coming. After the consecration, which the priest
effects by saying over the bread and wine the same words which Jesus
Christ said at the Last Supper, there is no longer bread and wine, but
the true and living Jesus Christ, God and man, hidden under the
appearances of bread and wine, just as in the manger He was hidden under
the appearance of an infant. The priest offers Him up to His heavenly
Father in the name of the Catholic Church, or rather He offers Himself
up, and we can confidently hope that we will obtain more through prayers
at the holy Mass than through our own unaided prayers. In order to have
part in the holy sacrifice of the Mass a person should follow the
actions and prayers of the priest, especially at the offertory,
consecration, and communion; meditate on the passion of Christ; say the
rosary or the prayers in the prayer-books, at the same time uniting his
intention with the intention of the sacrificing priest.

The sacrifice of the Mass is a true sacrifice, because it is the
oblation of a victim to God to represent by its destruction or change
His supreme dominion over life and death. It is offered to satisfy our
four great debts and wants in adoration to God on account of His
omnipotence, in thanksgiving for His benefits, in atonement for our
sins, and to obtain His assistance in difficulties and temptations. The
holy Mass obtains for us all graces and blessings, temporal and
spiritual.

Since the Mass is the highest act of public worship, it is proper that
it should be celebrated with fitting sacred ceremonies. Every ceremony
which the Church prescribes has its deep significance. All tend to bring
before our minds the mystery of the passion.

The _altar_, which is reached by means of steps, represents Mount
Calvary, upon which Christ died with His arms extended as if to enfold
all men as brothers. The _crucifix_ recalls Jesus dying on the cross.
The _lighted candles_ are symbols of the faith and devotion which ought
to burn in the hearts of the faithful when present at Mass. The _sacred
vestments_, embroidered with the sign of the cross, indicate that the
priest is the minister and visible representative of Jesus Christ, the
invisible priest. The sign of the cross made many times by the priest
over the host and chalice reminds us that we offer to God the divine
Victim of the cross, and that we ought to unite ourselves to Him by
loving the cross, by patience and Christian penance. We genuflect
bec