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.