July. The Precious Blood.
Our Lord shed His blood for our ransom, to buy us from the slavery of the devil and of sin. Not one drop of blood did He reserve for Himself; He shed it all most generously in our behalf. He was the Lamb of God without blemish, Who, according to God's designs for the redemption of mankind, was to be sacrificed. His blood was to be shed on the cross; from five great wounds it was to flow upon the earth, like the sacrifices of the Old Testament. These sufferings were precious in the sight of God, the Father, and gained for us the remission of our sins, the ransom from the slavery of Satan. Every drop of this blood was all powerful, because it represented the sacrifice of a God-man.
How precious are those drops of blood in the chalice on the altar at Mass, when the sacred blood of Christ is offered daily to God for our salvation! How we desire to drink that blood, that we may have life in us, for the Lord has said, “Unless you drink of My blood, you shall not have life in you.” How this blood flowed in the Garden of Gethsemani, at the scourging, at the crowning with thorns, and at the crucifixion! Precious blood of my Jesus, I adore thee; pour thyself over my soul that I may be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Considerations and Prayers for Every Day.
First Day.
Unhappy mankind was bound in the slavery and tyranny of Satan, in the shadow of death, without being able to free itself. Jesus, the Victor over death and hell, came into the world to destroy [pg 287] the kingdom of the prince of darkness, and to set the human race free, so that it might look up once more to God the Father. This great work, so beneficial to our souls, was effected by the shedding of the blood of Christ at the circumcision, and the completion of the sacrifice when He shed the last drop of His blood on the cross. In this sacred blood we have received the power to co-operate with the graces of God, which are to free us; for certainly we must do something on our part to keep this newly-acquired privilege of children of God. Let us, then, feel in our hearts the necessity of a devotion to the precious blood of Our Lord, the cause of our salvation; and continue during this month of July to adore it, and to conceive an unbounded confidence in the almighty power of its intercession.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood of Jesus in satisfaction for my sins, and for the wants of holy Church. Blessed be the precious blood of Jesus, which renders bearable the thorns of earth, redeems our souls, purifies them from their iniquities, and prepares for them an eternal crown. Amen.
Second Day.
When Constantine had become a Christian, he found himself confronted by many enemies of his kingdom, and of our holy religion. He was told to have confidence in the cross, because in this sign “Thou shalt conquer.” We, too, will conquer by this sacred symbol of our salvation, stained with the blood of Our Lord; we, too, have the enemies [pg 288] of our liberty and religion before us; we have to fight against the world, that is full of deceits and vanities; we have to make war against the flesh, that rises frequently against the spirit; we have to fight against the prince of darkness, that goes about like a roaring lion seeking to tear us to pieces. Yes, my dear Jesus, I see that my enemies have great power and activity; give me also the power and activity to oppose my will and intellect against them, so that I may conquer. Thou didst come upon the earth for the purpose of giving me this victory; let me not be conquered and led back into slavery.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Third Day.
We come to understand the value of our soul from the price which was paid for its ransom. When you wish to purchase a precious gem, you judge of its value from its cost. We must judge of the value of our souls, then, by the same standard. It cost the precious blood of Jesus Christ to purchase our souls. Christ would have given it for the possession of only one soul; for even one soul is the likeness of God. The price that is asked for its possession is nothing less than the life and blood of a God-man. Think, then, seriously, that all the goods of the world, its riches, honors, and comforts, are not precious enough to buy your soul; that if you gain these things by the loss of your soul you have gained nothing; that you have been deceived and cheated, and that you got the worst of the bargain. “For what [pg 289] doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world and to lose his own soul?” You are sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb of God. Even one drop of this blood would be sufficient to redeem mankind, it is so precious in the sight of God the Father, to Whom it is offered.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Fourth Day.
O my soul, where will the thorns, the nails, the cross, the death and blood of your own martyrdom be, when you are asked how you co-operated with the saving power of the blood of Christ? when you have to show what you have done on your part? Jesus suffered so much for us, and we do nothing for His love. Are you going to heaven without prayer, without mortification of the flesh and your passions, without the practise of virtue? The salvation of Christ, instead of being a help to you, will become the source of your damnation. The Israelites, crossing the dried bed of the Red Sea in their flight from the Egyptians, found their liberation, while the Egyptians met with their destruction. So also we shall be happily found and brought to heaven if we apply to our souls the blood of Christ, while we will find ourselves condemned to eternal perdition if we abuse that adorable gift. O my Jesus, let me appreciate the great gift of Thy precious blood.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Fifth Day.
Since Almighty God has done so much for us through the sufferings of His divine Son, what are our obligations for all that Christ endured? We should think very much during this month on the great mercy of God. We have already meditated on the Passion of Christ during Lent, and on other occasions have thought of the shedding of the blood of Christ; but this month, especially, we will try to make a particular devotion of our dear Lord's precious blood, and engrave holy sentiments regarding it deeply on our souls. In everything that concerns the spiritual life we feel the power of the blood of Christ; and when we are thoroughly imbued with the importance of the precious value of the sacred blood, and how great were the sufferings of Our Lord, we will begin to have an idea of how stupendous an undertaking our redemption was. Our Lord will visit with special blessings those who love and honor His sacred blood. You will feel a new life from this sacred blood coursing through your veins, and circulating in your heart and brain. It will give a life of spiritual energy.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Sixth Day.
We ought to imitate the virtues of the Heart of Jesus, from which His sacred blood flowed; and this imitation will produce in us a perfect purity. For what purpose has the sacred blood been offered [pg 291] but to cleanse us from sin and to bring us back to the love of God? It preserves purity in our soul, because it gives us the grace of loving God, and gives us strength to say, “I feel within me the energy of the divine blood; and I am ready to make every sacrifice with joy, in return for the one perfect and all-sufficient sacrifice which has been made for me.” The nearer we are to the Sacred Heart, and to the influences of the sacred blood of Christ, the fountain of all grace, the more holy we become. Let us then love the virtues which shine so conspicuously in the Heart of Jesus. Let us be generous with God and gentle and indulgent with others, as a reflection of the charity of the Heart of Jesus.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Seventh Day.
The precious blood obtains the forgiveness of our sins. Then with what great eagerness should we seek for this pardon! In what an unhappy state is our soul when stained by sin! By sin death came into the world and into our heart. We were robbed of the grace of God, lost His friendship, and came under the dominion of Satan, which is worse than death, and of which it is true that “it were better we had not been born.” In all this wreck and misfortune there is but one object to which we can turn, and that is the sacred blood of Christ as it flows from His wounds, and which He offers to the Almighty to condone for our faults, and to restore us to the grace of God. We do not get immunity from corporal [pg 292] death, which they say mankind would have enjoyed had it not fallen by the sin of our first parents. We are still afflicted by frailty, ignorance, and the inordinate demands of passion; but we have received the greatest gift, which cannot be surpassed by any other: the gift of the sacred blood of Christ.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Eighth Day.
The only thing that is asked of us is a horror of sin. We renounced Satan, sin, and hell at our baptism, but we are only too apt to forget the promises made then. During this month we will recall to ourselves our duty, and impress it deeply upon our souls; we will avoid sin and look upon it with horror, for it is a most loathsome object, hateful to God, and consequently it ought to be hateful to us. Sin was punished in the angels, in Adam, and even in ourselves; we must convince ourselves of this truth. St. Paul says, “Jesus has redeemed us with His blood,” and for the destruction of sin has given inexhaustible treasures of grace. O my dear Jesus, when I remember my sins, I would wish to have the courage to ask Thee that I might die at Thy feet in punishment for them; but at least make me really understand that I belong to God, to the angels, that I have renounced Satan, his demons and darkness, and that I must remain faithful to the part I have chosen.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Ninth Day.
If we trust in the efficacy of the precious blood, we are sure to remain in the state of redemption, even though severe temptations assail us. The devil will surely attack us; but let us not be dismayed, because we are fortified with supernatural strength by the merits of the blood of Jesus. These temptations will even be a source of glory to us, for St. James says, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life.”—Jas. i. 12. The devil trembles before a soul that is protected by Christ; he flies because he knows that there he will find no human weakness. Remember the Jewish Passover, which was instituted in commemoration of the plague in Egypt: every first-born son was to die on that night, unless the blood of the Lamb was sprinkled on the door-posts; so also will the devil pass the house of our soul, when he finds the blood of the Lamb of God used as a protection. Yes, my dear Jesus, I know that when I am washed in Thy divine blood in the Sacrament of Penance, or when strengthened by the drinking of Thy blood in holy communion, the tempter flies from me because he knows he will be defeated.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Tenth Day.
Sin brings great sorrow and misfortune to a soul. As sin brought all trouble into the world, so it repeats itself in our souls. Have we not heard of [pg 294] the wages of sin? No sooner have we revolted against the law of God than all the unruly passions of our souls are let loose. Incessant demands are made on our ingenuity to seek for occasions of gratifying our appetites; ambition, vanity, and pride spur us on to every excess. You can well imagine that in such a soul there is no peace nor happiness. God rises in anger against the sinner, the world even strikes us down; we have the sign of Cain on our forehead, and all nature is at enmity with us. Where can you find peace for your soul but in Jesus, the Prince of peace?—Who takes us up and leads us to God, where the past is forgotten and innocence reigns once more in our hearts. Let us preserve this peace by a virtuous life, and by observing the Commandments of God. Let us also keep peace with our neighbor; let us love him because he is our brother, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Eleventh Day.
If our heart is to preserve the true, interior peace of God, we must approach the Lord Jesus with the cross, and with the blood that falls on us beneath the cross we must wash away the stains of sin. St. Francisca of Rome had a vision in which she saw many chains issuing from the wounds of Our Lord's sacred body, and these went out to a multitude of souls and bound them to the Redeemer. She understood that in this attachment was the peace, the happiness, and the victory of many who otherwise would have perished. Let us look for the particular chain intended [pg 295] for us, as we can thereby bind ourselves to the contemplation of the Passion, in which we shall find peace and comfort as long as we remain faithful. Heavenly Father, I offer to Thee, for Thy glory and my salvation, the blood of Jesus; let me appreciate its value in its fulness. Thou, my Jesus, seest the many dangers by which I am surrounded, and as Thou didst at one time command the winds to cease and the waves of the stormy sea to be calm, so watch over me that I may find peace in Thy service and be attached to Thee out of love for that peace which Thou alone canst give.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twelfth Day.
Our Lord had a great desire to gain our souls. He made it easy for us to approach His sacred wounds, from whence the blood flowed. He instituted the Blessed Sacrament for our nourishment; speaking of this sacred blood, He said: “Drink ye all of this; this is My blood; and if any thirst let him come to Me and I will give him to drink.” The sacraments are nothing but channels by which the blood of Christ is conveyed to our souls. It was the Passion and sufferings of Christ that gave the sacraments their efficacy. The water of Baptism becomes, as it were, the blood of Christ; the penitential accusation is carried to the presence of the Lord Himself, and by the mouth of the priest He speaks the absolution; the blood of Christ is in reality in the Holy Eucharist. Confirmation makes us strong Christians, because the blood of Christ is [pg 296] there, and the Spirit of God comes to complete the work of Jesus. What is Extreme Unction but the application of the blood of Christ to the sick, that they may become strong?
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Thirteenth Day.
St. Bernard says of the blood of Christ: “that it is like a trumpet that calls for mercy; it is a voice that speaks more strongly than Abel's, not for vengeance but for forgiveness. This blood binds the hands of God's justice.” We may then hope that the voice of this adorable blood will be raised in our behalf, as it was used to promise the penitent thief eternal happiness. It was with sincere love that Jesus Christ cried to the heavenly Father for us. He came to this world that His blood might always call to God for mercy. His blood was spilled over the surface of the earth, that all mankind might drink of its benefits. Satiated by the precious blood we will really hate sin, we will triumph over our evil passions, we will substitute virtues in their stead. Jesus is the fountain of all graces; it is He that takes such a great interest in us that whatever we do in His name will add to our glory, so that though we may have been poor and despised creatures, by the blood of Christ we have been ennobled and made heirs of the kingdom of God.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Fourteenth Day.
When Our Lord died on the cross one of the soldiers pierced His side, to make sure that He was dead. It was a real death, for we know that blood and water poured from that wound. Here we see the water of Baptism applied to our souls; in Baptism we are born again, we become children of God, our sins are forgiven and we have a right to the reward of heaven. We are no longer outcasts, nor an accursed race; we have become children of God. And why? Because we have become the brothers of Jesus Christ, Who is a child of God, the Son of God; it was this Child that made us children too, because from His sacred side on the cross He poured out water and blood over the human race; the curse was taken away from the race of mankind, and they may now go to heaven if they will. But have we preserved this life of grace, this new life of a supernatural order? No, indeed. There is not a human creature on the earth that has been cleansed by the blood of Christ, but has fallen back, and rebelled against God.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Fifteenth Day.
Man's life is a struggle for good from the beginning to the end. We are taken out of wickedness by Baptism, and we are frequently redeemed by penance. We need a sacrament that will give us perseverance. “Be thou faithful unto [pg 298] death,” is the watchword that St. John cries out to the bishop in the Apocalypse, “and I will give thee the crown of life.” We are never sure of ourselves; even the sharpest intellect will not be able to say whether he be worthy of God's wrath or of God's love. Therefore Jesus Christ has applied the merits of His sacred blood to the Sacrament of Confirmation, by which we are to be made strong, by which human weakness is to be taken away. After receiving this sacrament what noble works we are capable of! In the olden ages martyrs died for Christ; mothers saw their children martyred before their eyes, all for the love of Jesus, strengthened by this sacrament. People give up the world and persevere in the heroic practice of virtue by the grace of the precious blood of Jesus.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Sixteenth Day.
How comes it that although we are endowed with virtue from on high, nevertheless we sometimes make the blood of Christ of no avail to us? By Confirmation we ought to be perfect Christians, and still we are far from being such. The reason of our weakness, is that we are addicted to the things of this world, and we are very much inclined to follow the demands of our passions. We do not place implicit confidence in the efficacy of the precious blood; we do not desire to be cured of our maladies; we do not pray to be freed from our evil inclinations. What great strength did not the saints [pg 299] gather from the precious blood! How strong they were against the devil! How mortified their lives! How sincere in the service of God—and all through the power of that sacred blood. How firm the martyrs stood in their testimony for the faith! how many Christians persevere in doing good by means of the graces derived from the adoration of the precious blood! If we would be as they were, we must turn to the suffering Jesus, and adjure Him, by the blood that He shed, to sustain us also in our struggle against the foes of our salvation.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Seventeenth Day.
In nothing is the beauty of the Church more noticeable than in her love of devotions. The devotion to the precious blood becomes manifest on many occasions. She has established the feast of the precious blood, and others more or less intimately united to this sacred practice of piety. Full of divine instincts, her worship grows with all the exuberance of a tropical plant, covering herself with verdure and blossom; she makes devotions of joys and of sorrows; none of the old blossoms fall off—on the contrary new varieties make their appearance. The Church is more beautiful now than she was three centuries ago, and three centuries from the present time new glories will have developed themselves. Every century has given rise to new devotions, according to the needs of the Church. Sometimes a holy man looks at the incarnation in a [pg 300] new light, and a new devotion springs up. The devotion of the Holy Childhood has developed itself into devotion to the Infant of Prague, or has taken a more practical turn in the society of the Holy Childhood for the redemption of heathen children.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Eighteenth Day.
Who were the great worshippers of the precious blood? St. Paul wrote in his epistles most beautifully of the precious blood, and he may be said to be the author of this devotion. It was in this devotion that the power of his apostolate consisted. St. Chrysostom, the great preacher of the East, spoke most touchingly of the precious blood, and of the sufferings of Our Lord. St. Augustine, after his conversion, attributed all his improvement in the supernatural life to the love that Jesus bore him. St. Gertrude's writings are full of the most beautiful sentiments concerning the precious blood. In modern times, St. Catharine of Sienna, the prophetess of the precious blood, singled out this devotion with a special love, with reference to the needs of her time, to which, in her judgment, sufficient importance had not been given. We read of Frances of the Mother of God, a Carmelite, that these words of the Apocalypse were deeply imprinted in her mind: “He hath loved us, and washed away our sins in His blood.” Our Lord said to her interiorly, “I have shed My blood for your sins, and now I come in holy communion to wash away [pg 301] the stains which remain.” When she had received Our Lord she saw her soul all covered with blood.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Nineteenth Day.
In the life of the Venerable Ann of Jesus, a companion of St. Teresa, we read that at communion her mouth was sensibly filled with very sweet blood, which flowed from the Host. St. Clare of Rimini's holy and mysterious thirst was appeased only by the blood in the Host. Marcella Benci used to serve St. Philip of Neri's Mass, and frequently saw the chalice full of blood. Margaret Beanne the Carmelite saw habitually the blood of Jesus in the souls of men; they were so beautified by it that she could not bear to hear any one censured because of the reverence she felt even for the souls of the wicked, for she saw them covered with the blood of Jesus. Sister Benedict of Egersheim after communion used to feel sensibly Our Lord's blood flowing as a torrent down into the abyss of her soul, and burning away all the remnants of sin, leaving her a most pure vessel of sanctity. Such are some of the examples of the thoughts and experience of the saints in communing with the precious blood, which made them what they were, friends of God and intimate with Jesus Christ, the Spouse of their souls.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twentieth Day.
There is no surer sign of the growth of a special devotion than when the Church erects a confraternity in its honor. These confraternities keep the devotion alive, direct it, and embody all its practices. There is the archconfraternity of the Precious Blood in Rome, and this confraternity forms the keystone of all the confraternities throughout the world. Popes have enriched it with many indulgences, and have given to the Passionists and to the missionaries of the precious blood special blessings. Among the people of Spain we notice particularly the rise and continuance of societies devoted to the honoring of the precious blood. Leo XIII. enriched the societies with many indulgences. Pope Pius IX., of glorious memory, authorized the wearing of the red scapular. When he returned from exile he instituted a new feast distinct from the one celebrated in Lent. So many favors have been granted to it that we receive the impression that it is the special devotion of the Holy See.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-first Day.
The devotion to the precious blood is especially opportune for our days—these days of infidelity and of atheism. It shows that the redemption is due to the efficacy of the precious blood. It throws out into strong light the most intimate relation of the incarnation; it meets the false spirituality which we [pg 303] conceive of the sacred humanity of Christ. It is a revelation of the character of God, as well as of the work of Jesus; it brings into our heart the love of the kingdom of God, and thus we begin again to have faith, the right faith as it is given us by the Church. We are aroused to the love of Jesus, and feel sensibly that He is still in the Church, and that His sacred blood is even now performing wonders. O my soul, what unthought-of greatness is in the precious blood of Jesus! how charming is the devotion, and how many souls labor under its benign influence! Let me, O my sweet Jesus, reverence that precious blood, and apply it to my soul for an increase of faith in God and His revelations, in hope for a happy future, and in love for Christ crucified.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-second Day.
The devotion of the precious blood very materially supports the devotion to the Passion of Our Lord. It furnishes a point of view from which we may regard each separate suffering, each separate wound, and mould it into one universal consideration. It is thus a unity of the devotion to the Passion, as well as a variety of it, besides being in itself an additional devotion. The precious blood brings vividness to the meditation on the Passion. There is no greater devotion than meditation on the Passion; the saints have always made it the help and consolation of their progress. What is consideration of the precious blood but a contemplation of the Passion under another aspect? We bring the entire [pg 304] Passion under the head of one mystery, and still we preserve all the details, so that the Passion and the precious blood are the favorite contemplations of all devout Christians. O dear Jesus crucified, make me love the cross; make me desire to stand beneath the cross, in order to receive on my soul one drop of that precious blood which is being poured out for my redemption.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-third Day.
The closest alliance, however, is between the precious blood and the Sacred Heart. The Heart of Jesus is the centre of our affection; it is the source from which the blood of Christ is drawn, the wealth of the Sacred Heart. It is the blood that warms that Heart and makes it beat for our sakes, so that every pulsation is an act of love for the human race. The Heart of Jesus teaches us to hate sin; the precious blood so copiously shed for our redemption inculcates the hatred of sin. We hate sin purely, manfully, and strongly; we do penance, we mortify ourselves, we mourn over our sins and the sins of others. All this is taught by the sacred blood of Our Lord; it is surely a valuable lesson which we ought to learn, since the instruction is given in so forcible a manner, and is so frequently inculcated.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-fourth Day.
There is a virtue which, in the language of the theologians of the Church, is called the angelic virtue: a virtue most pleasing to God. It is chastity. The precious blood makes us chaste according to our state of life; it makes those pure and virginal who practise this devotion and gives them the grace to preserve purity and to persevere in it. This virtue renders us very pleasing to almighty God, Who loves pure souls. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God,” and chastity is an expression of the purity of the soul. The devil makes the greatest efforts to deprive us of this great treasure. The greatest and most frequent temptation which we have to endure is certainly that against purity. Our body seems to be full of impurity, our imaginations crowded with thoughts of a defiling character. The virtue of purity endears us to Mary, the purest of virgins; she loves those whom God regards with special favor, and to whom He has promised the particular privilege of contemplating Him for all eternity.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-fifth Day.
How beautiful a virtue is true humility! We love and admire it in others, but we ourselves are far from possessing it. Humility is the foundation on which all other virtues are built. Pride is a most hateful vice in the sight of God, for He would rather [pg 306] receive a humble sinner than a saint inclined to pride. God resists the proud, and gives His grace to the humble. The devotion of the precious blood will secure humility. Jesus shed His blood amid the greatest humiliations. In the Garden of Olives, bowed to the earth, He poured forth His blood in an agony of shame and horror over the sins of men; He was beaten like a slave in the court of Pilate; the blood poured from His face, wounded by blows and defiled by spittle, and from His head crowned with thorns. It stained the streets of Jerusalem on His way to Calvary; it flowed to the foot of the cross, as He hung and died between two malefactors, where He was considered the most abject of men. Let us learn the lesson of humility from the death of Christ.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-sixth Day.
Zeal for souls, zeal for the glory of God, was the motive that induced the Son of God to come down from heaven to suffer and die on the cross. Might not we, also, do something for the glory of God and the good of souls, if we had a little zeal towards that end? The apostles learned zeal from the Passion of Our Lord. When the Lord had died on the cross, they became inflamed with zeal and worked in an apostolic manner that souls might be brought to the kingdom of God; suffering became precious in their sight, because they endured it for the good of humanity. We that profess the love of the precious blood must also have zeal for the salvation [pg 307] of souls. What can we do? We can pray; we can offer up our petitions incessantly for some particular individual until we are heard; we can surround people by such influences that their minds will be changed and brought back to God. But frequently we are inactive and inattentive to these means which God has given us; we are not filled with zeal for furthering the devotion to Christ's precious blood, and for the salvation of souls.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-seventh Day.
As we may do much good by a prudent zeal for the living, we can still more benefit the souls in purgatory by the application of the merits of the precious blood. Those souls are already in the hands of God, undergoing a purification to fit them to enter heaven. They can do nothing for themselves; they must patiently endure the just punishment that is meted out to them. But the Church teaches us that we can help them, and we are encouraged to use the means which God has placed in our hands. Those who are in purgatory will surely go to heaven, but we can shorten their purification by prayer. Our supplications for the souls in purgatory may be even more productive of good than praying for the living, for these may resist the goodness of God and render themselves unworthy of further graces, while the souls in purgatory, being the friends of God, will readily receive the benefit of our prayers. Purgatory is an effect of sin, and sin [pg 308] and its effects are effaced by the blood of Christ. The Apostle has said that Jesus loved us, and has given His blood to wash us.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-eighth Day.
The sacred wounds of Our Lord are those abundant springs from which flow the kindness and charity of God. Many saints have had revelations and visions of this in their ecstatic prayers. St. Gertrude saw streams of blood issuing from the wounds of Our Lord and flowing like rivers through the Church, rendering her fruitful in many heroic virtues. How can we have any merit unless we receive it from Our Lord? for without Him we can do nothing. To do something meritorious, then, we should have recourse to Our Lord in prayer. Our prayers would fall to the ground and be without result, unless helped by the pleading of the precious blood; our works of mortification would be useless, our penance vain attempts for forgiveness, unless the precious blood made them efficacious. As the sun gives light to the world, enlightening and fructifying it, so the precious blood shines on our actions and makes them glow with a supernatural merit. There are some virtues which we may practise to a certain degree, but how imperfect are the best intentions, without God's love as a motive.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Twenty-ninth Day.
Remember that perseverance is the great grace which we are all striving for. It is not a grace that we can merit at any one time, for it is only a continuation of fidelity. It is a very important grace; what does it profit to have gained all possible graces, and to be filled with consolation, when in the end we shall not be counted among the elect of God? He is, of course, interested in your eternal salvation—in other words, your final perseverance. But we are living in a state of probation here; it is not possible, except in some special case of extraordinary grace, that we could be possibly in any other state than doubt as regards the future. It is natural for those who are on trial to fear that they will not succeed; there are so many a great deal better than we are that when we compare their excellence with our weak efforts to do right, we feel so inferior that we are afraid of being rejected. Hence it is that we are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, lest we may not reach the end for which we have been created.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Thirtieth Day.
Final perseverance can be obtained only through our humble faithfulness to God and continued prayers. When we pray to the Lord, and beg of Him by His precious blood to give us the grace of perseverance, or when we go to God the Father, [pg 310] and offer Him the sacred blood of Jesus as a sacrifice, that He may give us extraordinary grace to enable us to continue in His service, He is not obliged to give it, but He will, just as a friend who wishes to keep you attached to him gives you many presents and favors. We must also turn to Mary in this doubtful struggle for eternal happiness. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, has much to do with our salvation; we should not despise her help. She supplied, as you may say, the precious blood to Our Lord, by feeding Him with the milk of her breast. Or, as St. Bernard tells us, mixing the milk of the Mother with the blood of the Son, in order to prepare for us a most delicious drink. Mary ceases not to work in heaven for the salvation of souls and for the conversion of poor sinners.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.
Thirty-first Day.
St. Alphonsus, in speaking of the precious blood, says: “So, then, my Jesus, in order to save my soul, Thou hast prepared a bath of Thine own blood wherein to cleanse it from the filth of its sins. If. then, our souls have been bought by Thy blood, ‘For you are bought with a great price’ (1 Cor. vi. 20), it is a sign that Thou lovest them much; and as Thou dost love them, let us pray thus to Thee: ‘We therefore pray Thee to help Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood.’ It is true that by my sins I have separated myself from Thee, and have knowingly lost Thee. But remember, [pg 311] my Jesus, that Thou hast bought me with Thy blood. Ah, may this blood not have been given in vain for me, which was shed with so much grief and so much love.” We ought to read these words over and over again, until they penetrate our souls with that devotion to the precious blood which this great saint possessed, filling all our daily lives with a heavenly sweetness.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.