To My Readers: This week guest poster John Gregory reminds us about what a treasure we have in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In an age of near universal apostasy, if any Traditionalist Catholic has access to a True Mass, remember how blessed you are by God and resolve never to take the Mass for granted!! John Gregory then reminds us of the duties and obligations we have in following the Ninth and Tenth Commandments.
God bless you all, my dear readers.---Introibo
THE
HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS AND FLEEING ALL UNCLEANNESS
By John Gregory
Christ also hath loved us, and
hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour
of sweetness (Ephesians 5: 2).
The
Eucharist as a Sacrifice
We must now proceed to explain its
nature as a Sacrifice, that pastors may understand what are the principal
instructions which they ought to impart to the faithful on Sundays and holy
days, regarding this mystery in conformity with the decree of the holy Council
(of Trent).
IMPORTANCE
OF INSTRUCTION ON THE MASS
This Sacrament is not only a
treasure of heavenly riches, which if turned to good account will obtain for us
the grace and love of God; but it also possesses a peculiar character, by which
we are enabled to make some return to God for the immense benefits he bestowed
upon us.
How grateful and acceptable to God
is this victim, if duly and legitimately immolated, is inferred from the
following consideration. Of the
sacrifices the Old Law it is written: Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldst
not; (Psalm 39: 7) and again: If thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would
indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted. (Psalm
50: 18) Now if these were so pleasing in the Lord’s sight that, as the
Scripture testifies, from them God smelled a sweet savour, (Genesis 8:
21)that is to say, they were grateful and acceptable to Him; what have we not
to hope from that Sacrifice in which is immolated and offered He Himself of
whom a voice from heaven twice proclaimed: This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. (Matthew 3: 17)
This mystery, therefore, pastors
should carefully explain, so that when the faithful are assembled at the
celebration of divine service, they may learn to meditate with attention and
devotion on the sacred things at which they are present.
Distinction
of Sacrament and Sacrifice
They should teach, then, in the
first place, that the Eucharist was instituted by Christ for two purposes: one,
that it might be the heavenly food of our souls, enabling us to support and
preserve spiritual life; and the other, that the Church might have a perpetual
Sacrifice, by which our sins might be expiated, and our heavenly Father,
oftentimes grievously offended by our crimes, might be turned away from wrath
to mercy, from the severity of a just chastisement to clemency. Of this thing we may observe a type and
resemblance in the Paschal lamb, which was wont to be offered and eaten by the
children of Israel as a sacrament and a sacrifice.
Nor could our Saviour, when about
to offer Himself to God the Father on the altar of the cross, have given any
more illustrious indication of His unbounded love towards us than by
bequeathing to us a visible Sacrifice, by which that bloody Sacrifice, which
was soon after to be offered once on the cross, would be renewed, and its
memory daily celebrated with the greatest utility, unto the consummation of
ages by the Church diffused throughout the world.
But (between the Eucharist as a
Sacrament and a Sacrifice) the difference is very great; for as a Sacrament it
is perfected by consecration; as a Sacrifice, all its force consists in its
oblation. When, therefore, kept in a
pyx, or borne to the sick, it is a Sacrament, not a Sacrifice. As a Sacrament also, it is to them that
receive it a source of merit, and brings with it all those advantages which
have been already mentioned; but as a Sacrifice, it is not only a source of
merit, but also of satisfaction. For as,
in His Passion, Christ the Lord merited and satisfied for us; so also those who
offer this Sacrifice, by which they communicate with us, merit the fruit of His
Passion, and satisfy. [He who
celebrates Mass worthily and he who communicates worthily merit by those
personal acts an increase of grace and glory.
The communicant receives moreover from the Sacrament the fruits explained
above on pages 241 ff. But Communion
does not effect directly, as does the Mass, satisfaction for sin.]
The
Mass Is a True Sacrifice
PROOF
FROM THE COUNCIL OF TRENT
With regard to the institution of
this Sacrifice, the holy Council of Trent has left no room for doubt, by
declaring that it was instituted by our Lord at His Last Supper; while it
condemns under anathema all those who assert that in it is not offered to God a
true and proper Sacrifice; or that to offer means nothing else than that Christ
is given as our spiritual food.
Nor did (the Council) omit
carefully to explain that to God alone is offered this Sacrifice. For although the Church sometimes offers
Masses in honor and in memory of the Saints, yet she teaches that the Sacrifice
is offered, not to them, but to God alone, who has crowned the Saints with
immortal glory. Hence the priest never
says: I offer Sacrifice to thee Peter, or to thee Paul; but,
while he offers Sacrifice to God alone, he renders Him thanks for the signal
victory won by the blessed martyrs, and thus implores their patronage, that
they, whose memory we celebrate on earth, may vouchsafe to intercede for us in
heaven.
PROOF
FROM SCRIPTURE
This doctrine, handed down by the
Catholic Church, concerning the truth of this Sacrifice, she received from the
words of our Lord, when, on that last night, committing to His Apostles these
same sacred mysteries, He said: Do this for a commemoration of me; (Luke
22: 19; 1 Corinthians 11: 24) for then, as was defined by the holy Council, He
ordained them priests, and commanded that they and their successors in the
priestly office, should immolate and offer His Body.
Of this the words of the Apostle
to the Corinthians also afford a sufficient proof: You cannot drink the
chalice of the Lord, and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers of the
table of the Lord and of the table of devils.
As then by the table of devils must (1 Corinthians 10: 20) be
understood the altar on which sacrifice was offered to them; so also—if the
conclusion proposed to himself by the Apostle is to be legitimately drawn—by
the table of the Lord can be understood nothing else than the altar on
which Sacrifice was offered to the Lord.
Should we look for figures and
prophecies of this Sacrifice in the Old Testament, in the first place Malachy
most clearly prophesied thereof in these words: From the rising of the sun
even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place
there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation; for my
name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachy 1: 11)
Moreover, this victim was
foretold, as well before as after the promulgation of the Law, by various kinds
of sacrifices; for this victim alone, as the perfection and completion of all,
comprises all the blessings which were signified by the other sacrifices. In nothing, however, do we behold a more
lively image of the Eucharistic Sacrifice than in that of Melchisedech; for the
Saviour Himself offered to God the Father, at his Last Supper, His body and
blood, under the appearances of bread and wine, declaring that He was
constituted a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedech. (Hebrews 7: 3)
Excellence
of the Mass
THE
MASS IS THE SAME SACRIFICE AS THAT OF THE CROSS
We therefore confess that the
Sacrifice of the Mass is and ought to be considered one and the same Sacrifice
as that of the cross, for the victim is one and the same, namely, Christ our
Lord, who offered Himself, once only, a bloody Sacrifice on the altar of the
cross. The bloody and unbloody victim are not two, but one victim only, whose
Sacrifice is daily renewed in the Eucharist, in obedience to the command of our
Lord: Do this for a commemoration of me.
The priest is also one and the
same, Christ the Lord; for the ministers who offer Sacrifice, consecrate the
holy mysteries, not in their own person, but in that of Christ, as the words of
consecration itself show, for the priest does not say: This is the body of
Christ, but, This is my body; and thus, acting in the Person of
Christ the Lord, he changes the substance of the bread and wine into the true
substance of His body and blood.
THE
MASS A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE, THANKSGIVING AND PROPITIATION
This being the case, it must be
taught without any hesitation that, as the holy Council (of Trent) has also
explained, the sacred and holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a Sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving only, or a mere commemoration of the Sacrifice performed
on the cross, but also truly a propitiatory Sacrifice, by which God is appeased
and rendered propitious to us. If,
therefore, with a pure heart, a lively faith, and affected with an inward
sorrow for our transgressions, we immolate and offer this most holy victim, we
shall, without doubt, obtain mercy from the Lord, and grace in time of need;
for so delighted is the Lord with the odor of this victim that, bestowing upon
us the gift of grace and repentance, He pardons our sins. Hence this usual prayer of the Church: As
often as the commemoration of this victim is celebrated, so often is the work
of our salvation being done; that is to say, through this unbloody
Sacrifice flow to us the most plenteous fruits of that bloody victim.
THE
MASS PROFITS BOTH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Pastors should next teach that
such is the efficacy of this Sacrifice that its benefits extend not only to the
celebrant and communicant, but to all the faithful, whether living with us on
earth, or already numbered with those who are dead in the Lord, but whose sins
have not yet been fully expiated. For,
according to the most authentic Apostolic tradition, it is not less available
when offered for them, than when offered for the sins of the living, their
punishments, satisfactions, calamities and difficulties of every sort.
It is hence easy to perceive, that
all Masses, as being conducive to the common interest and salvation of all the
faithful, are to be considered common to all.
The
Rites and Ceremonies of the Mass
The Sacrifice (of the Mass) is
celebrated with many solemn rites and ceremonies, none of which should be
deemed useless or superfluous. On the
contrary, all of them tend to display the majesty of this august Sacrifice, and
to excite the faithful when beholding these saving mysteries, to contemplate
the divine things which lie concealed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. On these rites and ceremonies we shall not
dwell, since they require a more lengthy exposition than is compatible with the
nature of the present work; moreover priests can easily consult on the subject
some of the many booklets and works that have been written by pious and learned
men.
What has been said so far will,
with the divine assistance, be found sufficient to explain the principal things
which regard the Holy Eucharist both as a Sacrament and Sacrifice.
THE
NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS
“Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour’s house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his
hand-maid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is his.” (Exodus 20:
17)
But fornication and all
uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as
becometh the saint. . . . For know ye this, and understand that no fornicator,
or unclean, or covetous person (which is a serving of idols), hath inheritance
in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5: 3, 5)
IMPORTANCE
OF INSTRUCTION ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS
It is to be observed, in the first
place, that these two precept, which were delivered last in order, furnish a
general principle for the observance of all the rest. What is commanded in these two amounts to
this, that if we wish to observe the preceding precepts of the law, we must be
particularly careful not to covet. For
he who does not covet, being content with what he has, will not desire what
belongs to others, but will rejoice in their prosperity, will give glory to the
immortal God, will render Him boundless thanks, and will observe the Sabbath,
that is, will enjoy perpetual repose, and will respect his superiors. In fine, he will injure no man in word or
deed or otherwise; for the root of all evil is concupiscence, which hurries its
unhappy victims into every species of crime and wickedness. Keeping these considerations in mind, the
pastor should be more diligent in explaining this Commandment, and the faithful
more ready to hear (his instruction).
WHY
THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS ARE EXPLAINED HERE TOGETHER
We have united these two
Commandments because, since their subject-matter is similar, they may be
treated together. However, the pastor
may explain them either together or separately, according as he may deem it
more effective for his exhortation and admonitions. If, however, he has undertaken the exposition
of the Decalogue, he should point out in what these two Commandments are
dissimilar; how one covetousness differs from another—a difference noticed by Saint
Augustine, in his book of Questions on Exodus. The one covetousness
looks only to utility and interest, the other to unlawful desire and criminal
pleasure. He, for instance, who covets a
field or house, pursues profit rather than pleasure, while he who covets
another man’s wife yields to a desire of pleasure, not of profit.
NECESSITY
OF PROMULGATING THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS
The promulgation of these two
Commandments was necessary for two reasons.
The first is to explain the sixth and seventh Commandments. Reason alone shows that to prohibit adultery
is also to prohibit the desire of another man’s wife, because, were the desire
lawful, its indulgence must be so too; nevertheless, many of the Jews, blinded
by sin, could not be induced to believe that such desires were prohibited by
God. Nay, even after the Law had been
promulgated and become known, many who professed themselves its interpreters,
continued in the same error, as we learn from these words of our Lord recorded
in Saint Matthew: You have heard that it was said to them of old: “Thou
shalt not commit adultery,” but I say to you, etc. (Matthew 5: 28)
The second reason (for the
promulgation) of these two Commandments is that they distinctly and in express
terms prohibit some things of which the sixth and seventh Commandments do not
contain an explicit prohibition. The
seventh Commandment, for instance, forbids an unjust desire or endeavor to take
what belongs to another; but this Commandment further prohibits even to covet
it in any way, even though it could be acquired justly and lawfully, if we
foresee that by such acquisition our neighbor would suffer some loss.
THESE
TWO COMMANDMENTS TEACH GOD’S LOVE FOR US
AND
OUR NEED OF HIM
But before we come to the
exposition of the Commandments, the faithful are first to be informed that by
this law we are taught not only to restrain our inordinate desires, but also to
know the boundless love of God towards us.
By the preceding Commandments God
had, as it were, fenced us round with safeguards, securing us and ours against
injury of every sort; but by the addition of these two Commandments, He
intended chiefly to provide against the injuries which we might inflict on
ourselves by the indulgence of inordinate desires, as would easily happen were
we at liberty to covet all things indiscriminately. By this law then, which forbids to covet, God
has blunted in some degree the keenness of desire, which excites to every kind
of evil, so that by reason of His command these desires are to some extent
diminished, and we ourselves, free from the annoying importunity of the
passions, are enabled to devote more time to the performance of the numerous
and important duties of piety and religion which we owe to God.
Nor is this the only lesson of
instruction which we derive from these Commandments. They also teach us that the divine law is to
be observed not only by the external performance of duties, but also by the
internal concurrence of the heart.
Between divine and human laws, then, there is this difference, that
human laws are fulfilled by an external compliance alone, whereas the laws of
God, since He reads the heart, require purity of heart, sincere and undefiled
integrity of soul.
The law of God, therefore, is a
sort of mirror, in which we behold the corruption of our own nature; and hence
these words of the Apostle: I had not known concupiscence, if the law did
not say: “Thou shalt not covet.” (Romans 7: 7) Concupiscence, which is the
fuel of sin, and which originated in sin, is always inherent in our fallen
nature; from it we know that we are born in sin, and, therefore, do we humbly
fly for assistance to Him, who alone can efface the stains of sin.
TWO
PARTS OF THESE COMMANDMENTS
In common with the other
Commandments, however, these two are partly mandatory, partly prohibitory.
Negative
Part
“THOU
SHALT NOT COVET”
With regard to the prohibitory
part, the pastor should explain what sort of concupiscence is prohibited by
this law, lest some may think that which is not sinful to be sinful.
WHAT
SORT OF CONCUP9ISCENCE IS NOT FORBIDDEN
Such is the concupiscence of the
spirit against the flesh; (Galatians 5: 17) or that which David so earnestly
desired, namely, to long after the justifications of God at all times. (Psalm
118: 20)
Concupiscence, then, is a certain
commotion and impulse of the soul, urging men to the desire of pleasures, which
they do not actually enjoy. As the other
propensities of the soul are not always sinful, neither is the impulse of concupiscence
always vicious. It is not, for instance,
sinful to desire food and drink; when cold, to wish for warmth; when warm, to
wish to become cool. This lawful species
of concupiscence was implanted in us by the Author of nature; but in
consequence of the sin of our first parents it passed the limits prescribed by
nature and became so depraved that it frequently excites to the desire of those
things which conflict with the spirit and reason.
However, if well regulated, and
kept within proper bounds, it is often still the source of no slight
advantage. In the first place, it leads
us to supplicate God continually, and humbly to beg of Him those things which
we most earnestly desire. Prayer is the
interpreter of our wishes; and if this lawful concupiscence did not exist
within us, prayer would be far less frequent in the Church of God. It also makes us esteem the gifts of God more
highly; for the more eagerly we desire anything, the dear and more pleasing
will be its possession to us. Finally,
the gratification which we receive from the acquisition of the desired object
increases the devotion of our gratitude to God.
If then it is sometimes lawful to
covet, it must be conceded that not every species of concupiscence is
forbidden. Saint Paul, it is true, says
that concupiscence is sin; (Romans 7: 20) but his words are to be
understood in the same sense as those of Moses, whom he cites, (Exodus 20: 17)
as the Apostle himself declares when, in his Epistle to the Galatians he calls
it the concupiscence of the flesh, for he says: Walk in the spirit,
and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. (Galatians 5: 16)
Hence that natural, well-regulated
concupiscence which does not go beyond its proper limits, is not prohibited;
still less do these Commandments forbid that spiritual desire of the virtuous
mind, which prompts us to long for those things that war against the flesh, for
the Sacred Scriptures themselves exhort us to such a desire: Covet ye my
words, (Wisdom 6: 12) Come over to me all ye that desire me.
(Ecclesiasticus 24: 26)
WHAT
SORT OF CONCUPISCENCE IS HERE PROHIBITED
It is not, then, the mere power of
desire, which can move either to a good or a bad object that is prohibited by
these Commandments; it is the indulgence of evil desire, which is called the
concupiscence of the flesh, and the fuel of sin, and which when
accompanied by the consent of the will, is always sinful. Therefore only that covetousness is forbidden
which the Apostle calls the concupiscence of the flesh, that is to say, those
motions of desire which are contrary to the dictates of reason and outstep the
limits prescribed by God.
TWO
KINDS OF SINFUL CONCUPISCENCE
This kind of covetousness is condemned,
either because it desires what is evil, such as adultery, drunkenness, murder,
and such heinous crimes, of which the Apostle says: Let us not covet evil
things, as they also coveted; (1 Corinthians 10: 6) or because, although
the objects may not be bad in themselves, yet there is some other reason which
makes it wrong to desire them, as when, for instance, God or His Church
prohibit their possession; for it is not permitted us to desire these things
which it is altogether unlawful to possess.
Such were, in the Old Law, the gold and silver from which idols were
made, and which the Lord in Deuteronomy forbade anyone to covet. (Deuteronomy
7: 25, 26)
Another reason why this sort of
vicious desire is condemned is that it has for its object that which belongs to
another, such as a house, maid-servant, field, wife, ox, ass and many other
things, all of which the law of God forbids us to covet, simply because they
belong to another. The desire of such
things, when consented to, is criminal, and is numbered among the most grievous
sins. For sin is committed the moment
the soul, yielding to the impulse of corrupt desires, is pleased with evil
things, and ether consents to, or does not resist them, as Saint James,
pointing out the beginning and progress of sin, teaches when he says: Every
man is tempted by his own concupiscence, being drawn away and allured; then,
when concupiscence hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; but sin, when it is
completed, begetteth death. (James 1: 14)
When, therefore, the Law says: Thou
shalt not covet, it means that we are not to desire those things which
belong to others. A thirst for what
belongs to others is intense and insatiable; for it is written: A covetous
man shall not be satisfied with money; (Ecclesiasticus 5: 9) and of such a
one Isaias says: Woe to you that join
house to house, and lay field to field. (Isaias 5: 8)
“HIS
WIFE”
The Commandment which forbids us
to covet the goods of our neighbor, is followed by another, which forbids us to
covet our neighbor’s wife—a law that prohibits not only the adulterer’s
criminal desire of his neighbor’s wife, but even the wish to marry her. For of old when a bill of divorce was
permitted, it might easily happen, that she who was put away by one husband
might be married to another. But the
Lord forbade the desire of another’s wife lest husbands might be induced to
abandon their wives, or wives conduct themselves with such bad temper towards
their husbands as to make it necessary to send them away.
But now this sin is more grievous
because the wife, although separated from her husband, cannot be taken marriage
by another until the husbands death. He,
therefore, who covets another man’s wife will easily fall from this into
another desire, for he will wish either the death of the husband or the commission
of adultery.
The same principle holds good with
regard to women who have been betrothed to another. To covet them is also unlawful; and whoever
strives to break their engagement violates one of the most holy of promises.
And if to covet the wedded wife of
another is entirely unlawful, it is on no account right to desire in marriage
the virgin who is consecrated to religion and to the service of God. But should anyone desire in marriage a
married woman whom he thinks to be single, and whom he would not wish to marry
if he knew she had a husband living, certainly he does not violate this
Commandment. Pharaoh (Genesis 12) and
Abimelech (Genesis 20), as the Scripture informs us, were betrayed into this
error; they wished to marry Sarah, supposing her to be unmarried, and to be the
sister, not the wife of Abraham.
Positive
Part
DETACHMENT
FROM RICHES ENJOINED
In order to make known the
remedies calculated to overcome the vice of covetousness, the pastor should
explain the positive part of the Commandment, which consists in this, that if
riches abound, we set not our hearts upon them, (Psalm 61: 11) that we be
prepared to sacrifice them for the sake of piety and religion, that we
contribute cheerfully towards the relief of the poor, and that, if we ourselves
are poor, we bear our poverty with patience and joy. And, indeed, if we are generous with our own
goods, we shall extinguish (in our own hearts) the desire of what belongs to
another.
Thoughts
which Help one to Keep these Commandments
In order to extinguish the fire of
passion, it will be found most efficacious to place before our eyes the evil
consequences of its indulgence.
Among those evils the first is
that by obedience to the impulse of passion, sin gains uncontrolled sway over
the soul; hence the Apostle warns us: Let not sin, therefore, reign in your
mortal body, so as to obey the lusts thereof. (Romans 6: 12) Just as
resistance to the passions destroys the power of sin, so indulgence of the
passions expels God from His kingdom and introduces sin in His Place.
Again, concupiscence, as Saint
James teaches, (James 1: 14) is the source from which flows every sin. Likewise Saint John says: All that is in
the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and
the pride of life. (1 John 2: 16)
A third evil of sensuality is that
it darkens the understanding. Blinded by
passion man comes to regard whatever he desires as lawful and even laudable.
Finally, concupiscence stifles the
seed of the divine word, sown in our souls by God, the great husbandman. Some, it is written in Saint Mark are
sown among thorns; these are they who hear the word, and the cares of the
world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust after other things, entering
in, choke the word , and it is made fruitless. (Mark 4: 18)
Chief
Ways in which These Two Commandments are Violated
They who, more than others, are
the slaves of concupiscence, the pastor should exhort with greater earnestness
to observe this Commandment. Such are
the following: those who are addicted to improper amusements, or who are
immoderately given to recreation; merchants, who wish for scarcity, and who
cannot bear that other buyers or sellers hinder them from selling at a higher
or buying at a lower rate; those who wish to see their neighbor reduced to want
in order that they themselves may profit in buying or selling; soldiers who
thirst for war, in order to enrich themselves with plunder; physicians, who
wish for the spread of disease; lawyers, who are anxious for a great number of
cases and litigations; and artisans who, through greed for gain, wish for a
scarcity of the necessaries of life in order that they may increase their
profits.
They too, sin gravely against this
Commandment, who, because they are envious of the praise and glory won by
others, strive to tarnish in some degree their fame, particularly if they
themselves are idle and worthless characters; for fame and glory are the reward
of virtue and industry, not of indolence and laziness.
Conclusion
In light of these teachings, we
are reminded that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass calls each soul to purity of
heart, clarity of mind, and fidelity to God’s law. The indulgence of impure desires does not
remain a private fault but becomes a doorway through which sin gains power over
the soul, darkens the understanding, and drives out the presence of God. By recognizing the grave consequences of
coveting what is forbidden and by contemplating the spiritual harm caused by
unchecked passion, the faithful are moved to vigilance, repentance, and renewed
commitment to virtue.
Therefore, let every Christian
strive to extinguish the first sparks of concupiscence, to guard the sanctity
of marriage and betrothal, and to cultivate a heart free from unlawful
desire. In doing so, we honor God,
preserve the integrity of our souls, and prepare ourselves to participate worthily in the sacred mysteries. May the grace
of Christ strengthen us to flee all uncleanness and to walk steadfastly in the
light of His truth so that we may enjoy the perpetual perfect liturgy, forever
unfolding the essence of God for our eternal adoration and felicity.
