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.
Mass in Honor of the Precious Blood.
Introit.
When the priest goes up to the altar to say Mass, think that the Lord is about to celebrate the Last Supper, during which He instituted the Holy Eucharist, and gave His flesh as food, and His blood as drink, to all the disciples present.