Short instructions on the Mass for children.


Short Instructions

on the Mass

For Children

AMERICAN PUBLISHING SOCIETY
1328 Lawrence Street, Denver, Colo.





Short Instructions

on the Mass

For Children

American Publishing Society
1328 Lawrence Street

Denver, Colo.



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EDITOR’S NOTE.

The idea of these twenty-eight instructions

is to take those incidents of the Mass which

are most easily OBSERVABLE by children,
and to use them as vehicles for some instruc-

tion. As they stand, the instructions are

arranged to he given by the priest at Mass

itself, one every Sunday, before Mass begins

or at the Gospel; and this is probably the

best way; but doubtless they will also be

found useful and suggestive to those who
have to instruct in other ways and at other

times.

July 10, 1922.



Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/shortinstructionnull



Short Instructions on the Mass

1.—The Sign of the Cross.
Every Sunday I am going to tell you about

something that is done in the Mass, so that you

will be able to watch out for it, and understand
better what is going on, and join yourselves
better to it. So we’ll begin to-day with the very

first thing you do, at the very beginning of the

Mass. You do it at the same time as the priest
and the server, and it shows you are really going
to take part in that Mass. What is it you do ?
You make the Sign of the Cross.
Try now, just for a minute, to think why you

do it, and what it means.
As you make the Sign you say, ‘Tn the name

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost, Amen.”
That means, in Their name, or for Their sake,

you are going to do this good action of hearing

Mass. Everything you do in your lives must
be done as for God; even quite little things like
washing and dressing and having meals. You
should try and remember to offer them to God,
and do them well for His sake. A good way to

[ 5 ]



do it would be just to make a Sign of the Cross.
In old days people used to do that much more
often. For instance, when they lighted a candle
they always made a Sign of the Cross, because
the flame reminded them of the Light of the
world, Christ Our Lord. When they got out of
bed in the morning they made a Sign of the
Cross, and offered God all their day. As they
went out of the house to go to work they made the
sign. When they wrote letters they put a Cross
at the beginning and the end. And they made a
Sign of the Cross last thing before getting into

bed; and at many other times, too. It is a good
thing to do, and very pleasing to Our Lord,
because it is His Cross you are making over
yourself.

But if you do it before unimportant things
like meals, of course you must do it before Mass,
because hearing Mass is the biggest, most im-
portant thing you do in the week, the thing most

pleasing to God you can do. If you start with
a good Sign of the Cross, God will help you to
hear Mass well; that is, with real love in your
hearts for Our Lord, and the thought of pleasing
Him.

You must make the Sign slowly and carefully,
thinking what it means, for it is like a signal to

Our Lord that you are on His side, in the big
game of life. When Our Lady appeared in the
grotto at Lourdes to the little girl Bernadette,

[ 6 ]



she taught her how to make the Sign of the Cross
very reverently and carefully, and Bernadette
always remembered what Our Lady had said.
Afterwards people who saw Bernadette make the
Sign of the Cross never forgot it, ' for she did

it with so much love and meaning. Try and copy
Bernadette in this, especially at Mass.

2.-r-The Confiteor.

Last Sunday I talked to you about the Sign
of the Cross. Remember always to make it
specially well at the beginning of Mass. Make
up your minds that all your lives, even when you
are grown up, you will do it well; it is a signal
to Our Lord, and He never fails to see it.

After the Priest has made the Sign of the
Cross, and said through a Psalm, he bows down
and says something, and then the Server bows
and says it, too. What is it they say? And why
do they bow down?

It is the Confiteor, which means the “I confess.*^
The Priest says it because he is just going to offer
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and he must have
a pure heart to do that. Why does the Server
say it? For you. Because you are going really
to take part in the Mass, and you can only do
that if you have got rid of your sins by being
sorry for them, confessing them, and getting God
to forgive them. In your heart you join with
the Server in what he is saying so that your soul

. [ 7 ]



majr be made quite pure, before the real part of
the Mass begins.

Besides confessing to Almighty Gnd and ask-
ing for forgiveness, the Server (and you) con-

fess to Our Lady and the Saints, and to the Priest

;

because it is a good thing to own up to other peo-
ple when you have done wrong; it shows you are
really ashamed of yourself and really sorry. And
at the end you say: 'Tray to the Lord Our God
for me.”

The priest hows down because that is a sign
of being humble—that is, owning you are noth-
ing, and God is everything, and that you are
ashamed of being a sinner, and adore God, who
is all good.

At the words "through my fault” we strike
our breast three times. That reminds us that
sins deserve a punishment. Our Lord was beaten
with scourges. Was it for sins? Yes. Not for
His own, because He had none. It was for ours,
to save us from punishment. So when we strike
our breast it is another sign that we are really
and truly sorry.

Saying the Confiteor is like the publican in'

Our Lord's story, who went up into the temple
to pray, and would not so much as lift up his eyes
towards heaven, but struck his breast and said:
"0 God be merciful to me a sinner.”

So remember always to join in the Confiteor
with all your heart.

[ 8 ]



3.
—“By the Merits of the Saints Whose Relies

are Here.”

After the Confiteor the priest walks up the

steps to the Altar, and when he gets to the Altar
you’ll notice that the first thing he does is to bow
down and kiss it. In fact, if you notice you will
see that the priest kisses the Altar several times

during the Mass. That is because in the middle

of the Altar there is a square stone called the

Altar-stone. It is specially consecrated by the

Bishop, and it is the Altar really, because you
must always have a consecrated Altar-stone to
say Mass on. If a priest has to say Mass in all
sorts of different places (like the priests who said
Mass for the soldiers in the war) , he must have
a little thin Altar-stone that he can carry about.

Of all the bricks and stones in the Church, the
Altar-stone is the chief. So it stands for Christ

Our Lord, because He said He was the stone
which the builders rejected, and which God had
made the head of the corner. And the priest
kisses the Altar-stone because it stands for Christ

Our Lord. There’s one day in the year when
you can come up and kiss the stone, too, and
that is Good Friday, after the Altar is stripped
in the morning.

While the priest kisses the Altar this time he
says a little prayer like this : “We beseech thee,
O Lord by the merits of thy Saints, whose relics
are here, and of all thy Saints, that Thou wouldst

[9]



vouchsafe to forgive me all my sins.’^ Inside the
Altar-stone there are always some real relics of
the Saints; a little piece of their bones or some-
thing like that. The Bishop puts them in when
he consecrates the stone. Of course, the souls
of the Saints are in Heaven, but the Church
honors and treasures even the relics of their
bodies, because their bodies were part of them on
earth, and they will be part of them again in the
glorious resurrection of the body.

So when you see the priest go up and kiss the
Altar, you can remember the Saints, whose relics
are here in this Altar. We don’t even know who
they are; but most of the relics that are put in

Altar-stones come from the Roman catacombs,
which are full of the graves of the early martyrs.

So probably our relics belong to some man or
woman, or perhaps a child even, who refused to
give up Christ and was beheaded or thrown to
the wild beasts in the big open-air theatre called

the Coliseum at Rome. After the show was over
and all the people gone, the friends of the martyrs
would come and gather up the poor broken bodies
that had gone through so much, and bury them
safely in the catacombs, and that’s how we come

• to have their relics in our Altar-stone to offer the

sacrifice of the Mass on.

But as for their souls, of course, they’ve been
safe and happy in heaven with Our Lord all these
hundreds of years, and He can’t say no when they

[ 10 ]



ask Him anything
;
so that’s why we ask them to

pray for us that we may hear Mass well.

4.—The Introit.
After the priest has kissed the middle of the

Altar, where the Saints’ relics are, and which I
told you about last Sunday, he goes to the right

side of the Altar where the Book is, and reads a
short passage from it. The big Book is called the
Missal, and this first thing the priest reads is
called the Introit. In old days it was generally
a whole Psalm; now it is a few verses from the
Pslams, with sometimes a verse or two from some
other part of Holy Scripture.

You remember, the Psalms are by the Holy
King, David. David was one of the ancestors of
Our Lady; that is why Our Lord is called “the
Son of David.” God revealed to David many
things about Our Lord, and he wrote these down
in a collection of wonderful songs and hymns
called the Psalms.

The priest has already said a Psalm with the
server, while he stood at the bottom of the sanc-

tuary steps; and he says some more verses from
the Psalms later on—just before the Gospel, and
also while he washes his hands. So, you see.
King David’s beautiful words of prayer and
praise come into the Mass quite a lot. Isn’t it
wonderful to remember that Our Lord Himself
used to read these words when He lived on earth ;

[ 11 ]



and that He loved them and prayed to His Father
in them, and spoke of them to His disciples?
Perhaps He learnt them by heart, when He was a
little boy like .you, and said them over to Our
Lady. So we cannot think too highly of the
Psalms or love them enough. And in all the
world no one ever wrote songs so full of joy!

So while the priest reads the Introit, you can
think how it is a little bit of the worship given
to Our Lord by the great King David, though
as yet Our Lord had not been born on earth and
David only had the promise that He should be
born. So it is right that now, as we kneel ex-
pecting that Our Lord will soon come on the Altar,
we should pray in the words of King David.

5.—Kyrie Eleison.
What language is the Mass in?
Latin, you say. Yes, most of it. But there

are some words of it in two other languages,
Greek and Hebrew. If you listen carefully you

will hear the priest say them, and if you listen

now to what I am going to tell you, you will find
out what they mean. Then you will be able to
say you can understand words in three languages

besides your own!

But first I want to tell you something about
those three languages. They are called *'dead
languages,” because no one talks them, now, in

ordinary life, the same as we talk English, and

[ 12 ]



people in France talk French. But once, they

were spoken by the people of the countries they
belong to. They were all spoken in Palestine
when our Lord lived there. And when Pilate
wanted to write up; “Jesus of Nazareth, the King
of the Jews’" over our Lord,, as He hung on the
Cross, he wrote it in those very three languages

—

Latin, Greek and Hebrew. So, now, when the
sacrifice of Calvary is renewed in the Mass, again
those three languages are used. They have be-
come holy languages, and God no longer allows
ordinary people to put them to the common use of
daily talk.

After the Introit the priest goes to the middle

of the Altar and says “Kyrie Eleison,” and the

server answers the same words, and then the
priest says it again, and the server answers

“Christe eleison,” and so they go on till they have

said, the words nine times. These words are in

Greek. What do they mean? “Kyrie eleison”
means, “Lord, have mercy,” and “Christe eleison”
means, “Christ, have mercy.” They have been
said in the Mass, like that, for nearly 1,500 years.

We know that, because there is an account, in very
ancient books, of a Council held by the bishops in
France,, 500 years after our Lord lived, and the
holy bishop (Saint Caesarius of Arles) who was
at the head of it, explained how in Rome and in
the Churches of the East, they said “Kyrie elei-

son” over several times, “with much love and

[ 13 ]



compunction,” and so he wished his Churches to
do the same. So when you hear those Greek
words, try to say them in your hearts with “love
and compunction” (that means real sorrow for
your sins) and make “Lord, have mercy” a real
prayer for mercy for yourselves, and for every-
body else, because some people need mercy more
than you do.

6.—Gloria In Excelsis.
After the priest has said the “Kyrie eleison,”

he stays in the middle of the altar and says the
“Gloria in excelsis,” that is. Glory to God in the
highest and on earth peace to men of good will.
You remember who it was that first said these
joyful words.

It was the angels on the hills outside Bethle-
hem, as they appeared with a wonderful, shining

light in the cold, grey dawn, and announced to

the shepherds that our Lord had just been born.

So the priest says that, and a lot more, too, for
the Church’s song of joy and praise to Christ our
Lord. “We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we adore
Thee, we glorify Thee, we give Thee thanks for
Thy great glory,” and so on. It’s a very joyful
hymn, and so it is missed out in Lent and Advent,
when the priest wears the purple vestments, be-
cause those are times of penance. But the “Kyrie
eleison” is always said.

[ 14 ]



7.—Dominus Vobiscum.
Last time we got to the Kyrie eleison and

Gloria, which the priest says to our Lord; and

then he kisses the altar and turns right round,

and opening his hands out, he says something to

you. It is right that he should turn from speak-
ing to our Lord and speak to you, because our

Lord is the Head, and you are His Body. The
words the priest says are “Dominus vobiscum,^'
and they mean, “the Lord be with you.” He
says them to you seven times during Mass. Do
you answer anything? Yes—at least, the server
answers for you, aloud, and you answer in your
hearts. The answer is, “And with thy spirit.”
So don't forget to answer every time you hear
“Dominus vobiscum.” Think, if someone said
“good-bye” to you, you wouldn't keep silent and
answer nothing: that would seem very rude and
ungracious. Well, “good-bye” means ,'“God be
with you” (almost the same as “Dominus vobis-
cum'') and just as you would answer “good-bye”
to your friend, so, now, answer the priest, , and
really wish him the joy that the Lord may be
“with his spirit.”

You remember I told you that the Altar-stone
stands for Our Lord. That's why the priest kisses
it before he turns round and says Dominus vobis-
cum to you. It's like passing on Our Lord's spirit
to you. “May the Lord be with you,” he says,
because so long as you are in a state of grace,

[ 15 ]



really you are part of Our Lord—one body in
Jesus Christ, as the catechism says. That’s why
it’s so easy for a Catholic to be good, if he wants
to be ; because he’s part of Our Lord and has Our
Lord’s life in him. Think of that when you hear
the priest say Doniinus vohiscum—the Lord be
with you.

8.—Collect and Lesson.
The priest stands at the right hand side of the

altar, and reads for some time out of the Missal.
Do you know what he is reading? First, two or
three prayers, called “collects,” and then the
Lesson, and then a Psalm. While he says the
collects he holds his hands up like this, but for
the other things he rests his hands on the book.

“Collect” means a prayer for everybody. That
is why, before he begins the prayer, the priest

says ''Oremus” which means, “let us pray.” So
don’t forget to obey, by lifting up your hearts in
prayer.

All those collects are said to God (the great
God, the one God in three Persons), and they
always end “Through our Lord Jesus Christ,” be-
cause He told us to pray in His name.
At the end of each collect the server says

“Amen,” and he says it for you. In old days all

the people said “Amen.”
Do you remember I told you there were three

languages used in the Mass? Well, this is the

[ 16 ]



third—Hebrew. ‘‘Amen’' is a Hebrew word which
means '‘Really and truly,” “So let it be,” “I agree.”
So when you say “Amen,” it means you are mak-
ing the prayer yours, and asking God to count it
as if you had said it.

After these collects, and without moving from
that side of the altar, the priest reads the Lesson.

It may be a bit of the Old Testament, or some
words from St. Paul or St. Peter or one of the
other Apostles who wrote, inspired by God.
There is a lot about our Lord in the Old Testa-
ment, though He had not been born yet. It is
called prophecy, and the men who wrote it knew
it because God revealed it to them. Our Lord
used to read the Old Testament and find all the
bits about Himself, and how He should be cru-
cified. One day, after He was risen. He saw two
of His disciples walking sadly along the road,

and talking about how He, their Master, had been
killed. So He joined them, without letting them
know it was He, and beginning at Moses and the
prophets He showed them in all the Scriptures,
the things about Himself. That made them un-
derstand how it was really God's purpose that Our
Lord should be crucified to save us, and that He
should rise again from the dead.

Before Our Lord left those two disciples. He
sat down at the table with them, and broke bread
and blessed it, and then they knew Him. So,
now, in the Mass we hear first the Scriptures

[ 17 ]



about Our Lord, and then He is known to us in
the breaking of bread, Holy Communion.

9.—The Changing of the Missal.
After all the things I was telling you last time,

we come next to the Gospel. 'Up to now the
Missal has been on the right side of the Altar,

but when it is time for the Gospel you see the
server take the book and carry it across to the
left-hand side. That is meant to remind us of
the difference that Our Lord’s coming made.
You see, all the things that happened before Our
Lord came—especially the things that happened
amongst God’s chosen people, the Jews—^were
simply a preparation for His coming. We call
that the Old Law; and when Christ Our Lord
came the Old Law came to an end, and He made
a fresh start. That is why the Missal is changed
across when we come to the Gospel, because the
Gospel tells us about Our Lord’s life on earth.

Still, the Old Law was the true religion in those
days; and Our Lord did not do away with it
altogether, but He kept what He wanted to keep
and used it in His own Kingdom. For instance,
the old Jewish sacrifices, the oxen and lambs ‘that
were killed and offered up—we don’t have those
any more

;
the sacrifice of Our Lord on the cross

did away with all those ; but we do have our own
sacrifice of the Mass, which is one and the same
sacrifice with that of the cross.

[ 18 ]



Well, in a way, all this first part of the Mass

up to the gospel comes down from those times
before Our Lord. You know the first Christians
were mostly Jews. Before they were Christians

they used to meet together on the Sabbath day for

their service in the synagogue or chapel, where

they sang the Psalms and read the Holy Scrip-
tures. And when they became Christians they
didn’t stop doing that. They didn’t go to the syn-
agogue, indeed, because the other Jews wouldn’t
have them

; but they met together on Sunday and
had their own service, like they had in the syn-
agogue, the Psalms and Scriptures

;
and then they

ended up with Mass and communion, and did
what Our Lord did at the Last Supper. So the
first part of our Mass now, when the book is on
the right side of the Altar, corresponds to the

Jewish service before Our Lord’s time
;
and when

we come to the Gk)spel, the book is changed across
to mark the difference.

10.—The Gospel.
When the time comes the server takes the Mis-

sal to the other side of the Altar, for the Gospel

and you all stand up. Why?
You stand up so as to do honor to the Gospel.

The Gospel is the most precious part of the whole
Bible, because it tells of the life, death and resur-
rection of Our Blessed Lord. He is our Divine
King, so we stand to hear about Him just as people

[ 19 ]



would stand to hear a proclamation from the
President of the United States read out, and also
we stand to show we are all ready to do what He
tells us.

But before the priest reads the Gospel, he does
something, and so does the server, and so do you
—or you ought to. He makes a little cross with
his thumb on his forehead and one on his lips
and one on his breast. (Do. it, now, and then I
will tell you what it means).

It is a prayer that the Holy words of the Gospel
may be, first, in yoUr mind. That is why you
make the cross on your foreheads. That you
may know about Our Lord, and understand all
the Gospel teaches, and believe it, and do as it
says, and never forget about Our Lord.

The cross on your lips means that you must be
able to speak the words of the Gospel. “Gospel”

means “good news” ; and who ever heard of some-
one knowing a bit of good news and not telling it

!

When you get older you will have plenty of
chances of telling people the good news about
Our Lord and the Catholic Church; but even as
children you can, too.

The cross on your breast means the life of
Christ in your heart. If it is there it will mean
that you love Him. If you love Him you will
not be able to love anything wrong or mean or
low or selfish. If you love Him you will keep
His words and try to please Him. If you love

[ 20 ]



Him you will really want to receive Him in Holy
Communion very often.

So when you see the Missal put on the Gospel
side of the Altar stand up quick to do honor to
the royal message and to show you are ready to
carry it out and make those three little crosses,
letting each be a real prayer,

11.—The Creed.
When the priest turns back to the Altar after

reading out the notices and the Epistle and Gos-
pel in English, he stands in the middle and

recites something, while you stand, too. ^What
he is saying is called the Credo. Credo is a Latin

word which means, “I believe.” Most of you can
say the shorter creed, anyhow; and the one the
priest says at Mass, is much the same. You know
that the creed tells about all we believe, as Cath-
olics. When the priest stands and says the
creed, even if you do not say through the words
to yourselves, too, you should say to Our Lord:
'‘Lord, I believe all that, that the priest is say-

ing. I’m quite, quite sure about it. Please give

me grace always to believe it, and never to for-
get about it. I am glad I believe it. I would
rather die than say I did not believe it. I know
it is true, because the Catholic Church says it is
and the Catholic Church is Your Own Church that
you made.”

You have all heard of Martyrs. Well, the

[ 21 ]



Martyrs all died simply because they would go
on believing in the creed, and would not say they
did not believe, when cruel men told them to.
Some of them had to suffer awful tortures; and
when they were in such pain that you would
have thought no one could bear it, the cruel men
used to say, “Now, if you will give up believing
in your creed we will let you go and not hurt you
any more.” But the Martyrs would clench their
teeth and think of Christ on the cross, and say
“no, no—I believe” Then they would be tor-
tured some more, and at last put to death. Of
course, it meant they went straight to Heaven
and Our Lord received them with joy, and said
“Well done, good and faithful servants.”

Doesn’t it make you feel proud to think you
can stand up and say you believe in the same
creed, and would die for it, too, if you had to?

There were lots of children martyrs, you know.
And when, in the middle, you bow your knee,

that is because the Creed tells of Jesus being

born, and you bow your knee to worship Him

—

for if He had not been born a little baby on
earth, there would be no creed and no martyrs

and no Catholic Church, and no hope of heaven
in the life to come.

. 12.—The Offertory.
Last Sunday I talked to you about the creed.

When the creed is finished you all sit down.

[ 22 ]



Perhaps some*of you think this is a nice quiet

time when you can sit comfortably back in your
benches, and think of all sorts of things and not

attend any more, until the ringing of the bell

calls you back to attention, and you have to kneel

down.

Now, of course, that is quite wrong. Really,
the more important part of the Mass is just be-
ginning, and you ought to have your eyes fixed
on the altar to see what the priest is doing, and
join with him, in your hearts.

If you look, you will see that he now uncovers
the chalice, and takes up in his hands a kind of
little plate, called the paten. On this is the host.
But, of course, it is not Our Lord's body yet; it
is still only bread because the consecration has

not yet taken place.

Watch the priest. You will see he holds up
the paten with the host on it. Presently that

little white host is going to be changed into the

Body of Our Lord, and become a sacrifice. So
now the priest holds itl up and offers it to God;
and he prays a special little prayer in which he
says he is offering it for his own sins and fail-
ings; for all those present; and for all faithful
Christians, living and dead. So, you see, he is
offering it for you children. Don't you think
you ought to be attending, and joining your hearts
in that offering?

The priest offers up that host asking that it

[ 23 ]



may be a way of getting health for life exerlast-
ing

;
that means, that you may have strong, happy

souls for ever and ever, and live in Heaven full
of joy. What a big thing to ask! For ever and
ever is such a long time that no one can under-

stand it. But it is not too big a thing for Jesus
to ask for us, and it is He who is going to ask it,
when He comes, Himself, on the altar, presently.

So now, while the priest offers up the host,
ask God the Father to let you share in the won-
derful thing it is going to get for all faithful

Christians
—

“health for life everlasting.”

13.—The Wine and Water.
If you are watching the altar, as I told you

last Sunday that you ought to do, you will notice
that after the priest has offered up the Host, he

takes the chalice in his hands and goes to the
side of the altar, where the server is waiting.
Taking the little cruet containing wine, he pours

some of it into the chalice. (Later, it will be-

come Our Lord’s Precious Blood). And then
the priest takes the other little cruet, and there

is only water in that, but he pours some of it

into the chalice, too. Do you wonder why the
priest mixes water with the wine?

We are told why in the prayer that he says
while he is doing it. There are two reasons, and

you must try to understand them.
1. “The mystical union of this water and

[ 24 ]
I



wine’’ teaches us something about Our Divine
Lord Himself. You know that He was Man and
God; that He had two natures, the human and
the Divine, so closely joined into one that nothing

could divide them. Well, the wine so closely

mixed with the water is meant to show Our
Lord’s Divine Nature joined with His human
nature. There were some heretics who didn’t
believe Our Lord had two natures. To show this
they used to use only wine in their Mass.

2. Another thing we learn is about ourselves.
The beautiful, rich-colored wine stands for Our
Divine Lord. The pale, tasteless water stands
for us. When the water is mixed with the wine
it shows how we must be made one with Christ.
They are so closely mingled that no one could
possibly separate them. And this mingling means
that you can’t see the water any more.

That is how we must be joined to Christ. We
can only be saved that way. If we love Him very
much and try to be like Him; and, above all, if
we receive Him in Holy Communion, He will hold
us so close in His heart that when God the Father
looks at us. He won’t see poor, sinful us any more,
but only His adorable Son. That is what is called
(in the prayer the priest says) becoming “com-
panions of the Godhead of Our Lord Jesus
Christ.”

So now, whenever you see the priest pouring
water and wine into the chalice, think how closely

[ 25 ]



you are joined to Our Lord and how pleasing
that makes you to God, His Father and yours.
And let the thought make you fear to be sepa-
rated from Christ by sin more than you would
fear to suffer death.

14.

—

The Lavabo.

After the priest has offered up the chalice, in

the sam©, way as he did the host, he goes again
to the side of the altar, where the server holds a
little basin and a towel, and he washes his hands.
What does that mean? Well, of course, he washes
his hands to show how pure and clean we ought
to be when we come to receive the Blessed Sacra-
ment. And there’s something else it reminds us
of, too.

If you look over there at the first station of

the cross you will see Pilate washing his hands.
He has just condemned Jesus to be crucified,
and he washes his hands saying, “I am innocent
of the blood of this just man.” We know that
Pilate could not have put Jesus to death; that

it was Our Lord himself who ‘'laid down his life*'
as a sacrifice, and according to His Father’s will

;

that is what Pilate’s washing of his hands means
to us.

Well, in the Mass it is Jesus who offers Him-
self

;
no one would have power to renew the sac-

rifice of Him, otherwise. So when the priest
washes his hands it reminds us that the sacrifice

[ 26 ]



of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, now about
to be made in the Mass, is not his doing. After
this he acts for Christ and in His place.

So while the priest is washing his hands you

can be thanking Our Lord in your hearts that
He once offered Himself on the cross to save us,
and now lets the same sacrifice take place before
our eyes so that we may be there and may each
get for our souls some of the great grace He pours
out at this solemn moment.

Let the washing of the priest^s hands fix in

your minds how freely Christ offers Himself,
how freely He pours out His Precious Blood.
And, remember, only love could give so great a

gift so freely. And if He loves you like that
ought not you to love Him back in something the
same way? I mean, a way that costs you some-
thing, and yet is freely given. Every time you
are patient, and bear hardships willingly and
cheerfully without grumbling, and offer it up to
Our Lord, you are loving Him like that, and He
is pleased.

15.—The Preface.
If you are listening carefully you will notice

that a few moments after the priest has washed
his hands, he says some short sentences, answered
each time by the server, and then, with his hands
stretched out, he begins a long prayer, called the

Preface,

[ 27 ]



I want you to think carefully about those short
sentences, because they mean something special,
and are especially meant for you who are hear-
ing Mass. In English they are this

:

V. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy
spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts. R. We have lifted
them up unto the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God.
R. It is meet and just.
Now, I am going to tell you what a holy bishop

called St. Cyprian said about those words. He
lived only three hundred years after Our Lord
had gone back to Heaven.
He says that when we are about to begin the

great prayer called “The Canon'' that is, the most
solemn part of the Mass, we must have no more
thoughts of bodily things or of the present time,

and that is why the Church says, “Lift up your
hearts." He says the people answer, “We have
lifted them up unto the Lord," because now we
must think of nothing but Our Lord.
Try and remember what St. Cyprian said, be-

cause it is very true. From this moment in the
Mass you must think only of Our Lord, for soon
He will be there, on the altar.
The next words, “Let us give thanks unto the

Lord Our God," are the proper ones for us to
say, says another great man, St. Augustine. We
must, he says, “give thanks that we have our

[ 28 ]



hearts lifted up, for, if it was not for the gift of
God, we should have our hearts right down on
the ground.” So, remember, St. Augustine's
words, and say thank you.

The long prayer the priest now says is just a
long thank you; and it tells about the different
things we must specially thank God for at the
different seasons of the Church.

16.

—

The Sanctus.

At the end of the long prayer called the Pre-
face, which I told you about last Sunday, come
the words, "‘Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus,” and the
bell rings three times, and you all kneel down in
worship. What do those words mean?
They mean, “Holy, holy, holy,” and that por-

tion of the prayer is taken from the book of the
Prophet Isaias, in which he describes the sera-
phim, wonderful angels with six wings, crying

“Holy, holy, holy,” in Heaven.

While you are bowing your head in worship,
the priest is finishing this glad cry of praise,

“Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven
and earth are full of Thy glory.”

Notice the word, “Sabaoth”—it is another word
in Hebrew, like I told you about before. It means
“army,” for Jesus Christ is the Chief of the Heav-
enly Hosts and of the Church Militant—or
'Church fighting, here on earth.

Then the priest goes on: “Hosanna in the

[ 29 ]



highest. Blessed is he that cometh in the name
of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest!'’

Those words were first said by the children of
Jerusalem, as Our Lord rode in on an ass, and
people strewed palm branches in the way. Now,
He is, coming to us, in our Church, so you chil-
dren must join in your hearts in those words of
joyful welcome. That word. Hosanna, that the
Jewish children shouted so gladly as they ran
along with their branches, is another Hebrew
word. It was their way of saying “hooray!’^
Don’t you wish you could have been among them^
to join in those cheers? Well, our Lord gives
you the chance every Sunday. Only, of course,

you can’t shout out loud, at Mass—only in your
hearts.

17.—The Consecration and Elevation of the Host.
When the bell has rung three times, and you

have knelt down at the Sanctus, you know that
before long will come the most solemn moment
of the Mass. But so as to remind you to have

your whole mind and attention fixed on the altar
and the wonderful thing that is happening there,

presently the bell is rung again just once.

Keep your eyes fixed on the altar, now; and

your thoughts on Our Lord. You should have
love in your hearts for Him, and joy to think

He is coming, and a desire to get grace for your-
selves and others in this great moment, and a

[ 30 ]



real will to please Him. He is going to give
Himself up wholly for you, by coming here, as a

little white Host in the priest's hands. So give

yourselves up wholly to Him, holding nothing
back. Make yourselves oiferings in the hands of
Our Lord to be offered up to God the Father.

By the time you have thought all this you will
see that the priest is bending over the altar, and
then it is time for you to bow your heads in rev-
erence. He has taken the Host in his hands, as
Our Lord took the bread in His holy hands at
the Last Supper

; and now he says the very same
words Our Lord said that night, and he says them
speaking for Our Lord : ‘‘This is My Body."
At that moment Our Lord Himself comes on

the altar, by changing the bread into Himself,

and the priest bends his knee at once to adore
Him.

As he holds up the white Host high for you to
see, it is the Body of Christ he holds up. You
should look at it with great love and wonder,
and say, “My Lord and my God," and then bow
your head again in worship, and keep very still
and quiet, with your eyes shut, and remember
that what is happening here, in the stillness of
the Church, is what happened first on Calvary.
That just as Our Lord’s Body was lifted up high
on the cross, and offered, a sacrifice, to God, so
now the same Body is lifted up in the priest’s
hands. You should kneel as quiet and as full of

[ 31 ]



love and awe, as if you were kneeling at Our
Lady’s side, on Calvary.

18.—The Consecration of the Chalice.
When the priest consecrated the sacred Host

and held it up for you to see, the bell rang three
times. Now, he uncovers the chalice, and holds
it in his hands. You should kneel very quiet wait-
ing for the bell to ring again.

You remember that when Our Lord hung on
the cross He shed His Blood willingly for us,
and so showed that He was a Sacrifice. Of cc.urse,
Our Lord can’t really die any more, but, in a way,
the words that the priest is now saying over the
chalice are like the thrust of the lance into the

Savior’s side. By them His Blood is shed anew,
in the chalice that is upon the altar. In this way
the shedding of His Precious Blood is renewed

in the Mass, and He shows again that He is truly
sacrificed.

The bell rings again three times, and as you
reverently raise your eyes to the altar, you will

see the chalice hejd up high, and you will know
that in it is the very Blood that Our Lord shed
to win our pardon. ^

Bow your head in adoration and thank Him.
Remember it was your sins that shed His Blood
just as much as those of the most wicked people
who ever lived.
Try and understand about its being a sacri-

[ 32 ]



fice. Join yourself to Our Lord in this sacri-
fice, asking Him to offer you with Himself, to
the Father. Ask God the Father to accept you
and your little sacrifice, because it is joined to

the great Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of
Christ.

Finally, thank Our Lord for coming; thank
Him for shedding His blood; thank Him for
letting you be there.

19.—Genuflection.
After the Consecration and elevation of the

Host and Chalice you remain on your knees, be-

cause people alwaj^s remain kneeling when the
Blessed Sacram.ent is on the Altar or the Taber-

nacle door open.

The priest is now saying many prayers, only
so softly that you cannot hear. If you keep your

eyes on the altar, however, you will notice some-

thing. Every now and then he genuflects—bows
his knee. He did not do that in the first part
of the Mass, and he does not do it in the later part,

after communion. Do you know why he does it?
It is to honor Our Lord, who is present on

the altar. At different places in the Mass the
priest has to touch the Sacred Host, and each
time before he touches it he bends his knee, and
again after he has touched it. You will notice,
too, when he opens the door of the Tabernacle,
to take out the Blessed Sacrament to give com-

[ 33 ]



munion, he genuflects before taking out the Cibor-

ium (or silver vessel containing the Hosts). The
same at Benediction—he always genuflects before
touching the Monstrance in which the Blessed
Sacrament is exposed.
When you come into Church do you always re-

member to genuflect very reverently? Here are
a few things to remember

:

1. It is to Our Lord Himself you are bending
your knee. Think of Him while you are doing it,
and keep your eyes on the Tabernacle where He is.
Remember, it is an act of reverence, so don’t ever
do it thoughtlessly.

2. Do it correctly. That is, bend your right
knee and touch the ground with it. (Don’t make
a sign of the Cross at the same time. It is un-
necessary, and upsets your balance.)

3. If the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, or

Communion is being given, or the door of the
Tabernacle is open, kneel down on both knees,
and bow your head.

20.

—

The Silence and Seven Words.

You will notice that after the Offertory, and all
through the more solemn part of the Mass that
follows, the priest says most of the prayers so
softly that you cannot hear them. In fact, there

is a long silence.

Just as Holy Mass is the same sacrifice as Cal-

[ 34 ]



vary, this silence is the same silence that reigned
while Our Lord hung upon the Cross. That
silence was broken seven times by the Seven
Words of Christ. And this silence at Ma^s is
broken seven times, too.

The first time it is only by two words—orate
fratres: pray brethren. The second time by the
Preface. It is the third I want to talk to you
about now, for it comes soon after the Consecra-
tion, and it might be the good thief speaking.
Only the first few words of the prayer are said
aloud—the priest finishes it silently, and unless
you listen carefully you will not hear them. In
Latin they are : “nobis quoque peccatoribus,’’ and

they mean, “To us sinners, also.” They are the
beginning of a beautiful prayer that asks that

we may have some part and fellowship with the
Holy Apostles and other Saints of God, and at the
end it asks that we may be allowed into their com-
pany, not because we deserve it, but through
God’s “free pardon.”

If you have ever heard any stories of the Saints
you must feel that you can never be fit to be in
their company. But you must have hope, which
is one of the three great virtues. You must hope
that God will give you His free pardon for the
sake of Our Lord

;
and having hope means you are

sure He will, because He is God; remember. Our
Lord said to the thief: “This day thou sha^lt be
with Me in Paradise.” That was indeed “free

[ 35 ]



pardon,” for the thief had done nothing to merit
heaven.

Have you each a special friend among the
Saints ? Try and find one, if you haven’t : either
your name Saint, or one whose life you especially
admire. If you do him honor and ask his help,
and try and copy him, he will help you in this life
and welcome you into Heaven.

I will tell you, further on, what are the other
four words in the silent part of the Mass, which
make up the sacred number seven.

21.—The Pater Noster.
While the Body and Blood of Our Lord are still

on the Altar, and you are still kneeling as if you
were on Mount Calvary, the priest says aloud the
“Our Father.” You remember, the Our Father is
the prayer Our Lord Himself taught the Apostles
to use. While the priest says it in Latin, you should

say it quietly to yourselves in English. Say it in
union with the Church. What does that mean?
Well, it means say it together with all Catholics,
because you are a Catholic, and a member of Our
Lord’s Church. Supposing a great man was to
come to your school, and the school wanted to do
him honor, someone would say : “Let us give three
cheers. Hip, hip, hip . . .” and then, altogether,
in union, you would shout “hooray!” It wouldn’t

be just you, each one singly, doing it; it would be
the school giving the cheers, and you would cheer

[ 36 ]



because you were part of the school. In the same

way, you ought sometimes to pray because you

are part of the Church, and there is no better time

than when the “Our Father” comes, in the Mass.
Remember, the first words are '‘Our Father,”

not “My Father” : that reminds you that you are
one of many children.

You will know when the “Our Father” comes
because it is the first time the priest says any long
prayer out loud after the Consecration and the

holding up of the Host and Chalice. It is the
fourth of the seven words of the silent part of the

Mass.

But if you are to take part in this prayer, and
in the other things I have told you about, it means
you must attend, all through, to the altar and
what is being done there. There is no time for
wandering thoughts, at Mass.

Besides, how foolish it would be to think of
other things when you have this wonderful chance
of asking Our Lord for all kinds of things for
yourself and those you love. Besides praying for
your father and mother and brothers and sisters
and friends, you ought sometimes to pray for
anyone who may die today

;
and for the dead

;
for

the Protestants, that they may become Catholics

;

for all the Catholic children, that they may grow
up good Catholics, and not forget our Lord as they
grow up.

[ 37 ]



22.—Fractio Panis.
A minute or two after the priest has said the

Pater Noster, you will notice that he genuflects,
which means he is going to take the Sacred Host
in his hands. What is he going to do with it?

If you watch carefully, you will see that he
breaks it in half, and lays one half down on the
paten. If you listen you can sometimes hear the

sound of the breaking.

Why does he do that?
Because Our Lord did it. In the account of the

Last Supper it says He took.bread and blessed and
broke it, giving it to His disciples and saying,
'‘Take and eat ye all of this, for this is My Body.”
Again, the time He gave Communion to the two
disciples after His Resurrection, He was known
to them “in the breaking of bread.”
And do you remember the story of how He fed

the 5,000 hungry people as they sat on the grass ?
That was not Communion, of course ; but it was a
type of it, a kind of picture, beforehand, of how
later on thousands of people could eat the same
bread, without it failing till all had had as much
as they wanted. And in that story we read that
Jesus broke the bread, and as He broke it in His
holy hands, there was always more and more.

In the Mass the priest does again all that Jesus
did in the first giving of His Body, and so he

breaks the Host.

Then, holding one half in his hand, he breaks

[ 38 ]



off a little bit of it, and after laying down the
bigger part, he makes the sign of the Cross three

times over the Chalice with the little bit, saying,

“The peace of the Lord be always with you,” and

drops it into the Chalice. Those words are the

fifth time the silence is broken.

Why does the priest drop a little bit of the Host
into th^ Chalice containing the Precious Blood?

Because Our Lord did.

And if you remember how it was Our Lord
broke a little piece of bread and dipped it in the

chalice, it will make you feel rather sad. For that
bit He gave to Judas Iscariot, and it says, “When
Judas had received the morsel he went out to
betray Jesus.”

So that putting of the consecrated Bread in the

Chalice is a little silent reminder that even in the

inner circle of Our Lord's friends there may be
a traitor. Everyone who receives Holy Commun-
ion has to ask, like the disciples did, “Lord, is

it I?”

Judas was Our Lord's enemy. All traitors are
His enemies. Between a man and his enemy there
is war. But listen to what Jesus says, as this
reminder of Judas, the enemy, is being made. He
says : “The peace of the Lord be always with you”
(and at High Mass the kiss of peace is given soon
after)

.

So when you hear the Host being broken, re-
member Judas, and ask Our Lord to keep you

[ 39 ]



from ever being a traitor
;
and ask that your kiss

(Holy Communion) may be always the kiss of
peace, and never the traitor’s kiss.

23.—Agnus Dei.
The sixth time the priest breaks the silence it

is to say, “Lamb of God, who takest away the sins
of the world, have mercy on us,” and he repeats
it three times.

Do you know who it was said that first? It
was St. John the Baptist, as he saw Our Lord
walk past, one day, on the banks of the Jordan.
He pointed Him out to those who stood by, and
said, “Behold, the Lamb of God ; behold Him who
taketh away the sins of the world.”

That was long before Our Lord was crucified,
of course

;
and it must have puzzled the men who

heard it
;
they didn't know, as you do, about Our

Lord taking away the sins of the world. And yet
they would have understood about the lamb better

than you do, perhaps.

You see, before Our Lord founded the Gatholic
Church, God was worshiped by the Jewish reli-
gion. And the way people were forgiven their
sins was not by each going to Confession. What
happened was this : A beautiful white lamb was
killed by the priests and offered to God as a sin
offering. (That is why St. John called Our Lord
a lamb.) And then the High Priest took a goat,
and tied some wool, soaked in the blood of the

[ 40 ]



lamb, between its horns. And over this goat he
confessed the sins of the people. Then the goat
was driven out, and went wandering away
through the desert, carrying the sins of the peo-

ple, and they were left pure and holy. That was
why St. John spoke of Our Lord “taking away
the sins of the world.”

So now in the Mass—the sacnfice of the Catho-
lic Church—Our Lord is offered like a pure lamb,
innocent, and holy. And He takes all our sins on
Himself and bears them away out of God’s sight.
Think of this when you hear the priest say,
“Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere
nobis.”

24.—The Priest’s Communion.
When the priest says “Domine, non sum

dignus,” so breaking the silence for the seventh

time, and the bell rings three times, the people
get up and begin going up to the altar rails. But
don’t think of the people; Mass is not done, yet.
We have been thinking, the last few Sundays,

how the Mass is a sacrifice. I told you last Sunday
that Our Lord is the Lamb, the Victim, offered up
on the altar, for our sins. The end of the sacrifice
is when the priest receives the Body and Blood of
the Lamb of God in Holy Communion.

In the old days the lamb or the goat could only
take away sins. In our sacrifice the Lamb of God
not only takes away sins, but brings holiness. He,

[ 41 ]



Himself, is all goodness, all holiness, so the end

of the sacrifice is for the priest, who stands there
for the people, to be as closely as possible joined

to the Lamb, to receive Him, in all His power, and
be made one with Him. So, while the priest re-
ceives the Host and Chalice (just after the bell is
rung) remain on your knees, and think what a
solemn moment it is—the end of the great sacri-
fice; the wonderful moment when God is joined
to His Church, and makes it holy by His Own
holiness.

But though the priest receives the Sacrificial
Lamb on behalf of the whole Church, each of you
children may come up and receive Him for your-
selves. He is ready to be given to each of you, to
make you strong and holy and pure. He wants
to come to you

;
He is full of joy when He sees a

good crowd of j^ou come up to the altar-rails. I
think He likes coming to you even better than to
grown-up people. So don’t disappoint Him. And
come up very reverently and quietly, with just
one thought in your minds—love for Our Lord,
and a strong wish to please Him by receiving Him
in Holy Communion, and a real wish to have Him
each for yourselves, that you may tell Him all the
secrets of your hearts that no one else knows ; all
your sorrows and difficulties; all your hopes, and

about the things you want: for He understands
like no one else can. Let these be your thoughts

as you walk up ; and keep your eyes down so as to

[ 42 ]



see nothing distracting, and your hands folded

together.

25.—^People’s Communion.
As you kneel at the altar-rails, the server says

the Confiteor for you, and you, in the secret of

your hearts, tell Our Lord, again, how sorry you
are for your sins, and ask Our Lady and the
Saints to help you make a good communion.
Then the priest gives the Absolution, and you

make the sign of the Cross very reverently, so
applying the Absolution to yourselves, and being

by it made as pure as possible before Our Lord
comes to you.
Then the priest takes up one of the Hosts and

holds it high, saying, “Ecce Agnus Dei''—“Behold
the Lamb of God." That reminds you again of the
Sacrifice, and that you are now going to be joined
to the Sacrificed Lamb, and become part of Him,
and so a victim, too

;
and you know that all your

sufferings and sorrows will be part of Christ's
sufferings, if you bear them bravely for Him, and
by His strength.
Then the priest goes on, “Domine non sum

dignus"
—

“Lord, I am not worthy that thou
should enter under my roof

;
say but the word and

my soul shall be healed," and you strike your
breast each time the priest repeats the words, and
you feel with all your heart how unworthy you
are, and how wonderful it is thatOur Lord can love

[ 43 ]



you enough to want to come to you. Remember,
those words were said by the Centurion, whose
servant was dying. Our Lord didn’t go into his
house, but cured the servant from afar. You are
more lucky than the Centurion, for though you
tell Our Lord that the little house of your heart is
not worthy of Him, still. He smiles and says,
'Never mind; I know it isn’t; but I love you so
much that I shan’t notice. All I will notice is how
pleased you are to see Me, and how big a welcome
you give Me.”

26.—Corpus Domini Nostri.
And so, at last, the wonderful moment comes

when the priest stands in front of you, and holds
up the Body of Our Lord. Listen to the words
he says—for he says them separately to each one
of you, and not, now, to all the people in general.

“Corpus Domini Nostri—May the Body of Our
Lord Jesus Christ keep thy soul unto life ever-

lasting, Amen.”
That holy Body, so full of grace and power and

purity and strength and all healing, will keep your

soul in all the difficulties and dangers of this life.

And then, the last time you receive it, it will be
as food for your journey, as a Divine Companion
on the journey which you will take into Eternity,

the great land of Life Everlasting. You will not
be frightened, will you, when that day comes?
for Jesus will be with you. You will not be

[ 44 ]



frightened of death, and no more must you be
frightened of life, however many dangers it may
seem to hold for your body and soul. If ever you

are frightened, think of the last time you received

Holy Communion, and remember Our Lord is still
with you, unless you have forced Him to leave you.
by committing a mortal sin.

Receive Him, then, with great love and grati-
tude, and go very quietly back to your place, with

eyes down and folded hands. Never mind, now,
about prayer-books and prayers you have learned.
Surely you have enough to say to this best of
friends. Now is your chance to ask for things,
and to get comfort and sympathy in all your little
worries and sorrows. But above all, don't forget

to thank Him for having come, and for not mind-
ing your little house being so unworthy.

And when you go into your ordinary life, prac-
tice using the new strength He has brought you.

27.—The Blessing.
After you have received Holy Communion and

the priest has said a few prayers, he kisses the
altar, stretches out, lifts up and joins his hands,
and then, bowing his head, he says

:

“May God Almighty bless you," and turning
around, he blesses the people, by making a big
Sign of the Cross over them, saying, “Father, Son
and Holy Ghost."
The priest is giving you the Church's blessing,

[ 45 ]



so you should kneel down to receive it (if you are
not already on your knees)

,
and as he makes the

Sign of the Cross, you should cross yourself, in

that way each taking the blessing to yourselves.
You should not think lightly of this blessing;

it is the Church's blessing, and the Church is Our
Lord’s Mystical Body, so it is as much Our Lord’s
own blessing as when He took the children in His
arms and laid His hands upon them. I expect
you wish you were one of those happy children.
Well, you are happy children to have this chance
of receiving His blessing at the end of Mass. You
should make the most of all these things. They
bring you much grace. Don’t throw away your
privileges by being careless and inattentive. When
Our Lord is blessing you, wouldn’t it be ungrate-
ful to be sitting up staring about, or hunting for

your cap, or fidgeting with your prayer book ?

28.—The Last Gospel.
When you stand up for the last Gospel, you

make again the three little Signs of the Cross on
your forehead, lips and breast, like I told you

about before. You remember what they mean—

a

prayer that the Word of God may be in your mind,
on your lips, and in your heart. And you stand
so as to show honor to the Gospel, because it tells
of Christ Our Lord, and to show you are ready to
do what He says. Do you know what it is the
priest is reading? It is the first Chapter of St.

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John’s Gospel, and it tells how Our Lord, who had
always been, from the beginning, the Son of God,
was born on earth, the Son of Mary, Our Blessed
Lady; how He came unto His Own—His '‘chosen
people”—and His Own received Him not ; but how
to those who did receive Him he gave power to
become the sons of God—as each of you became at
your baptism. So while the priest reads the last

Gospel, you should be thinking especially of Our
Lord. And when the priest genuflects, you also
should bend your knee, for that is when he comes
to the words, “And the Word” (that is. Our Lord)
“was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”
The more you think of Our Lord at such times,

the more He will show Himself to the eyes of your
mind. And the more you see Him, the more you
will become like Him. And to be like Our Lord is

' the thing that matters most in life. For, first, it
makes us pleasing to Him; second, it makes us
pleasing to other people

;
third, it makes us happy,

ourselves.

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