"Detach your heart from all things, seek only God and in this way you will find Him."

Counsel 2

 

Today is the feast of St. Anne.  She is one of my favorite saints and coincidentally is my patron saint.  My middle name is Anne which is quite appropriate since I have 7 children and 10 grandchildren.  However, today is also an anniversary of the death of one of my dearest friends in the world.  Her name was Roxine and she was in a wheel chair and was a brittle diabetic.  Young people should take a page out of her book because that wheel chair and that disease  did not stop her from doing anything. 

She had to take a special van to get to church on Sunday.  She lived on the 7th floor of a very run down building in a dangerous area of the city.  Every Sunday without fail she showed up for Mass.  In those days our church was at the top of a long, winding  set of steps and she relied on many strong young men to carry her up.  I loved her so much that I chose her to be the Godmother of my youngest child Christopher.  I can tell you that no one outside of his parents loved Christopher more than her!  She would scooter her way to the store every week and buy him little trinkets but she never forgot the rest of the family either. 

 One time she surprised me with a set of dishes that were being given away week by week at a grocery store if you purchased a certain amount.  I'll never forget the beautiful look on her face when she gave them to me.  She was so happy and proud to be able to "pay" me back for my friendship.  The only thing is that I should have been paying her because I was getting a much better bargain than she was!  One time we were having a little financial difficulty which is common in large families from time to time.  I made an off comment about paying the phone bill.  Something to the effect of  "we better get some money to pay this bill or they will shut off our phone".  The very next day this saintly woman got on her scooter, drove to the Wisconsin Bell office on 35th Street and paid our phone bill!  She called me and said "there I paid it - I could never, ever live without hearing your voice!"  

After she died, we found a can of money - $500 - which she had saved out of her meager monthly pittance.  Her request was that Christopher be given that money on his 18th birthday.  She figured he would need it for school or a car and even though it wasn't much, it was the "widow's mite" for her!

People often say to me how terrible it was that I lost my mother so young - and it was!  But God, in His wisdom always  made sure there was someone wonderful to take her place.  Roxine was that person until July 26, 1999 at St. Joseph's Hospital.  I was there and so were our parish priests praying over her.  If charity covers a multitude of sins, and Our Lord said it does, then this awesome woman went straight to heaven.  Just in case though, I pray for her daily and think of her often.  I try to emulate her any way I can and hope that by sharing this story with you, you will emulate her charitable ways as well!

 
Virgin and Child with a Rosary (circa 1650-1655), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

"By aridity and temptation Our Lord proves those who love Him and even if these trials were to last a  lifetime, we should never abandon prayer.  A time will come when there shall be full compensation for them."  

Life of St. Teresa

 

Over the centuries, we can still hear Monica’s last words: “Son, for myself I have no longer any pleasure in anything in this life. Now that my hopes in this world are satisfied, I do not know what more I want here or why I am here. There was indeed one thing for which I wished to tarry a little in this life, and that was that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. My God hath answered this more than abundantly, so that I see you now made his servant and spurning all earthly happiness. What more am I to do here?”

 
Crux sancta sit mihi Lux. St. Francis in Meditation (1635-1639), Francisco de Zurbarán

THE MOST HOLY SEPULCHRE OF OUR LORD
JULY 15

The ardent love of Francis of Assisi for Christ crucified, drew his attention daily to that blessed place where our divine Lord shed His Blood to expiate the sins of humanity.  Thirsting for the salvation of souls, and filled with the desire for martyrdom, with Brother Illuminatus he left for the Holy Land in 1219, and from thence went into Egypt.  He was received there by the Moslems with a great show of sympathy.  Since he was forced to return to Europe to attend to the affairs of the Order, he soon left the East, leaving a number of his friars who had joined him there.  The latter continued without respite their mission of peace and charity among the Christians.

When the Crusaders left, the Friars Minor took possession of the Holy Places in the name of the Church.  In 1273, a firman of the Sultan gave sanction to their rights over the Holy Sepulchre and other sanctuaries.  In 1333, they were solumnly assured of the legal ownership of the Holy Places by a contract signed between the Soudan of Egypt and Robert of Naples.  Meanwhile, the Popes in various Bulls gave final ratification to the possession of the sanctuaries in Palestine by the Franciscan Order.

The Friars Minor have kept guard over the Holy Sepulchre for about seven centuries, at the price of much hardship, and many dangers.  They have paid with their blood for this glorious privilege on many occasions. 
Taken from the Franciscan Supplement

Augustine reports, in his Confessions: “I became evil for no reason. I had no motive for my wickedness except wickedness itself. It was foul, and I loved it. I loved the self-destruction, I loved my fall, not the object for which I had fallen but my fall itself. My depraved soul leaped down from Your firmament to ruin. I was seeking not to gain anything by shameful means, but shame for its own sake. “

"I certainly believe that if we approach the Holy Eucharist with great faith and love, one communion will suffice to make us very rich, what may we not then with still greater reason expect from such a great number of communions."

Conceptions of Divine Love, Ch iii

 

Crucifixion with Saint Mary and Saint John Evangelist (1558), Titian

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously 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 or God,
save us.
Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament,
save us.
 Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in 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 taketh away the sins of the world,
spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, in Thy Blood.
R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

Almighty and eternal God, Thou hast appointed Thine only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world and willed to be appeased by his blood. Grant, we beg of Thee, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The devotion to Jesus in His Most Precious Blood was first popularized by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo (1786-1837, feast Dec. 28) who founded the Missioners of the Most Precious Blood. A partial Indulgence is granted to the faithful who recite this litany.

THE PRECIOUS BLOOD AND HEAVEN
Promises of Our Lord to Sister Mary Martha Chambon

Those who pray with humility and who meditate on My Passion, shall one day participate in the glory of My Divine wounds. Their members will receive from them a resplendent beauty and glory.

The more you shall have contemplated My Painful wounds on this earth, the higher shall be your contemplation of them glorious in Heaven.

The soul who during life has honored and studied the Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ and has offered Them to the Eternal Father for the Souls in Purgatory will be accompanied at the moment of death by the Holy Virgin and the Angels; and Our Lord on the Cross, all brilliant in glory will receive her and crown her.

REFLECTIONS

Life is short and death is sure; the hour of death remains obscure.
A soul you have, and only one; if that be lost all hope is gone.
Waste not your time, while time shall last; for after death 'tis ever past.
The all-seeing God your Judge will be, and Heaven or Hell your destiny.
All earthly things will fleet away, Eternity will ever stay.

A HIDDEN TREASURE

Appearing to one of the sisters of her community shortly after her death, St. Teresa of Avila told the sister that she would be willing to return to a life of suffering on earth until the end of time if thereby she could merit that degree of glory with which God rewards one devoutly recited "Hail Mary." St. Paul speaks in like manner when he says: "The sufferings of this life are not to be compared with the glory to come." 

If one short prayer is thus rewarded, what reward awaits those who offer to the Eternal Father, the Precious Blood of Jesus. "An offering," says Father Faber, "is more than a prayer. In prayer we are the recipients, but when we make an offering God vouchsafes to accept something from us." In Our Lord's own words to Sister Mary Martha Chambon, Apostle of the Holy Wounds: "To offer to the Eternal Father the Sacred Wounds of Jesus is to offer Him His Glory, to offer Heaven to Heaven. Each time you offer to My Father the merits of My Divine Wounds, you gain an immense fortune . . . You must not remain poor, your Father is very rich."

If you and I, at this very moment, were standing on the threshold of eternity, we would see a limitless duration extending before us which our vision would fail to terminate. Looking on this endlessness the awful truth would come to us that the time of merit had passed forever. The saints realized this truth while yet in life, and we can see the vastness of their reward.

Those who have passed into eternity realize that there will be no further opportunities for additional merit, for time has passed forever. If regrets were possible in Heaven, unused opportunities would be the cause, for the blessed know what greater capacity for giving accidental honor to God they would have had if they had used all their opportunities. Because of God's mercy they have no regrets, but their status is sealed forever.

The position of the priest in heaven must be tremendous for he offers daily a Victim-of-Infinite-Worth; and yet each one of us can offer the same Victim in a different manner by sincerely saying:

"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus."

Just suppose that if you were to make the Seven Offerings each day; it would take only a few minutes of time, and yet the vast merit gained would last eternally.

What an investment!

SEVEN OFFERINGS OF
THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for the propagation and exaltation of my dear Mother the Holy Church, for the safety and prosperity of her visible Head, the Holy Roman Pontiff, for the cardinals, bishops and pastors of souls, and for all the ministers of the sanctuary.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Blessed and praised forevermore be Jesus Who hath saved us by His Precious Blood! Amen.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for the peace and concord of nations, for the conversion of the enemies of our holy faith and for the happiness of all Christian people.

Glory be, etc. above

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for the repentance of unbelievers, the extirpation of all heresies, and the conversion of sinners.

Glory be, etc. above

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for all my relations, friends and enemies, for the poor, the sick, and those in tribulation, and for all those for whom Thou willest I should pray, or knowest that I ought to pray.

Glory be, etc. above

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for all those who shall this day pass to another life, that Thou mayest preserve them from the pains of hell, and admit them the more readily to the possession of Thy Glory.

Glory be, etc. above

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for all those who are lovers of this Treasure of His Blood, and for all those who join with me in adoring and honoring It, and for all those who try to spread devotion to It . .

Glory be, etc. above

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the merits of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, Thy Beloved Son and my Divine Redeemer, for all my wants, spiritual and temporal, for the holy souls in Purgatory, and particularly for those who in their lifetime were most devoted to this Price of our redemption, and to the sorrows and pains of our dear Mother, most Holy Mary . . .

Glory be, etc. above

Blessed and exalted be the Blood of Jesus, now and always, and through all eternity. Amen.

 


THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST


This feast was instituted only in 1849 but the devotion is as old as Christianity.  The early Fathers say that the Church was formed from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.  The special beauty of this feast is its centering of our attention directly on the Blood of Christ and its short cut to the heart of revelation.  In these days we need to think of the Passion of Christ; we do not know how God is going to test us.  Devotion to the Precious Blood is a fundamental, sane approach to God.  It is hard and painful;  it will help us to  save   our own hearts against weakness.
Taken from the Maryknoll Missal