CHAPTER II: ON THE APPLICATION OF THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

The application of the Sacrifice of the Mass is the intention by which the priest wills that the fruit of the Sacrifice yield to the advantage of a certain person.

1318. Principles. - I. In order that a part of the general fruit be perceived, the application of the priest is not necessary; but it suffices that he wish to celebrate according to the mind of the Church: for such an application is always implicitly included in the general intention of the celebrant. Likewise, in order that the most special fruit come to the priest himself, it is not necessary that he wish to apply it specially to himself; for this is always of itself applied to him. Indeed there are those who think that this fruit is so proper to him that it cannot be applied to another.

II. Nevertheless the application of the priest is required, in order that the special or ministerial fruit come to someone. For the priest, and indeed he alone, bears the person of Christ; therefore, just as he alone in the person of Christ offers the Sacrifice for others, so also he alone applies its fruit.

III. The special fruit, applied to no one or to one incapable, remains in the general treasury of the Church.¹

1319. Questions. - Query 1° Must the application of the fruit of the Mass be actual?

Resp. Negatively; but it suffices that it be habitual, namely that once made it is not retracted. The reason is because this application is made by way of donation, which is valid until it is revoked. - Nevertheless it is expedient to make the application of the Mass before it is begun. But if the priest has not done this before the Consecration, afterwards he cannot specially apply the Sacrifice to anyone.²

Query 2° If a priest, forgetful of the prior intention, elicits a new one while celebrating, which one must be judged valid?

Resp. In general it cannot be defined. Let the priest see what sort of intention was predominant in his mind. For the rest, in practice it matters little; for since either one or the other is certainly valid, it will be enough another time to apply the Sacrifice to him to whom it was not applied.

Query 3° Must the intention of the celebrant be explicitly determined?

Resp. Negatively. For it suffices that it be determined implicitly. Thus the application is valid if you say: I offer this Sacrifice for him who gave the stipend, - for whom the Superior wishes the Sacrifice to be made, - for whom the foundation demands, - for the greatest sinner, - for the soul afflicted by graver temptation, - for the suffering soul needing greater help, or more pleasing to God, - for all the souls of Purgatory, - for him to whom I am held to apply, - for the person or intention determined by writing or by mind at the beginning of the week, etc. - On the contrary, this application is not valid: I offer, that God may apply this Sacrifice.¹

Query 4° If a priest has received stipends from ten persons, does he satisfy by celebrating with a confused and indeterminate intention?

Resp. In no way, negatively; because a determinate intention at least to a certain person is required; otherwise there is no reason why the Mass should be applied to one rather than to another, and thus it would be applied to no one. - Nevertheless, if he intended to apply any Mass whatever to those ten persons, by applying to each one a tenth part of any Mass whatever, he would satisfy the obligation; because the fruit of the Sacrifice is divisible, and to each one is assigned what is owed to him: for each one, perceiving in each of the ten Masses a tenth part of the fruit, when the tenth Sacrifice has been done, has already obtained the whole fruit owed to him.¹

Query 5° How is the application to be determined, when stipends are given by many unknown persons?

Resp. The intention is to be made for those who first gave the stipends. This easily succeeds when the same priest is going to satisfy all the obligations; nor does it stand in the way that he perhaps distributes part of the Masses to be celebrated to other priests: because he can distribute them in the same order in which he received them; and thus the application seems sufficiently determined. Greater difficulty seems to be present if a sacristan or another person has collected many stipends from diverse persons, and distributes the mixed money to several priests; which case is obvious and frequent. How then is the application of the Mass to be made? I respond: nothing else is to be done, nor can anything else morally be done, than that the application be made according to the order of time in which the stipends were given by the faithful, according to the axiom which is sometimes used in the matter of justice: He who is prior in time is stronger in right. Indeed it is not necessary that the priest explicitly attend to this; since he is judged to wish to act thus, since natural equity demands it. Hence, if from a common heap, or from a distributor of Masses, you have received stipends for 20 Masses, no other care ought to fall upon you, except that you make the Sacrifice twenty times according to the intention of the giver. The distributor himself is judged to have the same implicit intention, that he distribute the stipends successively according to antiquity of time. Nevertheless the priest can interrupt the aforesaid order by express intention from some just cause, e.g. if some other Mass urges, or he has received a greater stipend that the Sacrifice not be deferred, etc.