Patron Saint of Our Church Almighty and eternal God, behold, I approach the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Saints and the Holy Mass
I approach as one who is sick to the physician of life, as one unclean to the fountain of mercy, as one blind to the light of eternal brightness, as one poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.
Therefore, I beseech Thee, of Thine infinite goodness,
to heal my sickness,
to wash away my filth,
to enlighten my blindness,
to enrich my poverty,
and to clothe my nakedness,
that I may receive the Bread of Angels,
the King of Kings,
and the Lord of lords with such reverence and humility,
with such contrition and devotion, with such purity and faith, with such purpose and intention,
as may be conduce to the salvation of my soul.
Grant, I beseech Thee, that I may receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, but also the fruit and virtue of this Sacrament.
O most indulgent God, grant me so to receive the Body of Thine Only-begotten Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
which He took of the Virgin Mary,
that I may be found worthy to be incorporated with His mystical Body
and numbered among His members.
O most loving Father,
Grant that I may one day contemplate forever, face to face,
Thy beloved Son,
Whom now on my pilgrimage I am about to receive under the sacramental veils;
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God,
world without end. AMEN!

If you desire a deeper spirituality, then begin by attending a Latin Mass. The great saints of the Catholic Church were spiritually enriched by participating at the Traditional Mass. Did you ever wonder if this mass was their foundation for holiness, sanctity, godly zeal, purity, charity, strength, and everything else involved in one becoming a saint? Isn’t that what God calls us all to be? Saints! The saints can help us discern this path to holiness.

St. Padre Pio tells us “...at holy Mass renew your faith. Have your mind elevated to the mystery that is happening before your eyes. Go with your mind to Calvary and think and meditate on the Victim who offers Himself to divine justice, absorbing the price of your redemption.” (Padre Pio, Falco,11) St. Pio also tells us to think of “the Sorrowful Mother at the foot of the Cross.” The best weapon we can possess is prayer because prayer is the key that opens the heart of God. Do we as Catholics even think that deep?

When St. Pio would offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, people from all around the world would attend. They would fill the church to over capacity! The Saint’s mass would last for two to three hours. Not a single noise could be heard from those present and no one would leave. The faithful knew, in their heart, mind, and soul, that this was heaven on earth! St. Padre Pio even remarked one time that when he would turn to bless the congregation, all he could see was a countless number of angels and saints present. He could not see the people! Again, we should ask ourselves, “Are we missing out on something?”

Perhaps we should think about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from the perspective of our patron saint, St. Thomas Aquinas. He was well aware of the power and graces of the Latin Mass. His prayer is printed in the front part of the Latin Missal for preparation before the Mass and Holy Communion. Please read “slowly” the prayer of this Doctor of the Church, and ask yourselves, honestly; do I think about all these things before Mass? Let us ask Our Lord to open our hearts and minds and to experience the depth and holiness of the Latin Mass.

Contemplate this prayer. He is talking about the Traditional Mass.

The very oldest Mass was said by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday.

The Roman Mass, Extraordinary Form, dates back in its essentials to the time of St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians, written about 52-55 A.D.  This liturgical form predates the Gospels.  A gradual development of ceremonies took place in the centuries that followed.  For example, the Canon of the Mass dates from the 4th Century!

St. Gregory the Great reigned as Pope from 590-604 A.D.  He initiated many reforms in order to simplify and arrange, in an orderly fashion, the Mass already in use.  A  keynote of St. Gregory's reform was fidelity to tradition.  He also codified liturgical music, giving posterity the glorious Gregorian Chant still in use today.

Over the centuries after St. Gregory, some local variations crept into the celebration of Mass.  However, the invention of the printing press made it possible to standardize the Mass.  Therefore, the Missal of Pope St. Pius V was compiled and published in 1570 in obedience to the Council of Trent.  St. Pius V added nothing new to the ancient Mass, but merely codified it for use throughout the Latin Church.  The Missal is still used today and is known as the Tridentine Mass.  It provides us with a living link to the earliest roots of Christian civilization.

A quote from liturgical expert, Fr. Adrian Fortescue expresses the priceless antiquity of the Roman Mass; "Our Mass goes back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out of the oldest liturgy of all.  It is still redolent of that liturgy, of the days when Caesar ruled the world and thought he could stamp out the faith of Christ....there is not in Christendom another rite so venerable as ours."

A Short History of the Roman Mass, Michael Davies, TAN Books, 1997.