Tremendous Value of the Mass

At the hour of death the Holy Masses you have heard devoutly will be your greatest consolation. God forgives you all the venial sins which you are determined to avoid. He forgives you all your unknown sins which you never confessed. The power of Satan over you is diminished.
Every Mass will go with you to Judgment and will plead pardon for you. By every Mass you can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins, more or less, according to your fervor. By devoutly assisting at Holy Mass you render the greatest homage possible to the Sacred Humanity of Our Lord.
Through the Holy Sacrifice, Our Lord Jesus Christ supplies for many of your negligences and omissions.
By piously hearing Holy Mass you afford the Souls in Purgatory the greatest possible relief. One Holy Mass heard during your life will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after your death. Through Holy Mass you are preserved from many dangers and misfortunes which would otherwise have befallen you. You shorten your Purgatory by every Mass. During the Holy Mass you kneel amid a multitude of holy Angels, who are present at the Adorable Sacrifice with reverential awe. Through Holy Mass you are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs.
When you hear Holy Mass devoutly, offering it to Almighty God in honor of any particular Saint or Angel, thanking God for the favors bestowed on him, etc. you afford that Saint or Angel a new degree of honor, joy and happiness, and draw his special love and protection on yourself.
Every time you assist at Holy Mass, besides other intentions, you should offer it in honor of the Saint of the Day.

-taken from a pamphlet

I Do Nothing

I am there,
Standing in the crowd among the blasphemies and curses

I am there,
Gazing upon His bruised and bleeding body

I am there
Watching silently as they shove, push and tear him apart

And what do I do?
I do nothing.

I follow up the mount to Calvary
I tread the footsteps now marked with blood
I hear the Cross fall yet again
And watch Him crash upon the stones

And what do I do?
I blindly glance away.

His eyes, they turn to find me
Oh such eyes of loving kindness
They are veiled with pain and anguish
Seeking to find at least one faithful soul

Yet where am I?
I am hiding.

They stretch his sacred hands upon the wood
Pulling, yanking; wrenching them to fit the holes
The nails are pierced through flesh and bone
Yet no cry is uttered from his lips

And what do I say?
I stare in silence.

He hangs half naked for all to see
He endures their spits, their sneers and all their mockeries
They throw rocks that deepen his wounds
And cast lots for his sacred garments

And what do I do?
I do nothing.

For who am I but one of them
I have done nothing to stop them
And sometimes…many times;
I have even joined them.

I have often thought to myself
Oh if I had only been there with Him
I would have stopped the stones from being thrown
I would have shut the mouths of such blasphemers
I would have comforted Him while He carried my burden
And I would have certainly joined him upon the Cross.

But I was there…

I’m still there…

And I’ve done nothing.

JP '05