The Holy Sacrifice and the Holy Priesthood

For 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.

-Malachi 1:11 DRB

The Mass is a wonderful thing… A perfect Sacrifice to God the Father, on our behalf, by Jesus Christ, both Priest and Victim… Here is what the Catechism of the Council of Trent says about this:

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 door of this victim that, bestowing on 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.

A wonderful thing after Mass today, at St. Anne’s, as I finished praying the Evening Liturgy of the Hours, a young man came up to me and asked me about the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation or Penance. He had not gone for quite some times. Been there, done that, you know what I mean? Apparently, some things I might have said might have jogged some discernment in some of the youth, as they had a meeting the other day to plan for the coming catechetical year. I discussed with them the importance of the Mass, namely, the Eucharist. St. Paul talks about how we should “discern the body” before partaking of the “cup of the Lord”… Why? The Eucharist is not a right, it is a gift. It is a gift to those who are in a state of grace. I admitted to them how I used to receive “unworthily,” and how that made me feel even worse than if I didn’t receive at all. Why? St. Paul tells us that if we receive the Body and Blood of our Lord unworthily, we “eat and drink judgment on ourselves”…

Forgive my use of a Protestant version, but it is easier for my readers than the Douay-Rheims:

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (27) Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. (28) Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. (29) For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. (30) That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. (31) But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged.

-1 Corinthians 11:26-31 ESV

When I attended a Missouri Synod (hardcore branch) Lutheran service 2 years ago (Not in place of Catholic Mass of course), I was surprised to find that they had large cards in every pew: “We practice CLOSED Communion”… This basically means that, they take their “eucharist” seriously. A non-Lutheran cannot receive their “eucharist”. If the Lutherans give so much glory and honor to their normal piece of bread (Lutheran clergy do not have a valid priestly ordination, thus they cannot confect the Eucharist; the same is true with Anglican orders), then we should at least take care to advise those we know, that they must be Roman Catholic first, and in a state of a grace second, to receive Holy Communion, lest we too be responsible for such a sacrilege.

So, I gave this young man a quick “crash course” in how to go to Confession. I gave him my Prayer book, which gives the formula. When I was younger, I remember that the priest required me to say my Act of Contrition. They don’t ask anymore, and I asked the priest today if I should say it, he said “after”… Anyway, this young man walked out after receiving the grace of the Sacrament, prayed his Penance, and with a big smile on his face, gave me a hug… “Thank you… I feel so much better”… That’s the sort of reaction I tried to describe to them last week… the feeling of actually receiving the Body of our Lord, worthily… What a joy! There’s nothing like it. It always feels like a huge burden is lifted… Talk about a “personal relationship” with our Lord… There’s nothing more “personal”, as our Protestant brothers and sisters phrase it, than receiving Christ Himself, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity… everyday if possible.

Now, on a related, but separate topic. I had 3 people ask me if I was a seminarian today at St. Anne’s. Sorry, I am not… “We’ll see” I told all of them, including Father Tran. One of them was a lady after me in line. I was next, and then she called me to share a story with me. She said, years ago, her son died in Vietnam… She said she came to the side altar, where the tabernacle is to pray. That was when the altar rail was still there, she added. As she was praying, and weeping, the statue of our Lord, which is a Sacred Heart statue, manifested a miracle. The Heart of our Lord began to bleed. It dripped onto the altar itself. She went up to clean it up, and then it vanished. “The Lord listens to us, he does listen” she said with a smile on her face. She said, she hasn’t told many because they may not believe. Then I was next for Confession, but before I went in, I said to her “Thank you for sharing that story, I do believe it… I do! God Bless you.” What a wonderful story to set the tone for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass…

Anyway, what I was going to say was… I don’t know if I have a vocation. I will pray some more, and when my Master’s program is over, perhaps my vocation will be clear. However, I encourage those who receive my posts, either for yourself, or those whom you may forward this to… Have an open heart for God’s call… I wanted to share some videos and a slide show. The first one drove me to tears when I first watched it weeks ago… The Catholic faith is such a beautiful thing, and for me to attempt to describe it, will never do it justice…

We need holy priests of God.

God Bless you all.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,

Laurence A. Gonzaga

These are short clips… very powerful… very moving…

1. God in the Streets of New York (short video, 3 mins)

2. Fishers of Men (Trailer, 3 mins; I ordered the full DVD)

3. Sisters of St. John the Baptist (short video, 3 mins)

4. FSSP Presentation (1 min)