Chapter X

In the Holy Mass Christ's Blood-shedding is Renewed

St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, thus describes the custom under the Old Dispensation of sprinkling the people with the blood of the sacrificial victim, that by this sprinkling all might be purified and sanctified: “When every commandment of the law had been read by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying: This is the blood of the testament, which God hath enjoined unto you. The tabernacle also, and all the vessels of the ministry, in like manner, he sprinkled with blood. And almost all things, according to the law, are cleansed with blood: and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:19-22) This shedding of blood and sprinkling were a type of the shedding of Christ’s blood, and the sprinkling of that divine blood upon us, which is far more efficacious for the washing away of sin than the blood of the Jewish rite. For St, Paul says in the same chapter: “If the blood of goats and of oxen sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?” {Ibid)

But some one reading this may perhaps say: “Christ shed His sacred blood in His passion, and the believers living at that time were sprinkled with it; we, however, were not born then, and thus we are deprived of this great grace.” Distress not thyself on this account, O Christian; the blood of Christ was then shed just as much for us as for the faithful of that day. Besides, of His divine wisdom Christ devised another means by virtue of which He daily sheds His precious blood, and applies it for the cleansing of our souls. Dost thou ask when and how this is done? I answer, Whenever Mass is celebrated, as shall now be explained.

The first authority to be quoted is St. Augustine, who says: “The blood of Christ is shed for sinners in holy Mass.” These words are so plain that they need no elucidation, and they are uttered by one so trustworthy that no one can gainsay his testimony. We will next listen to St. Chrysostom, who expresses himself thus: “The Lamb of God is immolated for thee, His blood flows mystically upon the altar; the blood contained in the chalice is drawn for thy cleansing from His sacred side.” This passage has been expounded as follows: “Once for all Christ shed his blood in a visible and painful manner, but at this we could not be present. This shedding of blood is, however, repeated daily in an invisible manner: His hands are wounded, His feet are transfixed, His side is pierced, His blood is made to flow, but in a manner of which our senses cannot take cognizance. We can appropriate to ourselves His infinite merits by our glowing desire, by our contrition and sorrow, by holy communion, but above and beyond all by hearing Mass/’ These words deserve attentive consideration; they are those of a learned theologian, and he expressly tells us that by no means can we participate in the merits of Christ so surely as by assisting at Mass, adding these words: 14 In the Mass the priest by the prayer of consecration draws, as it were, the blood from the Saviour’s side, in order to apply it to thee for thy cleansing, thy sanctification, the forgiveness of thy sins.” Many other authorities might be cited in confirmation of this statement, but we will content ourselves with the testimony of the learned Father Natali, who says: “The same blood which flowed from the side of Christ is in the chalice after the words of consecration have been spoken, and it is shed for us for the remission of sins.”

The formula of consecration is, however, this: “This is the chalice of My blood,... which shall be shed for you and for many, to the remission of sins.” These are Christ’s own words, whereby He changed the wine into His precious blood. By His command the priest utters the same words; he does not, however, utter them as if he merely meant to proclaim from the altar what the words were which Christ made use of, but as asserting it to be true that the wine is changed into the blood of Christ, as is in fact the case.

Now the priest does not content himself with saying: “This is the chalice of My blood”; he continues: “which shall be shed for you and for many, to the remission of sins.” As the first part of the sentence is certainly fulfilled, with no less certainty will the latter part be fulfilled. Consequently the sacred blood of Christ is verily and indeed shed in the Mass “for you and for many”; that is, for you who are present, and for the many who are absent; for those who hear Mass and for those who would gladly do so if they could, and who therefore desire a memento in it. These are the “many” for whom Christ’s blood is shed in holy Mass for the remission of sins.

This proof is of greater force than any other, for the authority upon which it rests is none other than the truth which comes from the lips of God Himself. How sublime a mystery is this! How unspeakable is the love of Christ to us poor sinners! Is it really possible that our adorable Jesus, Who shed His blood to the last drop for us, should shed it again and again for us, daily, hourly, for the remission of our sins and for our eternal salvation? How great are the graces, the blessings they receive who assist at holy Mass! “As oft as the blood of Christ is shed,” says St. Ambrose, “it is shed for the remission of sins.” What greater inducement can we have to hear Mass than the assurance that by doing so we can obtain remission of our sins? We are not left in doubt as to whether the chalice really contains Christ’s blood, for God has revealed this truth and made it evident by numerous miracles, of which one will now be narrated.

We read in the writings of Cesar of Heisterbach that about the year 1220 there lived in the archdiocese of Cologne a female recluse who had retired from the world and taken up her abode in a kind of cell built on to the wall of a church, where she led a life of contemplation and penance. This recluse had a special devotion for holy Mass, and a small window was constructed in the wall of her dwelling to enable her to assist at it. But the evil enemy, finding her on other points proof against his assaults, contrived to instil into her mind a tormenting doubt as to the transubstantiation of the wine into the blood of Our Lord. This temptation was so strong that it quite overthrew her faith, and she even communicated her doubts to some women with whom she held intercourse through a window. But God had compassion on His servant and wrought a visible miracle to deliver her from error. One day, when the priest of a neighboring parish was saying Mass, through carelessness (or perhaps by the special permission of Providence) he overturned the chalice after the consecration. He was horror-struck, but still more so when he observed that the wine which was spilt had assumed the appearance and color of blood. At the conclusion of the Mass he tried in every way to wash the stain out of the corporal, but all was in vain. When the next Sunday came, he took the blood-stained corporal up into the pulpit, told the congregation what had occurred, and with tears held up the corporal to their view. This made a great impression upon the people, who were much touched at the sight of the Saviour’s blood, and the conviction was borne in upon the priest that the miracle was intended to confirm the faith of those who were tempted to doubt. Accordingly he made it known far and wide; at length he went to the dwelling of the recluse of whom we have spoken, told her all that had happened, and exhibited the bloodstained corporal to her also. As soon as she saw the marks of the precious blood she fell to the ground, bewailed her fault with bitter tears, and humbly begged the pardon of all who were present. She then made aloud a profession of faith, saying: “I steadfastly believe that in the consecrated chalice the true, natural blood of Christ is really present, the same that was shed for us upon the cross; and in this belief I hope to live and die.” The priest returned home, and on again placing the corporal in water he found to his astonishment that the stains instantly disappeared. When the recluse heard this, she perceived that God in His mercy had worked this wonder for her good, and this conviction served to establish her still more firmly in faith.

Something similar is told of Father Peter Cavagnelas, a monk of the Order of St. Jerome. For a long time he was a prey to terrible doubts as to whether the blood of Christ was present in the sacred host. One day when, in saying Mass, he came to these words of the canon: “We most humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, command these things to be carried by the hands of Thy holy angel to Thy altar on high, in the sight of Thy divine majesty,” and, according to the rules of the rubric, bowed down profoundly, behold, a cloud descended upon the altar and concealed both the host and the chalice from his sight. The priest felt much alarmed, for he knew not what this thing meant. He made an act of sincere contrition and lifted up his heart in fervent prayer to God. After a time his petition was heard, the cloud lifted, and he saw the sacred host suspended over the chalice. While he gazed upon it with reverence, he perceived that blood was dropping from it; this continued until there was exactly the same quantity as there had been wine in the chalice. Joy filled his heart; all his doubts vanished; thenceforth nothing ever obscured his firm faith in the presence of the blood of Christ in the sacred host.

These two stories show that the body and blood of Christ are both present at the same time in each of the elements, although by virtue of the prayer of consecration the body of Christ is principally under the form of bread in the sacred host, His body under the form of wine in the sacred chalice. Here we may pause, and endeavor to realize what an immense grace it is for us to possess the adorable blood of Christ in the Mass. The Catholic Church owns no greater, more costly treasure; for a single drop of this blood which is united to the person of the Divinity outweighs in value all the riches of heaven and of earth. This precious blood is not only present with us in the Mass, we have it for our very own (as was said in Ch. V.), and as our own we may offer it to Almighty God.

The Manner in which the Blood of Christ is Sprinkled upon Us in Holy Mass

Hitherto we have been inquiring in what way the precious blood of Christ is shed in holy Mass; we will now see how it is sprinkled. For we know that as the precious blood is really shed when Mass is celebrated, so it is likewise sprinkled upon all who are present, and poured out upon their souls. Of this we have a clear type in the Old Testament, to which St. Paul refers when he says how Moses sprinkled the blood of calves and goats upon all the people, saying: “This is the blood of the testament, which God hath enjoined unto you.” (Hebrews 9:20) The words Christ employed when He consecrated the chalice at the Last Supper are almost identical: “This is the new testament in My blood.” (Luke 22:20) St. Paul adds, in the passage already quoted: “It is necessary, therefore, that the patterns of heavenly things should be cleansed with these: but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Hebrews 9:23) By this he meant to say: The Jewish synagogue, which was a type of the Catholic Church, was cleansed by the sprinkling of the blood of calves and goats, whereas the Catholic Church is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God. Now in order that anything be cleansed either with blood or with water it must be sprinkled or moistened with blood or water. Thus, if our souls are cleansed by the blood of Christ in the Mass, they must be sprinkled therewith, as we will now proceed to show.

St. Chrysostom says: “Thou seest that Christ is immolated in the Mass, thou seest that the people present are sprinkled and marked with the crimson blood from His veins.” In this passage this great doctor of the Church expressly asserts that in holy Mass the blood of Christ is not merely poured out for us, but poured out upon us. Marchantius says the same: “The precious blood is shed in the Mass as a holy oblation, and the souls of the faithful who stand around are sprinkled with it.” It would be impossible to employ plainer language than this. St. John likewise speaks no less clearly:

“Jesus Christ hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.” (Apocalypse 1:5) Observe, the Apostle does not say that Christ sprinkles us with His blood, but that we are actually washed in it.

St. Paul bears the like witness when he says: “You are come to Jesus the mediator of the New Testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24) Here it may be asked: When do we come to Jesus, our mediator? In holy communion we approach very near to Him, and receive Him into our hearts. But we do not come to Him as to our mediator then: we receive Him as our spiritual sustenance. It is in holy Mass that we come to Him as our true mediator and intercessor, for in this He is Himself the real high priest, Whose office it is to make intercession for the people. Now if we come to Him in the Mass as to our mediator, at the same time we come, as St Paul says, to the sprinkling of blood. This sprinkling takes place whenever Mass is celebrated; our bodies are not sprinkled, but our souls. In His passion the blood of Christ was shed, but it fell upon the stones and upon the ground. In holy Mass the self-same blood is shed; it does not, however, fall upon the earth, nor upon the bodies of men: it is applied to the souls of those who are present. Just as Moses sprinkled the Jews with the blood of the sacrificial victims, and the priest sprinkles Christian people with holy water, so Christ spiritually sprinkles the souls of the faithful with His blood, which is shed for them in the Mass.

This spiritual sprinkling is far more, beneficial to us than the material sprinkling. Hear what St. Magdalen of Pazzi says concerning it: “This blood, when applied to the soul, imparts to it as much dignity as if it were decked in a costly robe; it imparts to it such brilliance and splendor that couldst thou behold the effulgence of thy soul when sprinkled with that blood thou wouldst fall down to adore it.” Remarkable words indeed I Happy the soul which is adorned with such beauty! Happy the man who is privileged to gaze upon it! Go-often to Mass, dear reader, that thou mayst then be sprinkled with the blood of Christ and arrayed in rich apparel, which will render thee glorious forever in the sight of angels and saints. For the purpose of strengthening thee in the belief that Christ’s blood is applied to our souls in holy Mass I will relate an instance to the point.

In the life of Pope Urban IV, we read that about the year 1263, in the town of Bolsena, near Rome, there was a priest to whom one day, while he was saying Mass, just after the consecration, the devil suggested doubts as to whether Our Lord was really present in the sacred host. He said within himself: “I neither see nor feel anything to make me think this is Christ’s veritable body. It cannot be so; this is nothing more than it appears, a mere wafer-bread.” Thus he did not only doubt Christ’s presence, he actually denied it, and fell into the sin of heresy. However, he proceeded with the Mass, and elevated the host as usual, and lo! a wonderful miracle occurred. When the host was lifted up, blood began to trickle from it like a gentle shower from heaven. The priest was so-terrified that he did not know what he did. The people who were present saw the miracle, and could not refrain from exclaiming aloud: “O sacred blood! O blood of our God! For whose sake art thou shed?” and again: “O blood from the Saviour’s veins, fall upon our souls, cleanse them from the stains of sin! Precious blood, forgive us our sins, and call upon God for mercy!” The voices of the congregation recalled the priest to himself; he thought to lay the sacred host upon the corporal, but it was soaked with blood to such an extent that there was scarcely a dry place left. Then tears burst from his eyes, and he bitterly repented his unbelief. He went on with the Mass, although hardly able to do so from weeping. After the communion he folded the blood-stained corporal together and laid it aside, thinking to conceal the wonderful occurrence. But after Mass the people came to him and questioned him about what had happened, as they knew not whether their eyes had deceived them. So he was obliged to exhibit the corporal to them; and at the sight of it they were so deeply moved that they tell on their knees, struck their breasts, and with tears besought the mercy of God. The report of this spread far and wide; an innumerable multitude of devout people came to Bolsena, desirous to see the proof of the miracle. When Pope Urban IV. heard of it, he bade the priest present himself before him, bringing the corporal with him. The priest obeyed; trembling, he fell at the feet of the Pope and the cardinals and ecclesiastics who were present, confessed the doubts that had assailed him, related what had happened, and showed the corporal soaked with the precious blood. The Pope and the whole assembly forthwith venerated upon their knees the precious blood, and later on a splendid church was erected at Bolsena in honor of the precious blood by order of His Holiness, who, furthermore, enjoined that the miraculous corporal should be deposited there, and every year, on the anniversary of the day when the miracle occurred, it should be solemnly carried in procession round the church.

That which was seen at Bolsena six hundred years ago comes to pass every day in every one of our churches at every Mass, only in an unseen manner. When the priest, offering the highest act of worship, elevates the sacred host and the chalice, the blood of our God distils from them like a gentle rain from the clouds, bedewing not the earth, not the bodies of men, but the souls and minds of all who are present. Nor is its gracious influence confined to the good and pious: it is extended also to the evil. The souls of the just it purifies and embellishes; it makes them fruitful in good works, it strengthens them when they are weak, it subdues the force of temptation, it effects in them all the good of which each one is capable. Those who are not devout Christians it seeks to convert, to soften their hard hearts, to correct their evil inclinations; while to all who are enemies of God it offers peace and reconciliation. And for the sinner who, in his obduracy, resists the proffered grace, the precious blood pleads with God for him and arrests the arm of justice.

See how great are the benefits which accrue alike to the just and to the sinner through this life-giving blood! Hence learn how profitable it is for both the one and the other to go regularly to Mass. For there the just will be cleansed from their sins, as St. John says: “The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) And for the sinner it obtains the grace of conversion. Consider, then, O thou who truly lovest God, how signal a grace is this, that in holy Mass thy soul should be sprinkled, purified, beautified, by the sacred blood of Christ, thy Saviour. Couldst thou see thyself thus adorned, thus beautified, how heartfelt would be thy joy, thy gratitude towards God! How unremitting wouldst thou be in thy attendance at holy Mass!

The Manner in which the Precious Blood Intercedes for Us

Amongst the many gifts and graces wherein those participate who hear Mass devoutly one of the principal is this, that the blood of Christ, shed upon the altar, pleads for us with God, and obtains mercy for us. How profitable, how salutary, for the sinner is this voice of impetration, how powerful is it in averting the wrath of God! All the grievous sins we commit cry to God for vengeance, and excite His anger against us, as we learn from Holy Scripture. For in the Book of Genesis God says: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous. I will go down and see whether they have done according to the cry that is come to me.” (Genesis 18:20,21) Again, St. James says: “Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud hath been kept back by you, crieth; and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.” (James 5:4) The prophet Isaias represents God as denominating all sins of whatever nature as a cry. Hence we perceive that our sins, as a great clamor, ascend continually to God, and challenge Him to manifest His just wrath against the world.

Who, then, is there who can allay the anger of God, who can turn aside His awful vengeance? There is no one in heaven or on earth who can do this; only when the blood of Jesus Christ speaks it is all-availing. For although the cry sent up by innumerable sins is so loud that it is heard in the height of heaven, yet the voice of the blood of Christ is still more powerful; it is almighty and infinite, it does not merely pierce the clouds, it reaches the heart of God the Father. And how greatly soever the frightful and horrible clamor of a world’s sins and iniquities may anger and irritate the heart of God, the blood shed by Jesus Christ speaks in accents so sweet and pleasing that He forgets His wrath, for the pleasure He derives from the voice of Christ outweighs the displeasure caused by the clamor of sin.

The reader may perhaps ask: How can it be said that this sacred blood cries to Heaven, as one hears nothing of it? In answer I ask: How could the blood shed by Abel cry to Heaven, as Abel was dead, and his blood flowed out of the wounds he had received? Yet we know God said to Cain: “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the earth.” (Genesis 4:10) This was no audible voice, yet it was so powerful that it rose from earth to heaven, it entered into the ears of God the Father, and called upon Him to avenge the fratricide. The voice of the blood shed by Jesus Christ in holy Mass is likewise mystic, yet it, too, is so powerful that it compels an angry God to show mercy. We know that this sacred blood cries to God in holy Mass from the words of St. Paul to the Hebrews: “You are come to Jesus the mediator of the New Testament, and to the sprinkling of blood which speaketh better than that of Abel.” (Hebrews 12:24) This passage implies that if we come to Jesus, sprinkled with blood, it cries to God for mercy upon sinners with a voice that will take no denial.

This precious blood, shed in the Mass, calls upon God with a loud, penetrating voice after this wise: “Behold and consider, O just God, how I, the precious blood of Thy first-born Son, have been shed, copiously and willingly, amid circumstances of pain and ignominy. Behold and consider the violence, the scorn, the cruelty, shown me; how I have been despised, spit upon, anathematized, trodden under foot. All this I endured with the utmost patience, that by my means sinners might be sanctified and saved. But Thou, O strict Judge, wilt condemn them on account of their sins, and cast them into the abyss of hell. Who will compensate me for the indignities I suffered? The sinners who are condemned will in their devilish hate heap maledictions upon me. If they were saved, they would bless and give thanks to me for all eternity. Hear my cry, therefore, 0 merciful God, and for my sake grant to sinners the grace of conversion and amendment, to the just the grace of final perseverance.”

When the precious blood of Christ intercedes for us in this manner, it is impossible that God should turn a deaf ear to such an entreaty. For if the blood of innocent Abel cried from the ground with so loud a voice that it was heard in heaven, and God Himself was compelled to look down from heaven upon the earth, and avenge the fratricidal act, as we are told: “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth to Me from the earth. Now, therefore, cursed shalt thou be upon the earth, which hath opened her mouth and received the blood of thy brother at thy hand” (Genesis 4:10,11)—if, I say, Abel’s blood when shed availed so much, what will not the power of Christ’s blood be, shed as it is daily upon our altars, and offered up to God! Abel’s blood cried for vengeance; the blood of Christ cries for mercy. Now we know that God is far more inclined to show mercy than to do vengeance; as the Church says in one of her prayers: “O God, Whose property is ever to have mercy and to spare.” St. Peter repeats the same in one of his epistles: “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Thus the blood of Christ obtains mercy with greater ease than Abel’s blood obtains vengeance.

In the circumcision, the sweat of blood, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross, and the crucifixion the blood of the divine Saviour cried to Heaven for the reconciliation of mankind with God. It did not cry in vain; witness the words of St. Paul: “God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:9) The same divine blood cries to God every day in holy Mass, not with one voice only, but with as many as He shed drops from His sacred body. It calls with a powerful, far-reaching voice; it cries with all the force of His divinity and His humanity; and this not in one Mass alone, but in every one of the thousands that are daily celebrated. And with it at the same time the wounds of Christ cry with as many tongues as there were wounds on His body; the heart of Christ cries, its every throb an entreaty; the lips of Christ cry, their every sigh a prayer. Can we suppose it possible that a cry so manifold should fail to touch the heart of the Eternal Father? Even had it been already determined that the sinner should receive the just reward of his deeds, so powerful, so adorable, is the blood of Christ that divine justice cannot refuse to fulfil its request.

In corroboration of what has been said I will relate a remarkable occurrence. In former times, in the archdiocese of Mayence, there was a small town called Walldiirn. Now it happened in the year 1330 that the parish priest of that place was so careless as to overturn the chalice after the consecration, so that the sacred blood was poured out upon the corporal. Immediately there appeared upon the corporal the image of Christ crucified, and around it eleven representations of the head of the Saviour, with the crown of thorns and disfigured with blood. In his confusion and alarm the priest concealed the corporal under the altar-stone, fearing the chastisement of God and the reprimand of his ecclesiastical superiors. But his conscience left him no peace, and he took the matter so much to heart that he fell into a mortal sickness. In his last agony, which was long and painful, he sent for a neighboring priest, confessed his carelessness in overturning the chalice, and told him where the corporal was hidden. He also gave him permission to make the miraculous occurrence public. After his death, which took place within a short time, the priest took out the corporal, kissed it reverently, and exhibited it to the people, giving, at the same time, a full account of the incident. Sometime later he took the corporal to his bishop; he sent him to Rome, where Pope Urban V., who then occupied the chair of Peter, confirmed the miracle, and granted an indulgence to the faithful who should visit Walldiirn to venerate the sacred blood.

Here the question arises why the precious blood that was spilt should assume the shape of a crucifix and eleven representations of the head of the Saviour. In my opinion, amongst other reasons this one is to be noted, because the blood thus spilt calls to God for mercy. The number eleven probably corresponds to the number of drops that fell out of the chalice. These drops cried and called to God not for vengeance and chastisement, but for mercy and pardon, both for the priest himself, and for all those who should venerate the sacred blood. It implored and obtained for the priest the grace to repent and confess his fault before his death, and for the people it continues to implore a similar grace, since experience proved that hardened sinners, who for long years had neglected confession, in presence of the sacred blood were struck with contrition and humbly confessed their sins.

In addition to the all-prevailing cry which the blood of Christ sends up to Heaven, there is something else peculiar to it, whereby the anger of God is appeased, namely, the sweet odor which ascends from that blood when it is shed upon the altar. Referring to the Jewish burnt-sacrifices, God says: “The morning holocaust you shall always offer every day of the seven days for the food of the fire, and for a most sweet odor to the Lord, which shall rise from the holocaust, and from the libations of each.” (Numbers 28:23,24) Now if the odor arising from the burnt flesh of animals and the effusion of their blood was agreeable to Almighty God, what will not the most sweet odor of Christ’s precious blood effect, when offered upon the altar as a holocaust worthy of His divine majesty!

When the priest offers the chalice, he says: “We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the chalice of salvation, beseeching Thy clemency, that in the sight of Thy divine majesty it may ascend with the odor of sweetness for our salvation, and for that of the whole world. Amen.” The priest makes use of these words because the wine contained in the chalice will be changed into the precious blood of Christ. St. Paul says: “Christ hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation, and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness.” (Ephesians 5:2) When this precious holocaust was offered upon the cross, with shedding of blood, at the cost of great pain, so delicious was the fragrance that ascended to heaven that it counteracted the evil odor that arose from the many and grievous sins of mankind. For the death of Christ, the shedding of His blood, was more pleasing to God than the iniquities of the world were displeasing to Him. And when this divine Victim is sacrificed and His blood shed mystically upon our altars, a sweet and agreeable odor daily ascends thence unto the Lord. Thus, if with a contrite heart thou dost offer the precious blood of Christ to God in holy Mass, not only dost thou dispel the stench of thy sins by the perfume of His blood, but thou dost more to please God than thou hast done to displease Him by thy misdeeds.

When the patriarch Isaac, whose eyes were dimmed with age, had kissed his son Jacob, dressed in the garments of his brother Esau, Holy Scripture tells us that on smelling the fragrant smell of his garments he blessed him, and desired for him every kind of temporal prosperity. The most sweet odor of Christ’s blood has a like effect; so that God looks with favor upon the pious worshipper who offers it to Him in holy Mass, and bestows upon him His divine benediction, with an increase of grace and of celestial gifts. All the saints, too, rejoice when Mass is celebrated, when the perfume of the sacred blood rises in clouds of fragrance from the altar, filling the courts of heaven, to the joy and refreshment of all its blessed denizens. Let it, therefore, be our endeavor when present at Mass to adore the precious blood with devout veneration, to implore its intercession, to offer it to God for our salvation.

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