A Privilege of the Ordained MICHAEL DAVIES THE NEUMANN PRESS, 1990 Published on the Web with Permission of the Author 1. A Privilege of the Ordained DOREMUS IN AETERNUM SANCTISSIMUM SACRAMENTUM:   Let us adore forever the Most Holy Sacrament.     Of all the countless gifts which God has bestowed upon mankind there can be no doubt that the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is the greatest and the most precious. St. Augustine of Hippo introduced the term "Sacrament of the Altar" to emphasize the sacrificial character of the Eucharist, reminding us that this Sacrament of Sacraments, Sacramentum Sacramentorum, is not simply reserved upon the altar for our adoration, but is the Saving Victim offered upon the altar during the Sacrifice of the Mass, Who opens wide the gates of Heaven to mankind: O Salutaris Hostia, Quae caeli pandis ostium. There can be no doubt that the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is indeed the Sacramentum Sacramentorum because, as St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us, It contains Christ Himself. In fact, the Blessed Sacrament is Christ Himself, and hence God Himself. A Catholic can, and must, make the equation: "The Eucharist is God." He must offer Divine worship to the most Holy Sacrament under pain of anathema. Naturally, because the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar is God Himself, we can never offer It sufficient honor, sufficient reverence. Those who remember the devotion shown to our sweet Sacrament Divine in Catholic churches before Vatican II will know that, humanly speaking, this manifestation of our adoration could hardly have been improved upon. VIEW THE IMAGE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD LARGER PURCHASE THE BOOKLET, SITE 1 PURCHASE THE BOOKLET, SITE 2 BACK----E-MAIL--------HOME----NEXT www.catholictradition.org/Priests/privilege1.htm