XII. THE WATER AND THE BLOOD.

Prophecy.

See Psa. xxxiv. 20.

Gospel Narrative.

S. John xix. 31-37.

The Jews therefore, because legs. But one of the soldiers

it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day, (for that Sabbath-day was а high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to JESUS, and saw that He was dead already, they brake not His

with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came thereout Blood and Water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken. And again, another Scripture saith, They shall look on Him Whom they pierced.

Reflections.

And forthwith came out Blood and Water, the two Sacraments of the Church, to show that by CHRIST'S Passion we obtain full ablution from sin and stains: from sin by Blood, the price of our redemption; from stains, by Water, the laver of our regeneration. “I will sprinkle upon you clean water, and ye shall be cleansed from all your filthiness." (Ezek. xxxvi. 25.) By the blood of the lamb, the houses were saved from

the smiting of the Angel; and by the waters of the Red Sea their enemies were drowned. The Blood to redeem the captive, the Water to wash the unclean. And, as from the side of Adam sleeping in Paradise, the woman, the type of the Church, is formed; so, from the Side of CHRIST sleeping on the Cross, flowed Blood and Water, to consecrate His Church. May that lance be the lance of love to pierce our hard hearts. By Thy saving Wounds, O LORD, from which flowed that most precious Blood, by which we are redeemed, wound this sinful soul of mine, for which Thou didst vouchsafe to die; wound it with Thy most mighty Love. Pierce my heart with Thy Love, that my soul may say to Thee, I am wounded with love. (Cant. iv. 9.) The Wound of CHRIST is the door of Sacraments: so that the Evangelist used a thoughtful word, when he wrote, not, he smote, or wounded His Side, but opened (voice for evvge, S. John xix. 34; the reading of the Vulg. and later Syriac, aperuit, and of SS. Chrysostom and Augustine ;) to signify that there the gate of life was opened; thence the Sacraments of the Church flowed forth, without which there is no entrance to true life.

Meditation.

This very Wound hath a mouth to speak the Messiahship of my Saviour and the truth of Thy Scripture, They shall look upon Him Whom they have pierced.

Behold now the Second Adam sleeping, and out of His Side formed the Mother of the living, the Evangelical Church. Behold the Rock Which was smitten

and the waters of life gushed forth. Behold the Fountain that is set open to the house of David, for sin and uncleanness; a Fountain, not of water only, but of blood too. O Saviour, by this Water we are washed, by Thy Blood we are redeemed. Those two Sacraments, which Thou didst institute alive, flow also from Thee dead, as the last memorials of Thy love to Thy Church; the Water of Baptism, which is the laver of regeneration; the Blood of the New Testament shed for the remission of sins; and these, together with the SPIRIT that gives life to them both, are the witnesses on earth whose attestation cannot fail us. 0 Precious and Sovereign Wound, by which our souls are healed! Into this cleft of the Rock let my dove fly and enter, and there safely hide herself from the talons of all the birds of prey.

Prayer.

O LORD JESUS CHRIST, Thou art worthy of all praise, glory, and adoration! O give me grace worthily to magnify Thy Holy Name, for Thy love in dying for me. Thou, O LORD, didst suffer Thy most holy Side to be pierced with the spear, that Water and Blood might flow forth to cleanse and renew our souls. Thy sacred Heart was wounded for sinners. O mercifully pierce my heart with penitential sorrow and fervent love, and cleanse it from all spot of sin, that I may be made one with Thee, and have no will but Thine. Lead my soul, O LORD, into the secrets of Thy love, into the treasury of Thy Divinity, that I may joyfully glorify Thee, my God, Who wast crucified

and dead for me, and entirely consecrate all my powers to Thy service. Make me worthy, O GOD my Saviour, to behold Thee, Whom the pure in heart alone shall see, throughout eternity. Amen.

A DEVOUT RECAPITULATION OF THE PASSION.

Think, O man, what, and how many things I have suffered for thee! When thou wast an enemy to My FATHER, I reconciled thee to Him. When thou wast a lost sheep, wandering from the fold, I sought thee, and carried thee on My Shoulders home. I restored thee to My FATHER, I exposed My Head to the thorns, I offered My Hands to the nails, I shed My Blood for thee, to unite thee to Me, and wilt thou be severed from Me? Turn thou to Me, and I will receive thee. Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto My sorrow! wherewith the LORD hath afflicted Me in the day of His fierce anger. (Lam. i. 12.)

O LORD, as Thy Blood issued forth my full redemption, let me not perish with the wicked in the hour of death, or in the day of judgment. But gather me, redeemed with Thy most precious Blood, with Thine elect, and in the meantime hiding me in the clefts of the rock, and filling me with Thy love. For he that truly loves Thee is dead to the actions of the world: for love is strong as death. (Cant. viii. 6.)

Consider now the disposition of the Body of CHRIST, His Head is bowed down towards thee, His Hands

pierced to give, His Side opened to love, His Feet fastened to remain with us, His whole Body stretched out for us. See how every Member intercedes for thee with the FATHER. That Divine Head is bowed down with the manifold thorns piercing even to the bone, and why? Lest thy head should be wounded. His Eyes were black in death, and those mighty Luminaries that enlighten the world, were quenched for a while; and when they were darkened, was there not darkness over all the earth? All this was done that thine eyes should be turned away, lest thou shouldst see vanity; or if they saw it, should not cleave to it. Those Ears, that in Heaven hear the Trisagial Hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy, LORD GOD of Sabaoth, heard on earth the voices of fiendish men, crying, Crucify Him, crucify Him! And why? That thine ears should not be deaf to the poor man's cry, should not hear vain things, nor receive the poison of slander with open. pores. That glorious and lovely Face, that Form, fairer than the sons of men, (Psa. xlv. 2,) was defiled with spittings, smitten with blows, given over to mockery! Why? That thy face should be enlightened and strengthened. That Mouth, that teacheth angels, that instructeth men, that speaketh, and it is done, is moistened with gall and vinegar! Why? That thy mouth might speak truth and judgment, and confess the LORD thy GOD. Those Hands, that formed the Heavens, were stretched out upon the Cross, and pierced with hard nails, that thy hands might be stretched out to the poor. That Breast, in which are hid all the treasures of Divine wisdom and knowledge, was pierced with the soldier's spear, that thy

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