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a cry of distress is sent forth to God the deliverer ; in
the Offertory homage is rendered to the omnipotent
God who sustains His servants and in the Communion
we pray that God may be glorified by all His creatures.
The passage from the Book of Kings in the Epistle
for THE MASS of Tuesday gives us in the saving of the
widow of Sarephta from famine by Elias, an image of
the soul meeting its divine Saviour, and finding in Him
a refuge from the dangers of death. In the Gospel of
this Mass our Lord points out the impotence of the
doctors who glorify themselves in preaching, and He
teaches us that by humility alone can we be exalted.
The Prayers and sung parts of the Mass re-assert this
doctrine. In the Collect we are urged to invoke God
as the sole Master who teaches us what we must do, and
gives us the means of carrying out what He teaches.
In the Secret we learn that the holy Sacrifice of our
altars has the twofold effect of purifying us from our
sins and of enriching us with heavenly gifts. The Postcommunion
shows us that we shall obtain this two-fold
benefit by obedience to the divine commandments.
In the Oratio super populum we are taught that the
perpetual source of true joy is to be found in the remedy
given to us for all spiritual evils. Therefore, following
the example of the Psalmist, we must seek God, asking
Him to look upon us with favour (!NTROIT). From this
same God let us ask in all confidence the food for which
our soul hungers (GRADUAL). In the Offertory we beg
God to have pity on us and blot out all our sins ; this
favour will excite within us sentiments of gratitude,
and will fill us with holy joy (COMMUNION).
In the Epistle of the MASS of THURSDAY, the Prophet
Jeremias draws a contrast between two men, one of
whom trusts in the arm of flesh, that is in human and