The Sacrifice of the Mass

The offering of the Son to the Father
for the sake of the souls in purgatory

Forasmuch as, in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, that same Christ is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner, who once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross; the holy Synod teaches, that this sacrifice is truly propritiatory and that by means thereof this is effected, that we obtain mercy, and find grace in seasonable aid, if we draw nigh unto God, contrite and penitent, with a sincere heart and upright faith, with fear and reverence. ___Trent

Annunciation 2009

...And the Word became flesh

The Most Precious Blood of the Lord

The Holy scourging

Unlimited is the effectiveness of the God-Man's Blood -- just as unlimited as the love that impelled him to pour it out for us, first at his circumcision eight days after birth, and more profusely later on in his agony in the garden, in his scourging and crowning with thorns, in his climb to Calvary and crucifixion, and finally from out that great wide wound in his side which symbolizes the divine Blood cascading down into all the Church's sacraments. Such surpassing love suggests, nay demands, that everyone reborn in the torrents of that Blood adore it with grateful love.

___Blessed John XXIII 1960

ASH WEDNESDAY

February Contribution

My Jesus for me you have mounted the tree of destruction
and have caused it to become the instrument of my redemption
from the powers of this passing world.

Grant me the grace of final perseverance.
Amen.

The Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinus

The Vision of Saint Thomas Aquinus
painted by Santi di Tito in 1593 Florence

May He Rest in Peace.

Msgr. William Smith