Cleansing Fire

Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church

Let’s Pray It, Shall We?

June 26th, 2009, Promulgated by Gen

I was reading some articles from Pope Pius XII, and he declared of the Mass, “pray it.” So many people don’t affix any spiritual value to the Mass. Indeed, the only value they see in the Mass is the money they throw so apathetically into the collection basket. This is wrong. The Mass is the most sublime and most perfect way to God, for through it, God is made manifest each and every day, at every hour and in every corner of the world. Pray the Mass, don’t just sit there “fulfilling the obligation.” Meditate upon each word spoken by the priest, as one should the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. The Church fathers knew what they were doing when they penned the original prayers, and our popes and bishops (with a few obvious exceptions) have continued the beautiful heritage of prayerfully translating these prayers into every language and, as it ought to be, the one true language of the Church. And, no, I do not mean Hindi. The prayerful aspect of Latin is what made the Mass so lofty, yet, at the same moment, so humble. The priest was a mediator between the people and God, offering a sacrifice on behalf of the people. Now, the priest is usually a puppet of an administrative body that lacks any true basis in theology. People used to “pray the Mass.” People used to be universally pious and orthodox. What has happened?

I think we all know.

Anyways, I just thought that I should share that little tidbit with you. “Pray the Mass.” Don’t “attend the Mass.” Don’t “celebrate the Mass.” Pray it. It’s a sacrifice, not Mardi Gras.

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7 Responses to “Let’s Pray It, Shall We?”

  1. Anonymous says:

    AMEN!

  2. BTW, EWTN will be broadcasting the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on July 1 at 8 a.m. and again July 2 at midnight. All times are eastern.

    http://www.ewtn.com/tv/index2.htm

    FYI – There are many vids out on youtube concerning the TLM. Plus websites like New Liturgical Movement, Rome of the West (which is St. Louis), Orbis Catholicus all usually have some vids of the TLM. If you're looking for anything specific, let me know thru a posting or email.

    Laudetur Jesus Christus!

  3. Lee Strong says:

    You might want to offer some advice to the folks who wrote the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For some reason they keep mentioning variations of the word "celebrating" when talking about the "Eucharistic celebration" (Mass).

    1348 – All have their own active parts to play in the celebration, each in his own way: readers, those who bring up the offerings, those who give communion, and the whole people whose "Amen" manifests their participation.

    1356 – If from the beginning Christians have celebrated the Eucharist and in a form whose substance has not changed despite the great diversity of times and liturgies, it is because we know ourselves to be bound by the command the Lord gave on the eve of his Passion: "Do this in remembrance of me."

    1364 – When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ's Passover, and it is made present the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present.

    and more …

    🙂

  4. Anonymous says:

    Well said. When you look at the prayers and invocations of the Holy Mass compared to the Novus Ordo, it is obvious the inferiorities of the NO. Just knowing what takes place on that High Altar is prayer enough. You can't help but fall deeply into the Mass. That is prayer. Another reason the noisy distruptive NO is inferior. We pray for the orthodox believers. We invoke the saints. We beg a share in their merits. We place our entire week's intentions on that Altar and it ascends heavenward. And when we spend our precious private moments with the Holy Eucharist, our hearts speak our intent to live out of Baptism and share in His salvific suffering. As you say, It isn't the Mardi Gras.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Mr. Strong, the CCC also mentions sacrifice quite a bit:

    1323 – "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"

    1360 – The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all "thanksgiving."

    1361 – The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of praise by which the Church sings the glory of God in the name of all creation. This sacrifice of praise is possible only through Christ: he unites the faithful to his person, to his praise, and to his intercession, so that the sacrifice of praise to the Father is offered through Christ and with him, to be accepted in him.

    1365 – Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice. The sacrificial character of the Eucharist is manifested in the very words of institution: "This is my body which is given for you" and "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood." In the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he "poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

    1366 – The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:
    [Christ], our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the night when he was betrayed," [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit.

    1367 – The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different." "In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner."[188]

    1368 – The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering.
    In the catacombs the Church is often represented as a woman in prayer, arms outstretched in the praying position. Like Christ who stretched out his arms on the cross, through him, with him, and in him, she offers herself and intercedes for all men.

    etc. etc.

  6. Gen says:

    I think that, more often than not, Catholics use the word "celebrate" synonymously with "say," as in, "say the Mass." This is where all the confusion comes in. However, I think we can still see glimmers of the past when the priest says "I am offering this Mass for . . ." If only our English translators didn't play fast and loose with the original documents.

  7. Anonymous says:

    It is an altar of sacrifice, not a dinner table.

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