It may be well to mention here a fact which is often overlooked or perhaps not generally known. When a person has Holy Mass offered in honor of some saint, or to obtain some petition, he asks for the Mass for the special intention which he has in mind, but does not think to appropriate to himself or to another person the or merit of that Mass.
Let us remember that Holy Mass has a threefold efficacy: 1) Satisfactory, 2) Propitiatory, and 3) Impetratory. If we have a Holy Mass offered for the poor souls, only the satisfactory merit redounds to their benefit—that is, the remission of punishment due to sin. The propitiatory merit, which appeases the just anger of God against sinners and cleanses the soul from venial sin and imperfection, may at the same time be applied for the conversion of a sinner or to the benefit of our own soul. And the impetratory merit, which implores God for graces and favors, may be directed toward the obtaining of some grace or blessing, such as a cure from sickness, employment, a happy hour of death, etc.
Similarly, if we have a Holy Mass offered to honor some mystery of our holy religion or in honor of a saint, we may at the same time include separate intentions for the application of the satisfactory, propitiatory and impetratory fruits of the Mass. If we neglect to do this, we are told, we shall not draw as rich benefits from the Holy Sacrifice as we should have done had we made such intentions. If the priest also omits to do this, and the satisfaction of the Holy Mass is not applied to anyone in particular, it will probably go to the treasury of the Church, unless God, in His goodness, applies it to those who, through ignorance, have neglected to appropriate it to themselves.
Taken from The Heart of the Mass, available here>> |
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