Calvary and The Mass

By Fulton J. Sheen and Allan Smith

CALVARY AND THE MASS

World-renowned evangelist, Emmy award winner and New York Times best-selling author Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen will present a collection of his writings that will encourage the reader to better understand the transformative power of the Eucharist and the beauty of the Mass.

Quoting from Fulton Sheen's book Calvary and the Mass, he writes:

We were there then during that Crucifixion. The drama was already completed as far as the vision of Christ was concerned, but it had not yet been unfolded to all men and all places and all times. If a motion picture reel, for example, were conscious of itself, it would know the drama from beginning to end, but the spectators in the theatre would not know it until they had seen it unrolled upon the screen. In like manner, our Lord on the Cross saw His eternal mind, the whole drama of history, the story of each individual soul and how later on it would react to His Crucifixion; but though He saw all, we could not know how we would react to the Cross until we were unrolled upon the screen of time. We were not conscious of being present there on Calvary that day, but He was conscious of our presence. Today we know the role we played in the theatre of Calvary, by the way, we live and act now in the theatre of the twentieth century.

That is why Calvary is actual; why the Cross is the Crisis; why in a certain sense the scars are still open; why Pain still stands deified, and why blood like falling stars is still dropping upon our souls. There is no escaping the Cross, not even by denying it as the Pharisees did; not even by selling Christ as Judas did; not even by crucifying Him as the executioners did. We all see it, either to embrace it in salvation or to fly from it into misery.

But how is it made visible? Where shall we find Calvary perpetuated? We shall find Calvary renewed, re-enacted, re-presented, as we have seen, in the Mass. Calvary is one with the Mass, and the Mass is one with Calvary, for in both there is the same Priest and Victim.

The Seven Last Words are like the seven parts of the Mass. And just as there are seven notes in music admitting an infinite variety of harmonies and combinations, so too on the Cross there are seven divine notes, which the dying Christ rang down the centuries, all of which combine to form the beautiful harmony of the world's redemption.

Each word is a part of the Mass.

THE CONFITEOR
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

THE OFFERTORY
Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.

THE SANCTUS
Woman, behold thy son.

THE CONSECRATION
My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?

THE COMMUNION
I thirst.

THE ITE, MISSA EST
It is consummated.

THE LAST GOSPEL
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.


Given the importance of this book, and the impact it has had on society, it seemed appropriate to reintroduce this book from 1936 once again. A new generation of readers will be sure to enjoy this fine work that speaks to the power of the Mass

God Love You

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bishop Sheen Today
• Release date: Jun 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781990427497

Fulton J. Sheen

The life and teachings of Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen anticipated and embodied the spirit of both the Second Vatican Council and the New Evangelization. A gifted orator and writer, he was a pioneer in the use of media for evangelization: His radio and television broadcasts reached an estimated 30 million weekly viewers. He also wrote more than 60 works on Christian living and theology, many of which are still in print. Born in 1895, Sheen grew up in Peoria, Illinois, and was ordained a priest for the diocese in 1919. He was ordained an auxiliary bishop in New York City in 1951. As the head of his mission agency, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (1950–1966), and as Bishop of Rochester (1966-1969), Sheen helped create 9,000 clinics, 10,000 orphanages, and 1,200 schools; and his contributions educated 80,000 seminarians and 9,000 religious. Upon his death in 1979, Sheen was buried at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. His cause for canonization was returned to his home diocese of Peoria in January 2011, and Sheen was proclaimed "Venerable" by Pope Benedict XVI on June 28, 2012. The first miracle attributed to his intercession was approved in March 2014, paving the way for his beatification.

Book preview

FULTON J. SHEEN

Copyright © 2021 by Allan J. Smith

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations in the main text are taken from the Douay-Rheims edition of the Old and New Testaments, public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Bishop Sheen Today

280 John Street

Midland, Ontario, Canada, L4R 2J5

www.bishopsheentoday.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sheen, Fulton J. (Fulton John), 1895-1979, author.  | Smith, Allan J., editor.

Sheen, Fulton J. (Fulton John), 1895-1979. Calvary and the Mass: A Missal Companion. Registered in the name of P.J. Kenedy & Sons under Library of Congress catalog card number: A 93597, following publication April 1, 1936.

Smith, Al (Allan J.) editor – Lord Teach us to Pray: A Fulton Sheen Anthology. Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2019, ISBN 9781644130834. 

Title: Calvary and the Mass: Two Summits of Grace.

Fulton J. Sheen; compiled by Allan J. Smith.

Description: Midland, Ontario: Bishop Sheen Today, 2021

Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1-990427-48-0 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-990427-49-7 (eBook)

Subjects: Jesus Christ — Seven Last Words — Calvary and the Mass — The Eucharist

J.M.J.

––––––––

DEDICATED TO

The Immaculate Mother of God

WHO MOTHERED CHRIST

AS BOTH PRIEST AND VICTIM

AND WHO MOTHERS ALL PRIESTS

BOTH OFFERERS AND OFFERED

WITH HER DIVINE SON.

MAY SHE MAY,

THROUGH THESE PAGES

WHISPER TO US AS AT CANA

"WHATSOEVER HE SHALL SAY

TO YOU, DO YE"

––––––––

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam

inque hominum salutem

Jesus calls all His children to the pulpit of the Cross, and every word He says to them is set down for the purpose of an eternal publication and undying consolation. 

There was never a preacher like the dying Christ. 

There was never a congregation like that which gathered about the pulpit of the Cross. 

And there was never a sermon like the Seven Last Words.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

THE SEVEN LAST WORDS OF CHRIST

The First Word

"Father, Forgive Them

For They Know Not What They Do."

The Second Word

This Day Thou Shalt Be With Me In Paradise.

The Third Word

Woman, Behold Thy Son; Behold Thy Mother.

The Fourth Word

"My God!  My God!

Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?"

The Fifth Word

I Thirst.

The Sixth Word

It Is Finished.

The Seventh Word

Father, Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit.

CONTENTS

PREFACE

PROLOGUE

THE CONFITEOR - -

THE OFFERTORY - -

THE SANCTUS - -

THE CONSECRATION - -

THE COMMUNION - -

THE ITE, MISSA EST - -

THE LAST GOSPEL - -

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS - -

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - -

PREFACE

And it came to pass, that as He was in a certain place praying. When He ceased, one of His disciples said to Him Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

(Luke 11:1)

It was over two thousand years ago that the disciples of Jesus asked Him to teach them to pray. The desire both to know how to pray and to have a prayer life that is satisfying is one that continues to stir in hearts today.

Our Lord lovingly fulfilled the disciples’ request when He taught them to pray the Our Father (Luke 11:1–4). By His example, He showed them the necessity of going to a quiet place to pray, to receive guidance and spiritual nourishment (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; Matt. 14:23).

While addressing the crowd gathered on the mount, Jesus was likewise reminding the disciples, When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matt. 6:6).

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen received this same request that was made of Our Lord: teach us to pray. His students, his parishioners, and his worldwide audience would ask him about ways to pray and about his favorite prayers.

With this in mind, Sheen was keen to encourage people to make prayer a daily, holy habit. To Catholics, he would specifically recommend attending Holy Mass daily whenever possible, to set aside time to pray a Holy Hour, and to pray the Way of the Cross in union with Our Lord’s Passion.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was known to have often said: I do not want my life to be mine. I want it to be Christ’s. He had cultivated an intimate prayer life with Christ, and he wanted to share it with everyone.

During the 1930s and ’40s, Fulton Sheen was the featured speaker on The Catholic Hour radio broadcast, and millions of listeners heard his radio addresses each week. His topics ranged from politics and the economy to philosophy and man’s eternal pursuit of happiness.

Along with his weekly radio program, Sheen wrote dozens of books and pamphlets. One can safely say that through his writings, thousands of people changed their perspectives about God and the Church. Sheen was quoted as saying, There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.

Possessing a burning zeal to dispel the myths about Our Lord and His Church, Sheen gave a series of powerful presentations on Christ’s Passion and His seven last words from the Cross. As a Scripture scholar, Archbishop Sheen knew full well the power contained in preaching Christ crucified. With St. Paul, he could say, For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2).

During his last recorded Good Friday address in