said: “but the greatest misery and misfortune is that, these miserable men esteem themselves wise and prudent though they are the most foolish and imprudent of mortals. And unfortunately, they are exceedingly numerous: “The road that leads to destruction is wide and smooth and many follow it” (Matt. 7:13). He continued: And great as their folly is, they have the temerity to call the saints fools, because they despise the goods of this life in order to gain eternal salvation and the possession of God, who is the true and supreme good. They deem it folly to embrace contempt, and to pardon injuries; folly to abstain from sensual pleasures, and to practice mortification, folly to renounce honours and riches, to love solitude and a humble and hidden life. But they never reflect that the Lord has called their wisdom folly -for the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God (1 Cor. 3:19). Oh! how much wiser is the peasant who saves his soul than the monarch who brings himself to hell – “Better is a child who is poor and wise, than a king that is old and foolish, who knoweth not to foresee hereafter” (Sirach. 4:13).

So unfortunate indeed are the sinners whom God has reserved their chastisements for all eternity. To His beloved ones, He chastises and trains them with crosses and denials of some earthly attractive opportunities that can coarsen the heart (cf. Lk. 21:34) -“When You punish Your people and correct their faults, You eat like moth, what they hold dear” (Ps. 39:11 ); “I reprove and train those whom I love” (Rev. 3:19). Such is the rough way that leads to life which very few people follow. Meanwhile, to the obstinate sinners, He deprives them of the real treasures in life, the saving graces He has bestowed on mortals through His sacrificial death on the Cross and appears to be silent till their cup is filled up (cf. II Macc. 6:13-15, Hakk. 1:13-17) – “He has pulled down princes from their thrones and raised high the lowly. He has filled the starving with good things, sent the rich away empty” (Lk. 1:52-53). Indeed, how precious is the saving grace of God, which He purchased for us at a very high price. But the reprobates treat it as nothing, but the Lord, just like in the case of the prodigal son offers them what they demand for; the dust of the earth, knowing fully well as the psalmist says (cf. Ps. 49:10) that they will soon be deprived of it – “the people’s toil is fuel for the fire, and the nations’ labour came to nothing” (Hakk. 2:13).

The Lord says: “Let Us have pity on the wicked, but he will not learn justice: in the land of the saints he hath done wicked things, and he shall not see the glory of the Lord” (Isa. 26:10). While explaining this passage, St. Bernard Said: “This mercy I do not wish for; it is above all wrath. Oh’ what a chastisement is it when God abandons the sinner into the hands of his sins, and appears not to demand any further account of them -“The sinner hath provoked the Lord, according to the multitude of His wrath. He will not seek him” (Ps. 10:4; Douay Rheims). God appears not to be enraged against such sinners-“My jealously shall depart from you, and I will cease, and be angry no more” (Ezk. 16:42). He appears to allow them all that they desire in this life-“I let them go according to the desires of their hearts” (Ps. 81:12-13). Miserable the unrepentant sinner that prospers in this life! His prosperity is a sign that God waits to make him a victim of His justice for all eternity”. How blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs (Matt. 5:3). The humble ones who ask for His mercy, God gives them the light to see the true value in the things of this life, their real worth and the level at which they will be helpless-“Can any of you, however much you worry, add one cubit to your span of life”? (Matt. 6:27); we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it, but as long as we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that” (I Tim. 6: 7 – 8). He enlightens them to make wise use of earthly things which is not our own (cf. Lk. 16:12), so as to acquire the merits for which He has sent us here-“Use money, tainted as it is to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you they will welcome you into eternal dwellings” (Lk. 16:9-12). By money, the Bible refers to all the gifts and potentials we have on earth.

THE TORMENTS OF HELL AS EXPLAINED BY ST. ALPHONSUS DE LIGUROI

THE PAIN OF SENSES.

In committing sin, the sinner does two evils. He abandons God, the Sovereign Good, and turns to creatures-“For My people have done two evils. They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns; broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). Since then, by turning to creatures the sinner offends God, he will be justly tortured in hell by the same creatures-by fire, and by devils: in this punishment consists the pain of senses. But because his greatest guilt and the malice of his sin consists in turning his back on God, his principal torment, his hell, will be the pain of loss, or that pain arising from having lost God.

In hell, they will be one over the other, like sheep gathered together in the winter. They are, said David, laid in hell like sheep. “They will be even like grapes pressed under the wine-press of God’s wrath- “And He treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Rev. 19:15) “From this will arise the pain of immobility- “Let them become immovable as a stone” (Exo. 15:16). Thus, in whatsoever position the damned will fall into hell after the last day, in that they must remain, without ever changing their posture, and without ever being able to move hand or foot, as long as God will be God.

The sense of hearing will be tormented by the unceasing howling and wailing of those miserable beings, who are sunk in an abyss of despair, the devils will torment the damned by continual noises- The sound of dread is always in his ears (Job 15:21).“How painful to a person longing for sleep to hear the groan of a sick man, the barking of dog, or the screams of an infant! But, oh! how miserable the condition of the damned, who must listen incessantly for all eternity to the clamor and cries of the companions of their torments! The damned will be tormented by a ravenous hunger- They shall suffer hunger like dogs.” (Ps. 59:15). But they never will have a morsel of bread. Their thirst will be so great that all the waters of the ocean will not be able to quench it; but they will never be allowed a single drop. The rich glutton asked for a drop of water (Lk. 16: 23-24); but he has not as yet had it , and he never, never will have it. THE FIRE OF HELL The pain which most severely torments the senses of the damned arises from the fire of hell, which tortures the sense of touch.- “The vengeance on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms” (Sirach 7:9).“Hence, in passing sentence, the Lord makes special mention of it- “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire.” (Matt 25:41). Even in this life, the pain of fire is the greatest of all torments; but according to St. Augustine, our fire, compared with the fire of hell, is but painted fire. St. Vincent Ferrer says, that in comparison with the fire of hell our fire is cold. The reason is, that the fire of this earth has been created for our use; but God has made the fire of hell purposely to torment the damned. As Tertullian remarks:“Fire which is made for the use of man in this world, is very different from that which is used for the justice of God.” The wrath of God lights up this avenging fire-. “A fire is kindled in My rage” (Jer. 15:14). Hence, the Prophet Isaiah calls the fire of hell the spirit of heat-. “If the Lord shall wash away the filth of the daughters of Sion by the spirit of burning”. (Isa. 4:4). The damned will be sent, not to the fire, but into the fire. “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire.” Thus, like a piece of wood in the furnace, they will be surrounded by fire. They will have an abyss of fire below, an abyss of fire above, and an abyss of fire on every side. If they touch, or see, or breathe, they touch and see, and breathe nothing but fire. They will live in fire, like a fish in water. But this fire will not only surround the damned, but will also enter into their very bowels to torment them. Their bodies will become all fire. Thus, this fire will burn the bowels, the heart, the brain, the blood within the veins, and even the marrow within the bones.

Each of the damned will be in himself a furnace of fire-. “Thou shalt make them as a furnace of fire”-(Ps. 20:10).

To conceive some notion of this pain, consider that, should a person lose a jewel worth a hundred crowns, the loss would occasion great pain, but were the jewel worth two hundred crown, his

pain is doubled; and if it were worth four hundred crown, the pain is still greater. In a word, the pain which he suffers increases in proportion to the value of what he has lost. What have the damned lost? They have lost God who is an infinite good. Hence St. Thomas says that the pain of the damned is, in a certain manner, infinite.

This pain is dreaded only by the Saints. St. Ignatius of Loyola used to say: Lord, I am willing to bear every pain, but not the pain of being deprived of Thee. But, because they live in the midst of darkness, sinners who are content to live for months and years without God do not understand this pain. However, they will know at death the great good which they lose. At its departure from this world, the soul, as St. Antonine says, instantly sees that it has been created for God. Hence it will suddenly rush forward to embrace its Sovereign Good: but, if it be in sin, God will cast it off. If a dog sees a hare, what efforts does he not make to break his chains and seize his prey. At its separation from the body, the soul is naturally drawn to God, but sin drags it away and sends it to hell, at a distance from him. Your iniquities, says the Prophet Isaiah, have divided between you and your God. (Isa. 59:2) The entire, then, of the hell of the damned consists in that first word of the sentence of their condemnation-Depart from Me. You cursed. Go, Jesus Christ shall say; I do not wish you ever again to see My face. When Absalom heard that David condemned him never more to appear before him, he said: “Tell my father either to permit me to see his face, or to put me to death” (II kings, 14:24). To one of his grandees, whom he saw guilty of irreverence in the church, Philip II said: “Do not dare ever again to appear in my presence.” So great was the pain which the nobleman felt, that, after having returned home, he died of grief. What will be the anguish of the reprobate at the hour of death, when God will say to him: Begone; I will never see you again! “I will hide My face from thee, and they shall be devoured, all evils and afflictions shall find them. So that they shall say in that day: In truth it is because God is not with me, that these evils have found me” (Deut. 31:17) .On the Day of Judgment Jesus Christ will say to the reprobate: You are no longer mine; I am no longer yours- “Call his name not, my people; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours” (Hos 1:9).

hate the Three Divine Persons, and among them they will hate in a special manner the Son of God, who once died for their salvation; they will curse His wounds, His Blood, His Pains, and His Death.

THE ETERNITY OF HELL “And these shall go into everlasting punishment.” (Matt 25:46) Where Hell not eternal, it would not be Hell. Torments which continue but a short time, are a severe punishment. The man who is afflicted with an abscess or cancer submits to the knife or the cautery. The pain is very sharp; but, because it is soon over, the torture is not very great. But, should the incision or cauterization last for a week, or for an entire month, how frightful should be his agony! A slight pain in the eye, or in the teeth, when it lasts for a long time, becomes insupportable. Even a comedy, a musical entertainment, would it continue for an entire day, produces intolerable tediousness. And would it last for a month, or for a year, who could bear it? What then must hell be, where the damned are compelled, not to listen to the same comedy or the same music, nor to submit merely to pains in the eyes, or in the teeth, or to the torture of the knife, or of the red-hot iron, but to suffer all pains and all torments? And for how long? For all eternity- “They shall be tortured forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10) “This belief in eternity is an article of faith; it is not an opinion, but a truth attested by God in so many places in Holy Scripture – Depart from Me. You accursed, into everlasting fire. And these shall go into everlasting punishment (Matt 25:41-46);“Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction (II Thess. 1:9): ” Every one shall be salted with fire” (Mk 9:48). As salt prevents putrefaction, so the fire of hell, while it tortures the damned, performs the office of salt by preserving their life.

Now, how great would be the folly of the man who, for the sake of a day’s amusements, would voluntarily condemn himself to be shut up in a dungeon for twenty or thirty years! If hell lasted but a hundred, or even but two or three hundred years it would be the extreme of folly in a Christian to condemn himself to fire for two or three hundred years for the vile pleasure of a moment. But there is not the question of thirty, of a hundred, or of a hundred thousand years; but there is question of eternity; there is question of suffering forever the same torments-torments which will never end, and will never be mitigated in the slightest degree. The Saints then had reason, as long as they were on this earth, and in danger of being lost, to weep and tremble. Blessed Isaiah, even while he lived in the desert in fasting and penitential rigors wept and said: Ah! Unhappy me, who am not as yet free from the danger of losing my soul.

THE WEIGHT OF ETERNITY

He that enters hell, will not depart from it for all eternity. This thought made David tremble and say; let not the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.(Ps. 69 : 16) “As soon as the damned fall into that pit of torments, its mouth is closed never to be opened. In hell there is a gate for admission, but none for egress. There will be a descent, says Eusebius, “but there will be no ascent.” In explaining the words of the Psalmist, this author says, and let not the pit shut her mouth; because, when it shall have receive them, it will be closed above and opened downward! As long as the sinner remains on this earth; he may hope to reverse the sentence of his damnation; but as soon as death overtakes him in sin, all his hopes are at an end forever-“when the wicked man is dead, there shall be no hope any more” (Prov.11:7). Perhaps the damned may flatter themselves with a false hope, and thus find some relief in their despair. The man who is mortally wounded, confined to his bed, and given over by his physician, may console himself with the hope of finding a physician or a remedy to heal his wounds. The man who is condemned to the galleys for life may also find comfort in the expectation of being one day delivered from his chains. And may not the damned at least say: who knows but I shall one day escape from this prison? And thus delude himself with this false hope. No, in hell there is no hope, whether true or false: there is no perhaps-“I will set before thy face”. (Ps. 49:21). The unhappy damned will always see the sentence of their reprobation written before their eyes. In it they will read, that they will weep forever in that pit of torments-“And many shall awake: some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always”. (Dan. 12:2). Hence the damned not only suffer the torments of each moment, but in each moment they endure the pain of eternity, saying, what I now suffer, I must suffer forever. “They bear”, says Tertullian, “the weight of eternity.” Let us then pray to the Lord in the words of St. Augustine: “here burn, here cut, here spare not, that you may spare for eternity”. The chastisements of this life can pass away: Thy arrows pass; but the pains of the next life last forever, the voice of Thy thunder in a wheel.” Let us dread these punishments. Let us dread that thunder of eternal damnation, which will issue from the mouth of the judge in passing sentence against the wicked: “Depart from me, you cursed into everlasting “fire”, the Psalmist, says: “The voice of Thy thunder in a wheel” (Ps. 77:19). A wheel is a figure of eternity, which has no end-“I have drawn My sword out of its sheath, not to be turned back” (Ezk. 21:5). The punishment of hell will be great; but what ought to terrify us more is that it will be irrevocable.

Besides, since the damned are incapable of making satisfaction for their sins, their punishment should be necessarily eternal. In this life penitent sinners can atone for their iniquities, only in as much as the merits of Jesus Christ are applied to them. But, from the application of these merits, the reprobates are excluded. Hence, since they cannot appease the anger of God, and since their sin is eternal, their punishment also must be eternal-“He shall not give to God his ransom,… and he shall labour forever” (Ps. 18:8-9). Hence Belluacensis says; there sin can be forever punished, and can never be expiated; for, according to St. Augustine, “there the sinner cannot repent”. Therefore the wrath of the Lord shall be always provoked against him-“The people with whom the Lord is angry forever” (Mal. 1:4). Moreover, the damned, though God shall wish to pardon them, are unwilling to be pardoned; for their will is obstinate and confirmed in hatred against God. And St. Jerome says that the reprobates “are insatiable in the desire of sinning”. Hence, because the damned refuse to be healed, their wounds are incurable-Why is my wound desperate, so as to refuse to be healed? (Jer. 15:18).

ETERNITY IS UNCHANGEABLE In this life, death is greatly feared by sinners: but in hell, it will be most ardently desired-“Men shall seek death, and shall not find it; and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them” (Rev. 9:6). Hence St. Jerome has written: “O death, how sweet should you be to those to whom you have been so full of bitterness”. David says, that death will feast on the damned-“Death shall feed upon them”. In explaining this passage, St. Bernardine observes that as, in feeding, sheep eat the blades of grass, and leave the roots untouched; so death feeds on the damned: it kills them every moment, but leaves them life in order to continue to kill them by pains for all eternity. Thus, according to St. Gregory, the damned die every moment without ever dying. Delivered up to avenging flames, they will die always. A man who dies through pain is an object of pity to all who behold him. Perhaps the damned, too, experience commiseration from others? None; they die every moment, and have not, and never will have, anyone to take compassion on them. The Emperor Zeno, being one-day shut up in a pit, continually cried out: for pity’s sake, open this grave and release me. But no one heard him, and he was found dead, after having eaten the flesh off his arms.

THE REMORSE OF THE DAMNED “Their worm dieth not” (Mark 9: 47)

die, O God! (1 Kings 14:13). Oh God! what torture will each of the damned feel in thinking that he was the cause of his own damnation! At present, our past life appears to us but a dream, a moment. But what will he who is in hell think of the fifty or sixty years, which he spent on this earth, when he will be in the abyss of eternity, and, after the lapse of a hundred and a thousand millions of years, will see that this hell only begins? But were these fifty or sixty years all years of pleasure?

THE AWFUL VISION OF HELL, GIVEN TO THE CHILDREN OF FATIMA

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