Twelfth Day
Our Lord had a great desire to gain our souls. He made it easy for us to approach His sacred wounds, from whence the blood flowed. He instituted the Blessed Sacrament for our nourishment; speaking of this sacred blood, He said: “Drink ye all of this; this is My blood; and if any thirst let him come to Me and I will give him to drink.” The sacraments are nothing but channels by which the blood of Christ is conveyed to our souls. It was the Passion and sufferings of Christ that gave the sacraments their efficacy. The water of Baptism becomes, as it were, the blood of Christ; the penitential accusation is carried to the presence of the Lord Himself, and by the mouth of the priest He speaks the absolution; the blood of Christ is in reality in the Holy Eucharist. Confirmation makes us strong Christians, because the blood of Christ is there, and the Spirit of God comes to complete the work of Jesus. What is Extreme Unction but the application of the blood of Christ to the sick, that they may become strong?
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.