The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary - 2 Cl.

Mary's first action after God had come to dwell in her was one of self-denying charity. She undertook a troublesome journey in order to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Thus she proclaimed charity to be the virtue which above all Christ brought with Him from heaven. God made Mary's visit the occasion of a wonderful miracle. On her entrance into St. Elizabeth's dwelling, St. John the Baptist was cleansed from sin in his mother's womb. Mary was the channel of this exceptional privilege of the cleansing away of sin in the case of the unborn child. As then, so now: Mary is the channel of all graces, and above all, of the restoration of the sinner to friendship with God. Mary's charity is not less present now than at the time of the Visitation. Nay, she is far more eager now than then to promote the happiness and console the sorrows of those who fly to her for succour.

Collect:

Bestow upon Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of Thy heavenly grace: that as the childbearing of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of our salvation, so the solemn feast of her Visitation may bring us an increase of peace. Through our Lord...

'Blessed and venerable art thou, O Virgin Mary: who without blemish to thy maidenhood, wert found to be the Mother of the Saviour.'

'Magnificat anima mea Dominum: Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.'

Comment: Let us fly to this refuge of sinners, the loving Immaculate Heart of the Queen of Heaven. No man can be saved, without beseeching her pity and graces, given to her graciously by her Heavenly Spouse, the Paraclete. Let us imitate her angelic purity and patience, thereby glorifying her divine Son, the Redeemer of the world. May love of her Son urge us on to heroic virtue, particularly charity, which unites all virtues. The faithful soul must leap with joy when he hears the name of Mary praised, as she bears Jesus without end.

Ora pro nobis, Sancta Dei Genitrix.
Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.

The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ - 1st July.

In this month of July, we remember the Precious Blood of our Divine Redeemer that was spilled for our salvation. We cannot forget that the ransom for our reconciliation was not paid in anything corruptible, gold or silver, but by the blood of the true Lamb of God. This blood was offered to the Father in Jesus' supreme oblation on the Cross, yet before, His precious blood was shed, namely in His Circumcision, His scourging and His crowning with thorns. In the Old Testament it is stated that the life is in the blood, truly by His Passion and Death, our wounds are bound up and we are exalted to a more blessed state of life. We move beyond the transient, the passing, and enter into the mystery of the divine life, the glorious Trinity. The blood which poured out as from a source of mercy from the side of Christ is not alone, it is united hypostatically to the Logos of God, through Whom all things were made and are sustained. Let us venerate the price of our redemption this month more than ever. There is no other name under which we may be saved than that of Jesus Christ, let us proclaim with boldness our faith in His offering on Calvary which is renewed and applied daily to our souls at the Sacrifice of the Mass.
God, being almighty, may have chosen to forgive our sins in anyother manner, but in His divine Wisdom, He has chosen the Sacrifice of the Cross, to show forth the depths of His love and the seriousness of evil.

Collect:

Almighty, everlasting God, who didst appoint Thine only-begotten Son to be Redeemer of the world, and didst vouchsafe to be appeased by His Blood; grant, we beseech Thee, that, by our solemn service, we may so venerate the Price of our redemption, and by its power be so defended from the evils of this present life on earth, that we may enjoy its fruit for evermore in heaven. Through the same...

'But one of the soldiers with a psear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water.'

'The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ?'