Twenty-second Day
The devotion of the precious blood very materially supports the devotion to the Passion of Our Lord. It furnishes a point of view from which we may regard each separate suffering, each separate wound, and mould it into one universal consideration. It is thus a unity of the devotion to the Passion, as well as a variety of it, besides being in itself an additional devotion. The precious blood brings vividness to the meditation on the Passion. There is no greater devotion than meditation on the Passion; the saints have always made it the help and consolation of their progress. What is consideration of the precious blood but a contemplation of the Passion under another aspect? We bring the entire Passion under the head of one mystery, and still we preserve all the details, so that the Passion and the precious blood are the favorite contemplations of all devout Christians. O dear Jesus crucified, make me love the cross; make me desire to stand beneath the cross, in order to receive on my soul one drop of that precious blood which is being poured out for my redemption.
Prayer.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the precious blood, etc., etc.