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.