Fidelity to the Word
Our Lord and His Holy Apostles at the Last Supper


A blog dedicated to Christ Jesus our Lord and His True Presence in the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist


The Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye and eat, this is My Body which shall be delivered for you; this do for the commemoration of Me. In like manner also the chalice.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Italian Bishops vs. Pro Multis

Found here:

Italian bishops debate translation of pro multis
CWN - July 26, 2012

The Catholic bishops of Italy, among others, have resisted the urging of Pope Benedict XVI to revise translations of the Mass so that the Latin words pro multis in the words of consecration to read “for the many” rather than “for all.” However, scholars and Church officials are suggesting an alternative translation.

Prompted by the Pontiff, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a call for new translations in 2006. The bishops of the English-speaking world acceded to the directive, and the new English translation of the Mass uses “for many.” But the Italian bishops voted last year, by an overwhelming 171- 11, to retain the existing phrase per tutti.

Italian and German bishops have explained that using the equivalent of “the many” in their languages could obscure the fact that Jesus offered salvation to all of mankind. Now Italian bishops are suggesting an alternative, per la moltitudine. The French bishops have approved a similar translation: pour la multitude.


Additional sources for this story


(Matthew 26:28 records our Lord as saying that He sheds His Blood "for many", not "for the many" much less "for all"). So sorry to see that careless disregard for the words of consecration can still be widely found amoung the world's bishops.

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

It Is Well With My Soul

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Thursday, July 19, 2012

Let all the earth keep silence before Him

Pastoral Letter of Bishop Hugh, O.S.B.
Diocese of Aberdeen, Scotland

[found here]

To be read and distributed at all Masses on the 3rd Sunday of Advent, 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Plague of Noise

We live in a noisy world. Our towns and cities are full of noise. There is noise in the skies and on the roads. There is noise in our homes, and even in our churches. And most of all there is noise in our minds and hearts.

Create Silence

The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard once wrote: 'The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and I were asked for my advice, I should reply: "Create silence! Bring people to silence!" The Word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today. And even if it were trumpeted forth with all the panoply of noise so that it could be heard in the midst of all the other noise, then it would no longer be the Word of God. Therefore, create silence!'

'Create silence!' There's a challenge here. Surely speaking is a good and healthy thing? Yes indeed. Surely there are bad kinds of silence? Yes again. But still Kierkegaard is on to something.

Without Silence No Meeting With God

There is a simple truth at stake. There can be no real relationship with God, there can be no real meeting with God, without silence. Silence prepares for that meeting and silence follows it. An early Christian wrote, 'To someone who has experienced Christ himself, silence is more precious than anything else.' For us God has the first word, and our silence opens our hearts to hear him. Only then will our own words really be words, echoes of God's, and not just more litter on the rubbish dump of noise.

The Silence of Our Lady, Saint Joseph, and John the Baptist

'How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.' So the carol goes. For all the noise, rush and rowdiness of contemporary Christmasses, we all know there is a link between Advent and silence, Christmas and silence. Our cribs are silent places. Who can imagine Mary as a noisy person? In the Gospels, St Joseph never says a word; he simply obeys the words brought him by angels. And when John the Baptist later comes out with words of fire, it is after years of silence in the desert. Add to this the silence of our long northern nights, and the silence that follows the snow. Isn't all this asking us to still ourselves?

When Deep Silence Covered All Things

A passage from the Old Testament Book of Wisdom describes the night of Israel's Exodus from Egypt as a night full of silence. It is used by the liturgy of the night of Jesus' birth:

'When a deep silence covered all things and night was in the middle of its course, your all-powerful Word, O Lord, leapt from heaven's royal throne' (Wis 18:14-15).

'Holy night, silent night!' So we sing. The outward silence of Christmas night invites us to make silence within us. Then the Word can leap into us as well, as a wise man wrote: 'If deep silence has a hold on what is inside us, then into us too the all-powerful Word will slip quietly from the Father's throne.'

The Silence of the Word

This is the Word who proceeds from the silence of the Father. He became an infant, and 'infant' means literally 'one who doesn't speak.' The child Jesus would have cried - for air and drink and food - but he didn't speak. 'Let him who has ears to hear, hear what this loving and mysterious silence of the eternal Word says to us.' We need to listen to this quietness of Jesus, and allow it to make its home in our minds and hearts.

'Create silence!' How much we need this! The world needs places, oases, sanctuaries, of silence.

Silence in Church

And here comes a difficult question: what has happened to silence in our churches? Many people ask this. When the late Canon Duncan Stone, as a young priest in the 1940s, visited a parish in the Highlands, he was struck to often find thirty or forty people kneeling there in silent prayer. Now often there is talking up to the very beginning of Mass, and it starts again immediately afterwards. But what is a church for, and why do we go there? We go to meet the Lord and the Lord comes to meet us.

'The Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him!' said the prophet Habakkuk. Surely the silent sacramental presence of the Lord in the tabernacle should lead us to silence? We need to focus ourselves and put aside distractions before the Mass begins. We want to prepare to hear the word of the Lord in the readings and homily. Surely we need a quiet mind to connect to the great Eucharistic Prayer? And when we receive Holy Communion, surely we want to listen to what the Lord God has to say, 'the voice that speaks of peace'? Being together in this way can make us one - the Body of Christ - quite as effectively as words.

Two People Talking

A wise elderly priest of the diocese said recently, 'Two people talking stop forty people praying.'

Norms for Silence in Church

'Create silence!' I don't want to be misunderstood. We all understand about babies. Nor are we meant to come and go from church as cold isolated individuals, uninterested in one another. We want our parishes to be warm and welcoming places. We want to meet and greet and speak with one another. There are arrangements to be made, items of news to be shared, messages to be passed. A good word is above the best gift, says the Bible. But it is a question of where and when. Better in the porch than at the back of the church. Better after the Mass in a hall or a room. There is a time and place for speaking and a time and place for silence. In the church itself, so far as possible, silence should prevail. It should be the norm before and after Mass, and at other times as well. When there is a real need to say something, let it be done as quietly as can be. At the very least, such silence is a courtesy towards those who want to pray. It signals our reverence for the Blessed Sacrament. It respects the longing of the Holy Spirit to prepare us to celebrate the sacred mysteries. And then the Mass, with its words and music and movement and its own moments of silence, will become more real. It will unite us at a deeper level, and those who visit our churches will sense the Holy One amongst us.

The Devil Loves Noise; Christ Loves Silence

'Create silence!' It is an imperative. May the Word coming forth from silence find our silence waiting for him like a crib! 'The devil', said St Ambrose, 'loves noise; Christ looks for silence.'

Yours sincerely in Him,
+ Hugh, O. S. B.
Bishop of Aberdeen
7 December 2011.

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Monday, July 09, 2012

The Progressive Hollowing out of Piety

A comment I saw on Rorate Cæli earlier today, two years old but new to me, on the beginning of the post-conciliar decline in the Church. It began before the council:

The process started long ago. In retrospect, I can remember the progressive hollowing out of piety and devotion -- in myself among other places -- as the 1950s wore on. I recall reading a Catholic Book Club advertisement for Fr. Leo Trese's "Vessel of Clay," a book of meditations for priests. At the age of 11 or 12, I was amazed at the notion of priestly humility reflected in some of the quotes. For me, priests were just functionaries. So were bishops, and backroom functionaries at that. As a boy, I literally never met one who struck me as pious; and with a priest uncle and two nun aunts, and an altar boy for good measure in a very Catholic environment, I met plenty. The same was true of the sisters and brothers who taught me, and the literal scores of my aunts' consoeurs that I met in the convent parlors of the Sundays of my youth. The conciliar revolution went like a hot knife through butter because above all, it adjusted principle to fit practice -- moved the goal posts, as Bishop Williamson recently put it.

Alas for worldly priests and lukewarm religious, and for all the souls they could have influenced for the good, but did not. Alas for the lack of saints in our modern Church (which includes thee and me, dear reader).

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Matthew 9:18-26

(with Haydock commentary)

18 And he was speaking these things unto them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.A certain ruler. [4] Lit. a prince of a synagogue. He is called Jairus. Mark v. Luke viii. — My daughter is just now dead: or, as the other evangelists express it, is at the point of death; and her father having left her dying, he might think and say she was already dead. Wi. — In effect, news was shortly after brought him that she was dead. It is thus that some commentators explain the apparent difference found in Mark v. 22, and Luke viii. 41. — But come, lay thy hand, &c. Let us admire and imitate the humility and kindness of our Redeemer; no sooner had he heard the request of the ruler, but rising up, he followed him. Though, says S. Chrysostom, he saw his earthly disposition, requesting him to come and lay his hand upon her.
19 And Jesus rising up followed him, with his disciples.
20 And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment.And behold a woman. This woman, according to Eusebius, came from Cæsarea Philippi, who, in honour of her miraculous cure, afterwards erected a brazen monument, descriptive of this event, before the door of her house in Cæsarea Philippi. Euseb.
21 For she said within herself: If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed.
22 But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.Επιστραφεις και ιδων , turning about and seeing, as if he were ignorant, and wished to see who it was that had touched him, as the other evangelists relate. In S. Mark (v. 29,) we see she was cured on touching the garment; and Jesus only confirms the cure by what he says in verse 34. — But Jesus turning about. Our divine Saviour, fearing lest he might alarm the woman by his words, says immediately to her, Take courage; and at the same time calls her his daughter, because her faith had rendered her such. S. Chrysos.
23 And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout,And when Jesus . . . saw the minstrels. It was a custom among the Jews at funerals to hire persons to make some doleful music, and great lamentations. Wi. — Ovid also mentions the lugubrious music attendant on funerals. Cantabat mœstis tibia funeribus. 4. Fast.
24 He said: Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.The girl is not dead. Christ, by saying so, insinuated that she was not dead in such a manner as they imagined; that is, so as to remain dead, but presently to return to life, as if she had been only asleep. Wi. — But sleepeth. In the xi. chapter of S. John, Christ again calls death a sleep. Our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Thus he teaches us to be no longer in dread of death, since it was reduced to the condition of a sleep. If you believe this, why do you vainly weep? why do you afflict yourself? this the Gentiles do, who have not faith. Your child is asleep, not dead, is gone to a place of rest, not to destruction. Therefore the royal prophet says, "Turn, O my soul, into thy rest, for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee." Psalm cxiv. If then it is a kindness, why should you weep? what else could you do at the death of an adversary, an enemy, the object of your greatest aversion? S. Chrysos. hom. xxxii. — Christ here asserts that the girl is only asleep, to shew that it was as easy for him to raise her from death as from sleep. Theophylactus.
25 And when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose.He took her by the hand, and as in his hands is the key both of life and death, (Apoc. i. 18,) so he commanded the soul to return and the girl to arise. A. — And when the crowd, &c. That is, if after a sinful and worldly life we wish to rise again, and be cleansed from the miserable condition of moral sin, denoted by the girl who was dead, we must cast out of our minds the great multitude of worldly concerns; for whilst these have possession, the mind is unable to recollect itself and apply seriously to consideration. S. Gregory.
26 And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country.

The gospel reading my friend R and I heard this evening at Mass.

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Saturday, July 07, 2012

Summorum Pontificum

Today is the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which made the Mass of Ages available even in dioceses where the local bishop had ignored Pope John Paul's instructions in Ecclesia Dei to make it readily available. Within a year after Pope Benedict issued his motu, the traditional Mass had returned to my parish, and, soon after that, it returned to Holy Angels in neighboring Aurora as well. When the motu was published, our diocese had no TLM at all, except for one in a small independent chapel not approved by the bishop.

God bless our Pope and grant him many happy years!

+++

Apostolic Letter "Summorum Pontificum" issued Motu Proprio

Benedict XVI

On Saturday 7 July 2007 Pope Benedict XVI issued an Apostolic Letter on the celebration of the Roman Rite according to the Missal of 1962. The following text is the unofficial Vatican Information Service translation of the official Latin text.

Accompanying Letter of Pope Benedict

Up to our own times, it has been the constant concern of supreme pontiffs to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, 'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy Church.'

Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future - to maintain the principle according to which 'each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.' (1)

Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that 'nothing should be placed before the work of God.' In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.

Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.

"It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform.' (2) Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X (3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all played a part.

In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to ensure that 'this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony.' (4)

But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult 'Quattuor abhinc anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter given as Motu Proprio, 'Ecclesia Dei,' exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.

Following the insistent prayers of these faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these Apostolic Letters we establish the following:

Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents 'Quattuor abhinc annis' and 'Ecclesia Dei,' are substituted as follows:

Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

Art. 3. Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or "community" celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statues.

Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may - observing all the norms of law - also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 5. § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.

§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.

§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.

§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.

§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 õ 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei".

Art. 8. A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission "Ecclesia Dei" to obtain counsel and assistance.

Art. 9. § 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 3 Clerics ordained "in sacris constitutis" may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.

Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", erected by John Paul II in 1988 (5), continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.

Art. 12. This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.

We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as "established and decreed", and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.

From Rome, at St. Peter's, 7 July 2007, third year of Our Pontificate.

Pope Benedict XVI

(1) General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, no. 397.

(2) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," 4 December 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

(3) Ibid.

(4) St. Pius X, Apostolic Letter Motu propio data, "Abhinc duos annos," 23 October 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," no. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

(5) Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Motu proprio data "Ecclesia Dei," 2 July 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

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Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Why I Became Catholic (and Not Buddhist)

One woman's account of how she and her husband became Catholic, despite the example set by the Catholics they knew.

Bless her, O Lord, and make her holy. And let her and her husband enter Your kingdom rejoicing at the end of their days. Amen.

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Sunday, July 01, 2012

Pro Vobis et pro Multis Effundetur

On this Feast of the Precious Blood, the words used in the Consecration once again signify the mystical body of Christ, as they did for past generations going back to the Last Supper. Last year and for the preceding 40 years they did not, for most English-speaking Catholics. In the traditional Latin Mass, our Lord's words continued to be used, but in most places the old Mass was suppressed, and a new Mass put in its place, and at the heart of the new Mass, new words of consecration were used that contradicted Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

I suppose the new words were more congenial to a generation that did not care for thoughts of accountability and judgment. At the Last Supper, our Lord prayed for all who accept Him and abide in Him, then or now (John 17). He did not pray for those who will not accept His words. The 1960s generation wanted to make Him say that He blesses all men, regardless of the choices they make. That generation is finally passing, and its error has been corrected. If the old Mass has not been restored to its place of honor, at least our Lord's words are restored, and the prayers of the new Mass have been translated more carefully to offer adoration to Him Who is worthy of all adoration.

From the Roman Catechism:

...Another reason why we call the blood of the Lord the mystery of faith is that human reason is particularly beset with difficulty and embarrassment when faith proposes to our belief that Christ the Lord, the true Son of God, at once God and man, suffered death for us, and this death is designated by the Sacrament of His blood.

Here, therefore, rather than at the consecration of His body, is appropriately commemorated the Passion of our Lord, by the words. which shall be shed for the remission of sins. For the blood, separately consecrated, serves to place before the eyes of all, in a more forcible manner, the Passion of our Lord, His death, and the nature of His sufferings.

The additional words for you and for many, are taken, some from Matthew, some from Luke, but were joined together by the Catholic Church under the guidance of the Spirit of God. They serve to declare the fruit and advantage of His Passion. For if we look to its value, we must confess that the Redeemer shed His blood for the salvation of all; but if we look to the fruit which mankind have received from it, we shall easily find that it pertains not unto all, but to many of the human race. When therefore (our Lord) said: For you, He meant either those who were present, or those chosen from among the Jewish people, such as were, with the exception of Judas, the disciples with whom He was speaking. When He added, And for many, He wished to be understood to mean the remainder of the elect from among the Jews or Gentiles.

With reason, therefore, were the words for all not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation. And this is the purport of the Apostle when he says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many; and also of the words of our Lord in John: I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, because they are thine.

Beneath the words of this consecration lie hid many other mysteries, which by frequent meditation and study of sacred things, pastors will find it easy, with the divine assistance, to discover for themselves.

+++

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried by the fire, purged from the earth refined seven times.
Thou, O Lord, wilt preserve us: and keep us from this generation for ever.
Psalm 11:7-8

+++

Precious Blood,
Ocean of Divine Mercy:
Flow upon us!

Precious Blood,
Most pure Offering:
Procure us every Grace!

Precious Blood,
Hope and Refuge of sinners:
Atone for us!

Precious Blood,
Delight of holy souls:
Draw us! Amen.

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