Wednesday, October 27, 2010

77 Graces and Fruits to be Derived from Devout Attendance at Holy Mass

"He who devoutly hears Holy Mass will receive a great vigor to enable him to resist mortal sin, and there shall be pardoned to him all venial sins which he may have committed up to that hour." - St. Augustine, Sup. Can. Quia passus, de Consecr. dist. 2.

Taken from "Cochem's Explanation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass"
by Fr. Martin Cochem,

1. For thy salvation God the Father sends His beloved Son down from heaven.

2. For thy salvation the Holy Spirit changes bread and wine into the true body and blood of Christ.

3. For thy sake the Son of God comes down from heaven and conceals Himself under the form of the sacred host.

4. He even abases Himself to such an extent as to be present in the minutest particle of the sacred host.

5. For thy salvation He renews the saving mystery of the incarnation.

6. For thy salvation He is born anew into the world in a mystic manner whenever holy Mass is celebrated.

7. For thy salvation He performs upon the altar the same acts of worship that He performed when on earth.

8. For thy salvation He renews His bitter passion in order that thou mayest participate in it.

9. For thy salvation He mystically renews His death, and sacrifices for Thee His precious life.

10. For thy salvation He sheds His blood in a mystic manner, and offers it up for thee to the Divine Majesty.

11. With this precious blood He sprinkles thy soul and purifies it from every stain.

12. For thee Christ offers Himself as a true burnt-offering, and renders to the God-head the supreme honor which is its due.

13. By offering this act of worship to God thou dost make reparation for the glory which thou hast failed to give Him.

14. For thee Christ offers Himself to God as a sacrifice of praise, thus atoning for thy omissions in praising His holy name.

15. By offering to God this oblation which Christ offers thou givest Him greater praise than do the holy angels.

16. For thee Christ offers Himself as a perfect sacrifice of thanksgiving, making compensation for all failures on thy part to render thanks.

17. By offering to God Christ's act of thanksgiving thou dost make ample acknowledgment of all the benefits He had bestowed on thee.

18. For thee Christ offers Himself as the all-powerful victim, reconciling thee to the God Whom thou hast offended.

19. He pardons thee all thy venial sins, provided thou art firmly resolved to forsake them.

20. He also makes reparation for many of thy sins of omission, when thou didst leave undone the good thou mightest have done.

21. He removes many of the imperfections attached to thy good deeds.

22. He forgives thee the sins, unknown or forgotten, which thou hast never mentioned in confession.

23. He offers Himself as a victim to make satisfaction for a part at least of thy debts and transgressions.

24. Each time thou hearest Mass thou canst do more to pay the penalty due to thy sins than by the severest work of penance.

25. Christ places to thy credit a portion of His merits, which thou mayest offer to God the Father in expiation of thy offenses.

26. For thee Christ offers Himself as the most efficacious peace-offering, interceding for thee as earnestly as He interceded for His enemies on the cross.

27. His precious blood pleads for thee in words as countless as the drops which issued from His sacred veins.

28. Each of the adorable wounds His sacred body bore is a voice calling aloud for mercy for thee.

29. For the sake of this propitiatory victim the petitions proffered during Mass will be granted far sooner than those that are proffered at other times.

30. Never canst thou pray so well as whilst present at Mass.

31. This is so because Christ unites His prayers to thine, and offers them to His heavenly Father.

32. He aquaints Him with thy needs and the dangers to which thou art exposed, and makes thy eternal salvation His particular concern.

33. The angels also, who are present, plead for thee, and present thy poor prayers before the throne of God.

34. On thy behalf the priest says Mass by virtue of which the evil enemy will not be suffered to approach thee.

35. For thee and for thy everlasting salvation he says Mass, and offers that holy sacrifice to God Almighty.

36. When thou hearest Mass, thou art thyself in spirit a priest, empowered by Christ to offer the Mass both for thyself and others.

37. By offering this holy sacrifice thou dost present to the Blessed Trinity the most acceptable of all oblations.

38. Thou dost offer an oblation precious indeed, of greater value than all things in heaven and earth.

39. Thou dost offer an oblation precious indeed, for it is none other than God himself.

40. By this sacrifice thou dost honor God as He alone is worthy to be honored.

41. By this sacrifice thou dost give infinite satisfaction to the most Holy Trinity.

42. Thou mayest present this glorious oblation as thine own gift, for Christ Himself gave it unto thee.

43. When thou hearest Mass aright, thou dost perform an act of highest worship.

44. By hearing Mass thou dost pay the most profound reverence, the most loyal homage, to the sacred humanity of Our Lord.

45. It is the best means whereby to venerate the passion of Christ, and obtain a share in its fruits.

46. It is also the best means of venerating the Blessed Mother of God, and increasing her joy.

47. By hearing Mass thou canst give greater honor to the angels and saints than by reciting many prayers.

48. By hearing Mass devoutly thou canst also enrich thy soul more than by aught else in the world.

49. For in this act thou dost perform a good work of the highest value.

50. It is a signal exercise of pure faith, which will receive a great reward.

51. When thou dost bow down before the sacred host and the sacred chalice, thou dost perform a supreme act of adoration.

52. For each time thou dost gaze reverently upon the sacred host thou wilt receive a recompense from heaven.

53. Each time thou dost smite thy breast with compunction some of thy sins are remitted to thee.

54. If thou hearest Mass in a state of mortal sin, God offers thee the grace of conversion.

55. If thou hearest Mass in a state of grace, God gives thee an augmentation of grace.

56. In holy Mass thou dost spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink His blood.

57. Thou art privileged to behold with thine eyes Christ hidden under the sacramental veil, and to be beheld by Him.

58. Thou dost receive the priest's benediction, which is confirmed by Christ in heaven.

59. Through thy diligence in hearing Mass thou wilt also obtain corporal and temporal blessings.

60. Furthermore, thou wilt be preserved from many misfortunes that would otherwise befall thee.

61. Thou wilt also be strengthened against temptations which would otherwise have vanquished thee.

62. Holy Mass will also be to thee a means of obtaining the grace of a holy death.

63. The love thou hast shown for Holy Mass wilt secure for thee the special succor of angels and saints in thy last moments.

64. The remembrance of the Masses heard in thy life time will be a sweet solace to thee in the hour of death, and inspire thee with confidence in the divine mercy.

65. They will not be forgotten when thou dost stand before the strict Judge and will incline Him to show thee favor.

66. Thou needest not fear a long and terrible purgatory if thou hast already to a great extent atoned for thy sins by frequently assisting at Holy Mass.

67. One Mass devoutly heard will do more to mitigate the pains of purgatory than any act of penance, however difficult of performance.

68. One Mass in thy lifetime will be of greater service to thee than many said for thee after death.

69. Thou wilt attain a high place in heaven, which will be thine to all eternity.

70. Thy felicity in heaven will, moreover, be increased by every Mass thou hearest on earth.

71. No prayers offered for thy friends will be as efficacious as a single Mass heard and offered on their behalf.

72. Thou canst amply recompense all thy benefactors by hearing Mass for their intention.

73. The best help, the greatest consolation, thou canst afford the afflicted, the sick, the dying, is to hear Mass for them.

74. By this same means thou canst even obtain for sinners the grace of conversion.

75. Thou canst also earn for all faithful Christians saving and salutary graces.

76. For the suffering souls in purgatory thou canst procure abundant refreshment.

77. And if it is not within thy power to have Mass said for thy departed friends thou canst by devout assistance at the holy sacrifice release them from the tormenting flames.

What dost thou now think of the holy Mass O Christian? Can it be supposed that in the whole world there is any other good work whereby so many graces and fruits are placed within our reach? If Christians only knew how to profit by holy Mass, they might aquire greater riches than are to be found in all the things God has created.

To omit hearing Mass daily merely from carelessness or indolence would be a proof that we are either ignorant of, or indifferent to, the divine treasures it contains. God grant that those who read this may in future appreciate more fully this pearl of great price, value it more highly, seek it more diligently!

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