107. After the first kiss of the altar the priest, facing the people and with the palms of his hands extended and turned towards the faithful, says the words Orate Fratres, then continuing to turn until he again faces the altar. This moment of the Mass, though not forming part of its essence, is of great profundity and importance. The moment the priest utters these words, inviting all to pray, he is authorized by Most Holy Joseph to offer the sacrifices in the Mass and to realize the espousal of those as yet ununited. It is understood that the priest does not receive that authorization through the words Orate Fratres, since these are not necessary for the exercise of the mission of Saint Joseph in the Mass. The sublime priesthood of the Virginal Patriarch is strikingly manifested in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass when the priest pronounces the words Orate Fratres, because making a complete turn he indicates that the priestly action of Saint Joseph, which at this moment of Mass is that of authorization, is outside the essence of the Sacrifice, even though his Priesthood is superior to the ministerial priesthood.
108. The moment of Holy Mass when the priest, showing the palms of his hands, requests the people to pray, is of great symbolism. The priest, showing himself as if nailed to the Cross, wishes to indicate that it is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, perpetuation of Calvary, that makes reparation to God and restrains His just Wrath provoked by our sins, obtaining from Him the clemency of His Infinite Mercy, impossible without the personal cooperation of men. Furthermore the celebrant, with his hands thus symbolizing Christ on the Cross, wishes to show himself to the people as legitimate Mediator between God and men, and that his hands desire to receive not only all their good works, but also their sins in order to shield them from the angered gaze of the vengeful God by the Blood of Christ which will be poured out anew in the Mass. Profound and expectant for the whole Church is the moment of the Orate Fratres, clearly spoken by the priest, who invites all to reflect on and further to penetrate into the sublime excellence of the Priesthood and the mysteries of Calvary which he, as representative of the Eternal High Priest, is about to relive, albeit unbloodily. But let us consider what the celebrant, in the Mass, requests and interiorly commands the faithful to request, when he says Orate Fratres. First and foremost, that the Most High grant him the most special grace that, through his ministry at the altar, God continue to accept, in the celebration of the Mass, the Infinite Sacrifice of Christ and Mary on Calvary. In second place he asks for the grace that, through his priestly ministry, God continue to accept the finite sacrifice of the Blessed in Heaven and of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Thirdly, the grace that God also continue to accept the past finite sacrifice of the members of the Church Militant in the state of grace. Fourthly, he requests the grace that, through his ministry, God bless, sanctify and accept the present and future finite sacrifice of the members of the Church Militant in the state of grace. Finally he requests the grace that, through his ministry, God continue to accept the past finite sacrifice of the members of the Church Expectant, and furthermore that He bless, sanctify and accept their present and future finite sacrifice.
109. Immediately after the Orate Fratres the priest again kisses the altar and blesses himself to indicate the beginning of the first essential part of the Mass, the Offertory, which he is about to make in Christ’s name. The celebrant, when he lifts up the host on the paten and the wine in the chalice, at the same time raising his eyes to Heaven, in the two material species anticipatedly offers the Divine Victims, namely Christ and Mary, Who later, at the moment of the Consecration, will descend upon the altar in sacramental form. By offering the Divine Victims the priest makes it possible that, at the same time as they are offered by him, both also invisibly offer themselves. When the priest offers the Divine Victims he also offers himself and the whole of Christ’s Mystical Body. In other words, the priest performs the oblation of the Victim, the Whole Christ present in his mystical heart, from which, of course, the members of the Church in mortal sin are excluded. In the Offertory is included the offering the celebrant makes of the Infinite Sacrifice of Christ and Mary on Calvary; as also of the finite sacrifice of the Church which contains, on the one hand, the past finite sacrifices of praise of the Churches Triumphant and Suffering and the past finite sacrifices of the faithful of the Church Militant in grace, as well as the espousal of all these finite sacrifices with the Infinite Sacrifice of Christ and Mary; and, on the other hand, there are contained the present and future finite sacrifices of the Churches Triumphant and Suffering and the present and future sacrifices of the faithful of the Church Militant in grace; as well as the present and future espousal of all these finite sacrifices with the Infinite Sacrifice of Christ and Mary. Although the Offertory comprises two ritual acts, these constitute a single oblation, which is accepted by the Father when the celebrant, after he has offered the host, offers the chalice as well. For without both offerings, there would be no Offertory.
110. It is necessary to clarify that when in Holy Mass the celebrating priest offers the past finite sacrifices of the faithful of the Church Militant in the state of grace, he offers all the past finite sacrifices of the members of the Churches Triumphant and Suffering when these belonged to the Church Militant, as well as the past finite sacrifices of the present- day members of the Church Militant and all the past finite sacrifices of those who once belonged to the Church Militant, and who, not perseverant, have apostatized or been condemned. Furthermore, when we say that in the Mass the priest offers the espousal of past, present and future sacrifices, he not only offers the unions themselves of those sacrifices, but in addition the infinite value which the past sacrifices acquired, the present acquire and the future will acquire. In the economy of grace God already bears in mind the future finite sacrifices of the Church, even though they do not exist as real acts prior to their accomplishment, and in this sense they are already contained in the Sacrifice of Calvary.
111. As for the sacrifices of the Church Expectant, before speaking of their offering in the Mass, we duly make the following clarification. Until the Death of Christ all the acts of the souls of Children in Limbo, who as we know enjoyed the use of reason, had a purely natural value. The moment that Christ expired and communicated the grace of imperfect justification to them, they renewed all those acts, which then acquired supernatural value corresponding to that reflection of grace and were transformed into imperfect finite sacrifices, awaiting the moment Saint John would realize the union of sacrifices on Calvary, when they acquired perfect value, but without being united on that account. As we know, all the sacrifices of souls of the Church Expectant will be united to the Infinite Sacrifice at the Coming of Christ. As is obvious, the imperfect finite sacrifices of souls of the Church Expectant realized from the Death of Christ to the union of sacrifices by Saint John, also acquired perfect value at that moment. The Church Expectant was constituted, then, at the Death of Christ, because henceforth its members possess imperfect justice vinculating them to Christ’s Mystical Body and guaranteeing Eternal Happiness. After this brief clarification we add that in the Offertory the celebrant also offers all the past, present and future imperfect sacrifices of the Church Expectant, their vinculation to the Infinite Sacrifice, and the future espousal of their now perfect sacrifices with the Infinite Sacrifice.
112. In sum, the celebrating priest, at the moment of the Offertory, offers in his mystical priestly heart the Infinite Sacrifice of Christ and Mary, along with all past, present and future finite sacrifices of the whole Church, as well as their espousal with the Sacrifice of Calvary.
113. Furthermore, since the priest in the Mass is mystically Christ on the Cross, he also takes upon himself all the past, present and future sins of mankind and presents them to the Father together with the Divine Victims and the whole Mystical Body as Victim, imploring the August Majesty to extend His Infinite Mercy over those faithful who avail themselves of the Blood shed on Calvary by the Divine Lamb, and also over all sinful mankind - in order for it to be converted when in the Mass the Deific Blood is shed anew unbloodily. To put it another way, in the Mass, Christ, as Principal Priest, and Mary, as Christ’s Co-Priest, take upon themselves all of mankind’s sins; and the priest, as instrumental victim of the Divine Victims, as such takes those sins upon himself, and in him so does the whole Church, victim that she is as well.
114. In the Offertory the celebrating priest implicitly pronounces his fiat to the will of the Eternal Father when he makes the offering of Christ and Mary as Eucharistic Victims to be immolated afterwards at the sacrificial Communion. At the same time he gives himself over to die mystically with them, and in him the whole Church. With his sacrificial fiat the celebrant perpetuates the continuous Offertory or uninterrupted Fiat of Christ and Mary, which began at the creation of their Divine Souls, was prolonged during their lives on earth and will endure for eternity of eternities. The entire work of both Divine Victims culminated and was encompassed in the solemn and bloody Fiat they pronounced when Christ on the Cross commended His Spirit to the Father. Also included at that sublime and crucial moment was the entire uninterrupted Fiat of the Church of all times, and for eternity of eternities. We give due emphasis to four of the Fiats perpetuated in a special way in the Offertory of Holy Mass: the Fiat pronounced by the Divine Souls at the moment of creation; the Fiat pronounced by Christ and Mary for the Incarnation of the Word; the Fiat which, united to His sweat of Blood, Christ pronounced in the Garden of Gethsemani, together with His Divine Mother Who was present while remaining visible to Her sisters and the other holy women in the place where She was to be found with them; and the solemn and bloody Fiat of both Divine Victims when Christ on the Cross commended His Spirit to the Father at the moment He expired.
115. This Holy Council teaches that, if ritually the Offertory of the Mass consists of a double offering, one with the host and another with the chalice, it is in order thus to show more strikingly what Christ did on the Cross. For when He commended His Spirit to the Father, He gave Himself up to death with, moreover, complete separation of Body and Blood. The offering of the host and of the chalice was established by Christ at the Institution of Holy Mass, wherefore it is of divine law. Besides, we teach that not only for the Offertory, but also for the Consecration and for the celebrant’s Communion, both species are essential for the validity of each of the threee parts of the Mass, and in short for the validity of the Sacrifice. For this reason the Church, down through the centuries, has maintained with unshakable firmness the obligation of both species of bread and wine in the three essential parts of the Mass - Offertory, Consecration and Communion.
116. The above contrasts with the practice in the Church of the rite, now abolished, of the Mass of the Presanctified of Good Friday, in which the species of bread alone was used, and whose first two parts, Offertory and Consecration, were carried out the previous day as we know. In order to clarify the mystery we recall, firstly, that in the Mass of the Cenacle, when Our Lord Jesus Christ offered and consecrated the host intended for Saint John and gave it to him in Communion, He did so with the sacrificial intention that the Apostle the following day, on Calvary, should immolate the Most Divine Sacrament conserved in his priestly heart under the species of bread, and thus complete the bloody Sacrifice of the Cross. Consequently, though Christ made use of the rite of the Mass of the Presanctified, using only the species of bread, with the purpose of completing the bloody Sacrifice of Calvary, nevertheless it was not with the intention of making its use compulsory in the Church, even though, by divine permission, it became her custom to do so on Good Friday. In the same way as the Apostle united the sacrifices on Calvary through Communion under the species of bread alone, the priest in the Mass of the Presanctified united them, in accordance with the rite, communicating solely under that species. Nevertheless, in our daily Mass, which is the one instituted by Christ in the Cenacle, it is absolutely necessary, as we have already stated, to use both species - bread and wine. Thus the Pope does not have the power to alter the matter of the Mass. There is no doubt that if, by divine permission, the Church maintained the rite of the Mass of the Presanctified of Good Friday down through the centuries, it was, among other reasons, in order that the Pope, in his day, feel impelled to make a profound study of that Mass, so that, by virtue of his Infallible Magisterium, the mysterious and transcendental sacrificial action of Saint John at the foot of the Cross become evident. That is why His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, gloriously reigning, shortly after revealing dogmatically to the Church that the Mass of the Presanctified had fulfilled its mission on Calvary, abolished it; so that on the solemnity of Good Friday all priests, using the ordinary rite of the Mass, be enabled to celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice many times.
117. It now behoves us further to clarify the priestly action of Christ and Mary in the Offertory of the Mass, as well as the priestly action of the minister and in him that of the whole Church.
1. Christ and Mary, on being offered by the celebrant in his mystical heart, also offer themselves as Infinite Victims, and at the same time they offer the minister at the altar and in him all members of the Church in grace, and her finite sacrifice.
2. When the celebrant, in his mystical heart, offers Christ and Mary as Infinite Victims, he also offers himself and all members of the Church in grace, with her finite sacrifice.
3. The living members of the Church, on being offered by the celebrant, also offer themselves in his mystical heart when the priest’s oblation is extended to them in virtue of the Drop of Mary’s Blood present in their hearts.
118. Great symbolism is enclosed in the twofold action of the Offertory of the Mass, in which is also offered, as we know, Christ’s Mystical Body. The bread and wine, singularly sacred by virtue of their respective oblations, are figures of the Mystical Body, since each sacramental species is a whole composed of many units, grains of wheat or grapes, respectively, which symbolize the members of Christ’s Mystical Body.
119. Although the words of the Offertory of the Mass form part of the rite instituted by the Church and therefore bind the celebrant, they are not essential for the validity of the oblation. What makes the latter efficacious is the sacrificial intention of the priest in the name of Christ and Mary as their minister, and also in his own name and in that of the whole Church whose minister he is, she implicitly uniting herself to the intention of her representative at the altar. Although the celebrating priest utters the ritual words of the Offertory, it is therefore not Christ Who utters them through him, as indeed takes place at the Consecration. It follows that if a celebrant, at the Offertory of Holy Mass, were involuntarily to omit the ritual words, the Offertory would be valid nonetheless, since what is essential is the sacrificial intention of offering, and that is implicit in the priest when he celebrates. However should a priest dare, which God forbid, intentionally to omit the ritual words in the Offertory of the Mass, he would commit a most grave sacrilege and incur ipso facto excommunication with the consequent loss of his powers so that the Offertory would be invalid. With the loss of his powers, though immediately afterwards he were to pronounce the words of consecration over the bread and over the wine, transubstantiation would not take place, not even as a Sacrament. The doctrine applies to any other malicious omission or alteration in the rite of Holy Mass. In the Offertory, when he makes the oblation the priest prays for himself, for all the faithful living and dead, and for the conversion of sinners, which prayer is presented to the Father by Christ and Mary.
120. At the conclusion of the Offertory the priest again kisses the altar and blesses himself to indicate the beginning of the second essential part of the Mass, the Consecration, which he realizes in Christ’s Name.
121. When the celebrant pronounces the words of the two consecratory formulae, one over the bread and the other over the chalice containing wine, in virtue of the words themselves the respective transubstan-tiation of both species takes place. The substance of bread is converted into the Body of Christ and the substance of wine into the Blood of Christ. Beneath either sacramental form Christ is present whole and entire, and so therefore are the three Divine Persons, doctrine already explained in Chapter XXV of this Treatise. Since there we made only a brief reference to Mary’s presence in the Eucharist, it is proper now to do so in greater detail. The Divine Mary is really and truly present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, under both sacramental species, in Body, Blood and Soul. Mary’s presence is by concomitance for each of the elements of Her Person. When the celebrant utters the consecratory words over the bread and wine, no transubstantia-tion into the Body and Blood of Mary takes place, but into the Body and Blood of Christ, respectively. However, by concomitance, in the Sacred Host the Body of Mary is present, and in the Sacred Chalice Her Blood, and under both species She is present whole and entire.
122. We further amplify the doctrine. Mary is present in the Eucharist by different forms of concomitance, both in the Sacred Host and in the Sacred Chalice. In virtue of the presence of the Most Divine Soul of Christ in the Eucharist, through concomitance of Espousal the Divine Soul of Mary is present, and where Her Soul is, by natural concomitance there also are Her Body and Blood. In virtue of the presence in the Eucharist of the Deific Heart of Jesus, through concomitance of Espousal the Immaculate Heart of Mary is present, and where Her Heart is, by natural concomitance Her Immaculate Body, Blood and Soul are also present. In virtue of the presence of the Deific Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, through concomitance of Espousal the most pure Blood of Mary is present, and where Her Blood is, by natural concomitance Her Body and Soul are also present. In short, the Most Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are eucharistically enthroned in each other in the real and true presence of both in the Most Holy, Most Divine and Most August Sacrament of the Altar.
123. Although the second essential part of the Mass consists of two ritual Consecrations, these constitute a single moment of the Sacrifice, the Consecration of the species. As we have already said, by divine law both species are absolutely necessary for the validity of the second essential part of the Mass, and in short for the validity of the Sacrifice. The Consecration of the Mass has, as we know, the purpose of producing the Sacrament, and thus making possible the immolation. That purpose ought not to be confused with the double intention the priest might have when he consecrates. Besides the sacrificial intention which implicitly accompanies the Consecration of the host and the wine, reserved for the Celebrant for the essence of the Sacrifice, he might have the non- sacrificial intention of consecrating hosts for the sacramental Communion of the faithful and reservation in the tabernacle.
124. Before continuing the exposition of the Mass it behoves us to explain that in the Eucharist only Our Lord Jesus Christ, in sacramental form under the species of bread and of wine, assumes all the accidents of the two species, as we know. The Divine Mary does not assume any accidents. Neither does the Eternal Father nor the Holy Ghost. The accidents of bread are directly assumed by Christ in His Deific Body, and concomitantly in His Most Precious Blood and Most Divine Soul, as well as by His Divine Nature in virtue of the Hypostatic Union. The accidents of wine are directly assumed by Christ in His Most Precious Blood, and concomitantly in His Deific Body and Most Divine Soul, as well as by His Divine Nature in virtue of the Hypostatic Union. For example when a priest takes the Sacred Host in his hands, he is directly touching the Body of Christ in substance and accidents. Furthermore, he is mysteriously touching His Blood, Soul and Divinity, and therefore the August Trinity, as well as the Body, Blood and Soul of Mary.
125. This Holy Council teaches that when Our Lord Jesus Christ assumes, in His most divine eucharistic sacramental substance, in the Host the accidents of bread and in the Chalice the accidents of wine, He, without losing - in His substantial presence - His glorious state, which is natural to Him, assumes in the Sacred Host a new state for His Body - that of the accidents of bread, and assumes in the Most Precious Blood of the Chalice a new state for His Blood - that of the accidents of wine. It follows that in the Sacred Host the Most Divine Body of Christ, substantially present, possesses a double state - the glorious, the natural one, and that of the accidents - the assumed one in which It possesses the qualities peculiar to bread and therefore is not glorious. However, His Most Precious Blood, substantially present by concomitance in the Sacred Host, there possesses the glorious state only. In the Sacred Chalice the Most Precious Blood of Christ, substantially present, possesses a double state - the glorious, the natural one, and that of the accidents - the assumed one in which It possesses the qualities peculiar to wine and therefore is not glorious. However the Most Divine Body of Christ, substantially present by concomitance in the Sacred Chalice, there possesses the glorious state only. The Most Divine Soul of Christ, sacramentally present under the species of bread and of wine, on being substantially present by concomitance in both species, is present only in the glorious state. The Divinity, also present in the Eucharist, we know to be immutable. The real and true presence of the Divine Mary, since She is sacramentally and substantially present by concomitance under both species in the Sacred Host and in the Sacred Chalice, is in the glorious state only. Hence Our Lord Jesus Christ is really and truly present in the Eucharist, His substance concealed but His Body and Blood visible in the state of the respective assumed accidents. Thus in the Sacred Host there exists one only presence of Christ, that of His most divine substance. But only His Body possesses a double state: the glorious, the natural one, and that of the assumed accidents. In the Sacred Chalice there exists one only presence of Christ, that of His most divine substance. But only His Blood possesses a double state: the glorious, the natural one, and that of the assumed accidents. However as we know, Christ and Mary as wayfarers were present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist also in the passible state, except when this disappeared.
126. We amplify the doctrine. Christ is substantially present both in the Sacred Host and in the Sacred Chalice, in His natural glorious state and with the dimensions of His corporeal nature, His members perfectly and naturally arranged, without confusion or deformation. In other words, with the same beauty and size He enjoys in Heaven. Not on this account are the various parts of His corporeal nature located in specific sections of the Sacred Host or Sacred Chalice. Rather, the same as with the human soul, which is present whole and entire in every part of the body, Our Lord Jesus Christ, as befits His glorious state, is whole, entire and indivisible - and does not occupy a fixed place - in the Most Divine Sacrament. He is in the Whole and in every part of the Sacrament, without for that reason having more than one eucharistic presence in the Sacred Host or in the Sacred Chalice. Moreover, He is also whole and entire in every particle separated from the Whole, so that there are as many eucharistic presences as there are particles, Since Christ is present in the Eucharist, with His Body in the Host and His Blood in the Chalice also in the state of the respective accidents, in that state both most divine elements of Christ possess the shape, size, weight, savour, smell, colour, etc., of the corresponding species, His Body and Blood thus occupying a definite place, that of the dimensions of the respective species. In the new state the Body and Blood of Christ, though not glorious, are impassible. In other words, Christ does not suffer in then. Although the accidents may vary in shape, size, weight, etc., the eucharistic substance which assumes them does not, because Christ is contained integral and unchanging in any part of the Host or contents of the Chalice. For example, when the Sacred Host is fractioned Christ is unchanged in His glorious state, but in the state of the assumed accidents He is changed in shape, size, weight, etc. We ought also to make clear that Our Lord Jesus Christ, substantially present in the Eucharist, is also present through two quantitative accidents which are, at the same time, His very substance - His Deific Particle of Heart under the species of bread and His Most Precious Drop of Blood under the species of wine, and in both Singular Sacraments He is contained whole and entire. If by a miracle the veil of the accidents peculiar to bread were to be removed from the Sacred Host, we should find the quantitative accident of Christ’s Deific Particle of Heart. If we could miraculously penetrate with our eyes the mystery contained in that most sublime accident, we would see Christ whole and entire and glorious exactly as He is in Heaven, namely in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We should also see the Particle of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and Her whole and entire therein. Likewise, if by a miracle the veil of the accidents peculiar to wine were to be removed from the sacred Chalice, we should find the quantitative accident of Christ’s Drop of Blood. And if at the same time we could miraculously penetrate with our eyes the mystery contained in that most sublime accident, we should see Christ whole and entire and glorious exactly as He is in Heaven, namely in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. We should also see Mary’s most pure Drop of Blood, and Her whole and entire in that Drop. Furthermore, under the species of bread and of wine, we should be enabled to see the Father and the Holy Ghost. To complete the doctrine we teach that when Christ assumes, as we know, in His most divine eucharistic substance the accidents of bread and wine, these are, through that substance in the Sacrament, hypostatically united to the Divine Word. The eucharistic Hypostatic Union endures in both sacramental species as long as these remain incorrupt. We make clear that the assumption by the Divine Word of the accidents of bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist depends directly on the substance. Only while the substance is present in the Most Divine Sacrament, and consequently eucharistically united to the Divine Word, are the accidents united hypostatically. We also gather from the doctrine explained that Christ’s assumption of the accidents of bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Eucharist is through His Deific Particle of Heart and His Deific Drop of Blood, respectively.
127. We also teach that if it was necessary for Christ as wayfarer in His Body to assume the passible state in order to immolate Himself bloodily, it is likewise necessary for Him to assume the state of the accidents of bread and wine in the Host and in the Chalice to be immolated unbloodily. Besides, thanks to Christ’s assumption of these accidents a priest, in the exercise of his ministry at the altar, aided by Faith, perceives with his bodily senses, if they are in good order, the Deific Body of Christ and His Most Precious Blood exactly as both are found in the state of the accidents. In other words, both elements of Christ’s human nature are thus perceived with the sense of sight, of touch, of smell, of taste, etc. It is the same with the faithful who perceive with the senses what pertains to them in the Sacrament. Since the eucharistic accidents of bread and wine are Christ, the same worship of adoration is due them as to the most divine substance. In other words, in the August Sacrament of the Altar we adore Christ, in the glorious state and in the state of the assumed accidents. Let it be clear that although the most sacred eucharistic accidents of bread and wine are Christ Himself, they are not present by concomitance in Heaven. Neither are they present in the Particle of the Deific Heart of Christ nor in Mary’s Drop of Blood nor in the hearts of the faithful in grace, since these accidents are solely and exclusively for the presence of Christ in the Most Divine Sacrament.
128. Christ, substantially present in the Eucharist, is not subject to the inertia of the accidents He assumes. Rather, hidden in the Most Divine Sacrament, He is present with the glorious qualities He possesses in Heaven, and thus He Himself is able to move with full use of His powers and senses. Furthermore, both in Heaven and in His numerous eucharistic presences, Christ’s mysterious activity can be diverse in each of them according to circumstances of time, place, persons, etc. Notwithstanding, Christ’s Deific Body and Most Precious Blood, in the state of the accidents are subject to the laws of matter. In that state they are subject to immobility and to change of place by the priest or to any other factor, as for example the wind. It is understood that when the sacred species are moved so is the divine substance.
129. Following the above doctrine we resume our commentary, on the Mass. After pronouncing the consecratory words over the bread, which is transubstantiated into the Body of Christ, the priest kisses the Most Divine Sacrament and profoundly adores It with a prolonged and reverend genuflection. He then raises It on high with both hands to beyond the level of his head so that those present at Mass might also contemplate and adore. After the elevation the priest again kisses the Sacred Host and genuflects once more to adore. He then rises, pronounces the words of consecration over the chalice with wine and elevates, accompanied by the same kisses and genuflections as for the Sacred Host. The most solemn rite of Consecration is accompanied by the ringing of the bell by the acolyte to invite the faithful to adore the Most Holy Sacrament with deepest reverence and with acts of faith and love. Transcendental moment, the Consecration, in which in a hidden manner, under the sacred species, in the adorable Humanity of Christ is made present the Infinite Majesty of the Triune God and the incomparable grandeur of the Divine Mary. In the sublime mystery of the Most Divine Sacrament the Eucharistic Hearts of Jesus and Mary, inflamed with the fire of Divine Love, continue to make reparation to the Eternal Father and to redeem mankind, as also to exercise their respective Paternities over the Mystical Body. The celebrant adores the sacramental Christ and makes reparation for the negligences and faults, his own and those of others, directed against the Most Divine Sacrament.
130. In the second essential part of the Mass, when the priest pronounces the consecratory words over the bread and over the wine, it is Christ Himself Who utters them through the celebrant, His instrument in the Holy Eucharistic Sacrifice. In other words, Christ makes use of the priest’s voice to consecrate, of his hands to sustain the Sacred Host and to raise It on high, and of the minister’s whole being in order for Him, with His Most Sacred Humanity, to adore the Father, to which adoration the Divine Mary unites Herself. We observe how in the Eucharistic Sacrifice there is also fulfilled in an astonishing and singular manner Saint Paul’s words: «Humiliavit semetipsun factus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis» : «He hwnbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross» (Philip. 11, 8). Our Lord Jesus Christ, to perpetuate the bloody Sacrifice of Calvary and thus to show to the full His infinite love for men, instituted Holy Mass in which, in eucharistic and unbloody manner, He obediently submits to the Father’s will through the minister at the altar; and with such annihilation of Self that He comes to the minister with vehement desire, infinite humility and absolute surrender in order to be immolated, ever submissive to the will of the celebrating priest.
131. However, let us consider some of the mysteries contained in the portentous miracle of the Consecration in the Mass. In virtue of the consecratory words, Christ, and by concomitance Mary, make themselves eucharistic Victims so that afterwards their unbloody immolations be possible. When the celebrant utters the consecratory words he implicitly gives the second fiat of the Mass to the will of the Eternal Father, and thus perpetuates in eucharistic manner, principally four great mysteries of our Faith.
1. The Incarnation of the Divine Word and Mary’s Immaculate Conception, perpetuated when both mysteries are eucharistically effected through the real and true presence of Christ and Mary upon the altar.
2. The Espousal of the Sacred Hearts, perpetuated when the eucharistic Espousal of Christ and Mary is effected through the real and true presence of both upon the altar.
3. The Conception of the Mystical Body of Christ, perpetuated (a)in its essential aspect through the eucharistic Espousal of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary in the Most Divine Sacrament; and (b) in its extensive aspect through the fruits of the eucharistic Espousal when, in virtue of that Espousal, there is an increase of Mary’s Drop of Blood in the hearts of all members of the Church in grace, who are present in the heart of the consecrating priest.
In addition to these four great mysteries, in the Consecration all the other sacred mysteries of Christ and Mary are made present, including their respective immolations on Calvary, though these, more properly, are perpetuated in the celebrant’s Communion. His Holiness Pope Gregory XVII, when speaking of the second essential part of the Mass in his Sermon of the 4th of December 1984, teaches us, among other things, that on the altar the Stable of Bethlehem and Calvary are mingled; and that, when the priest raises the sacred species on high, the adoration of the Child Jesus by the Shepherds and Kings is brought to mind; and the Cross of Golgotha is likewise recalled, that is to say, Christ raised on high upon the Mount to redeem mankind. Therefore in the Consecration the Nativity and the Passion are mingled.
132. To conclude our exposition of the second essential part of the Mass, we recall that the Incarnation of the Divine Word was mystically effected in the heart of every member of the Mystical Body of Mary in the state of grace, there being thus realized the Conception of Christ’s Mystical Body in its extensive aspect. Since the Mass perpetuates both mysteries, that perpetuation is also effected in the heart of every member of the Church in grace, through the increase of Mary’s Drop of Blood in those members, who thus participate in the eucharistic Consecration.
133. We consider the moment appropriate for a profound study of the matter of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. To do so, we first examine the elements of bread and wine prior to their use at Mass. Each belongs to a determined species or family due to its particular composition. Bread belongs to the cereal products, wine to the viniferous products. That is why bread and wine are classified according to the species of products to which they belong. When we speak of bread and wine we must consider the raw material, the substance and the accidents. The raw material of bread is that of which it is essentially composed, wheaten flour and water. Both these, mixed and suitably baked, produce a new entity or material substance, bread, which is the chemico-natural composition resulting from the suitable combination of wheaten flour and water. Be it understood that though the baking of a mixture of water and flour from cereals other than wheat produces a kind of bread, it is not authentic, for true bread is that which is made essentially from wheaten flour mixed with water. If when making bread some other element is blended which alters its true nature, the resulting product will not be true bread. However salt or yeast, customarily and proportionally added to the dough to make ordinary bread, do not essentially alter that nature, though as we know, in Mass unleavened bread is employed. The raw material of wine is juice of the grape of the vine, since wine is that juice naturally fermented, and is a new entity or material substance, the chemico-natural composition resulting from the fermentation of juice of the grape of the vine. Be it understood that if the true nature of wine is altered by blending other substances, or for other reasons, it will no longer be true wine even though the product be from the grape, for example cognac or brandy, rum, anisette, vinegar, etc. Authentic wine is, as we have stated, the naturally fermented juice of the grape of the vine, and is what is used in the Mass. The substances of bread and wine are objective realities, material, tangible and visible. The raw material of both substances is detectable by analyzing the bread and wine in a laboratory. In the substances of bread and wine there are accidents, which are the perceptible properties inherent to them. We group those accidents as,
(a) Primary, making up the chemico-natural composition or formula, perceptible only through laboratory analysis.
(b) Secondary, the smell, savour, colour, solidity or viscosity in each case, as well as others resulting from the chemico-natural composition itself.
(c) Artificial, the shape, size, weight, as well as others derived from manufacture by man or from other factors.
