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It [the soul] loves God because it sees how he has loved the soul from all eternity: He first loved us. It reconsiders especially the themes concerning redemption and exclaims: The love of Christ impels us. It does so especially when seeing how far that love went when in his capacity as redeemer, [Christ] shed his blood to the last drop: He loves us and has washed away our sins in his blood. Faint with love, the soul exclaims, "Oh wounds, oh precious blood of my Lord, that I might praise you in eternity!" What a great thing it is that the blood of Jesus is even our drink in the Eucharist and how, finally, through the merits of the blood of Jesus Christ we shall arrive in paradise. With your blood you purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue, people and nation]. You made them a kingdom. .

"Herein lies the glory of the priesthood, instituted for applying the price of redemption to souls, so that the divine Blood will not have been shed in vain, due to our own fault, as we note in the Holy Scriptures: "What gain would there be from my lifeblood." (Psalms 30:10) ..."How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? "

St. Gaspar del Bufalo, 1825

This year, our examination at the foot of the Cross, shall center in a particular way on three points.

First, the acknowledgment of our shortcomings from which arises our deficiency before God.

Secondly, the examination of our observance of interior discipline, which may be called our Handbook for Heaven.

Finally, we shall direct our attention, prudently and reflectively, to the external aspects of our apostolic work, not merely to have a knowledge of good in general, but to seek the greater good which can and must be furthered...

this searching will make us eager to find the means for the attainment of our purpose.

These means are threefold:

a continuous inner conversation with God about our needs and interests;

a deep study of humility, that we may be capable of receiving special gifts from God for the renewal of our life;

and a burning desire for the inner and hidden life in the adorable wounds of the Crucified.

St. Gaspar Del Bufalo, 1829

The more exalted our ministry, so much the more does the devil interfere with it as he tries to confound us. We will do all with the help of God's grace if, like boulders in the sea, we remain immobile, though assailed by the waves. Let us take bitter things as sweet. It is through trials that one realizes the degree of virtue attained. I am speaking of those trials that one did not plan for, those not chosen or selected; nevertheless, they are to be endured by us. By degrees we must attain to that superabundo gaudio in omni tribulation (filled with joy in all tribulation). Where the Cross is, there also is the mercy of God. St. Vincent de Paul used to say: "my Congregation would cease to be if a single day would go by without crosses." Jesus was tempted to come down from the cross: ... but, for our instruction, he taught us to remain with the cross and to die on the cross.

St. Gaspar del Bufalo
May 22, 1833

...in this devotion we have a compendium of faith itself; that is why, in the consecration of the chalice, we say: "mysterium fidei"; and, consequently therein lies the salvation of souls. In fact, it is to this that the prophetic oracles, the predictions, the symbols, the figures, the sacrifices of the old covenant have their focus. As we read in Genesis: He washes his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes. (Gen. 49:11). The Hebrews were ordered to taint their doorposts with the blood of the lamb in order to be freed from their chastisements in Egypt, a symbol of the liberation of our souls from diabolical servitude... Without saying too much further, what did Moses do for his people? ) For when every commandment of the law had been declared 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 covenant which God commanded you." ... Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Heb 9:19-22) Hear, now, what the Apostle says: If the blood of goats and calves sanctify such as are defiled, how much more shall the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse our conscience. (Heb 9:12-14) Without saying everything that could be said, the divine Scriptures are loaded with sacred citations... Why then is thy apparel red. (Isaiah 63:2) And he was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood. (Rev 19:13) .One should add only that by means of this devotion the remembrance of our baptism, through which our souls were purged, is revived; we are reminded of penance and the other sacraments. And when asked why, we conclude that it was because: Thou hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests. (Apoc. 5: 9-10) Other devotions are all means for facilitating Catholic piety, but this devotion is the basis, the sustenance, the essence of all.

San Gaspare del Bufalo
July 29, 1825

The Priesthood, perfection as depicted in the fragrant cedars of Lebanon, all are the cause of a robust holiness and the inestimable qualities of the Priesthood. "As a first point, there are basically two things that the Almighty requires in his sacred ministers...the light of sanctity and the salt of doctrine. Vos estis lux mundi, vos estis Sal terrae (1). Above all, good example of life and along with it preparation for the ministry must be the bases for the special delights of anyone dedicated to the Sanctuary. To each one, the Apostle says: Attende tibi, attende lectioni, exhortationi, et doctrinae, noli negligere gratiam quae est in te(2). And oh! Quam pulchra est casta generatio cum claritate!(3) How beautiful are those souls that are mystically generated with a singular clarity of holiness; the brilliance of their virtue removes them from the darkness, the fogginess of vice and of sin. Hence purity of life, as figured in the candor of the lily, tenderness of love as symbolized in the red rose, tireless search of ecclesiastical."

"The sanctuary is the place of an exalted holiness. It seeks inhabitants who will emulate what is heavenly. Required is a detachment from everything and from everyone; a deep humility, a suffering longanimity, a tireless desire to cultivate one's talents in order to perfect them and direct them for the welfare of the Church and the advantage of the faithful."

Dominus pars hereditatis meae(4). As a creature, as a Christian and most of all as a priest and missionary, I should be entirely God's, with all my soul and body, with mind, with heart and with my actions. So, no other thought than the thought of God and his glory; no other love than the love of God and my neighbor, procuring the salvation of souls, the conversion of sinners, the sanctification of people. Spare no labor in seeing that God is honored and loved, relating everything to him. I wish for myself only the scorn of the people of the world etc. Am I really what I am supposed to be? Are the qualities of an apostolic person found in me? For whom have I labored up to now? Oh! Those labors that were thus lost, like a treasure tossed into the depths of the ocean, if the Lord is not content with me! "I must seek the glory of God by procuring the salvation of souls. I am in a Congregation, in an Institute which is regulated, directed by obedience. Hence, this is what I set down for myself: to serve God, to work for his glory in that office, in that place, with those people that obedience will assign to me. Thus I will remain quiet and peaceful, certain that I will be doing the will of God. Can that be done?

NOTES
(1) You are the light of the world, You are the salt of the earth.
(2) 1 Timothy 4:13, Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have.
(3) How beautiful are those souls that are mystically generated with a singular clarity, see Wisdom 4:1
(4) The LORD is my inheritance, Psalm 16:5

Blessings to all on the Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood.(July 1st) In a world where little is precious or sacred, maybe it is time to reflect on the true freedom given to us in the Most Precious Blood. The following is an old article of mine, basically my homage to St. Gaspar's letter 57. I post it here to move it from my old blog and to make it available for any new readers.

Judie asks in the comments on the post below if I am going to be posting Gaspar lent reflections this year like in years past. I am thinking of revising my book this year as we journey through Lent.

So, you decide. I will do whatever commenters want. Do you want me to post the reflections each day, or do you just the link to the PDF file of the whole collection?

...selections from Volume 1 can be found here.

This is the most recent addition to the page on the Writings of St. Gaspar. It is the deposition of Venerable Giovanni Merlini at the ordinary process begun at Albano for the Beatification and Canonization of St. Gaspar del Bufalo.

For more on the life of Venerable Merlini, go here.

It is time to pay another visit to the new site of St. Gaspar's Letters.

Thanks to RC I have discovered Open Office and this enormously speeds up the process of retrieving documents, cleaning them up and converting them to PDF.

I have added to the site this morning two depositions that were part of the ordinary process in the Beatification and Canonization of St. Gaspar del Bufalo. Probably the more significant of the two is the Deposition of St. Vincent Pallotti. You may remember that Pallotti was a friend of Gaspar's, was present at his death and was the one who anointed him and gave him Viaticum.

The other deposition is from the helpers of St. Gaspar. The deposition of Vincenzo Severini, Giovanni Menicucci, and Bartolomeo Panzini at the processes for the canonization of St. Gaspar give us a rather human face for our saint by people who were very close to him.

Enjoy!

All of the Letters of St. Gaspar del Bufalo in English are now available on-line. Today I finished cleaning up the WordPerfect files and converting them to PDF, and uploaded letters 2751 through 3959.

RC tells me that the sidebar can not be amended for a while, so the link to St. Gaspar's letters will have to wait, but I was able to upload a file to that old site to redirect people.

Here, again, is the new site for the Letters and other writings of St. Gaspar del Bufalo.