By Ven. Mother Mary Potter
FOUNDRESS OF THE LITTLE COMPANY OF MARY

TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC.

The Precious Blood

     The Precious Blood of Our Lord was shed on the Cross; by It Our Lord won all the graces necessary for the salvation of every human being. We simply need to grasp these graces and apply them to ourselves and others. The Precious Blood is a flowing Fountain of spiritual gifts that will never run dry.

    Our Lord told Sister Mary of St. Peter: "Ask My Father for as many souls as I shed drops of Blood during My Passion." By asking for the Precious Blood to be poured out on souls we prevent Its being, as it were, spilled out on the ground in vain. In His mysterious Providence God has put the salvation of others in our hands: we must ask for it, and ask fervently and often.

One of the best means of participating in the graces and blessings of the Precious Blood is to offer It to the Eternal Father. "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. St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, when in ecstasy, once exclaimed: "Every time a creature offers up the Blood by which he was redeemed, he offers a gift of infinite worth, which can be equaled by no other." God revealed the practice of making this offering to this Saintly Carmelite nun when He complained to her that so little effort is made in this world to disarm His Divine justice against sinners. Acting upon this admonition, she daily offered the Precious Blood fifty times for the living and the dead. She did this with so much fervor that God showed her on different occasions the numerous souls who had thereby been converted or delivered from Purgatory.

   At another time when St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi was in ecstasy, she saw all the holy patrons of the city of Florence [accompanied by innumerable other saints], before the throne of God interceding for sinners. Their petitions, however, remained unanswered. Then the guardian Angels of the poor sinners approached, but their prayers likewise remained unheard. Next came the multitudes of the blessed to make intercession for the guilty souls. While imploring God's mercy, they were intent at the same time upon offering to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood, and on account of the merits of the Divine Blood, their petitions were granted. Ought not these examples incite us to offer the Precious Blood frequently during the day?

 Precious Blood Offering

     ETERNAL Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, in satisfaction for my sins, in supplication for the holy souls in Purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church [especially for the soul of (Name)].
     -------The Raccolta, 188

      In order to obtain special graces through the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to offer It in our stead. This advice is given us by many devout servants of God, in particular by St. John Vianney [the Cure of Ars] who says that this is the best method of prayer. He furthermore adds, "My children, mark this well: whenever I obtained some grace, it was obtained in this manner, which I never found to fail."

     We can make this offering many times a day. We can use these words:

  Marian Offering of the Precious Blood

      IMMACULATE Heart of Mary, do thou offer to the Eternal Father the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the conversion of sinners, especially [Name].

     In the life of St. Dominic we read that on one occasion when he was preaching about the veneration of Mary, he saw the Blessed Virgin sprinkling his devout hearers with the Blood of her Divine Son. Once while the Saint was celebrating Mass, three hundred persons, among them the king and queen, saw the Mother of God, at the elevation of the chalice, pouring the Precious Blood over all present and over the whole Church.

     Let us, particularly during Holy Mass, beseech Mary to offer to the Eternal Father the Blood of her Son in the chalice, for the holy Catholic Church, for the conversion of sinners, for the souls in Purgatory and for our various needs. We may enumerate them to her with full confidence, and the greater their number, the better will she be pleased. That which we offer to God in Holy Mass is of infinitely greater value than the gifts for which we ask. God remains our debtor, as it were, so great is the value of the Precious Blood.

  St. Gertrude's writings are replete with most beautiful sentiments concerning the Precious Blood. To St. Mechtilde Our Lord once revealed Himself on the altar, with hands extended and Blood streaming from His Wounds:

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