This text, originally attributed to
St. Leonard of
Port Maurice and found on a 1923 holy card with an Imprimatur by Archbishop
Henry Moeller of Cincinnati, gives us much to ponder:
At the hour of death the Holy Masses you have
heard devoutly will be your greatest consolation.
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 negligences
and omissions. He forgives you all the venial sins which you are determined to
avoid. The power of Satan over you is diminished.
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 your 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 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.