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The Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, really present on the altar under the appearances of bread and wine, and offered to God for the living and the dead. It is one and the same sacrifice as that of the Cross, as in it the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are offered to God, to give Him supreme honour and glory, to thank Him for all His benefits, to obtain pardon for our sins, and to obtain all other graces and blessings. There are many ways of hearing Mass given by spiritual writers and contained in our manuals of devotion; of these, one may be singled out as the most instructive, the most devotional, and the most profitable, and that is to follow the Ordinary of the Mass, to say the prayers with the priest, and to meditate on the mysteries signified by the ceremonies and rites prescribed for the celebration of Mass. To do this well it is necessary to be instructed in these prayers and ceremonies, and for this purpose the explanations contained in this book have been undertaken, and are now published. The object of the work may therefore be said to be to promote and renew the faith in and the devotion of the faithful to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by the explanation of its prayers and ceremonies. The plan adopted for the work is simple and clear: (1) The text of the Ordinary of the Mass is given in Latin and English. (2) Explanatory notes are subjoined, divided into historical, liturgical, and exegetical; and no one need suppose that these terms imply that the work is either learned or critical, and this the reader will soon perceive. The term exegetical was selected for the purpose of including under oneheading both the literal and mystical sense of the prayers and ceremonies., (3) After treating of the Ordinary of the Mass, four sections are devoted to the explanation of the prayers and the principal ceremonies peculiar to Solemn High Mass. (4) A final chapter is given in explanation of the ceremonies prescribed for Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Church speaks to her children not only by her authoritative decrees and dogmatical definitions, but and by her rites and ceremonies, in which the wisdom and piety of the early Fathers are embodied with the teachings of faith. These may be said to be the voice and language of the Church in every age from the foundation of Christianity. Because the prayers and ceremonies of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are the source of much useful instruction, both theoretical and practical, all priests regard it as a duty of love and of their pastoral office to interest their flocks in the Sacred Liturgy, and to make them esteem its doctrine and its moral lessons. The symbolism of the sacred rites and the doctrine of the holy formulas are calculated to nourish spiritually the souls of the faithful with the hidden manna contained in their language and in the mysteries which they signify. "Then these are well understood attendance at the Holy Sacrifice can never be without good practical results, faith will be more lively, prayer more fervent, and the supernatural life revived and increased in the souls of the faithful. No one can say what a loss it is to many holy souls who hear Mass daily to be left in ignorance of the meaning of the liturgical rites and unacquainted with the beautiful prayers of the Ordinary of the Mass.

Article IX of the Creed, which embraces all that concerns the Church and the Sovereign Pontiff, has demanded several chapters in order to deal with it fully, and to explain in detail all the points of doctrine "that affect Catholic claims, Catholic policy, and Catholic teaching and authority. There are therefore separate chapters in this Article on the Church: -The Primacy of St. Peter; the Sovereign Pontiff and his infallibility; General Councils and their authority; and a concluding chapter on the legislative authority of the Church, and her relations to civil society. It would have saved much controversy and misunderstanding at the time of the publication of Mr. Gladstone's Expostulation on the Vatican Decrees, had the doctrine of the Church been better known and understood by the English public on the question of Catholic allegiance, Catholic policy, and Catholic teaching, which the Expostulation attacked with such vehemence and severity. Men who were then disturbed by the controversy may now, with calm and dispassionate reason, read and understand the sense in which all these questions are held and taught in the Catholic Church, without any fear of their believing that" the Church of Rome is arrogant in her claims, dishonest in her policy, shallow and ignorant in her teaching." From this outline of the work, it will appear that it covers a large field of study, common to ecclesiastical students, to teachers in schools, colleges and convents, to whom I hope it may be specially useful in their religious studies and examinations; and many a hard worked priest may find it a convenient hand-book for the subject matter of his pastoral sermons and instructions. On the part of the Catholic laity, there is always to be found amongst them an earnest and laudable desire to read and to study doctrinal works, as they deem it necessary, in the midst of their Protestant friends and relations, to be well instructed in their Creed, in order to be able to assign a reason for the faith that is in them, and to instruct others in the Christian doctrine when required. And it seems that amongst the people of this Country in general there is a sincere and ever increasing spirit of research and inquiry into religious truth and doctrine, as is evident from the publication and large circulation of numerous works, even of fiction, all tending in this direction, as for example " Robert Elsemere," and others of a like class. For these reasons I am led to hope that the work, which I now publish, may find a place in the religious and doctrinal literature of the day. It is intended as a help to Catholic students and teachers; as a safe and secure guide to the laity in matters of Catholic belief; and as a convenient hand-book for priests, on the mission, for the preparation of their sermons and instructions. And all non-Catholics may learn from it a correct knowledge of the Christian doctrine as held and taught in the Catholic Church. To these individually we must give the full benefit of the excuse derived from invincible ignorance with regard to the truths of faith which they do not know, or which they are prevented from knowing through no fault of theirs. At the same time, we must remember the words of the prophet Isaias, which St. Jerome applies to the Catholic Church: -And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow into it.

When that book was opened, men were able to read the writing. It was written, as we are told, within and without. The writing inside was the Word of God, which was written on the humanity of Christ by the operation of the Holy Ghost. The outside writing recorded the injuries, the wounds, the shedding of the precious blood, and the ignominy of the cross, which His cruel persecutors had written in so many dark letters. It is chiefly the outside writing of this book which forms the subject of this work-the narrative of the wounds, ignominies and sufferings endured by our divine Saviour in His bitter Passion. These are considered not so much in the mystical and internal sense, as in their literal and historical meaning, and in my treatment of them the following method has been observed. At the beginning of each chapter, I give in English the text of the Gospel narrative, according to the harmony of the four Evangelists. The comments and notes' are then given to explain the meaning of the text, and the various circumstances in connection with the events of the Passion. The first three chapters are devoted to the immediate antecedents of the Passion, namely, Christ foretelling His sufferings; the Last Supper, and the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament. The subsequent chapters treat of the various events of the Passion in the order in which they happened A special chapter is given on the Last Seven Words; another, on the Resurrection of Christ; together with a concluding chapter on the Seven Dolours of our Blessed Lady, in which each of her dolours is separately considered. An Appendix is added, containing instructions on the erection and the manner of visiting the Stations, or the Via Crucis-that chief devotional exercise in honour of our Saviour's Passion and death. The pious reflections and affections contained in 50 many useful books on the Passion already published, are not introduced into this work, but are left enyirely to the disposition and devotion of the reader; my object being to bring before the mind as clearly and accurately as possible the subject matter for these reflections and affections, as supplied by the details of the history of the Passion. The numerous works already published on the Passion are, for the most part, confined to the domain of piety, and on that account are most valuable and useful to devout souls; but I believe it will be equally useful, for the purpose of pioty and devotion, to study the Passion from a historical and exegetical point of view: Inasmuch as to meditate does not mean to think of nothing, the mind has to be supplied with knowledge derived from history and Scriptural exegesis, that it may be able to profit by the time spent in prayer, and this knowledge is the foundation on which the whole meditation rests. It is, therefore, my earnest hope that this work may serve as a help to devout souls who are accustomed to the practice of daily meditation; that to the faithful in general it may be the means of making the sufferings of our divine Redeemer more known and better understood; and that, in the words of Mgr. Isoard, Bishop of Annecy, a complete history of our Saviour's Passion, well studied and explained, may prove a signal advantage and a great blessing in every Christian parish into which it may be introduced.

The spiritual or supernatural life is the true life of man. His soul or spirit is the principal and ruling part of his being, as it is the more noble part. By the spirit man knows God; by it he is capable of being united to God and, as it were, transformed into Him; whilst, on the other hand, the animal and sensitive part is only the instrument which the soul uses in order to know and rule the material world which is so much inferior to itself. The ascetical life shows that man is not of this world, but of heaven; that he is not for this world, but for Him Who is the Author of man and of the world. The supernatural man as an eagle leaves the earth and soars towards heaven; he desires nothing of this world, he seeks nothing of it, because he feels that he is better than it, and is destined for better things. Before a man reaches the perfection of the spiritual or supernatural life, it behoves him to labour much, to fight hard, because the sensitive part is entirely inclined to creatures, and it does not freely and easily follow the spirit ascending to God, but does so only by force and pressure. For as every material body naturally tends towards the earth, and is raised up from it only by a superior force, so man's senses attracted to creatures, are only by force of God's grace withdrawn from them and elevated unto God. All men are called to perfection according to the moral law, and no one can be saved who is not-at least, at the moment of death in a state of grace. This is the first grade of perfection to which all men are bound, but this does not imply that all men are bound to perfection according to asceticism. The first perfection is of precept, the second of counsel. ASCETICAL theology may be defined A science which from truths divinely revealed explains the doctrine by which souls are directed in the acquisition and perfection of the supernatural life, according to the ordinary providence of God. It is a branch of moral theology, and must of necessity have the ordinary science of theology as its foundation. Although with mystical theology it forms a subdivision of moral theology, it is distinct from both of these sciences. While moral theology prescribes the rules of action, ascetical theology teaches the means by which sanctity of life may be acquired, increased, and perfected. On the other hand, mystical theology seems to indicate a higher and sublimer degree of asceticism. This science does not teach the ordinary and wellbeaten paths of perfection, but shows a more excellent way and deals with a more hidden intercourse between man and God, always aspiring as it does to the higher and the better things, according to the words Whether the impulse of the spirit was to go, thither they went, and they turned not when they went. The distinction of ascetical from moral and mystical is clearly defined and explained by John Bapt. Scaramelli, S.J., in his work entitled 'Directorium Mysticum, ' from which in substance the following explanatory remarks are taken. According to this author, after the soul, assisted by Divine grace, has overcome the sensitive part of our being, and withdrawn it from unlawful indulgence in the use and fruition of creatures, and after it has been established in justice according to the rules of moral theology, then, strengthened and attracted by God, it begins to ascend higher in the scale of perfection, and causes the inferior part of our nature to ascend with it, and thus to become more spiritual. This, he says, is Christian asceticism.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger PublishingA AcentsAcentsa A-Acentsa Acentss Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of intere

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger PublishingA AcentsAcentsa A-Acentsa Acentss Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of intere

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone