Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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ENDS OF THE MASS

The fourfold purpose for which the Church offers the Eucharistic sacrifice; namely, adoration, thanksgiving, propitiation, and petition. The Mass is therefore a sacrifice of praise of God's eternal greatness, of gratitude for past and present goodness, of begging mercy for having offended the divine majesty, and of asking for divine favor in the future.