Calvary and the Mass

Most Rev. Fulton J. Sheen PH.D., D.D., LL.D., Litt. D. — Small book - 60 pages

“The most sublime act in the history of Christ was His Death. Death is always important for it seals a destiny.”
“Any dying man is a scene. Any dying scene is a sacred place. That is why the great literature of the past, which has touched on the emotions surrounding death, has never passed out of date. But of all deaths in the record of man, none was more important than the death of Christ. Everyone else who was ever born into the world, came into it to live; our Lord came into it to die. Death was a stumbling block to the life of Socrates, but it was the crown to the life of Christ. He Himself told us that He came ‘to give his life a redemption for many’; that no one could take away His life; but He would lay it down of Himself.” —from the Prologue

The primary act of Christian worship is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—the death of Our Lord on Calvary re-enacted daily on our altars. Archbishop Fulton Sheen here gives us a series of sublime meditations on Calvary and the Mass. They are arranged in seven sections. Each section of the Mass is paired with the seven last words of Our Lord from the Cross. The book is subtitled A Missal Companion. You will find by using it that way, that your devotion to the Holy Sacrifice will be deepened and your prayer life enriched.

Contents
Prologue:
Calvary and the Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part One:
The Confietor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part Two:
The Offertory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Part Three:
The Sanctus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Part Four:
The Consecration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Part Five:
The Communion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Part Six:
The Ite, Missa Est . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Part Seven:
The Last Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51