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The Time After Pentecost
salvation by Thy powerful mercy be restored” (Secreta). “Lord, Thou has been our refuge from
generation to generation” (Gradual). The Lord, in His bloody death on the cross and in the
unbloody sacrifice on the altar, is our refuge. Through the celebration of the Mass, God is reconciled
and grace and forgiveness are given even for the greatest crime (Council of Trent, Sess.
XXII, chap. 2). We can, then, with full confidence cry out, “Have patience with me, and I will
pay thee all.” I will give the full satisfaction for my sins through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
“Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all,” through the merits of Jesus Christ, which are
offered to Thee in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. However, the merits of Christ can supply for
our defects only to the extent that we unite ourselves with His intentions, and only if we are
resolved to amend our lives and to do penance for our sins. By His death on the cross the Lord
has made satisfaction for our sins; but this fact does not free us from the obligation of doing
penance ourselves. At the Holy Sacrifice we can claim the merits of Christ as our own only if
we ourselves practice penance and offer good works to God. If we do this we can be assured
that the Father will forgive us our sins.
But that we be forgiven, a second condition is laid down. “Forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us.” If we are unwilling to forgive our fellow servants, the Lord
will say to us when we are called upon to give an account: “Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all
the debt, because thou besoughtest me. Shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy
fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee? And his lord, being angry, delivered him to the
torturers, until he paid all the debt. So shall My heavenly Father do to you if you forgive not every
one his brother from your hearts” (Gospel). We may obtain forgiveness for our sins through the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass only if we are prepared to forgive “every one his brother from [his] heart.”
We are approaching the day of judgment, the day on which we will be called on to give an
account. The nearer the day of our death approaches, the more urgent is our need for penance
and repentance. “Forgive and you shall be forgiven” (Lk 6:37).
Prayer
Graciously receive, O Lord, the sacrifices with which Thou hast willed that Thou shouldst be appeased
and our salvation by Thy powerful mercy be restored. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
The Mass
A deep seriousness characterizes the liturgy for this week. Christ is about to return to us at
the Consecration of the Mass, and we are reminded of His return for the Last Judgment. We
are conscious that a life filled with many faults and sins lies behind us. Our faults press heavily
upon us. Fully aware of the misery of our condition, we cry out to the Lord whose return we
expect, “If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord, who shall stand it?” (Introit.) We repeat
this sentiment in the Kyrie and in the Collect and Secreta.
The theme of this Sunday is given in the Epistle: “We are confident in the Lord Jesus, that He
who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.” The good work
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