A sermon written by Fr. Benedict Bradley, O.S.B. (1867-1945) in 1942, published posthumously in 1950, and revised by Br. Bruno Mello, nO.S.B. in 2021.
Editor’s Note: In updating this spiritually edifying sermon for the twentieth-first century audience, I have made minor spelling, diction, and syntax edits, changed all Bible verses to the New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition translation, and added several emphases and explanatory endnotes. All edits are made with the purpose of elucidating Fr. Benedict’s original meaning and purpose, with the notable exception of passages in which Fr. Benedict explicitly refers to specific liturgical words and actions. In these places I have substituted such references with the corresponding words and actions from the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1970 which contains the liturgical changes called for by the Second Vatican Council and is thus more familiar to most Catholics. Where this occurs, Fr. Benedict’s original wording can be found in the endnotes. All endnotes are my own.
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| Fr. Albert Holtz, O.S.B. is incensed by the deacon while offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the 50th Anniversary of his priestly ordination |
What makes the liturgy so far superior to non-liturgical acts of worship, like the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and others highly approved and richly indulgenced? Wherein lies the difference? A brief explanation of the term liturgy will make it clear.
Christ never separates Himself from His Mystical Body, which is the Church. He is the Head, and all baptized souls on earth, in heaven, and in purgatory are His members. In uniting Himself to His Mystical Body, the Church, He gives her His power of adoring, thanking, propitiating, and petitioning His Father. Thus the liturgy is Christ adoring, thanking, propitiating, and petitioning His Father through the lips and actions of the Church, that is, through the lips of all the living members of His Mystical Body, through your lips and through mine.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered to our Heavenly Father by Christ and His living members on earth, that is, by the souls in the state of sanctifying grace. We do not pray to Christ in the Holy Sacrifice, but Christ, our Head, in union with His members, worships our Heavenly Father. Hence the Holy Sacrifice is not a devotion to Christ, as many imagine, but Christ’s worship of His Father, in union with His members on earth. While it is only the living members of His Mystical Body on earth who offer the Sacrifice with Christ, the members of His Mystical Body in heaven are united with it in intercession, and the souls in purgatory share in its fruits. Thus the entire Mystical Body is in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Understanding the Mass
In order that we may offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass intelligently, it is necessary that we understand what it is. Pope Pius XI (r. 1922-1939) pleaded for a fuller understanding of the liturgy, chiefly the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and a more intelligent participation in it, as the prime purpose of the Liturgical Movement (1). For centuries we have been speaking of the Mass. It would have been much better had we always called it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If we had done so, the faithful would have always realized that there is a sacrifice in the Mass, and they would probably know what that sacrifice is. If you should ask the ordinary Catholic the question, “What is the Mass?”, you would get some strange answers. Many have no clear notion of what sacrifice means. They regard the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as a devotion, like exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Stations of the Cross, or a novena. It is much more; it is a sacrifice, religion’s supreme act of worship, the renewal of Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary.
The crucifix is the best picture of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that we have. Look at the crucifix and you will see what the Church is renewing on the altar. It is to keep the priest’s mind fixed on the great act of worship he is performing that the Church requires a crucifix to be placed on or near the altar during the Holy Sacrifice (2). It should serve the same purpose for all the faithful, and it would be well for them often to raise their eyes to the crucifix during the Holy Sacrifice.
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| The crucifix is an important liturgical object, one which reminds us of the cause for our joy. |
And what does the crucifix represent? Not simply a human body hanging nailed to a cross. No, it represents more than that; it represents the death of our Lord, the moment of the world’s redemption. St. Paul says: He redeemed us by His death. The world was redeemed the moment our Lord died, and His death was His Sacrifice. When we speak of sacrifice in the liturgy, we mean the death of our Lord, the meritorious cause of our redemption. Insofar as His death is the consummation of His life, we can say that under the point of view of a sacrifice, His whole life is contained in His death, the ultimate consummative act. Hence the redeeming act, from the Incarnation to the Ascension, is sacramentally present in every Mass.
Christ does the same thing at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that He did at the Last Supper, when He offered the Holy Sacrifice for the first time. At the Mass, we have the privilege of being present at the death of our Lord with all its divine efficacies, just as truly as our Blessed Mother had that privilege on Calvary. There is no essential difference between the Sacrifice of the Cross and the Sacrifice of the Mass. They are identical, for the sacrifice in each is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sacrifice of the Cross took place in a moment, the moment of our Lord’s death. At that moment the world was redeemed. At that moment Jesus Christ gained infinite merits for the salvation of all mankind. In the Mass, He gains no new merits, but He applies to our souls the merits gained on Calvary. This is the secondary reason why we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—to get the merits Christ gained for us on the Cross.
Many Catholics do not know their position in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They do not know that they go to Mass to offer the Holy Sacrifice. They go to Mass for the same purpose for which the priest ascends the altar; they go to offer the Holy Sacrifice with him. Remember always that it is Christ Himself who offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass through His minister at the altar, and He offers every Mass in union with all the living members of His Mystical Body on earth. So we go to Mass to do with Christ what He did on Calvary; we go to renew the Sacrifice of the Cross.
In the early days of the Church, the faithful understood the Holy Sacrifice better than they do today, and, understanding it better, they knew how to offer it. The prime purpose of the Liturgical Movement is expressed in the letter of Cardinal Maglione to Monsignor Morrison, chairman of The Liturgical Week, held in Chicago, in 1940: “The Holy Father,” he writes, “would also have me assure you, dear Monsignor, of his gratitude for the constant interest you and your devoted helpers have manifested in this newest endeavor to bring American Catholics to a fuller understanding of the liturgy of the Church and to a more intelligent participation in it (3)."
Let me remark here that any person who goes to Mass, and according to his knowledge does the best he can, will not fail to reap abundant fruit from the Holy Sacrifice. But there is such a thing as performing the great act of worship intelligently, and the more intelligently we do so, the more shall we appreciate its wonders, and the more abundantly shall we share in its fruits. We are certainly losing much in our spiritual life when we fail to understand the most sublime act of the Church’s worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The question, how shall we take an active part in the Mass, is of paramount importance, since St. Pius X calls active participation “the primary and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit.” He advises us “to pray the Mass with the priest.” You do this when you use a missal. When you make use of the missal, you are saying the very prayers of Christ’s minister at the altar. If you do this intelligently and in a sacrificial spirit, the spirit of self-surrender, the spirit of Christ in His Sacrifice on the Cross, you are certainly taking an active part in offering the Holy Sacrifice. The words of St. Paul have special application here: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Of course, one can take an active part in the Mass without using a missal, but, if you can use a missal, you will find it best to follow the advice of St. Pius X and “pray the Mass.”
The following directions may prove helpful in taking an active part in offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: The Offertory is the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, during which the Holy Sacrifice is offered (7). After the Creed and Prayer of the Faithful, which follow the homily, the Offertory of the Mass begins (8). At this part of the Mass, the faithful of the early Church brought to the altar their gifts of bread and wine for the Sacrifice. After setting aside sufficient bread and wine for the Holy Sacrifice and for the Communion of the people, the priest blessed what remained and gave it to the poor. These gifts of the faithful were symbols of the givers; in offering their gifts they offered themselves, that is, their prayers, works, and sufferings. The practice of offering gifts at the altar continues in the present day; the bread and wine brought forth from the congregation to the altar today are the gifts of the faithful, your gifts, and they represent you (9). The priest at the altar offers your gifts to your Heavenly Father. The offering of yourself at the Offertory is most important, for the sincerity of this act is the measure of the graces you will receive. So make it whole-heartedly. It is in fact a consecration of your life to God. Resolve here to be good until the next Mass, that is, to avoid sin, especially mortal sin, to keep the commandments of God and the Church. This is an excellent way of taking an active part in the Mass. In the Holy Sacrifice we get the grace to keep our resolution, if we are indeed earnest. After Mass you will go out into the world to live the Mass, to carry out the resolution you made at the Offertory.
What the Mass Does
Now, what does the Sacrifice of the Mass do? It makes present the death of our Lord. Our Lord Himself, through His minister, makes His death present on the altar. His death on the Cross was brought about by the separation of His Body and Blood. After the consecration, we have before us on the altar the Body and Blood of Christ sacramentally separated, the same Body and Blood that were separated on the Cross. At the Consecration in the Mass, our Lord, through the lips of His minister, pronounces the same words He pronounced at the Last Supper: This is my body—This is the chalice of my blood. At that moment, the substance of the bread is changed into the substance of His Body and the substance of the wine is changed into the substance of His Blood. We have on the altar the Body and Blood that Christ offered on Calvary, the Body and Blood of the Last Supper.Christ does the same thing at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that He did at the Last Supper, when He offered the Holy Sacrifice for the first time. At the Mass, we have the privilege of being present at the death of our Lord with all its divine efficacies, just as truly as our Blessed Mother had that privilege on Calvary. There is no essential difference between the Sacrifice of the Cross and the Sacrifice of the Mass. They are identical, for the sacrifice in each is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Sacrifice of the Cross took place in a moment, the moment of our Lord’s death. At that moment the world was redeemed. At that moment Jesus Christ gained infinite merits for the salvation of all mankind. In the Mass, He gains no new merits, but He applies to our souls the merits gained on Calvary. This is the secondary reason why we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—to get the merits Christ gained for us on the Cross.
The Debts We Owe God
The four debts that every man owes to God are adoration, thanksgiving, satisfaction, and petition. The debts of sin contracted by Adam and Eve and by all their children were paid by Christ’s death on the Cross. All the debts of the good thief dying at the side of his Savior were paid by Christ’s death. For this reason He said to the good thief: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” He was saved and entered Paradise at once because Christ had paid all his debts. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, like the Sacrifice of the Cross, pays all our debts, when we bring to it the disposition of the good thief: total and perfect self-surrender, the disposition with which our Lord offered His Sacrifice on the Cross. The Sacrifice of the Mass is just as effective as the Sacrifice of the Cross, for both are the same. In the Mass, He still redeems sinners with plentiful redemption by applying to them the infinite merits of the Cross.Many Catholics do not know their position in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They do not know that they go to Mass to offer the Holy Sacrifice. They go to Mass for the same purpose for which the priest ascends the altar; they go to offer the Holy Sacrifice with him. Remember always that it is Christ Himself who offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass through His minister at the altar, and He offers every Mass in union with all the living members of His Mystical Body on earth. So we go to Mass to do with Christ what He did on Calvary; we go to renew the Sacrifice of the Cross.
In the early days of the Church, the faithful understood the Holy Sacrifice better than they do today, and, understanding it better, they knew how to offer it. The prime purpose of the Liturgical Movement is expressed in the letter of Cardinal Maglione to Monsignor Morrison, chairman of The Liturgical Week, held in Chicago, in 1940: “The Holy Father,” he writes, “would also have me assure you, dear Monsignor, of his gratitude for the constant interest you and your devoted helpers have manifested in this newest endeavor to bring American Catholics to a fuller understanding of the liturgy of the Church and to a more intelligent participation in it (3)."
Assisting at Mass
The manner in which the early Christians assisted at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass differed widely from the way in which most of the faithful assist at it today. Instead of taking an active part in offering the Holy Sacrifice, as they did, most Catholics content themselves with being passively present. It was to correct this error that Pope Saint Pius X (r. 1903-1914) wrote his encyclical on Church Music (4). One sentence of that famous document is quoted in every work that speaks of participation in the liturgy. It reads as follows: “The primary and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit is the active participation in the sacred mysteries (the Mass) and in the public and solemn prayers of the Church (5).”Let me remark here that any person who goes to Mass, and according to his knowledge does the best he can, will not fail to reap abundant fruit from the Holy Sacrifice. But there is such a thing as performing the great act of worship intelligently, and the more intelligently we do so, the more shall we appreciate its wonders, and the more abundantly shall we share in its fruits. We are certainly losing much in our spiritual life when we fail to understand the most sublime act of the Church’s worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
The question, how shall we take an active part in the Mass, is of paramount importance, since St. Pius X calls active participation “the primary and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit.” He advises us “to pray the Mass with the priest.” You do this when you use a missal. When you make use of the missal, you are saying the very prayers of Christ’s minister at the altar. If you do this intelligently and in a sacrificial spirit, the spirit of self-surrender, the spirit of Christ in His Sacrifice on the Cross, you are certainly taking an active part in offering the Holy Sacrifice. The words of St. Paul have special application here: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” Of course, one can take an active part in the Mass without using a missal, but, if you can use a missal, you will find it best to follow the advice of St. Pius X and “pray the Mass.”
Active Participation
At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are not mere spectators; we are actors in the great drama. We are not passive but active. With Christ we act in the renewal of the tragedy of the Cross. The ideal way of taking an active part in the Mass is best seen when the entire congregation sings the Entrance Chant, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Responsorial Psalm, the Alleluia, the Creed, the Offertory Chant, the Sanctus, the Memorial Acclamation, the Great Amen, the Our Father, the Agnus Dei, the Communion Chant, and the other various responses. The ideal participation can never be the mere silent reading of the prayers of the Mass with the priest. Since the liturgy of the Church is the corporate worship of the Mystical Body of Christ, it stands to reason that the entire congregation should recite aloud the prayers assigned to it, otherwise the ideal of the Mass as a communal act is lost (6). |
| When members of the congregation bring forward bread and wine for the Holy Sacrifice, we are symbolically offering our whole being as a gift to God. |
Union with Christ
The most important part of the Mass in which you should participate is the Consecration. Let our Blessed Mother be your model here. Try to visualize the scene on Calvary at our Lord’s death on the Cross. Standing at the foot of the Cross, understanding fully the meaning of the Sacrifice her Divine Son was offering, she, in union with Him, offered up His Body and His Blood to His Heavenly Father, and with this Gift she offered herself, her all. Let’s do the same at the Consecration. When the priest elevates the Body of the Lord, right after its consecration, offer it with Christ, and when he elevates the chalice, offer His Precious Blood. On the Cross, our Lord made the offering to pay man’s debts of adoration, thanksgiving, satisfaction, and petition. In the Mass, He does the same and we unite with Him. If you do this, you have truly offered the Holy Sacrifice. No other act of worship can compare with this. No other act so perfectly satisfies for sin; no other act can possibly render our Heavenly Father the adoration and thanksgiving that Christ with all His members gives Him in the Sacrifice. The greatest act our Lord ever performed here on earth was to offer the Sacrifice of the Cross; the greatest act He performs now is to renew that Sacrifice in the Mass. The greatest act of my priesthood is to offer the Holy Sacrifice, and the greatest and most important act in the life of every Catholic is to co-offer that Sacrifice with Christ’s minister and with Christ. |
| "Through Him, and with Him, and in Him..." |
Holy Communion
The best preparation for Holy Communion is the offering of the Holy Sacrifice. Those who receive Holy Communion before Mass neglect this most important preparation. We should stress the fact that Holy Communion is sacrificial, namely, that it is an integral part of the Sacrifice, necessary to its completion, though not to its essence. It is the most intimate participation in the Sacrifice—eating the Sacrifice. As the third prayer after the Consecration expresses it, “it is a sharing in the Heavenly Sacrifice (11).”
In this part of the Mass, the banquet, the Church proposes her own model for our imitation when she has us recite the words of the Centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Without fear, but in the spirit of the Centurion, with humility and confidence, she would have us approach the holy table to receive the bread that came down from Heaven for the nourishment of our supernatural life, the Christ-life within us. Many regard Holy Communion as a mere visit of our Lord. It’s that, but it’s much more than that; it’s food. Look on Holy Communion as the breakfast of your soul, strengthening you for the fight of the day with the world, the flesh, and the devil. “Those who eat My Flesh and drink My Blood abide in Me, and I in them,” says our Lord. The nourishment of that Divine food remains with us forever, increasing the Christ-life within us.
The Mystical Body
Each sacrament has its own special sacramental grace. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the sacramental grace of the Eucharist is the Mystical Body of Christ, Christ’s sacramental Body making Christ’s Mystical Body, uniting all the members more intimately with Christ and with one another. The whole Eucharistic spirit is the spirit of charity. St. Paul says: “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” The Eucharistic Sacrifice is not an individual act; it is a corporate act in the Sacrifice as well as in the banquet. Holy Communion is a social act, an act that influences not only the individual who communicates but the entire Mystical Body of Christ, building up the Church. It would be disastrous to overlook the social character of Holy Communion. The Communion of each member strengthens the bond that unites the other members with Christ and with one another. This is the charity of the Eucharist, the sacramental grace of the sacrament.The Venerable Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-1958), in an Instruction of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, expressed his urgent wish that all pastors of souls should “immediately teach the faithful concerning the nature and excellence of the Sacrifice of the Mass” (12). May this sermon on the Meaning of the Liturgy, in compliance with the wishes of our Holy Father, help to further the efforts of Venerable Pius XII in bringing to the faithful a fuller knowledge of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and a more intelligent participation in it. Amen.
The following apply to Fr. Benedict’s original, unaltered manuscript:
Imprimi potest
✠ Patricius O’Brien, O.S.B.
Abbas
Nihil obstat
Cornelius J. Kane
Censor Librorum
Imprimatur
✠ Thomas J. Walsh
Archbishop of Newark,
New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey,
March 31, 1942
Fr. Benedict Bradley
Born in Illinois in 1867, Fr. Benedict Bradley, O.S.B. began his monastic life as a monk of St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Kansas. In 1913, he began teaching at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, and in 1920 he transferred his stability to St. Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey. Shortly after moving to Newark, he became the confessor of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich and his own thought and teachings became deeply influenced by Bl. Miriam Teresa's meditations and example. A great supporter of the Liturgical Movement, the liturgy was the center of his life and he dedicated much of his priestly ministry to encouraging fuller knowledge of and more intelligent participation in the liturgy. He died on December 20, 1945, having served the Lord in the monastic life for fifty-nine years.
Endnotes:
1. Throughout this sermon, Fr. Benedict makes reference to "the Liturgical Movement," a scholarly and pastoral movement that began with European Benedictines in the mid-19th century and continued to gain traction and support well into the 20th century. The aim of this movement, reiterated multiple times throughout this sermon were "bringing to the faithful a fuller knowledge of the [liturgy] and a more intelligent participation in it." The liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council, which occurred twenty years after Fr. Benedict's death, can be attributed largely to the academic research and catechesis that was part of the Liturgical Movement. A very succinct history of the Liturgical Movement can be found here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liturgical-Movement2. Original: “It is to keep his mind fixed on the great act of worship he is performing that the Church obliges the priest to have a crucifix before him on the altar during the Holy Sacrifice.”
3. Emphasis added by the editor. The event referred to here is the inaugural National Liturgical Week, an annual liturgy conference organized by a group of American Benedictines. Annual meetings between 1940-1968 became major events for proponents of the Liturgical Movement. The sponsoring organization, “The Liturgical Conference,” continues to exist, though it is now primarily an ecumenical publishing house. Notice the two key phrases in the quoted letter which describe the goals of the Liturgical Movement: fuller understanding of the liturgy and more intelligent participation in it.
4. The document referred to here is Pius X, Tra le solicitudini (Instruction on Sacred Music), a motu proprio promulgated by Pope St. Pius X on November 22, 1903. Most well-known for its strong endorsement of Gregorian Chant as the music proper to the liturgy, Tra le solicitudini is widely recognized as one of the first papal documents advancing the work of the Liturgical Movement.
5. The full sentence Fr. Benedict quotes from reads as follows (in the most common English translation): “Filled as We are with a most ardent desire to see the true Christian spirit flourish in every respect and be preserved by all the faithful, We deem it necessary to provide before anything else for the sanctity and dignity of the temple, in which the faithful assemble for no other object than that of acquiring this spirit from its foremost and indispensable font, which is the active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church.”
6. Original: “The ideal way of taking an active part in the Mass is best seen in the High Mass, or Missa Cantata. Here the choir, which should include the entire congregation, sings the Introit, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Offertory Verse, the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei, the Communio, and the various responses made by the server in a Low Mass. The Dialog, or Missa Recitata, presents like opportunities of active participation in the Low Mass. The ideal participation can never be the mere silent reading of the prayers of the Mass with the priest. Since the liturgy of the Church is the corporate worship of the Mystical Body of Christ, it stands to reason that the entire congregation should recite aloud the prayers assigned to it, otherwise the ideal of the Mass as a communal act is lost.”
7. Original: “The Offertory is the beginning of the Holy Sacrifice.” Ecclesial documents of the late twentieth century refer to this liturgical action under a variety of terms: “Presentation of the Gifts,” “Preparation of the Altar,” “Offertory,” etc. Since the Catechism of the Catholic Church continues to use the traditional term “Offertory,” I have opted to preserve Fr. Benedict’s original wording.
8. Original: “After the Credo, which follows the sermon, the Offertory of the Mass begins.”
9. Original: “Though the practice of offering gifts at the altar has ceased, the bread and wine on the altar today are still the gifts of the faithful, your gifts, and they represent you.”
10. Original: “This dominant purpose of the Mass is expressed in the words that accompany the Little Elevation at the end of the Sacrifice, just before the Pater Noster. Making the sign of the Cross three times with the sacred Host, over the precious Blood, and twice in front of it, the priest repeats these words: Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, is to Thee, God the Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory, world without end. Amen.”
11. This prayer, known as the Supplices te rogamus, is preserved in Eucharistic Prayer I of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. However, the current English translation of this prayer reads as follows, “In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God: command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing.” This translation intentionally does not settle the ambiguity found in the original Latin, leaving open the question as to whether “the altar” refers to the earthly altar or the Heavenly Altar. Fr. Benedict’s translation of this text clearly indicates his belief that it refers to the Heavenly Altar, and we are free to retain his interpretation.
12. The Sacred Congregation of the Council was renamed by Pope St. Paul VI in 1967. It is now known as the Congregation for the Clergy.
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