Purchased by His Blood

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Purchased by His Blood

by the Priests of the Congregation of St. Paul, 1893

"Christ being come a high-priest of good things to come, by His own blood entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption."--Heb. ix. 11, 12.

Today, dear brethren, is Passion Sunday. Its very name teaches us that we are drawing near to the time which is set apart by the Church, for the purpose of keeping alive in our memories the most marvellous events which the world has ever known. The time thus set apart is called Holy Week. It does not begin until next Sunday, but it will be well for us to turn our thoughts in advance to this most sacred time, and to consider in what way we can best spend it for the good of our souls.

The first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday. On this day our Lord entered into the Holy City of Jerusalem, and was greeted with the Hosannas of the very same people who a few days afterwards cried '' Crucify Him! Crucify Him!'' From the entry into Jerusalem the Church calls upon us to follow our Lord step by step, until He reaches the Hill of Calvary; and wishes us to place ourselves in spirit at the foot of the cross to gaze on that blessed and awful sight. She says to us: Go and behold your Lord and your God bleeding with the strokes of the cruel scourge, torn with the thorns which were put upon His sacred head.

Behold Him mocked and jeered at by cruel men; betrayed by one of His Apostles, deserted by the rest. See Him nailed to the accursed tree, raised high in the air like the brazen serpent in the wilderness; behold Him worn out with His awful weight of suffering, bowing His head and giving up the ghost. Listen to His sacred voice praying for His murderers: "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Listen to the words of fearful woe, when He seemed abandoned by His Father: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'' Try during this week to make the sufferings of our Lord real to you, to bring them home to your hearts, to enter into them so as really to feel with and for your suffering Lord! No better way of doing this can be found than the reading in the Holy Gospels the accounts there given of His Passion and Death, provided you read these accounts with attention and devotion.

These are the events of all others which have ever taken place in which we have the deepest possible interest. Our sins are the burden of our lives, they weigh us down and bring us to the ground, they cut us off from the source of light and joy and peace; they fill us with a fearful anxiety as to what awaits us hereafter. How are we to get rid of this burden? How are we to obtain pardon and forgiveness? What grounds of hope and confidence can we find? Were we to look to ourselves and to our efforts alone we might well despair. The sanctity and awful holiness of God might well fill us with fear and trembling.

It is only in the love of God manifested in the death and sufferings of Christ that we can attain the full conviction that we shall be forgiven if we return to Him. ''Surely He hath carried our sorrows: He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and by His bruises we are healed." This it is which gives to the events of this week an interest greater for each one of us than any other event which has ever taken place. All that took place was caused by us: all that took place was done for us. Therefore, as we dwell devoutly upon these various events, and witness the scenes which took place, the thought which we must ever keep in our minds is: "All this was done for me: our Lord suffered in order to obtain forgiveness for me, in order to wean me from my fondness for sin; in order to bring me to confess my sins with sorrow and true repentance; in order to open to me the gates of heaven."

Many persons are unwilling to give up their sins: some who are willing find it hard to confess their sins. But however much repentance and confession may cost you, did not the grace which is to lead you to repentance and confession cost our Lord a great deal more? Try to spend this holy season so that you may have a keen and lively sense of the bitter and cruel sufferings of Christ: then the time will not have gone by unprofitably, but will have produced fruit both for this life and the next.

The Most Precious Blood - Catholic Harbor of Faith and Morals

July Meditations - Catholic Harbor of Faith and Morals

Prayer For Protection Through The Precious Blood Of Jesus

Novena to the Precious Blood of Jesus

O my God, I beg of Thee in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the merits of the Precious Blood offered in every Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, to grant that this day one mortal sin may be averted, one soul in doubt may be converted to the truth, one soul about to die in sin may receive the grace of repentance and a happy death, and the deliverance of that soul in Purgatory which is nearest Heaven.

I wish by this offering to console the Heart of Jesus in agony for the souls lost through the teaching of error against the True Church of Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

O Mary, Mother of Sorrows, I beseech thee, by the inexpressible tortures thou did endure at the death of thy Son, offer to the Eternal Father, in my place, thy Beloved Son all covered with Blood and Wounds for the grace of_____________________

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We will recognize them by their fruits.

Prayer to St. Michael

Please protect us, St. Michael the Archangel, against violence, murder, and robbery. In your goodness preserve us today from all the malice of sinful and wicked persons. In your sleepless vigilance watch over the safety and welfare of our homes, and keep guard over our possessions. Ever hold in your special care, most triumphant St. Michael, the forces of public order against the crimes of evil people, and defend all honest citizens in time of peril. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Novena Prayer to St. Michael

(Pray for nine consecutive days)
Saint Michael the Archangel, loyal champion of God and His Catholic people, I turn to thee with confidence and seek thy powerful intercession. For the love of God, Who hast made thee so glorious in grace and power, and for the love of the Mother of Jesus, the Queen of the Angels, be pleased to hear my prayer.
Thou knowest the value of my soul in the eyes of God. May no stain of evil ever disfigure its beauty. Help me to conquer the evil spirit who tempts me. I desire to imitate thy loyalty to God and Holy Mother Church and thy great love for God and men. And since thou art God’s messenger for the care of His people, I entrust to thee this special request: (here mention your request).
Saint Michael, since thou art, by the will of the Creator, the powerful intercessor of Christians, I have great confidence in thy prayers. I earnestly trust that if it is God’s holy will, my petition will be granted.
Pray for me, Saint Michael, and also for those I love. Protect us in all dangers of body and soul. Help us in our daily needs. Through thy powerful intercession, may we live a holy life, die a happy death and reach Heaven where we may praise and love God with thee forever. Amen.
Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.
St. Michael, Guardian of souls, Vanquisher of rebel spirits, Pray for us.

St John Chrysostom

Our Lord having reproached the Jews with blindness, they might have said, We are not blind, but we avoid you as a deceiver. Our Lord therefore gives the marks which distinguish a robber and deceiver from a true shepherd. First come those of the deceiver and robber: Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. There is an allusion here to Antichrist, and to certain false Christs who had been, and were to be. The Scriptures He calls the door. They admit us to the knowledge of God, they protect the sheep, they shut out the wolves, they bar the entrance to heretics. He that uses not the Scriptures, but climbs up some other way, i.e. some self-chosen, some unlawful way, is a thief. Climbs up, He says, not, enters, as if it were a thief getting over a wall, and running all risks. Some other way, may refer too to the commandments and traditions of men which the Scribes taught, to the neglect of the Law. When our Lord further on calls Himself the Door, we need not be surprised. According to the office which He bears, He is in one place the Shepherd, in another the Sheep. In that He introduces us to the Father, He is the Door, in that He takes care of us, He is the Shepherd. (Catena Aurea)

LIBERTAS ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON THE NATURE OF HUMAN LIBERTY
35. And as to tolerance, it is surprising how far removed from the equity and prudence of the Church are those who profess what is called liberalism. For, in allowing that boundless license of which We have spoken, they exceed all limits, and end at last by making no apparent distinction between truth and error, honesty and dishonesty. And because the Church, the pillar and ground of truth, and the unerring teacher of morals, is forced utterly to reprobate and condemn tolerance of such an abandoned and criminal character, they calumniate her as being wanting in patience and gentleness, and thus fail to see that, in so doing, they impute to her as a fault what is in reality a matter for commendation. But, in spite of all this show of tolerance, it very often happens that, while they profess themselves ready to lavish liberty on all in the greatest profusion, they are utterly intolerant toward the Catholic Church, by refusing to allow her the liberty of being herself free.

“If you want to be certain of being in the number of the Elect, strive to be one of the few, not one of the many. And if you would be quite sure of your salvation, strive to be among the fewest of the few; that is to say, do not follow the great majority of mankind, but follow those who enter upon the narrow way, who renounce the world, who give themselves to prayer, and who never relax their efforts by day or night, so that they may attain everlasting blessedness.” -Saint Anselm, Father and Doctor of the Church

PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH, THE PROTECTOR OF CHRISTIAN FAMILIES Great Saint Joseph, who wast chosen of God to be the head of the holiest and most august of families, deign to cast thy eyes upon us, and take us this day under thy special protection. Holy Patriarch, model of the holiest faith, and of the most perfect virtues, obtain for all the members of this family grace to withstand the dangers and seductions of the world, and to remain stedfastly attached to the LORD. Obtain for us that, always united by the bonds of the most tender charity, and encouraging one another mutually in good works, we may taste under thy auspices the sweetness of that peace which JESUS has promised to His true disciples. But above all, when our last hour shall come, obtain for us that we may find grace before the Sovereign Judge, so that, reunited in heaven at the foot of Thy Throne, we may celebrate everlastingly the glory of GOD and thy praise. Amen.

St. Vincent Ferrer -- Sermon on the Last Judgment: In the same way, in the time of Antichrist, the Sun of justice will be obscured by the interposition of temporal goods and the wealth which Antichrist will bestow on the world, inasmuch as the brightness of faith in Jesus Christ and the glow of good lives will no longer shine among Christians. For, lest they should lose their dominion, temporal rulers, kings and princes will range themselves on the side of Antichrist. In like manner, prelates for fear of losing their dignities, and religious and priests to gain honors and riches, will forsake the Faith of Christ and adhere to Antichrist.

Neither living nor lifeless faith remains in a heretic who disbelieves one article of faith. The reason of this is that the species of every habit depends on the formal aspect of the object, without which the species of the habit cannot remain. Now the formal object of faith is the First Truth, as manifested in Holy Writ and the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth. Consequently whoever does not adhere, as to an infallible and Divine rule, to the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth manifested in Holy Writ, has not the habit of faith, but holds that which is of faith otherwise than by faith. Even so, it is evident that a man whose mind holds a conclusion without knowing how it is proved, has not scientific knowledge, but merely an opinion about it. Now it is manifest that he who adheres to the teaching of the Church, as to an infallible rule, assents to whatever the Church teaches; otherwise, if, of the things taught by the Church, he holds what he chooses to hold, and rejects what he chooses to reject, he no longer adheres to the teaching of the Church as to an infallible rule, but to his own will. Hence it is evident that a heretic who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith, is not prepared to follow the teaching of the Church in all things; but if he is not obstinate, he is no longer in heresy but only in error. Therefore it is clear that such a heretic with regard to one article has no faith in the other articles, but only a kind of opinion in accordance with his own will. (Saint Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 5, a. 3)

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Purchased by His Blood

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✿St. Joseph pray for us.✿