The Sacrifice of the Mass Worthily Celebrated

Rev. Pierre Chaignon, SJ. With a preface and meditation aids by Dom Bede Babo, OSB. Reprint of the 1951 Benziger Brothers edition.

Very much has been written in more recent times about the Mass and the cooperation of the laity in it; comparatively little, however, has been written concerning the attitude of the priest towards this Holy Sacrifice. And yet, if St. Thomas Aquinas is right to say “every time we celebrate the memory of his Host, we exercise the work of our redemption” (Summa III.83.1), then so mighty a work requires the best preparation.

Father Pierre Chaignon, S.J. (1791–1883) was a French Jesuit priest and spiritual writer who devoted his life to the spiritual direction of priests. This beautiful book helps the priest to prepare well for Mass, celebrate it well, and then make a good thanksgiving afterwards. The author incorporates in his work the mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, the fervor of St. Alphonsus de Liguori, the spirit of St. Charles Borromeo, and the zeal of St. Ignatius.