I. The love of sacrifice marks the first act of the life of our Redeemer, and consequently the whole life of his Blessed Mother. Forty days have scarcely elapsed from his birth, and the Son and His Mother have accomplished two great sacrifices.

   Jesus after eight days offers his Father his first Blood on the day of Circumcision; and Mary, after the forty days prescribed by the Law, offers her first-begotten Son of God.

   On the day of Circumcision, the name of the Child was called Jesus, that is Saviour, which was called by the angel before he was conceived. What a humiliating ceremony! Jesus, the Holy of Holies is confounded with sinners!  and he receives on himself the mark of the faith that Abraham had in him, as a manifestation of his true humanity and an example of obedience and humility, very contrary to our pride. My soul, He has thus compelled thee to spiritual circumcision, viz to the cutting of all he had and deliberated thoughts of thy spirit, of all the disorderly and voluntary affections of thy heart, of that greediness of always speaking about thyself and censuring thy neighbor.

   Oh Jesus, Thou sheddest thy Blood to save me, and I will not suffer anything for my salvation? Thou hastenest so much to shed it and shall I still delay to give thee my heart? Oh, Joseph!, Oh Mary!, You alone on earth know the price of this divine Blood. What a wound it was to your Hearth when you saw it dropping!

   Oh, Jesus, strong and powerful name, the only whereby men can be salved, at the invocation of which God grants every grace; name that opened Heaven, shut hell, chained the demon, threw own idols and destroyed idolatry; pure and holy name come from Heaven through an Angel, and given by Mary and Joseph, virgin Spouses; Oh amiable and sweet name, sweeten my pains, strengthen me in my misfortunes and comfort me at the hour of my death by the hope of Paradise. May the sweetest name of Jesus be always in my heart and on my lips!

 

   II. And the time of Mary's purification being come, according to the law of Moses, they carried Jesus to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law: Every first-born male shall be consecrated to the Lord. Observe, my soul, Mary's obedience. She is the Mother of God, and always a virgin and she is not subject to this humiliating law, because is different from other Mothers in everything. But in this Mystery, she generously accomplishes three great sacrifices.

   First, the sacrifice of her honor. She sacrifices in men's eyes her virginity, of which she had been so jealous in the eyes of Angels, and before God, so that she was ready to give up the honor of being God's Mother, rather than cease being a virgin. She is holy in God's eyes, she is all purity: that is enough for her; human judgments do not trouble her. Oh, how different we are! Hateful in God's eyes, we wish to appear pure in men's eyes. Worthy of hell, we desire that everyone may honor and distinguish us. Woe to him who dares do us an injury... we would at once revenge it; and the frequent duels that happen for trifling motives, or, as the world says, for an affair of honor, clearly show us how great was Mary's sacrifice in giving up this idol of the world, honor.

   Second sacrifice, to show herself poor. According to the law, the mother was obliged to offer a lamb and a turtle; the poor women presented two turtle doves or two young pigeons. Mary, the Queen of Heaven and earth the Creator's Mother, is not ashamed to appear poor in the eyes of the world and in the Lord's house. Ah! She knew that the poor are the outcast of society, and that all men and women endeavor by their clothes to appear rich, even when they are no so! Even in the house of the Lord the rich have the best place! Alas!, just in this holy place we often show our vanity with greater ostentation, with greater finery! The aversion to appear poor in the world is so great, that we even neglect the divine Sacrifice of the Mass, and the other obligatory public religious services, only because we have not suitable clothes! What a rigorous account we shall give of the scandals we lay by our pompous clothes, that are an insult to the misery of the hungry poor?

   Consider then my soul, the importance of this sacrifice accomplished by Mary against the other idol of the world which is riches.

   Third sacrifice, the greatest, unspeakable and priceless, was to offer her only-begotten Son to death for us sinners. Who can thoroughly understand the value of so high a sacrifice? Mary and Joseph support this Child in their arms to satisfy their love and share their happiness: they together carry him into the second court of the temple to offer him to the Lord. -Here is, Oh, Father, must then Mary say, here is your Son and mine; I offer him to you in thanksgiving because you have given him to me and to men; I offer him to you to appease your justice and make you merciful to mankind...

   Oh, how many graces the divine Mother merited us through Jesus Christ in this supreme offering! What a spectacle this oblation was for Heaven! Then God received in his Temple an offering worthy of Him and equal to Himself!

   By the price of five silver sicles Jesus Christ is redeemed, He who was to redeem us from hell by the price of all his Blood, that was to be shed from the five Wound of his innocent Body!... My soul, present thyself spiritually before the heavenly Father in union with Mary, offer with her and with Jesus all the thoughts of thy mind and all the affections of thy heart to thy most high Creator.

 

   III. The just Simeon looked at that heavenly spectacle and believed the revelation of the Holy Ghost. He sees the Child, recognizes him for the true God, and adores him inwardly. Then he takes him into his arms, presses him to his bosom, and shows the transports of his joy and gratitude by glorifying God. Alas! why have I not this Simeon's quick faith, I who shall his morning have the happiness to embrace the same Jesus more closely, and to possess him more absolutely in Holy Communion?

   Consider, my soul, how Simeon blesses Mary, and prophecies her her sorrows and the death of Jesus: And thy own soul a sword shall pierce. Mary must see her Son's Heart transfixed with a spear, and her sword of sorrow... Oh great God! Was it not sufficient for Mary to be destined for his cruel martyrdom without having it announced to her thirty-three years before?

   Nourish, holy Virgin, this dear Son, carefully; thy anguish shall grow with him; thy martyrdom shall last as long as his life; nay it will increase every day, in proportion as this tender Lamb approaches the time of his sacrifice. He is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many, and for a sign which shall be contradicted. Ah, if my life could be passed with thine in retirement, in sorrow, in tears, in the remembrance of my Saviour's suffering! From this day thou deservest the title of Queen of Martyrs, because thou overcamest them all by thy sacrifice. They offered their life, but thou offeredst the life of thy Only-begotten Son, that thou lovedst and esteemedst by far more than thy own life. The sacrifice was momentary for them; for thee it lasted as long as thy life, because thou offeredst him to the Everlasting Father every moment, remembering the future sufferings of thy Son.

   The Virgin revealed to St. Bridget, that this sorrow foretold by Simeon, never left her heart till her death. For this day, says St. Bernanrd, She began to die while living, by wearing fixed on her heart a sorrow more cruel that death. Nevertheless, She accepted that sorrowful announcement with heroic strength and resignation to the will of God. She became from this day, says St. Augustine, the Restorer of mankind; and according to St. Ambrose, the Mother of all faithfull; and as St. Epiphane calls her, the Redeemer of Slaves: for her will and her Son's was one: to save us.

   Oh, Queen of Martyrs, ocean of sorrows, do not forsake me when my strength and virtue are failing under he burden of suffering. Obtain for me from God the strength and virtue of suffering with that peace, resignation, and love, that is adorable and deserves, the troubles and pains that he destines for me. Oh! let to the Wounds of Blood of thy dearly beloved Son be useless to my soul. My most pure Mother, save me and obtain Paradise for me. Give me strength, that I may truly begin to-day to offer God an acceptable sacrifice of all my words, thoughts, desires, pleasures, actions and passions. May the example of thy dolors comfort me in the pains of life; and may the example of thy unmeasurable sacrifice animate me to the sacrifice of my predominant passion.   Oh, great Saint, foster Father of Jesus and my Father, St. Joseph, thy heart also was pierced from this day till the end of thy life: be my particular guide in the ways of God, my protector during my life, my support at the hour of my death. So be it.