Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena (ULRA)

FATHER MATEO ON THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS (continued)

DIVINE ADORATION, EXPIATION, THANKSGIVING AND SUPPLICATION

What is the Church’s definition of the Mass? The Holy Sacrifice is the adoration of Christ Jesus. The God-Man gives the same praise to the Father and the Trinity on the Altar that He gave them by His death on Calvary. The Son of God, Priest and Victim, adores God His Father. His adoration is divine!

Fundamentally, the Holy Sacrifice is the perfect expiation which Jesus Christ the God-Man offers to His Father, gravely offended by the criminal rebellion of sin. Thus, He Who is the Lamb without spot, is offered from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, and He offers His own Precious Blood as a Holocaust of propitiation for our countless sins and to save sinners. His expiation is divine.

What would be a theological consideration of the Mass? The Holy Sacrifice is the Eucharist, that is, the act of thanksgiving which Christ Jesus the God-Man makes to His Father in the name of ungrateful mankind. Without this supreme act of thanksgiving, our black ingratitude would call down upon us the wrath of Heaven. We have so many spiritual and temporal blessings to be thankful for:

1. The waters of Baptism,

2. The Baptism of Blood on Calvary,

3. The Baptism of fire in the cenacle on Pentecost,

4. Our adoption as children of the Father.

5. For the oceans of Grace that flow from the Sacraments!

6. For the Church, the ark of salvation, and in her the rock of Peter, the Roman Pontiff.

7. For the divine motherhood and universal mediation of Mary; for all her other privileges, which are so many graces given to us.

8. For the gift of gifts, the Eucharistic Sacrifice and the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which will endure until the end of time. “He loved them until the end” (Jn. 1 3:1 ).His thanksgiving is divine.

What other unusual prodigy is there on the Altar? The Holy Sacrifice is the impetration (supplication) prayer of Christ Jesus, the God-Man. Completely aware of our moral poverty, He asks the Father, with wisdom and mercy, for a shower of graces for us. He alone knows our needs; He alone can obtain them for us. He has said, “Father… thou hearest Me always”. (Jn. 1 1 :42).

This is a continuance of His role of advocate. He sends up a never-ending cry for us to the throne of the Most High. In a greater way than Moses, Jesus Christ at the Altar raises His pleading, pierced hands to protect us from the rigours of divine justice. The blessings He calls down upon us far surpass our sins. His impetration is divine.

There is no better way to sum up these reflections than to quote the definition of the Holy Sacrifice given by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII: “The Eucharistic Sacrifice of its very nature is the unbloody immolation of the divine Victim, which is made manifest in a mystical manner by the separation of the Sacred Species and by their oblation to the eternal Father. Holy Communion pertains to the integrity of the Mass, and to the partaking of the august Sacrament; but while it is obligatory for the priest who says the Mass, it is only something earnestly recommended to the faithful.“

Let us stop for a brief and spirited comment on these thoughts. We will share the tasty crumbs of this doctrinal bread. May none of them be lost. Take them and digest them with love.

The voice of Christ the Priest and Mediator, adoring, expiating, giving thanks and petitioning at the Altar, is the voice of the Catholic Church. The Mass is the official, social and public homage made by redeemed humanity, adoring, praising and blessing One God in three adorable Persons through the wounds of Christ its mediator, on the Altar. That is why one Mass gives more glory to God than all the miracles, than all the praises of angels and saints in the heavenly court. At the Altar, it is a God Who adores and praises God with an infinite glory.

Thus, the Mass is divine homage, at once a Sacrifice and a public prayer. It is not a private devotion, like the visits we make to the Blessed Sacrament, the Way of the Cross or the Rosary. It is the cry of the Church, of the Christian family which suffers exile and longs for Heaven.

I met Joseph Roche, India Animator, at St. Peter’s Church where their group celebrated the Holy Mass. I hope that he would send you some pictures. He told me that his sister was dying and she got well. She is now living in a nursing home. I am delighted that the Indian lady, Maria Rose, also got better after I celebrated Mass at the Tomb of Our Lord for her intention. God is continuously working miracles in the lives of the people who pray.

Prayerful best wishes,

Fr. Angelo Ison, OFM
St. Anthony’s Latin
Parish Church
Jaffa – Tel Aviv
ISRAEL

I was invited by Fr. Anwar Lazur of Sheikhupra Parish and Fr. Younas of Shorkot Cantonment respectively. We had to go to different places and so we left early in the morning at 6 a.m. for Sheikhupra by bike. We were there at about 8.30 a.m. Fr. Anwar Lazar welcomed us and, after Mass, I was given time to explain about the aim of Living Rosary. Then we signed up new members and distributed the Decade cards, Rosaries and other devotional items to the members. We left at 11 a.m. as we had planned to be in Faisalabad by 2 p.m. to visit Fr. Younas.

The bike chain broke while we were very near Faisalabad and it took time to repair. We parked our bike at the Railway station parking and left for Shorkot by bus. We hardly left Faisalabad when the police stopped the bus and took it to police station. We could not do anything except to wait and see. The new bus came and we were asked to board it. We reached Shorkot at 7.30 p.m. but the bus dropped us at a different place, because the area was not known to us. We again took a conveyance and traveled 20 more kilometers. Anyway, we were late but Fr. Younas and the people were waiting for us. Again, I explained about the aim of Living Rosary, signed up new members and then distributed the Decade cards and all the devotional items. There is a Rosary group also at Shorkot who wanted to join the Living Rosary. As they did not have a name for their group, they named it: St. Philomena Rosary Group. Fr. Younas requested me to put a sign board for the Living Rosary in the church. He said the church is on the G.T. Road and, if we put we put up this board, it will be a good sign for promoting the Living Rosary.

We left Faisalabad at 12.30 midnight and reached home at 2.30 a.m. It was really a long journey. Due to prolonged sitting, I have small boils on my back which are painful. Thank you for your love and support. God bless you all!

AFZAAL
PAKISTAN

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