With respect to thanksgiving after mass, there is less to be said, as the temptation to omit or curtail it is less. It is regularly looked for and expected wherever the priest goes. The importance of a good thanksgiving, to gather up the fruit of the mass, can hardly be overestimated. Hence when a priest has to take Communion to the sick-- which he so often does after mass--it does not seem much to ask that he should allow at least a few minutes to pass for his direct thanksgiving: after which he can well continue and complete it as he carries his Lord through the streets to the house of the sick man. It is not too much to say that his fervour as a priest will be the reflection of that of his daily mass, and the manner in which he says mass will depend on his preparation and thanksgiving. With respect to the intention for which mass is offered, in a populous mission that almost settles itself, as our parishioners have the first right to our masses, within reasonable limits. But a priest would do well to keep a certain number at his own disposal, in order to foster the spirit of his piety. And every priest should from time to time say mass for his people. This is now laid as an obligation on those rectors of missions who have by recent legislation become _parochi_, on all Sundays and holidays, including the suppressed feasts. For others it is still a matter of option; yet one would think that a priest's own interest in his work would suggest to him the propriety of doing so at least occasionally. It sounds strange to hear many priests regret the obligation and refuse to comply with it unless it can be shown to be absolutely binding. It would have appeared that if a priest has a proper spirit of zeal, the one end of his life would be the sanctification of his people, or those among whom he works. They have few enough prayers offered for them: one would have thought that an occasional mass would have been freely offered by the priest as a privilege. Unfortunately the question of income comes in, and many a priest hesitates between the two motives. Yet even in the masses which his parishioners ask him to say, some have to be without a stipendium, and this ought to be so, to prevent the danger of the mercenary spirit over-running his better instincts.