14th Sunday after Pentecost

'Behold, O God, our protector, and look on the face of thy Christ.' These are the first words of the Introit for tomorrow, the 14th Sunday after Pentecost.

We hear about the two masters of the world, the spiritual and the sensual. I'd like to think that it is 2 worlds, the spiritual one and the sensual. It seems to me, at least, that we have those who have the True Faith and are really trying; and those who think they have a safe afterlife, pretty much by saying that Jesus is their Lord and that is all that is needed; and those who don't care for anything but themselves, thus not thinking one iota about an afterlife or afterdeath. As our beloved Abbot Gueranger says: "Two cities now divide the world between them; and the holy city, made up of vanquishers over the devil, the world, and the flesh, is full of admiration and joy at seeing that the noblest of the nations flock to her. The law which reigns supreme within her walls is love, for the Holy Spirit, who rules her happy citizens, takes them far beyond the injunctions or prohibitions of any law. Together with charity, there spring up joy, peace, and those other fruits, here enumerated by the apostle (Paul); they grow spontaneously from a soil which is saturated with the glad waters of a stream, which is no other than the sanctifying Spirit, who inundates the city of God..."

This is to be compared with those who have all the sensual luxuries of the world, but, being without God, what good will it do them?

St. Alphonsus Liguori, when speaking about people before they die, and what to do with their goods which they obtained in their journey of life. He says: "I say: If you dissipate the goods which you possess, and leave your children in poverty, you do wrong, and are guilty of sin. But will you lose your soul in order to leave your children comfortable? If you fall into Hell, perhaps they will come and release you from it? O folly! Listen to what David said: "I have not seen the just man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread" Jesus Himself said: "What does it profit man to gain the whole world, and lose his soul?" St. Alphonsus goes on to say that we don't take these riches with us in our death, but if we gain the Faith, it will serve us well when we get judged and in eternity.

Lord, that we may learn the Faith and serve you faithfully.

Musings of a Pertinacious Papist: The miracle of Obama as president

The world just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser!?  I suppose we deserve it, since we've thrown God out of just about everywhere.

Musings of a Pertinacious Papist: The miracle of Obama as president

13th Sunday after Pentecost

Tomorrow is the 13th Sunday after Pentecost. We hear about the ten lepers being cured, with only one returning to give thanks. Is this Us? Do we receive a blessing of any kind and just say, "Thank God?" And, if we do, are we thanking the Triune God, or just a generic one?Our beloved Abbot Gueranger quotes Abbot Rupert of Deutz (1075-1129). About this Sunday, Blessed Rupert says:

'Every portion of the Office of the thirteenth Sunday bears on the history of that Samaritan, whose name signifies keeper; it is our Lord Jesus Christ who, by His Incarnation, comes to the rescue of man, whom the old Law was not able to keep from harm; and when Jesus leaves the world, He consigns the poor sufferer to the care of the Apostles and Apostolic men, in the house of the Church. The intentional selection of this Gospel(Luke 17) for today throws a great light on our Epistle, as also on the whole letter to the Galatians, from which it is taken. Thus, the priest and the Levite of the parable are a figure of the Law; and their passing by the half-dead man, seeing him, indeed, but without making an attempt to heal him, is expressive of what that Law did. True, it did not go counter to God's promises; but, of itself, it could justify no man. A physician who dies not himself intend to visit a patient will sometimes send a servant who is expert in the knowledge of the causes of the malady, yet who has not the skill needed for mixing the remedy required, but can merely tell the sick man what diet and what drinks he must avoid, if he would prevent his ailment from causing death. Such was the law, set, as the Epistle tells us, because of transgressions, as a simple safeguard, until such time as there should come the good Samaritan, the heavenly Physician. Having, from his very first coming into this world, fallen among robbers, man is stripped of his supernatural goods, and is covered with the wounds inflicted on him by original sin; if he did not abstain from actual sins, from those transgressions against which the law was set as a monitor, he runs the risk of dying altogether.'

In this parable Jesus gives, this leprosy is sin. One Person can cure it in us. Hopefully, we can be the one that gives thanks for what we have been given.

Our beloved Abbot again gives us something to think about: 'In the Church, as in God, truth is life and light, not a mere collection of formulas. If our Credo rings out so triumphantly through the aisles of our churches, and seems to force the very gates of heaven, it is because each of its articles is presented before God steeped in the blood of martyrs; from age to age it has gathered ever fresh lustre from the labours and struggles of so many holy confessors, chosen out of the human race to complete the body of Christ on earth.'

St. Alphonsus Liguouri finishes today's post with these words: '...It is not ingratitude to abandon a friend who leads you to Hell; but it is ingratitude to forsake God, Who has rescued you, Who has died for you on the Cross, and Who desires your salvation.'

12th Sunday after Pentecost

'Come to mine assistance, O God! O Lord, make haste to help me!'
These words are at the beginning of Mass tomorrow, and come at the Introit. We hear about helping others in the Gospel, and we need to copy this example. We are all in need of God's mercy, and fall short of the glory of God. But God will have mercy on us if we are sincere in our repentance. A book I am currently reading is by St. Bede, who was born in A.D. 673. He wrote down the history of the Church and what was going on in the world at that time. He had a Letter from Pope Gregory to St. Augustine when the saint was converting new Christians, who had questions for him. He, in turn, wrote to the Pope. I thought it was pertinent for the readings, so am inserting it into these thoughts. Pope Gregory wrote: "For all sin is consummated in three ways, that is, by suggestion, pleasure, and consent. Suggestion comes through the devil, pleasure through the flesh, and consent through the will. The Serpent suggested the first sin, and Eve, as flesh, took physical pleasure in it, while Adam, as spirit, consented; and great discernment is needed if the mind, in judging itself, is to distinguish between suggestion and pleasure, and between pleasure and consent. For when the Evil Spirit suggests a sin, no sin is committed unless the flesh takes pleasure in it; but when the flesh begins to take pleasure, then sin is born; and if deliberate consent is given, sin is complete. The seed of sin, therefore, is in suggestion, its growth in pleasure, and its completion in consent. It often happens, however, that what the Evil Spirit sows in the mind and the flesh anticipates with pleasure, the soul rejects. And although the body cannot experience pleasure without the mind, yet the mind, in contending against the desires of the body, is to some extent unwillingly chained to them, having to oppose them for conscience sake, and strongly regretting its bondage to bodily desires."

Paul tells us tomorrow that anything we have is from God, and nothing is ours. This includes our conscience. If we think that we can sin because we can just go to Confession and have it erased, this thinking is WRONG! We don't sin because we love God, and know it's wrong to do what we ought not.

Our beloved Abbot Gueranger tells us about God's mercy, and this is just a short blurb.

'Oh! if we did but know the gift of God! if we did but understand the super-eminent dignity reserved, under the law of love, to every man of good will! Then, perhaps, our cowardice and sluggishness would, at last, go; then, perhaps, our souls would get fired with the noble ambition which turns men into saints. At all events, we should then come to realize that Christian humility, of which we were speaking on the last two Sundays, is not the vulgar grovelling of a low-minded man, but the glorious entrance upon the way which leads, by divine union, to the only true greatness. Are not those men inconsistent and senseless who, longing by the very law of their nature for glory, go seeking it in the phantoms of pride, and allow themselves to be diverted, by the baubles of vanity, from the pursuit of those real honours which eternal Wisdom had destined for them! And those grand honours were to have been heaped upon them, not only in their future heaven, but even here in their earthly habitation; and God and His saints were to have been admiring and applauding spectators!...'

We need to beg for God's forgiveness, and not incur His anger anymore. He will be our Judge soon enough!

Assumption of Our Blessed Mother

Tomorrow is the Eve of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, body and soul, into heaven. I'm posting this today because tomorrow is very busy. Pray for us. Anyway, it only makes sense that Mary should have her virginal, immaculate body, taken back into heaven where she belongs. She is our model, our help, and our hope in these times. She even helps us when we fail and fall short in doing what we are supposed to do. So, not only is she blessed, but we are too for having her as our mother!

I'm going to, as I do a lot, let the Abbot Gueranger, explain it as no one does. He was instrumental in writing the thesis beforehand in 1854, when Pope Pius IX proclaimed this great thing we have been given. The Abbot was also present during the First Vatican Council, when the proclamation of the primacy of Peter and his infallibility was in question. He is truly a saint, if you ask me. Anyway, here is the writing for the Assumption:

The Traditional Catholic Liturgy
Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary—August 15

Ancient Coptic Rite Icon of the Assumption"Today the Virgin Mary ascended to Heaven; rejoice, for She reigns with Christ forever." The Church will close Her chants on this glorious day with this sweet antiphon, which resumes the object of the Feast and the spirit in which it should be celebrated.

No other solemnity breathes, like this one, at once triumph and peace; none better answers to the enthusiasm of the many and the serenity of souls consummated in love. Assuredly that was as great a triumph when Our Lord, rising by His own power from the tomb, cast Hell into dismay; but to our souls, so abruptly drawn from the abyss of sorrows on Golgotha, the suddenness of the victory caused a sort of stupor to mingle with the joy of that greatest of days. In presence of the prostrate angels, the hesitating apostles, the women seized with fear and trembling, one felt that the divine isolation of the Conqueror of death was perceptible even to His most intimate friends, and kept them, like Magdalene, at a distance.

Mary's death, however, leaves no impression but peace; that death had no other cause than love. Being a mere creature, She could not deliver Herself from that claim of the old enemy; but leaving Her tomb filled with flowers; She mounts up to Heaven, flowing with delights, leaning upon Her Beloved (Cant. 8: 5). Amid the acclamations of the daughters of Sion, who will henceforth never cease to call Her Blessed, She ascends surrounded by choirs of heavenly spirits joyfully praising the Son of God. Never more will shadows veil, as they did on earth, the glory of the most beautiful daughter of Eve. Beyond the immovable Thrones, beyond the dazzling Cherubim, beyond the flaming Seraphim, onward She passes, delighting the heavenly city with Her sweet perfumes. She stays not till She reaches the very confines of the Divinity; close to the throne of honor where Her Son, the King of ages, reigns in justice and in power; there She is proclaimed Queen, there She will reign for evermore in mercy and in goodness.

Among the feasts of saints, this is the solemnity of solemnities. "Let the mind of man," says St. Peter Damian, "be occupied in declaring Her magnificence; let his speech reflect Her majesty. May the Sovereign of the world deign to accept the goodwill of our lips, to aid our insufficiency, to illumine with her own light the sublimity of this day."

It is no new thing, then, that Mary's triumph fills the hearts of Christians with enthusiasm. If certain ancient calendars give to this Feast the title of Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we cannot thence conclude that in those times the Feast had no other object than Mary's holy death; the Greeks, from whom we have the expression, have always included in the solemnity the glorious triumph that followed Her death.

At Rome the Assumption or Dormition of the Holy Mother of God appears in the 7th century to have already been celebrated for an indefinite length of time; nor does it seem to have had any other day than August 15. According to Nicephorus Callistus, the same date was assigned to it for Constantinople by the Emperor Mauritius at the end of the 6th century. The historian notes, at the same time, the origin of several other solemnities, while of the Dormition alone, he does not say that it was established by Mauritius on such a day; hence learned authors have concluded that the Feast itself already existed before the imperial decree was issued, which was thus only intended to put an end to its being celebrated on various days.

At that very time, far away from Byzantium, the Merovingian Franks celebrated the glorification of Our Lady on January 18. However the choice of this day may be accounted for, it is remarkable that the Copts on the borders of the Nile announce on January 28, the repose of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and the Assumption of Her body into Heaven; they, however, repeat the announcement on August 21, and two weeks earlier they, like the Greeks, begin their Lent in honor of the Mother of God.

Some authors think that the Assumption has been kept from apostolic times; but the primitive liturgical documents are silent about it. The hesitation as to the date of its celebration, and the liberty so long allowed with regard to it, seem to point to the spontaneous initiative of divers Churches, owing to some fact attracting attention to the mystery or throwing some light upon it. Of this nature we may reckon the account everywhere spread abroad about the year 451, in which Juvenal of Jerusalem related to the Empress St. Pulcheria and her husband Marcian the history of the tomb which the Apostles had prepared for Our Lady at the foot of Mount Olivet, and which was found empty of its precious deposit. The following words of St. Andrew of Crete in the 7th century show how the solemnity of the Assumption gained ground in consequence of such circumstances. The Saint was born at Damascus, became a monk at Jerusalem, was afterwards Deacon at Constantinople, and lastly Bishop of the celebrated island from which he takes his name; no one then could speak for the East with better authority. "The present solemnity," he says, "is full of mystery, having for its object to celebrate the day whereon the Mother of God fell asleep; this solemnity is too elevated for any discourse to reach; by some this mystery has not always been celebrated, but now all love and honor it. Silence long preceded speech, but now love divulges the secret. The gift of God must be manifested, not buried; we must show it forth, not as recently discovered, but as having recovered its splendor. Some of those who lived before us knew it but imperfectly; that is no reason for always keeping silence about it; it has not become altogether obscured; let us proclaim it and keep a feast. Today let the inhabitants of Heaven and earth be united, let the joy of Angels and men be one, let every tongue exult and sing Hail to the Mother of God."

In 1870 an earnest desire was expressed to have the doctrine of Mary's Assumption defined as a dogma of faith; however, due to the Italian civil war, the Vatican Council was suspended too soon to complete our Lady's crown. This was accomplished in 1950, by His Holiness, Pope Pius XII.

Also, I would like to add something which was read in the 'City of God' by Ven. Mary of Agreda,that when Mary died, it was on a Friday at 3pm, like her Son. Her Assumption, again like her son, was on the following Sunday. She copied Him even unto death. Also, the Apostles, who were dispersed throughout the world, were transported by angels to be at her side. The Apostles loved her, so what's wrong with protestants?

Holy Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate the day when Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. And, just like when the ancient cities rejoiced when the Ark of the Covenant entered their city, the baby leaps with joy when Mary, the new Ark of the True Covenant, enters into his mother's presence. John, at the words of Mary, is cleansed from Original Sin in his mother's womb. Thus proclaiming the beginning of the new age of man.

Notice the Magnificat of Mary below. The word 'magnificat' in Latin, the Church's official language, means 'magnify'. A magnifying glass makes things clearer, and Mary makes her son Jesus clearer. I only say this, because the new versions say: 'My being proclaims the goodness of the Lord'. These words do NOT mean the same thing!!!!! It is another slam against Our Blessed Mother, just to please the protestants who helped set up the new mass and bibles. Every verse which is about Mary has been changed. They might be approved by the weak clergy, but they are WRONG!! My opinion is this: "If you can't say anything nice about Jesus's Mother, shut up!" We wouldn't like it if someone talked bad about our moms, and Jesus is no different. He will remember. Have no doubt!

My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;
And his mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of his mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Now, let us contemplate the canticle below, which is in today's Mass, and refers to Mary:

Hail, star of the sea! Blessed Mother of God, yet ever a Virgin! O happy gate of heaven!

Thou that didst receive the 'Ave' from Gabriel's lips, confirm us in peace, and so let 'Eva' be changed into an 'Ave' of blessing for us.

Loose the sinner's chains, bring light to the blind, drive from us our evils, and ask all good things for us.

Sho9w thyself a Mother, and offer our prayers to him, who would be born of thee, when born for us.

O incomparable Virgin, and meekest of the meek, obtain us the forgiveness of our sins, and make us meek and chaste.

Obtain us purity of life, and a safe pilgrimage; that we may be united with thee in the blissful vision of Jesus.

Praise be too God the Father, and to the Lord Jesus, and to the Holy Ghost: to the Three one self-same praise. Amen.

V. Blessed art thou among women.
R. And blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

And now, to end this post, something from 'The Liturgical Year' by the Abbot Gueranger, about today's readings:

The church introduces us into the depth of the mystery. What she has just been reading to us is the explanation of that word of Elizabeth's which sums up the whole of today's feast: "When thy voice sounded in mine ear, the infant in my womb leaped for joy." O voice of Mary, voice of the turtledove, putting winter to flight, and announcing springtide flowers and fragrance! At this sweet sound John's soul, a captive in the darkness of sin, casts off the badge of slavery, and suddenly developing germs of highest virtues, appears as beautiful as a bride decked in nuptial array: and, therefore, how Jesus hastes unto this well-beloved soul! Between John and the Bridegroom, oh! what ineffable outpourings! what sublime dialogues pass between them, from womb to womb of Mary and Elizabeth! Admirable mothers! Sons yet more admirable! In this happy meeting, the sight, the hearing, the voice of the mothers belong less to themselves than to the blessed fruit each bears within her; thus their senses are the lattices through which the Bridegroom and the friend of the Bridegroom see one another, understand one another, speak one to the other!

How awesome is that?! Isn't God great?

Feast of the Most Precious Blood

We have ended the month of the Sacred Heart. Just recently, we celebrated the days of Sts. Peter and Paul. Now, as we begin the month of July, we concentrate on the Most Precious Blood of our Lord and Savior. he shed it all for us. I found the following on a site from last year. It was written in 1883. I think it is worth reading. Enjoy, pray, and then pray some more. You might have to type it in, as I'm having a brain problem. I've copied it from the site, but I don't know if the pictures came through or not.

http://www.catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/MostPreciousBloodpopup.html


The Feast of the Precious Blood
by Fr. Johann Evalgelist Zollner, 1883


"Converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled."
-- Pet. 1: 18.

On this day, the Church celebrates the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. This feast, which had been celebrated in some dioceses since the fifteenth century, on Monday after Trinity Sunday, was extended by Pope Pius IX. over the whole Christian world, and its celebration prescribed for the first Sunday of July. The time of persecution and suffering had already begun for the Sovereign Pontiff. Compelled by a revolution to leave Rome, he repaired to Gaeta, in the kingdom of Naples, where he lived in exile for seventeen months, till April, 1850. Here it was that on the tenth day of August, 1849, he instituted the feast of the Precious Blood. That most sacred blood is the price of our Redemption, and is poured out daily in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, whence it flows into the channels of the seven Sacraments, as an atonement for our sins and for our sanctification. For, as in Egypt, God was propitiated by the blood of the paschal lamb, the type and figure of the true Lamb of God, so He is propitiated by the blood of his Son, the true Paschal Lamb, which speaketh better than Abel's. Herein is the strongest evidence of the infinite love of Jesus Christ, who not only once, but seven times, shed his precious blood amidst the most cruel sufferings for our salvation. Let this seven-fold shedding of the precious blood be the subject of our present meditation.




1. The first shedding of blood was at His Circumcision:

Jesus shed His blood the first time when He was circumcised. According, to the law of Moses, every Israelitish male child was to be circumcised eight days after his birth. This circumcision was a sign of the covenant which God had made with the children of Israel. The circumcised belonged only to the people of Israel, and partook of the graces which God bestowed on this people; they were also obliged to observe the law of Moses. Out of obedience to the laws Jesus permitted himself to be presented in the temple, to be circumcised, but thereby he had a far higher purpose; he wished to indicate the mystery that he would redeem us by the shedding of His precious blood. When our Saviour was born in Bethlehem, the holy angels announced Him as our Redeemer, without intimating, however, in what manner He was to redeem the world. Eight days later Jesus himself revealed this mystery of blood by His circumcision. As a rosy morn announces an evening rain, so this rosy morn of circumcision means nothing else than that in the evening of His life His blood was to flow, like rain, from all the veins of His sacred body.

This first shedding of the precious blood is an exhortation to us to serve Jesus from our earliest childhood. When He shed His blood as a mere infant, is it not becoming that we should devote to His service the years of our childhood? But, alas! how many of us have urgent reasons to exclaim with David: "The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember."--Ps. 24: 7. Think of the years of your childhood; did you not pass them in levity? Did not some of you suffer shipwreck of your innocence and commit grievous sins in those years. Call to mind the years of your youth. Did you not commit sins then, which perhaps on your death-bed will lie on your conscience as a heavy load? Let us then repent of the many sins of our childhood and youth and let us at least henceforth lead a penitent life. You, Christian parents, possess a special means of atoning for the sins of your youth by educating your children in the fear and love of God.




2. The shedding of blood in the garden of Olives:

The Evangelist says: "And being in an agony, He prayed the longer And His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground."--Luke, 22: 43. 44. The love of Jesus was so great that He would not wait for the scourges, thorns and nails, but, as the myrrh sends forth its precious oil through the foliage before its bark is cut, so His infinite love and His desire to redeem us urged Him to shed for us His innocent blood in the garden of Olives as a sacrifice of propitiation. This sheding of blood in the garden of Olives was the most painful of all His sufferings; for it was not caused by external, bodily wounds, but by internal sufferings, by the agony of His soul. Jesus anticipated in it His entire Passion, which was vividly represented before His eyes. He trembled at the thought of the loss of so many souls for whom he foresaw he would die in vain; who might be saved, but will not. When the death agony is very severe, you notice with heartfelt compassion, large drops of sweat on the brow and face of the dying. But there was never heard of a dying man who sweat drops of blood. Our Saviour alone exhibited this sign of mortal anguish at the moment when He commenced His sacred Passion.

A legend says that on every place where a drop of Jesus's blood trickled down, a flower sprang up. Spiritually explained, this legend is literally true. Meditation on our Saviour's shedding blood in the garden is the fruitful seed of virtue. Can you be so cruel as to offend Jesus again by sins, when you remember his sadness of spirit and his agony caused by your sins, which was so vehement that he sweat blood? Or can you be indifferent to your own salvation and persevere in an impenitent spirit when you reflect that the remembrance of His sacred Passion being fruitless in regard to many sinners because of their obduracy, made the Son of God sweat blood?




3. Jesus is scourged. The four Evangelists narrate that Jesus was Scourged:

Thus St. Matthew says that ''Pilate having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to the Jews to be crucified. The Jews were forbidden by law to inflict more than forty stripes. The Romans had no number of stripes fixed by law. That Jesus was scourged after the manner of the Romans is evident from the fact that it was a Roman judge that passed sentence upon Him, as also from the words of Jesus: "They shall deliver the Son of Man to the Gentiles to be mocked, and to be scourged, and to be crucified."--Matt. 20: 19. This punishment, as inflicted by the Romans, was one of excessive cruelty. Many expired before it was finished. As Pilate by the punishment of scourging intended to move the Jews to compassion, it is to be inferred that it was inflicted on Jesus with the utmost cruelty. The prophets who saw in spirit our scourged Saviour, say of him that "from the sole of the foot unto the top of the head, there is no soundness therein; wounds and bruises and swelling sores."--Isaiah, 1: 6. They say there was no beauty in Him, nor comeliness; that they thought Him, as it were, a leper, and as one struck by God.--Is. 53: 2-5. Our Saviour was so cruelly scourged that even Pilate, the heartless Gentile, cried out at the pitiable sight: "Behold the man."

St. Bridget, when a child of ten years, saw in a vision our Saviour in the act of being scourged. The good child, moved to compassion, said: "Who has disfigured you thus?" Jesus answered: "Not the Jews only have done it, but all those who despise my love." And who are these? Especially those Christians who do not endeavor to restrain the passions of their flesh. If your conscience reproaches you with having scourged your Redeemer anew by committing such heinous sins, repair the outrage by a virtuous and penitential life. "Let not sin therefore, reign in your mortal body so as to obey the lusts thereof," (Rom. 6: 12); on the contrary, "mortify your members which are upon the earth," (Col. 3: 5); and make no provision for the flesh in its concupiscences.--Rom. 13: 14.




4. Jesus shed His blood the fourth time, when he was crowned with thorns:

The Evangelist, St. Matthew, relates this cruel coronation, in the following manner: "Then the soldiers of the governor, taking Jesus into the hall, gathered together unto Him the whole band, and stripping Him, they put a scarlet cloak about Him. And plaiting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand. And bowing the knee before Him, they mocked Him saying: Hail, king of the Jews. And spitting upon Him, they took the reed and struck His head."--Matt. 27: 27-30. The adorable head of Jesus had thus its own sufferings. The coronation was as ignominious as it was painful; ignominious, because in order to jeer at His pretensions, they put a crown of thorns upon his head; painful, because of the many wounds the thorns made in His head.

The coronation is to us an earnest exhortation to banish all proud and ambitious thoughts from our minds. Jesus crowned with thorns says to us: "Learn of Me, because I am meek and humble of heart."--Matt. 11: 29. "Far be it from me," said St. Elizabeth of Hungary, "that I, poor creature that I am, should appear with a bright crown upon my head before my God and Saviour, who, being king of heaven and earth, wore a crown of thorns."




5. Jesus shed his blood the fifth time, carrying the cross:

We cannot doubt that Jesus shed blood when He carried the cross. When he took the cross upon his shoulders, he was already bruised, and full of wounds, which, being fresh, bled continually; He also fell several times under the heavy weight of the cross, whereby He received new wounds, out of which blood flowed; He was also struck by the soldiers and executioners, and this could not be done without shedding blood.

The precious blood which Jesus shed when carrying the cross, points out to us the way that leads to heaven. It is no other way than that which He trod before us; the way of the cross. Jesus Himself declares: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."--Matt. 16: 24. Both the sinner and the just man must tread this bloody way; the sinner, because without mortification he is not able to overcome his passions and do penance; the just man, because without self-denial it is impossible to resist the many temptations with which all are assailed, to make progress in virtue, and to persevere in justice to the end. Let us follow Jesus on the way of the cross, let us suffer with Him, that we may be glorified with Him.--Rom. 8: 7.




6. Jesus shed his blood the sixth time, when He was crucified:

St. John (19: 18) says: "Bearing His own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him." Having arrived at the place of execution, the soldiers stripped off His clothes, and crucified Him, by piercing His hands and feet with heavy nails, and fastening them to the wood of the cross. Who is able to describe the torments of our dear Lord, when He was nailed to the cross and hung thereon, supported by His own wounds? How truly can He cry out with the Prophet: "O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow."-- Lam. 1: 12.

Cast one glance at your crucified Redeemer and take to heart the words of St. Bernard: "I need no other evidence to convince me how grievous an evil sin must be. I know sufficiently from the nature of the medicine; the nature of my wound, and the remedy being so painful, I clearly see how dangerous my disease was. God himself, the holy and innocent God, would suffer in His human nature for the sins that we regard so little; for the guilty pleasures we enjoy so easily, God Himself would die the death, the most ignominious death, of the Cross." O let us make the resolution, never again to offend God by a mortal sin.




7. The seventh and last time Jesus shed His blood was when His side was opened:

"When the soldiers came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers opened His side with a spear and immediately there came out blood and water."--John, 19: 33, 34. Blood and water came out as an evidence that these were the last drops of the Sacred Blood. Thus it is literally true, that our Redeemer shed the last drop of his blood for us. We are reminded of this infinite charity by the separate consecration of bread and wine in holy Mass, for after the Elevation the Body and the Blood of Christ appear separated, the sacred species being separated on the altar.

By the shedding of the precious blood from the wound of the Sacred Heart our Saviour gave us the last proof of His infinite love. Let us return the love of Jesus by devoting to Him all the affections of our heart. Let us give Him a proof of our love by fulfilling His divine will and fearing nothing so much as to offend Him. "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me."--John, 14: 21.


Peroration:

Thus Jesus shed His precious blood seven times, and the price of these seven sheddings of blood is found in the seven Sacraments, by which we are cleansed from sin and sanctified. These seven sheddings of blood remind us also of the three Theological and the four Cardinal virtues; also of the seven virtues opposed to the seven deadly or capital sins, which are infused into us by baptism; also of the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which we receive in confirmation, and finally of the seven days of the week, which we should dedicate to the service of God. The covenant between God and the Israelites was sealed with blood. The new covenant was sealed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. The covenant between God and men is sealed again as many times as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered to God. Assist, whenever you can, at the tremendous Sacrifice of the Mass, and frequently receive holy communion.



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Offering of the Precious Blood


Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in Atonement for my sins, and in supplication for the holy souls in purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church.

(500 days indulgence. An indulgence of 3 years if recited
during the month of July)


Also, in a related note, I have a picture that I believe is a miraculous photo. That is when you take a picture of one thing, and something else comes out. I would scan it into my computer, but my scanner is broken, so you will just have to take it from my word. It was taken of a tabernacle in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When it developed, what came out was, I think, amazing. I was just new in the Catholic Faith, and I think things happened for me to confirm and strengthen my newly found faith. What came out was this: You can see the tabernacle in a haze in the background, and it looks like an umbilical cord of red coming out of it. At the end of this, right in the center of the photo, was a human heart, in red also. This tells me that He IS in that tabernacle, and is why the other prayer given by the angel at Fatima is so important. You know the one: "O Most Holy Trinity..." He is getting abused every day by the abuses at the Novus Ordo masses. This prayer is for our time. Just thought you'd like to know.

I would like to end with the Collect for this great day:

Almighty and Eternal God, who hast appointed thy only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be appeased by his Blood: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, and to be on earth so defended by its power from the evils of this present life, that we may rejoice in its perpetual fruit in heaven. Through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.