P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
Third way: focus on basic (internal) prayer postures
This Mass devotion is presented in the Missionary Book as the first in order, with the subtitle: according to St. Linhart. This particularly caught my attention, as St. Leonard1 is the patron of a beautiful church in Lidéřovice, where we gather several times a year for the so-called “airing of the church and organ.”
However, as explained to me by the Premonstratensian Father Jindřich Zdík Charouz from Želiv, the author of this devotion is not the most well-known St. Leonard (the hermit who lived in central France near Limoges, died around 559, and whose feast is celebrated on November 6), but a Franciscan from twelve centuries later: St. Leonard da Porto Maurizio (1676–1751). Since a lung disease prevented him from being sent on missions, he worked as a preacher in Italy. He preached clearly and was very popular. He was able to speak persuasively to hard soldiers, sailors, and prisoners, but his spiritual guidance was sought by noble and gentle people as well. He zealously spread the devotion of the Stations of the Cross, and allegedly more than 550 were built in Italy on his initiative. He was greatly pleased when the Pope allowed a Stations of the Cross to be created in the Colosseum. Someone counted that St. Leonard conducted over 343 popular missions in Italy. He was called the apostle of Italy. Even St. Alphonsus Liguori was a great admirer of his and testified during the preparatory process for Leonard’s beatification. Leonard da Porto Maurizio was declared blessed in 1796 and canonized in 1867. Pope Pius XI declared him the patron of those who conduct popular missions in 1927. His feast is celebrated in the Franciscan family on November 26. In relation to our topic, it is interesting to note that among other things he wrote a book, The Hidden Treasure, or the Value and Excellence of the Holy Mass (Rome 1737). His entire work was collectively published in the 19th century and again at the beginning of the 20th century, which is probably where the Redemptorists drew from for their Missionary Book.
The Mass devotion according to St. Linhart is prefaced in the Missionary Book with the following introduction:
The Holy Mass is offered to God for four purposes:
1. to praise and worship the Divine Majesty;
2. to make reparation to God for our sins;
3. to thank Him for all benefits;
4. to present our petitions to Him.
According to this, St. Linhart divides the Holy Mass into four parts and dedicates a longer prayer to each purpose.
This view of the Mass forms the basis of the Mass devotion, whose scheme is quite simple:
| 1. From the beginning of the Holy Mass until the end of the Gospel | Praise and worship | |
| 2. From the offering to the elevation | Reparation | |
| 3. From the elevation until communion | Thanksgiving | |
| 4. From communion until the end of the Mass | Holy Petitions |
Let us just add: the offering then followed immediately after the Gospel, as the sermon was outside the Mass and petitions were not included in the liturgy at that time; thus, on days when it was prescribed, the Credo was inserted between the Gospel and the offering. We may notice that the dividing lines between the individual parts are marked by the same significant moments in the course of the Mass, which were given special attention even in the previous Mass devotion. This corresponds to the view of the Holy Mass as expressed, for example, in the Missionary Book of a publication already seventy years older:2
To participate in the merits of the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, we must pay attention to the actions of the priest, especially to these three main parts: Offering, Elevation, and Communion; otherwise, we can use devout Mass prayers, or meditate on the sufferings of Christ, or pray the rosary, or perform another devotion, all the while, without anxiety about whether it is done perfectly or not, give attention to the first three main parts.
Simply put in today’s language: a participant in the service should strive to pray attentively during the offering of bread and wine, during the transubstantiation, and during communion. The remaining time of the Holy Mass should be filled with prayer as it is close to him. The sympathetic warning of the zealous believers against anxiety certainly stemmed from the rich pastoral experience of the Redemptorist Fathers.
The perspective of St. Leonard da Porto Maurizio on the Holy Mass directly arises from the dogmatic definition of the Council of Trent. This became the foundation of the teaching on the Holy Mass, commonly presented in catechisms and prayer books as reliable Catholic doctrine.
A. Čala explains it aptly:
The Council of Trent solemnly defined: “If anyone says that the sacrifice of the Holy Mass is only a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or merely a commemoration of the sacrifice accomplished on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice, or that it only benefits those who receive, and that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfaction, and other necessities, let him be anathema.” In this definition, the Church proclaims that the Holy Mass is a sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, reparation, and supplication. Since the Holy Mass is the only true and proper sacrifice of the New Covenant, it must have all the goals of a sacrifice in the proper sense of the word. It is, however, well known that four main types of sacrifices have always been distinguished: sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, reparation, and supplication. Thus, the Holy Mass must also have these four objectives.3
Dr. František Cinek writes similarly:
“The Eucharistic sacrifice (...) is the noblest hymn of praise to the Triune God. It is the deepest adoration, the most perfect Thanksgiving, the most penetrating reparation, and the most effective supplication.”4
Thus, this definition of the Council of Trent continued to resonate in catechesis. The greatest emphasis was placed on ensuring that everyone participating in the Mass also contributed to Christ’s self-offering:
“To co-offer the Holy Mass – that is the most important thing one can do during the Holy Mass and what is also our main duty. During the Holy Mass, we should not pray private prayers that are not related to the Mass and distract our attention from the most holy action, or even make it impossible to connect with the Holy Mass. How much disarray such practices have brought into religious life!”5
Similarly, the citation we presented from the catechism of F. Tomášek (at Mass, behave as if at Calvary under the cross, imitate Jesus' friends, not the soldiers and unbelieving Jews) continues:
“Cultivate in yourself (during participation in the Mass) such a sacrificial mindset that you draw as close as possible to the sacrificial mindset of the Lord Jesus himself. Pray continually for this.”6
Furthermore, in the introduction to the Mass devotion of St. Leonard, it is also stated: “The Holy Mass is offered to God for four purposes...” However, this emphasis on self-offering deserves special attention elsewhere. At this moment, I want to emphasize that unlike the two previous Mass devotions we have mentioned, this “Mass devotion according to St. Linhart” is truly related to the Holy Mass. More than it might seem at first glance.
Its content consists of four longer prayers directed to God again in direct speech. After the conclusion of each of them, an encouragement to pray in this manner or similarly until the end of the corresponding part of the Mass is appended (in less prominent type and in parentheses). Let us present the first prayer:
O God, I kneel before you and acknowledge you as my Lord and God! I confess that everything I have and am is yours because I have received everything from you. Your highest Majesty deserves infinite respect and glory; I, however, a poor and miserable creature, am not capable of honoring you with due respect. Therefore, I offer you the deepest honor rendered to you by Lord Jesus during the priceless sacrifice of the Holy Mass. What he does here, I also want to do together with him. (...) I kneel before you in unity with the humility with which Lord Jesus bows to you. I am sincerely glad that Lord Jesus pays you infinite honor at the Holy Mass even for me.
– O Jesus, I want to kneel before the heavenly Father with you in the deepest respect and acknowledge and praise his supreme Majesty.
(Repeat these and similar prayers until the end of the Gospel.)
Thus, even though this is not about tracking the course of the Holy Mass, the one praying still persistently refers to it, or rather to Jesus present in it, and connects with him!
The second prayer, the prayer of reparation, intended for the first part of the sacrificial service (from the offering to the elevation, that is, to the transubstantiation), says:
O my God, how many times have I betrayed you and rebelled against you with my sins! Ah, I humbly confess my guilt; I hate my sins from the bottom of my heart and regret them above all else. I offer you the reparation that Jesus brings to you at the altar for them. I offer you his merits, his most holy blood, and his suffering; I offer you him himself, God and man, who is here offering himself for me. Lord Jesus is my intercessor and mediator at Holy Mass; here he pleads for me for grace and forgiveness – I unite my petitions with his precious blood and ask you for mercy and forgiveness for all my sins. The blood of the divine Savior cries out for mercy, and my heart, filled with sorrow, cries out for mercy as well. (...) And how could Jesus Christ not obtain forgiveness for me when he deserved it by his death on the cross? Yes, O God, I hope that through the merits of Lord Jesus you will forgive all my sins for which I will repent until my death.
(Pray like this and similarly until the elevation.)
Here, the theme of reparation, “to make reparation (to justice),” stands out.7 What is the related opposite concept? In my opinion, it is always good to try to perceive the original meaning of the images traditionally used to express what has transpired between us and God. Because we have sold ourselves into slavery to sin, redemption was needed. Because we perished through sin and death, salvation (rescue) was needed. And because we have disparaged God, reparation was needed. It has not been long since we noticed this in the context of the third order meetings while introducing the reading of the work The Book of Life by St. Teresa of Avila. Even in Teresa's time – when society was undemocratic, carefully divided into social classes: kings, various categories of nobility, burghers, subjects – it was considered a great offense not to show someone due honor – to insult them! And we have offended God with sin, or we are offending him. How can this be compensated? A stolen or damaged item can be returned, or replaced with money. But how can one make reparation for the honor of another when we have disparaged them? How to wipe out an insult to God? Our strength is not enough for this. That is why Jesus came and showed such love, honor, and fidelity that he adequately made reparation to justice.
And if we strive for reparation, if we connect ourselves with Jesus' reparation, then we are not only concerned with ourselves, with achieving the mitigation of our guilt and forgiveness of deserved punishment, but we have God, to whom we have wronged, in mind. We care about him, the honor of his name, his disparaged love! And only in the second place is the fact that we have complicated our lives...
The third prayer contains thanksgiving. There is never enough of that. Even in this, we are often lacking in inventiveness and zeal. Let us also try to learn something here:
O God of my heart, you have surrounded me with so many gifts and graces, both general and particular, which you have given me with such love, and in addition, you are preparing gifts of your love for me in eternity. Your mercy towards me has been great, which knows no end. I would like to give you the thanks you deserve. How shall I do it? What shall I repay you, Lord, for all you have done for me? “I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord” (Ps 116:13). Yes, I will do so. In gratitude for all your gifts and graces I offer you through the hands of the priest this most holy Body, this precious Blood of the Lamb without blemish, Jesus Christ, who is truly present on the altar. This sacrifice of infinite value suffices to repay all the graces and gifts you have given to me and all people, and will continue to give. At the same time, I offer you myself in union with Lord Jesus. Accept into the offering my mind and my heart, everything I call my own. May all my thoughts, desires, and feelings serve only your love! O Mary, my Mother and Queen, angels and saints in heaven, assist me; offer this most precious sacrifice to him and all the Holy Masses that are celebrated today throughout the world, in thanksgiving for all the benefits we have received from him and that we will still receive!
(Engage with such thoughts and feelings until Holy Communion!)
Here, the act of thanksgiving contained in the title of this prayer is thus joined with the offering, which is regarded, as we have already mentioned, as our most important internal posture during the Mass. The fact that in this Mass devotion only here, that is exceptionally, the person praying asks for help from angels and saints also attests to the urgency of their prayer. This may also relate to the fact that from the perspective of the theology of that time, the ongoing Holy Mass culminates: God has descended to the altar and is now uniquely miraculously present in the Body and Blood of Christ.
And if we wanted to learn to give thanks, it can be equally enlightening to familiarize ourselves with the last part of the prayer – the petitions. They also refer to Jesus and his sacrifice that is taking place on the altar.
O God, I acknowledge that I am unworthy of your graces, for I have so many times and so grievously offended you. But for me, your divine Son Jesus Christ offers himself during the Holy Mass. For the immense merits of his death on the cross, I ask you to grant me all the graces necessary for my salvation. Forgive me my sins and grant me your holy love and perseverance in goodness until the end. May your help always be with me so that I may prosper in all virtues and may please you more and more day by day. From this moment on, let nothing separate me from you, who are the highest Good, worthy of infinite love! I also ask you for my parents, relatives, friends, benefactors, especially for those who have entrusted themselves to my prayers. Bless the holy church, (...) bless St. Father N., our bishops and priests, and religious persons. Bless our dear homeland and all its children. – I commend to you the conversion of sinners and the souls in purgatory. Show us all, Lord, your mercy for Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
(Add other petitions for yourself and for others. In particular, pray for enlightenment, strength, and comfort in this or that suffering or temptation, for the success of this or that matter or for the averting of some misfortune. The greater your trust, the more you will receive.)
Originally, I had not planned to present the devotion in full, but in the end, I could not help it. It is not, however, about the quantity or ingenuity of words (after all, Lord Jesus warns us that in prayer we should not be verbose like the pagans – Matt 6:7). What is instructive here is the conscious dwelling in the four fundamental “internal postures” of prayer. We will return to this later.
This Mass devotion has captured my attention the most. Of course, we can find many other Mass devotions in prayer books. Konrád M. Kubeš mentions the Marian Mass devotion, which allegorically connects the individual parts of the Mass with events from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the entrance rite reminds the Annunciation, the Gloria – the Birth of Christ, the Gospel – the adoration of the Magi, etc.).8 Elsewhere, we find Mass devotions that simply remind us of various words of Lord Jesus during the Mass, for example: “Love your neighbor,” or: “Let not your hearts be troubled, (...) I go to prepare a place for you,” and expand them into prayers.
A vulnerable point of all Mass devotions was the transition from reading to actual internal prayer. That is why K. Kubeš writes:
“However, it is not enough to read out of mere curiosity! It is necessary to evoke feelings of humility, regret, gratitude, joy, praise, to ask and to make reparations, as each part of the Holy Mass requires.”9
But it is always the case when we accept words into our prayer that someone else has formulated before us. The letter must create space for the Spirit. It does not act automatically, thoughtlessly. It requires our love, which strives, which seeks him and calls for him.
