There our "hidden God," Jesus in the Eucharist, dwells night and day in
the midst of His people, saying to them with words of love, "Come to me
all you that are burdened and heavy laden, and I will refresh you."

The Mass, independent of its sacrificial aspect, consists of the best
prayers ever uttered. The priest begins by making the sign of the cross,
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." This
sign is an epitome of the Christian's belief in the unity and trinity of
God and in the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. After making the
sign of the cross he repeats the 42d psalm, "Judge me, O God," and then
makes an humble confession of his sins to God. He ascends the altar and
nine times asks God to have mercy on him, _Kyrie Eleison_; then follows
the beautiful hymn the shepherds heard the angels singing at the birth
of the Saviour, _Gloria in Excelsis Deo_.

The prayer of the feast, the epistle and gospel follow, and then the
sermon in the vernacular is usually preached. After the Nicene Creed,
_Credo in Unum Deum_, the priest makes the offering of bread and wine.
He then washes the tips of his fingers, saying: "I will wash my hands
among the innocent," by which he is reminded to be free from stain to
offer worthily the Holy Sacrifice.

The preface, canon, and solemn words of consecration follow, during
which the bread and wine are changed by the power of Jesus Christ into
His body and blood. In a short time he comes to the best of all prayers,
the prayer taught us by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Our
Father, _Pater Noster_. The _Agnus Dei_ follows, then the communion,
when he partakes of the consecrated bread and wine, and afterward gives
holy communion to the faithful. He then continues the Mass, gives his
blessing, and finishes the Mass with the beginning of the Gospel of St.
John. Hence you see that, besides the great sacrifice which makes it an
act worthy of God, the Mass consists of the best of all prayers.

From what has been said it is evident that ceremonies in the worship of
God are reasonable, being sanctioned by God in the Old and New
Testaments; that the holy sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest of all
acts of worship; and that the Catholic Church in using ceremonies is but
following the example of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His
apostles. St. John in the Book of Revelations tells us that before the
throne of God angels stand with golden censers, mult