Novena for the Purification of Our Lady.
O ETERNAL God! Whose adorable Majesty was so imperfectly honored by the sacrifices of the Old Law, we rejoice, from the bottom of our hearts, in the homage Thou didst receive from Thy beloved Son, on His presentation in the Temple. Sacrifice and sin-offering had ceased to please Thee ; they were no longer agreeable in Thine eyes — when, behold! He came, in Whom from eternity Thou wert well pleased, to offer Thee that Victim of adoration which Thine infinite Majesty expected — that Sacrifice of expiation which Thy justice required — that Victim of thanksgivings which Thy benefits deserved — and that Host of impetration to which Thy mercy had reserved the most precious favors. But, Lord, the glorious advantage of presenting Thee a Victim worthy of Thy greatness was not confined to that propitious moment. From the rising to the setting of the sun, there is now offered to Thy name a clean oblation. In all parts of the earth, at this moment, that holy, innocent, undented oblation is presented to Thee, which must always ascend before Thee as an odor of sweetness. Oh, permit us, then, to unite an unreserved oblation of our whole being, and a fervent renewal of our vows, to the first oblation which Jesus offered in the Temple, and also to all the Masses now going on throughout the world. We most humbly beg of Thee to accept this Victim, infinitely greater than any favors we could ask, as a powerful motive for granting us the intentions of this novena. O most happy Virgin! from whom the Almighty first received a Victim worthy of Himself, let us not be excluded from a share in the graces which, through thee, have been granted to the world. Since we are so often in possession of that same sacred Victim, which thou didst present to God, obtain for us a share in that ardent love which consumed thy pure soul — in that spirit of sacrifice which
