With Dyed Garments
DEVOTION TO THE
MOTHER OF GOD
The Precious
Blood of Jesus, says St. Bonaventure, derives its origin from His most holy
Mother. Jesus and Mary have prepared for my soul the sweetest and most
refreshing potion. St. Athanasius writes in a similar strain: Jesus was
nourished at the breast of His Mother that from His own side might flow the
Blood of the divine testament, the drink of salvation. When the child Jesus was
forty days old, Mary offered the Divine Victim in the temple to His Heavenly
Father. With five shekels, according to the law, she then redeemed Him Who
afterwards redeemed the world with His Five Wounds. O good Jesus, exclaims St. Thomas of Villanova,
Thou belongest to us by a two-fold right; Thou wast given to us by the Father
and purchased for us by the Mother. But it was beneath the Cross that our
blessed Mother made the offering of her Son in the most heroic manner.
Mary, is then,
the rightful dispenser of the Blood of Jesus. Hence St. Anthony gives us these
consoling words: Certain access to God is assured us when the Mother stands
before the Son and the Son before the Father. Thus a powerful petition, written
with the Blood of His well-beloved Son, can be presented every morning to the
Father in the holy sacrifice of the Mass through the hands of the Blessed
Virgin. The Precious Blood flows, as it were, from the heart of Mary to the
heart of Jesus through all the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary. As we meditate
on the life of Christ, each bead, each Ave, is imbued with the Blood of the
Redemption that circulated in His sacred Body from the time of the Annunciation
until His glorious Ascension. In the joyful mysteries, we adore the Precious
Blood in the tabernacle of Mary s sacred body, in the crib of Bethlehem and in
the temple of Jerusalem. In the sorrowful mysteries, we contemplate and adore
the Blood of Jesus in the garden, in the praetorium, in the streets of Jerusalem and on the hill of
Calvary. In the glorious mysteries, we worship this same Precious Blood in the
glorious body of our Saviour in heaven and on our altars. The first token that
God gave our first parents as a sign of reconciliation and the assurance of His
protection, was a garment. Rebecca obtained the blessing that belonged to the
first-born for her favorite son by means of a garment. The same Jacob gave his
favorite son Joseph a coat of many colors, because he loved him more than the
rest. Mary made for her Son Jesus a seam less garment that is venerated to this
day. Jesus impressed the image of His bloody countenance on the veil of
Veronica, and this piece of garment is an object of great devotion. And now, my
dearest Mother Mary, I beseech Thee with confidence, obtain for me, although
thy unworthy child, the blessing of God the Father by covering me with the
merits of thy Son Jesus, that I may regain my eternal birthright in heaven.
Clothe me every evening, Sweet Lady of Mt. Carmel, but especially on the eve of
my life, with the Dyed Garments of the Precious Blood.
THE SPOUSE OF BLOOD
Upon the rivers
of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we remembered Sion. On the willows in
the midst thereof, we hung up our instruments. For there they that led us into
captivity required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away
said: sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion. How shall we sing the song of
the Lord in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be
forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee: if I
make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy (Ps. 136). In these words, an exile
returning from the Babylonian captivity expressed the intense grief of the
children of Israel over their banishment from the Holy City. How great must
have been their love of the divine worship in the temple, if they sat and wept
when they remembered Sion! How ardent must have been their enthusiasm in
speaking of the solemnity of the daily sacrifices offered at Jerusalem, since
they were requested by those who had carried them away to sing a hymn of the
songs of Sion! What fealty and attachment to their faith, if they would rather
lose their right hand and have their tongue cleave to their jaw than be a
traitor to their holy religion! The magnificent temple, the hundreds of priests
and Levites, the solemn rites, the beautiful songs, the thousands of victims,
all this was in spiring, indeed. But what must have made the deepest impression
on the faithful Israelites was, to see the priest who had charge of the temple
service accept and slay the offering, carefully gather its blood, sprinkle with
it him who offered the victim and then pour out the rest around the altar. This
was a daily custom and lasted from the time of Aaron to the coming of Christ,
excepting the time the Jews were in captivity. What a grand spectacle, for
instance, is presented to our vision by a description of the ceremonies of the
Passover, the greatest feast of the Hebrews, by which they celebrated their
escape from the angel of the Passover and their deliverance from Egyptian
bondage. In commemoration of these miraculous events, Moses commanded that at
Eastertide a lamb was to be slain by every family and with its blood the
door post to be sprinkled three times. In the days of Christ it was customary
for every Jew to eat this paschal lamb at Jerusalem. The city itself was not
large enough to contain the immense number of guests, who therefore put up
tents beyond the city limits. Josephus tell us that just before the destruction
of Jerusalem 250,000 lambs were slain at one time for the feast of Easter;
since no fewer than ten persons were required for every lamb, we can estimate
the number of persons who took part in this grand act of sacrifice. When we
recall the manner in which these sacrificial lambs were immolated, the scene becomes
still more spectacular. At three o clock on the Thursday before Easter the
temple priests blew great blasts on their silver trumpets, to tell the waiting
multitude that they were ready for the sacrifice of the paschal lamb. Now could
be seen hundreds of thousands of lambs carried hither and thither from the
temple on the shoulders of the leader of each little band of pilgrims. Each
lamb was then suspended on two sticks forming a cross. The longer stick was
driven through the body and in the tendons of the hind legs; the shorter one
caused the front feet to be extended. These supports were to be of wood. In
this manner the lamb was roasted and placed upon the table. What a true image
of our Lord upon the Cross! It was God who
ordained that blood should form the covenant between Himself and His chosen
people.
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