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 for 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 negligence 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 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.
What happens when you miss only Holy Communion?
It is well for you to consider what you lose every morning that you pass up Holy Communion:
1. You miss a personal visit with Jesus, Author of all spiritual energy and all holiness;
2. You lose a special increase of sanctifying grace, which makes your soul more pleasing to God;
3. You lose a quota of sacramental grace which entitles you to special help in times of temptation and in the discharge of your special duties.
4. You miss the special preserving influence which each Holy Communion confers against the fires of passion;
5. You miss the opportunity of having remitted a part, or all, of the temporal punishments due to your sins;
6. You lose the spiritual joy, the sweetness and particular comfort that comes from a fervent Holy Communion.
7. You lose a part of the glory that your body might enjoy at its resurrection on the Last Day.
8. You lose the greater degree of glory you would possess in Heaven for all eternity;
9. You may lose:
- Complete victory over some fault or passion.
- Some particular grace long prayed for.
- The conversion or salvation of some soul.
- Deliverance of a relative or friend from Purgatory.
- Many graces for others, both the living and the dead.
Will a few extra minutes of sleep repay you for all these losses?
What riches hundreds of thousands of Catholics deprive themselves daily by neglecting Mass. It in itself is the best preparation for Holy Communion. At the hour of death our greatest consolation will be the Masses we have heard and the Holy Communions received.