July 1
The Most Precious Blood of
The Most Precious Blood of
Our Lord Jesus Christ
History
The Feast
of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ was a feast included in the
General Roman Calendar from 1849 to 1969.
The feast,
celebrated in Spain in the 16th century, was later introduced to Italy by Saint
Gaspar del Bufalo. For many dioceses there were two days to which the Office of
the Precious Blood was assigned, the office being in both cases the same. The
reason was this: the office was at first granted to the Fathers of the Most
Precious Blood only. Later, as one of the offices of the Fridays of Lent, it
was assigned to the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent in some dioceses,
including, by decision of the Fourth Provincial Council of Baltimore (1840),
those in the United States.
When Pope
Pius IX went into exile at Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1849), he
had as his companion Father Giovanni Merlini, third superior general of the
Fathers of the Most Precious Blood. After they had arrived at Gaeta, Don
Merlini suggested that His Holiness make a vow to extend the feast of the
Precious Blood to the entire Church, if he would again recover possession of
the Papal States. The Pope took the matter under consideration, but a few days
later, on 30 June 1849, the day the French army conquered Rome and the
insurgents of the Roman Republic capitulated, he sent his domestic prelate
Joseph Stella to Father Merlini with the message: “The pope does not
deem it expedient to bind himself by a vow; instead His Holiness is pleased to
extend the feast immediately to all Christendom.” On 10 August of the
same year, he officially included the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our
Lord Jesus Christ in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on the first
Sunday in July, the first Sunday after 30 June, the anniversary of the
liberation of the city of Rome from the insurgents. In
reducing the number of feasts fixed for Sundays, Pope Pius X assigned the date
of 1 July to this feast. In 1933,
Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the rank of Double of the 1st Class to mark
the 1900th anniversary of Jesus’ death.
In Pope
John XXIII’s 1960 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the feast was
classified as of the first class.
Dumped
by Vatican II
The feast was
removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, “because the Most Precious
Blood of Christ the Redeemer is already venerated in the solemnities of the
Passion, of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and in the feast of
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.
But the
Mass of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is placed among the
votive Masses”.
John
the Baptist has pointed out the Lamb, Peter has firmly fixed His throne, Paul
has prepared the Bride; this their joint work, admirable in its unity, at once
suggests the reason for their feasts occurring almost simultaneously on the
cycle. The alliance being now secured, all three fall into shade; whilst the
Bride herself, raised up by them to such lofty heights, appears alone before
us, holding in her hands the sacred cup of the nuptial-feast. This gives the
key of today's solemnity; revealing how it’s illumining the heavens of the
holy Liturgy, at this particular season, is replete with mystery. The Church,
it is true, has already made known to the sons of the New Covenant, and in a
much more solemn manner, the price of the Blood that redeemed them, its
nutritive strength, and the adoring homage which is its due. Yes; on Good
Friday, earth and heaven beheld all sin drowned in the saving stream, whose
eternal flood-gates at last gave way, beneath the combined effort of man's
violence and of the love of the divine Heart. The festival of Corpus Christi
witnessed our prostrate worship before the altars whereon is perpetuated the
Sacrifice of Calvary, and where the outpouring of the Precious Blood affords
drink to the humblest little ones, as well as to the mightiest potentates of
earth, lowly bowed in adoration before it. How is it, then, that Holy Church is
now inviting all Christians to hail, in a particular manner, the stream of life
ever gushing from the sacred fount? What else can this mean, but that the preceding
solemnities have by no means exhausted the mystery? The peace which the Blood
has made to reign in the high places as well as in the low; the impetus of its
wave bearing back the sons of Adam from the yawning gulf, purified, renewed,
and dazzling white in the radiance of their heavenly apparel; the Sacred Table
out spread before them, on the waters' brink, and the Chalice brimful of
inebriation; all this preparation and display would be object less, all these
splendors would be incomprehensible, if man were not brought to see therein
the wooings of a love that could never endure its advances to be outdone by the
pretensions of any other. Therefore, the Blood of Jesus is set before our eyes,
at this moment, as the Blood of the Testament; the pledge of the alliance
proposed to us by God; the dower stipulated upon by Eternal Wisdom for this
divine union to which he is inviting all men, and whereof the consummation in
our soul is being urged forward with such vehemence by the Holy Ghost. This is
why the present festival, fixed as it is upon a day that must necessarily be
one of the Sundays after Pentecost, does not interrupt, in any way, the
teaching which these Sundays are particularly meant to convey, but tends rather
to confirm it. Having therefore, Brethren, a confidence in the entering into
the Holies by the Blood of Christ, says the Apostle, a new and living way which
he hath dedicated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, let us
draw near with a pure heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water, let us hold fast
the confession of our hope without wavering, for he is faithful that hath
promised. Let us consider one another to provoke unto charity and to good
works. And " may the God of peace who brought again from the dead the
great pastor of the sheep, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Blood of the
everlasting Testament, fit you in all goodness, that you may do his will: doing in you that which is well-pleasing in
his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom is glory for ever and ever. Amen!
The Octave Day of St. John the Baptist
The
Church unites on June the 24th in one same glad celebration, the memory both of
the Birth of the Precursor and of his Circumcision, surrounded as it was by
prodigies, related in the Gospel of the feast itself. But, properly speaking,
this is the day where on these wonders were operated, according to the words of
the Gospel: It came to pass that on the Eighth Day the child was
circumcised. By placing on the morrow of this Eighth Day the celebration
of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the Church seems to insinuate,
besides, that Our Lady, who had been staying in Zachary's house during the last
three months, prolonged her stay and her tender care of the infant and his
mother up to this date. The babe that three months ago, at her first arrival,
had leaped as though fain to force the prison of the maternal womb, seemed at
the moment of his birth to spring towards her; she received him into her arms,
and pressed him to her breast wherein the Son of God still lay reposing. She
gave herself entirely to him during these eight days; for she knew they would
be the only ones in which the Friend of the Bridegroom would taste here below,
although without seeing him, the intimate presence of him unto whom his whole
heart turned. Save the solemn moment of his Baptism, the sublime majesty of
which would hold in subjection every sentiment in the soul of the Precursor but
that of self-annihilation and of adoration, John is never to behold (excepting
once or twice at a distance) the Well-Beloved he has come to announce. Profound
mystery this of plan divine! John is never to know the Bridegroom, never to
enjoy our Jesus, save in Mary. Nevertheless, even tomorrow must the farewell
be; even tomorrow the desert is to open before him; a desert of the soul, more
terrific a thousand times than that which affects the outward senses. His
flight from the world to the desert of Judea, far from being a trial to John,
will be rather a solace to this infant soul for whom earth was already too
narrow. In the wilderness, at least, the air is pure, heaven seems ready to
open, and God gives answer to the soul that calls upon him. Let us then not be
astonished that scarcely is John born than he searches for solitude, and passes
almost at once from his mother's breast to the desert wilds. There was no
childhood for the man who three months previous to his birth had attained, at
one bound, to the plenitude of the age of Christ; no need of human master had
he whom heaven had undertaken to instruct, who knew both the past and the
future, in God,5 and whose own plenitude of knowledge, transmitted by him to
his parents, had turned them also into prophets. Better far than Elizabeth had
he entered into the meaning of Our Lady in her Magnificat; even on this day he
quite comprehends Zachary hailing him as Prophet of the Highest, in the
Benedictus: and from whom, save from the Word Himself, could the Voice of the
Word have received the science of language ? Gifted with the full use of his
will, what progress, on the other side, must he not have made, in love, during
these three months ! The Mother of divine grace neglected nothing in the
formation of this natural disposition so singularly favored, where no obstacle
opposed the full development of the divine germs. St. Ambrose, whose exquisite
delicacy has so wonderfully penetrated into these mysteries, shows us John
under Mary's influence, exercising himself in the several virtues, anointing
his limbs like a valiant athlete, and essaying, even from his mother's womb,
the combats which await him. The eight days which have just elapsed for him in
the arms of Our Lady have completed the work. His sweet Mistress, whom he is to
see no more, may even now be speak their meeting again, in heaven, he at the
left of her Son's throne, she at the right, according to the tradition of which
Christian Art has made itself the faithful interpreter up to our own time.
Whilst awaiting for another six months the
birth of the Virgin's Son, earth is meanwhile in possession of him who is the
greatest amongst all that are born of women. No human ken in its highest
soarings may touch the summits whereon this child of but eight days holds fixed
the gaze of his intelligence; no sanctity may stretch to further limits than
his, the heroism of love. Fully enlightened on all the bearings of the
approaching farewell, he will not shrink at seeing the Son and the Mother
depart on the morrow. Like the divine Spouse himself, he, the Friend of the
Bridegroom, is strong enough to have no
other food than the accomplishment of the Will of the Father who has sent them
both. His soul, filled henceforth with the memory of these days wherein his
heart has been throbbing to the pulsations of that of Jesus, whilst Mary has
been clasping him to her breast, will, by its fidelity, despite the distant
parting, ever keep up between his own and these two Hearts the sublime concert
wherein, during these happy hours, the Eternal Trinity has been listening for
the first time to an echo, in the flesh, of Its own harmony. Like to the sun-flower,
friend of the day-star, which, without quitting earth where on it is placed,
keeps ever turning towards him its wistful corolla, John, from the desert's
midst, will follow in heart and thought every step of Jesus; but yet will he
keep restraint upon his soul. With that eagle-glance of his which heretofore
espied him in Our Lady's womb, he will behold him despite all intermediaries,
now a child, now grown up to man hood, passing by not far from his solitude;
yet never once will the impetuosity of his love carry him away to climb the few
hills then separating him from Jesus, and to throw himself at his sacred Feet;
never once will the zeal which devours him, the Voice, the Witness of the
Word, urge him to anticipate by one moment the hour that Heaven has fixed for
him to cry out to the ignorant crowd : Behold your God, the Lamb that is to save
you, the expected Messias! And when at last, in the fifteenth year of Tiberius
Caesar, he manifests the Bridegroom at the divine command, he, the great Baptist,
is not the one to come nigh to Jesus, saying: Master, where dwellest thou? nor
is he the one that receives the answer: Come and see! To others, yea, even to
all others, the
happy lot to follow Jesus, to abide with Jesus: but as to John, he thrills indeed
at his blissful meeting; yet for his part, he keeps afar off, he dis appears
even until that day, now fast approaching, when the prison of the adulterous
Herod is to become his grave. O God! cries out the gentle St. Francis de Sales,
such an example as this overwhelms my mind with its grandeur. Oh! what divine
abstinence, exclaims the Eagle of Meaux, in his turn, Oh! abstinence more admirable
far than all those other abstinences related of St. John the Baptist! Let us,
too, share with the Church in her admiring glad- someness, while during these
days she makes echo to Gabriel's voice proclaiming at once the dignity both of
the Son of Zachary and of our Savior him self. Let us enter into the enthusiasm
wherewith so many fathers and doctors (hailing first of all Mary blessed above
all) are loud in their applause of the eulogium given to John by the Word
Himself.
The Liturgical Year
by Dom Guéranger
FEAST OF THE MOST
PRECIOUS BLOOD
OF OUR LORD JESUS
CHRIST
Double of the
First Class – Red Vestments
Missa ‘Redemisti nos’
MASS PROPERS
INTROIT -
Apocalypse 5: 9-10
Redemisti nos,
Dómine, in sanguine tuo, ex omni tribu, et lingua, et pópulo, et natióne: et
fecísti nos Deo nostro regnum. Ps. 88.2. Misericórdias Dómini in ætérnum
cantábo: in generatiónem et generatiónem annuntiábo veritátem tuam in ore meo.
Gloria Patri.
Thou hast redeemed
us, O Lord, in Thy Blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
and hast made us to our God a kingdom. Ps. The mercies of the Lord I will sing
forever: I will show forth Thy truth with my mouth to generation and generation.
Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT
OmnÍpotens sempitérne Deus, qui unigénitum Fílium tuum mundi
Redemptórem constituísti ac ejus Sanguine placári voluísti: concéde, quǽsumus,
salútis nostræ prétium (solémni cultu) ita venerári, atque a præséntis vitæ
malis ejus virtúte deféndi in terris; ut fructu perpétuo lætémur in
cælis. Per eúmdem Dóminum.
Almighty and
everlasting God, who didst appoint Thine only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer
of the world, and hast willed to be appeased by His Blood; grant unto us, we
beseech Thee, so to venerate (with solemn worship) the price of our redemption,
and by its power be so defended against the evils of this life, that we may
enjoy the fruit thereof for evermore in heaven. Through the same our Lord.
SECOND COLLECT – OCTAVE
DAY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Deus, qui præséntem
diem honorábilem nobis in beáti Joánnis nativitáte fecísti: da pópulis tuis
spirituálium grátiam gaudiórum; et ómnium fidélium mentes dírige in viam
salútis ætérnæ. Per Dóminum.
O God, Who hast made
this day honorable to us on account of the birth of blessed John, grant Thy
people the grace of spiritual joys, and direct the minds of all the faithful in
the way of eternal salvation. Through our Lord.
EPISTLE Hebrews 9:
11-15
Fratres: Christus
assístens póntifex futurórum bonórum, per ámplius et perféctius tabernáculum
non manufáctum, id est, non hujus creatiónis: neque per sánguinem hircórum aut
vitulórum, sed per próprium sánguinem introívit semel in Sancta, ætérna
redemptióne invénta. Si enim sanguis hircórum et taurórum, et cinis vítulæ
aspérsus, inquinátos sanctíficat ad emundatiónem carnis; quanto magis Sanguis
Christi, qui per Spiritum Sanctum semetípsum óbtulit immaculátum Deo, emundábit
consciéntiam nostram ab opéribus mórtuis, ad serviéndum Deo vivénti? Et ídeo
novi testaménti mediátor est: ut morte intercedénte, in redemptiónem eárum
prævaricatiónum, quæ erant sub prióri testaménto, repromissiónem accípiant, qui
vocáti sunt ætérnæ hereditátis, in Christo Jesu Dómino nostro.
Brethren: Christ
being come, a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation: neither
by the blood of goats or of calves, but by His own Blood, entered once into the
Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of
oxen and the ashes of a heifer, being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled,
to the cleansing of the flesh: how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who, by
the Holy Ghost, offered Himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from
dead works, to serve the living God? And therefore He is the Mediator of the
new testament: that by means of His death, for the redemption of those
transgressions which were under the former testament, they that are called may
receive the promise of eternal inheritance, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
GRADUAL - I John
5: 6-9
Hic est qui venit
per aquam et sánguinem, Jesus Christus: non in aqua solum, sed in aqua et
sánguine. V. Tres sunt qui testimónium dant in cælo: Pater, Verbum, et Spíritus
Sanctus: et hi tres unum sunt. Et tres sunt qui testimónium dant in terra:
Spíritus, aqua, et sanguis: et hi tres unum sunt.
This is He that came
by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. V.
There are three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on
earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three are one.
ALLELUIA - I John
5: 9
Allelúia, allelúia.
V. Si testimónium hóminum accípimus, testimónium Dei majus est. Allelúia.
Alleluia, alleluia. V.
If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. Alleluia.
GOSPEL John 19:
30-35
In illo témpore: Cum
accepísset Jesus acétum, dixit: Consummátum est. Et inclináto cápite trádidit
spíritum. Judǽi ergo (quóniam Parascéve erat) ut non remanérent in cruce
córpora sábbato (erat enim magnus dies ille sábbati), rogavérunt Pilátum ut
frangeréntur eórum crura et tolleréntur. Venérunt ergo mílites: et primi quidem
fregérunt crura et altérius qui crucifíxus est cum eo. Ad Jesum autem cum
veníssent, ut vidérunt eum jam mórtuum, non fregérunt ejus crura, sed unus
mílitum láncea latus ejus apéruit, et contínuo exívit sanguis et aqua. Et qui
vidit testimónium perhíbuit: et verum est testimónium ejus.
At that time, Jesus,
when He had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing His head, He
gave up the ghost. Then the Jews (because it was the Parasceve), that the
bodies might not remain upon the cross on the sabbath-day (for that was a great
sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they
might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came: and they broke the legs of
the first and of the other that was crucified with Him. But after they were
come to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs
But one of the
soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came
out blood and water. And he that saw it hath given testimony, and his testimony
is true.
OFFERTORY I
Corinthians 10: 16
Calix benedictiónis,
cui benedícimus, nonne communicátio Sánguinis Christi est? et panis, quem
frángimus, nonne participátio Córporis Dómini est?
The chalice of
benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ? And
the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the Body of the Lord?
SECRET
Per hæc divína
mystéria, ad novi, quǽsumus, testaménti mediatórem Jesum accedámus: et super
altária tua, Dómine virtútum, aspersiónem sánguinis, mélius loquéntem quam
Abel, innovémus. Per eúmdem Dóminum.
We pray that through
these divine mysteries, we may draw near
to Jesus, the mediator of the new Testament: and upon Thine altars, O Lord of
Hosts, may we renew the sprinkling of that Blood which pleadeth better than
that of Abel. Through the same our Lord.
SECOND SECRET – OCTAVE
DAY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Tua, Dómine,
munéribus altária cumulámus: illíus nativitátem honóre débito celebrántes qui
Salvatórem mundi et cécinit adfutúrum, et adésse monstrávit, Dóminum nostrum
Jesum Christum Fílium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat.
Virgin and Child Enthroned between St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist - Sandro Botticelli |
We heap Thine altars
with gifts, O Lord, celebrating with fitting honor the nativity of him who
heralded the coming of the Saviour, and pointed Him out when He had come, Our
Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son: Who liveth and reigneth.
PREFACE OF THE
HOLY CROSS
Vere dignum et
justum est, ǽquum et salutáre, nos tibi semper, et ubíque grátias ágere: Dómine
sancte, Pater omnípotens, ætérne Deus: Qui salútem humáni géneris in ligno
Crucis constituísti: ut unde mors oriebátur, inde vita resúgeret: et qui in
ligno vincébat, in ligno quoque vincerétur: per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Per
quem majestátem tuam laudant Angeli, adórant Dominatiónes, tremunt Potestátes.
Cæli, cælorúmque Virtútes ac beáta Séraphim, sócia exsultatióne concélebrant.
Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admítti júbeas, deprecámur, súpplici
confessióne dicéntes:
It is truly meet and
just, right and availing unto salvation that we should at all times and in all
places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God.
Who didst set the salvation of mankind upon the tree of the Cross, so that
whence came death, thence also life might rise again, and that he who overcame
by the tree might also be overcome on the tree through Christ our Lord. Through
whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers
stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, and the blessed seraphim join
together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices
also, while we say with lowly praise:
THE SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus,
Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in
excélsis. Benedíctus qui venit in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis.
COMMUNION Hebrews
9: 28
Christus semel
oblátus est ad multórum exhauriénda peccáta: secúndo sine peccáto apparébit
exspectántibus se in salútem.
Christ was offered
once to exhaust the sins of many; the second time He shall appear without sin
to them that expect Him, unto salvation.
POSTCOMMUNION
Ad sacram, Dómine,
mensam admíssi, háusimus aquas in gáudio de fóntibus Salvatóris: sanguis ejus
fiat nobis, quǽsumus, fons aquæ in vi- tam ætérnam saliéntis: Qui tecum vivit et
regnat.
We, who have been
admitted to the holy Table, O Lord, have drawn waters with joy from the
fountains of the Saviour; may His Blood, we beseech Thee, be within us as a
fountain of water springing up unto eternal life: Who with Thee liveth and
reigneth.
SECOND POSTCOMMUNION
– OCTAVE DAY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
Sumat Ecclésia tua,
Deus, beáti Joánnis Baptístæ generatióne lætitiam: per quem suæ regeneratiónis
cognóvit auctórem, Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fiiium tuum: Qui tecum vivit
et regnat.
May Thy Church, O
God, be joyful at the birth of blessed John the Baptist: through whom she knew
the Author of her regeneration, our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son: Who with Thee
livest and reignest.
Litany of the Most
Precious Blood
Lord, have mercy
on us.
Christ, have
mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy
on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ,
graciously hear us.
God, the Father
of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son,
Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy
Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One
God, have mercy on us.
Blood of Christ,
only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, save us.
Blood of Christ,
Incarnate Word of God, save us.
Blood of Christ,
of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.
Blood of Christ,
falling upon the earth in the Agony, save us.
Blood of Christ,
shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.
Blood of Christ,
flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, save us.
Blood of Christ,
poured out on the Cross, save us.
Blood of Christ,
price of our salvation, save us.
Blood of Christ,
without which there is no forgiveness, save us.
Blood of Christ,
Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, save us.
Blood of Christ,
stream of mercy, save us.
Blood of Christ,
victor over demons, save us.
Blood of Christ,
courage of Martyrs, save us.
Blood of Christ,
strength of Confessors, save us.
Blood of Christ,
bringing forth Virgins, save us.
Blood of Christ,
help of those in peril, save us.
Blood of Christ,
relief of the burdened, save us.
Blood of Christ,
solace in sorrow, save us.
Blood of Christ,
hope of the penitent, save us.
Blood of Christ,
consolation of the dying, save us.
Blood of Christ,
peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.
Blood of Christ,
pledge of eternal life, save us.
Blood of Christ,
freeing souls from purgatory, save us.
Blood of Christ,
most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.
Lamb of God, Who
takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who
takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, Who
takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
V. Thou hast
redeemed us, O LORD, in Thy Blood.
R. And made us,
for our God, a kingdom.
Let us pray
Almighty and everlasting God, Who didst appoint Thine only-begotten Son the
Redeemer of the world, and hast willed to be appeased by His Blood; grant unto
us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate (with solemn worship) the price of our
redemption, and by its power be so defended against the evils of this life,
that we may enjoy the fruit thereof forevermore in Heaven. Through the same Our
Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of
the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.
CONSECRATION TO
THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST
Conscious,
merciful Savior, of my nothingness and of Thy sublimity, I cast myself at Thy
feet and thank Thee for the many proofs of Thy grace shown unto me, Thy ungrateful
creature. I thank Thee especially for delivering me by Thy Precious Blood from
the destructive power of Satan. In the presence of my dear Mother Mary, my
guardian angel, my patron saint, and of the whole company of heaven, I dedicate
myself voluntarily with a sincere heart, O dearest Jesus, to Thy Precious
Blood, by which Thou hast redeemed the world from sin, death and hell. I
promise Thee, with the help of Thy grace and to the utmost of my strength to
stir up and foster devotion to Thy Precious Blood, the price of our redemption,
so that Thy adorable Blood may be honored and glorified by all. In this way, I
wish to make reparation for my disloyalty towards Thy Precious Blood of love,
and to make satisfaction to Thee for the many profanations which men commit
against that precious price of their salvation. O would that my own sins, my
coldness, and all the acts of disrespect I have ever committed against Thee, O
Holy Precious Blood, could be undone. Behold, O dearest Jesus, I offer to Thee
the love, honor and adoration, which Thy most Holy Mother, Thy faithful
disciples and all the saints have offered to Thy Precious Blood. I ask Thee to
forget my earlier faithlessness and coldness, and to forgive all who offend
Thee. Sprinkle me, O Divine Savior, and all men with Thy Precious Blood, so
that we, O Crucified Love, may love Thee from now on with all our hearts, and
worthily honor the price of our salvation. Amen.
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