Works › The Book on the Sacrifice of the Mass
Volume 38 · pp. 137–140
Tractate III, Chapter XVII
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CAPUT XVII.
De supplicatione seu elevatione vivorum in hostia.
[Marginal label: Qui et quales in hostia Deo offeruntur?] 1. Nobis quoque peccatoribus, etc. Tangitur hic vivorum elevatio in hostia ad Deum. Dicuntur autem hic tria, scilicet qui et quales Deo in hostia offeruntur, et ad quid. Secundum incipit ibi, Cum tuis sanctis. Tertium, ibi, Intra quorum nos consortium, etc.
In primo horum tria dicuntur, scilicet qui, quales, et qualiter.
Dicit igitur: Nobis quoque peccatoribus, qui pro aliis intercedimus, cum tamen nos magis hac gratia indigeamus. Ad Hebr. V, 3: Quemadmodum pro populo, ita etiam et pro semetipso debet offerre pro peccatis. Dixit enim Jacob, Genes. XXX, 30: Justum est ut aliquando provideam etiam domui meae. Dicit enim, peccatoribus: quia dicitur, Proverb. XVIII, 17: Justus prior, scilicet a principio orationis, est accusator sui. Unde etiam sacerdos in hac oratione aliquantulum elevat vocem, et tundit pectus: quia tunsio per hoc quod ictus est inferens afflictionem, significat satisfactionis laborem. Per hoc autem quod sonus est, cum sono vocis significat confessionem. Per hoc autem quod cum gemitu est, significat contritionis compunctionem. Quod autem quidam dicunt, quod haec elevatio vocis significat Christi cum clamore in cruce mortem, reputo derisionem: quia submisse clamat sacerdos, et Christus clamavit alte, et propterea nulla fit mentio de Christi clamore.
Famulis tuis. Ecce quales sint, quia famuli per obedientiam: et de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, per spem quam habent ad veniam. Tales enim jam incorporati Christo cum ipso Patri in coelum ad sublime altare offeruntur, sicut diximus. Unde Christus dixit, Joan. XII, 26: Et ubi sum ego, illic et minister meus erit. Minister autem est verus famulus. De misericordia autem dicitur, Thren. III, 22: Misericordiae Domini, quia non sumus consumpti: quia non defecerunt miserationes ejus. Multitudo autem dicitur miserationum: quia et in multis est, et ad multa quibus indigemus. Isa. LXIII, 15: Ubi est zelus tuus, et fortitudo tua, multitudo viscerum tuorum et miserationum tuarum? Psal. XXXI, 5: Misericordia Domini plena est terra.
Partem aliquam. Ecce qualiter partem aliquam meritis et tuae largitati condignam. Ad Coloss. I, 12: Gratias agentes Deo Patri, qui dignos nos fecit in partem sortis sanctorum, in lumine. Et sic in Psalmo XV, 5, dicitur: Pars haereditatis meae. Et sic dicitur, ibidem, v. 6, quia funes partes sortium nostrarum in beatitudine mensurantes ceciderunt nobis in praeclaris partibus haereditatis aeternae.
CHAPTER XVII.
On the supplication or elevation of the living in the host.
[Marginal label: Who and of what sort are offered to God in the host?] 1. To us also sinners, etc. Here the elevation of the living to God in the host is touched. But three things are said here, namely who and of what sort are offered to God in the host, and for what purpose. The second begins there: With thy saints. The third, there: Into whose fellowship, etc.
In the first of these three things are said, namely who, of what sort, and how.
Therefore he says: To us also sinners, who intercede for others, although we ourselves need this grace more. Hebrews 5:3: Just as for the people, so also for himself he ought to offer for sins. For Jacob said, Genesis 30:30: It is just that sometime I should provide also for my own house. For he says sinners, because it is said, Proverbs 18:17: The just person first, namely from the beginning of the prayer, is accuser of himself. Hence also the priest in this prayer lifts his voice somewhat and strikes his breast, because the striking, by the fact that it is a blow bringing affliction, signifies the labor of satisfaction. But by the fact that there is sound, with the sound of the voice it signifies confession. But by the fact that it is with groaning, it signifies the compunction of contrition. But what certain persons say, that this elevation of the voice signifies the death of Christ with a cry on the cross, I count a mockery, because the priest cries in a low voice and Christ cried aloud, and for that reason no mention is made of the cry of Christ.
To thy servants. Behold of what sort they are, because servants by obedience; and hoping in the multitude of thy mercies, by the hope which they have for pardon. For such persons, already incorporated into Christ, are offered with him to the Father into heaven, to the sublime altar, as we have said. Hence Christ said, John 12:26: And where I am, there also my minister shall be. But a minister is a true servant. Concerning mercy it is said, Lamentations 3:22: The mercies of the Lord, because we have not been consumed, because his mercies have not failed. But a multitude of mercies is said because it exists in many things and for many things which we need. Isaiah 63:15: Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the multitude of thy inward parts and of thy mercies? Psalm 31:5: The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.
Some part. Behold how: some part worthy of merits and of thy largess. Colossians 1:12: Giving thanks to God the Father, who has made us worthy for a part of the lot of the saints in light. And thus in Psalm 15:5 it is said: The part of my inheritance. And thus it is said in the same place, verse 6, that the cords measuring the parts of our lots in beatitude have fallen to us in excellent parts of eternal inheritance.
Et societatem: quia ex societate sanctorum bona uniuscujusque efficiuntur omnium in beatitudine communia. Psal. LXXXVI, 7: Sicut laetantium omnium habitatio est in te.
Donare digneris: quia omnia Dei dona sunt, et de suo nemo aliquid in bonis influit. Unde versus: Quidquid habes meriti, praeventrix gratia donat. Nil Deus in nobis praeter sua dona coronat. I ad Corinth. IV, 7: Quid habes quod non accepisti: si autem accepisti, quid gloriaris quasi non acceperis?
2. Cum tuis sanctis. Ecce cum quibus: et tangit Ecclesia tantum eos de quorum fide et beatitudine sufficienter est certificata, et alios non tangit nisi in communi. Apostolis non a Domino electis, sed potius sorte vel alio signo Spiritus sancti electis: et martyribus, fidei testibus.
Cum Joanne. Illum opinor esse Joannem Baptistam, qui martyr est, ut habetur, Matth. XIV, 10, et sic inter martyres ponitur: de quo Christus dixit, Matth. XI, 11: Non surrexit inter natos mulierum major Joanne Baptista. Hic finis est legis et prophetiae et initium Evangelii. Unde, Matth. XI, 13: Omnes prophetae et lex usque ad Joannem prophetaverunt. Et supra, v. 12: A diebus autem Joannis Baptistae usque nunc, regnum coelorum vim patitur, et violenti rapiunt illud.
Stephano, qui propter privilegium virginitatis primus praelatus est ab Apostolis viduis et virginibus, sicut legitur, Act. VI, 5. Qui sanctitatis habuit praeconium. Unde, Act. VI, 8: Stephanus autem, plenus gratia et fortitudine, faciebat prodigia et signa magna in populo. Et ibidem, VII, 55: Cum esset Stephanus plenus Spiritu sancto, intendens in coelum, vidit gloriam Dei. Qui propter sanctitatem et sapientiam confutator fuit erroris et veritatis defensor invictus. Act. VI, 10: Non poterant resistere sapientiae et Spiritui qui loquebatur. Qui per mortem lapidum testis fidei, et se suscipientem in coelo paratum vidit Jesum. Act. VII, 56: Ecce video coelos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris Dei. Qui propter nimiam charitatem pro se lapidantibus oravit Dominum, et se lapidantem converti impetravit Paulum. Act. VII, 59 et 60: Et lapidabant Stephanum invocantem et dicentem: Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum. Positis autem genibus, clamavit voce magna, dicens: Domine, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum, etc.
Mathia, qui sicut dicitur, Act. I, 23 et seq., sorte electus est in Apostolum, ut acciperet locum ministerii et apostolatus, de quo praevaricatus est Judas, ut esset testis resurrectionis Christi. Sors autem illa, ut dicit beatus Dionysius, non fuit nisi impetratio signi quo Spiritus sanctus illum assumendum esse ostendit et non alium. Act. I, 26: Cecidit sors super Mathiam: et annumeratus est cum undecim Apostolis.
And fellowship, because from the fellowship of the saints the good things of each one are made common to all in beatitude. Psalm 86:7: As of all rejoicing, the dwelling is in thee.
That thou wouldest deign to give, because all things are gifts of God, and no one pours anything from his own into good things. Hence the verses: Whatever thou hast of merit, prevenient grace gives. God crowns nothing in us except his own gifts. 1 Corinthians 4:7: What hast thou that thou hast not received? But if thou hast received, why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received?
2. With thy saints. Behold with whom: and the Church touches only those concerning whose faith and beatitude she has been sufficiently certified, and she touches others only in common. With Apostles not elected by the Lord, but rather by lot or another sign of the Holy Spirit; and with martyrs, witnesses of the faith.
With John. I think this is John the Baptist, who is a martyr, as is held, Matthew 14:10, and thus he is placed among the martyrs; concerning him Christ said, Matthew 11:11: There has not arisen among those born of women one greater than John the Baptist. He is the end of the law and prophecy and the beginning of the Gospel. Hence, Matthew 11:13: All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And above, verse 12: But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent seize it.
With Stephen, who because of the privilege of virginity was first set over widows and virgins by the Apostles, as is read, Acts 6:5. He had the proclamation of sanctity. Hence, Acts 6:8: But Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did wonders and great signs among the people. And in the same place, 7:55: When Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, looking into heaven, he saw the glory of God. Because of sanctity and wisdom he was a refuter of error and an unconquered defender of truth. Acts 6:10: They could not resist the wisdom and the Spirit who spoke. Through death by stones he was a witness of faith, and he saw Jesus prepared in heaven to receive him. Acts 7:56: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. Because of excessive charity he prayed to the Lord for those stoning him, and obtained the conversion of Paul, who was stoning him. Acts 7:59 and 60: And they were stoning Stephen, invoking and saying: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And with knees set down, he cried with a loud voice, saying: Lord, do not establish this sin against them, etc.
With Matthias, who, as is said, Acts 1:23 and following, was elected by lot into the apostleship, so that he might receive the place of ministry and apostleship from which Judas had transgressed, so that he might be a witness of the resurrection of Christ. But that lot, as blessed Dionysius says, was nothing except the obtaining of a sign by which the Holy Spirit showed that he and not another was to be assumed. Acts 1:26: The lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven Apostles.
Barnaba, qui etiam signo quod dedit Spiritus sanctus, segregatus est in apostolatus officium cum Paulo. Act. XIII, 2: Dixit Spiritus sanctus: Segregate mihi Saulum et Barnabam, in opus ad quod assumpsi eos. Hic primus cum Paulo fuit Apostolus gentium et ideo a gentium reliquiis specialiter honorandus. Act. XIII, 46 et 47: Tunc constanter Paulus et Barnabas dixerunt, scilicet ad Judaeos: Vobis oportebat primum loqui verbum Dei: sed quoniam repellitis illud, et indignos vos judicatis aeternae vitae, ecce convertimur ad gentes: sic enim praecepit nobis Dominus: Posui te in lucem gentium, ut sis in salutem usque ad extremum terrae 1.
Ignatio, qui gloriosissimus fuit martyr contemporaneus Apostolorum, pedissequus Virginis beatae, qui condemnatus ad bestias, et Romam delatus, rogavit ut sancti in passione ejus non deficerent. Qui protestatus est in theatro, quod non ut malefactor puniretur, sed sicut Christi discipulus. Qui bestias quae sibi Dei virtute mansuetabantur, contra se, ut devoraretur, provocavit. Qui publice haec verba dixit: "Ignis, crux, bestiae, ossium confractio, membrorum divisio, tormenta diaboli in me veniant, ut Jesu fruar." Et haec omnia ipse Ignatius in epistola quam Romanis direxit, scribit. Qui cum esset in dentibus leonis, alta voce dixit: "Frumentum Christi sum, dentibus bestiarum molor, ut panis mundus inveniar." Qui, ut scribit Dionysius de eo, in ore aliud non habuit, nisi haec verba: "Amor meus crucifixus est." Qui multas laudes in diversis epistolis de matre Dei, cujus capellanus fuit, scripsit. Cujus ignitum cor cum partibus multis divisum esset, nomen Christi in singulis partibus, aureis litteris scriptum inventum est, ut habetur in Chronica Martiniana sub Trajano imperatore, anno Domini 96. Romae autem passus, Antiochiae requiescit in basilica nomini suo consecrata in suburbio civitatis.
Alexandro, qui Papa fuit urbis et orbis, et cum Eventio et Theodolo passus Romae quiescit ad sanctam Sabinam in altari majori.
Marcellino, Petro, qui comites fuerunt individuae passionis et fidei, quos eadem fides et passio fratres effecit.
Felicitate, cujus fides mirabilis fuit, ut septem filios sicut mater Machabaeorum offerret passioni pro Christo.
With Barnabas, who also by the sign which the Holy Spirit gave was set apart for the office of apostleship with Paul. Acts 13:2: The Holy Spirit said: Set apart for me Saul and Barnabas for the work to which I have taken them. He was the first Apostle of the nations with Paul, and therefore he is especially to be honored by the remnants of the nations. Acts 13:46 and 47: Then Paul and Barnabas said boldly, namely to the Jews: It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you; but because you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the nations; for thus the Lord commanded us: I have set thee as a light of the nations, that thou mayest be for salvation to the end of the earth 1.
With Ignatius, who was a most glorious martyr, contemporary of the Apostles, attendant of the blessed Virgin, who, condemned to beasts and brought to Rome, prayed that the saints should not fail in his passion. He protested in the theater that he was punished not as a wrongdoer but as a disciple of Christ. The beasts which by the power of God were made gentle to him he provoked against himself, so that he might be devoured. He publicly spoke these words: Let fire, cross, beasts, breaking of bones, division of members, torments of the devil come upon me, that I may enjoy Jesus. And Ignatius himself writes all these things in the epistle which he directed to the Romans. When he was in the teeth of the lion, he said with a loud voice: I am the wheat of Christ; I am ground by the teeth of beasts, so that I may be found clean bread. As Dionysius writes about him, he had nothing else in his mouth except these words: My love has been crucified. He wrote many praises in diverse epistles concerning the Mother of God, whose chaplain he was. When his fiery heart had been divided into many parts, the name of Christ was found written in each part with golden letters, as is held in the Martinian Chronicle under the emperor Trajan, in the year of the Lord 96. He suffered at Rome, but rests at Antioch in the basilica consecrated to his name in the suburb of the city.
With Alexander, who was Pope of city and world, and having suffered with Eventius and Theodolus, rests at Rome at Saint Sabina in the high altar.
With Marcellinus and Peter, who were companions of indivisible passion and faith, whom the same faith and passion made brothers.
With Felicity, whose faith was wondrous, so that she offered her seven sons to passion for Christ like the mother of the Maccabees.
Perpetua, quae privilegio castitatis et fidei meruit martyrio coronari.
Agatha, quam mammillis abscissis ipse in carcere consolatus est Apostolorum princeps Petrus, et exhibuit beneficium plenae curationis.
Lucia, quae patrimonio distracto et contempto thoro pro fide et religione Christiana pugnavit, et per martyrium triumphavit.
Agne, sive Agnete, cujus tanta est auctoritas, quod ipse doctor veritatis Ambrosius scribit passionem ejus, et in die passionis ejus missa et sermone solemnizasse legitur eam Augustinus.
Caecilia, quae Evangelium Christi semper gerebat in pectore, et non diebus neque noctibus a colloquiis divinis et oratione vacabat. Quae cilicio membra virginea domabat. Quae Tiburtium et Valerianum sponsum suum ad coronam martyrii vocabat. Quae tandem flammis balnearibus superatis, martyrium detruncato capite promeruit, et pacem sanctis sui martyrii merito concessam esse praedixit.
Anastasia, cujus eleemosynae ipsi martyrii palmam promeruerunt.
Et omnibus generaliter sanctis tuis, quorum fides et merita Deo sunt nota. De quibus dicitur, Job, XXV, 3: Numquid est numerus militum ejus? et super quem non surget lumen illius?
3. Intra quorum. Tangit qualiter in sublime altare petit recipi quos offert, quia ad consortium sanctorum quorum indubitata est ad gloriam receptio, dicens: Intra quorum sanctorum, nos qui in hostia offerimur, consortium, ut eamdem sortem beatitudinis obtineamus. Ad Ephes. I, 18: Ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus sanctis, quae sit latitudo, et longitudo, et sublimitas, et profundum. In his dimensionibus consistit sors haereditatis nostrae.
Non aestimator meriti. Quia sicut dicitur, Isa. LXIV, 6: Et facti sumus ut immundus omnes nos, et quasi pannus menstruatae universae justitiae nostrae. Ideo non possumus aliquid praesumere de aestimatione meritorum.
Sed veniae, quaesumus, Domine, largitor, quia totum est ex indulgentia et liberalitate tua, admitte, ut eorum consortio annumeremur. Et hoc est quod dicit David: Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion, ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem 2. Ac si dicat: Nisi benigne facias de tua bona voluntate, ut de vivis lapidibus reaedificentur muri Jerusalem.
Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Hoc saepius expositum est.
Hoc est ergo quod dicit, quod vivi offerendi sunt in oblatione: et sic de mortuis et vivis in oblatione offerendis est habitum, ut diximus.
With Perpetua, who by the privilege of chastity and faith merited to be crowned by martyrdom.
With Agatha, whom, when her breasts had been cut off, Peter himself, the prince of the Apostles, consoled in prison and provided the benefit of full healing.
With Lucy, who, with her patrimony scattered and marriage-bed despised, fought for Christian faith and religion and triumphed through martyrdom.
With Agnes, or Agneta, whose authority is so great that Ambrose himself, doctor of truth, writes her passion, and Augustine is read to have solemnized her on the day of her passion with Mass and sermon.
With Cecilia, who always bore the Gospel of Christ in her breast and was free from divine conversations and prayer neither by day nor by night. She subdued her virginal members with haircloth. She called Tiburtius and Valerian, her spouse, to the crown of martyrdom. Finally, having overcome the flames of the baths, she merited martyrdom by the cutting off of her head, and she foretold that peace had been granted to the saints by the merit of her martyrdom.
With Anastasia, whose alms merited for her the palm of martyrdom itself.
And generally with all thy saints, whose faith and merits are known to God. Concerning them it is said, Job 25:3: Is there any number of his soldiers? and over whom will his light not rise?
3. Into whose. He touches how he seeks that those whom he offers be received into the sublime altar, because into the fellowship of the saints whose reception to glory is undoubted, saying: Into the fellowship of which saints, may we who are offered in the host be received, so that we may obtain the same lot of beatitude. Ephesians 1:18: That you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth. In these dimensions consists the lot of our inheritance.
Not as an appraiser of merit. Because, as is said, Isaiah 64:6: And we have all become as one unclean, and all our justices as the cloth of a menstruating woman. Therefore we cannot presume anything from the estimation of merits.
But as giver of pardon, we ask, O Lord, because the whole is from thy indulgence and liberality, admit us, so that we may be numbered in their fellowship. And this is what David says: Do kindly, O Lord, in thy good will to Sion, that the walls of Jerusalem may be built 2. As if he were saying: Unless thou dost kindly by thy good will, that the walls of Jerusalem may be rebuilt from living stones.
Through Christ our Lord. This has often been expounded.
This, therefore, is what he says: that the living are to be offered in the oblation; and thus concerning the dead and the living to be offered in the oblation it has been treated, as we have said.
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