July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
plus a Blessed Feast of the Visitation!
Join us in prayer this month as we offer up our prayers in reparation to his Sacred Heart from which flowed the last drops of His Precious Blood on the Cross.
O Precious Blood of Jesus, infinite price of sinful man's redemption, both drink and laver of our souls, Thou who does plead continually the cause of man before the throne of infinite mercy. From the depths of my heart I adore Thee, and so far as I am able I would requite Thee for the insults and outrages which Thou does continually receive from human beings, and especially from those who rashly dare to blaspheme Thee.
Who would not bless this Blood of infinite value? Who does not feel within himself the fire of the love of Jesus, who shed It all for us? What would be my fate, had I not been redeemed by this Divine Blood? Who has drawn it from the veins of my Savior, even to the last drop? Ah, this surely was the work of love.
O infinite love, which has given us this saving balm! O balm beyond all price, welling up from the fountain of infinite love! Grant that every heart and every tongue may be enabled to praise Thee, magnify Thee and give Thee thanks both now and forevermore.
+Amen
Begun by St. Bonaventure among the Franciscans in A.D. 1263, it became a universal Feast in 1389, during the papacy of Urban VI.
This Feast commemorates what is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary: Our Lady's visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, who was six months pregnant with St. John the Baptist at the time. At the end of the Archangel Gabriel's Annunciation to Our Lady that she will conceive, he tells her that her cousin, Elizabeth, an older woman thought barren, will also conceive. The story as told in the first chapter of Luke (verses 37-47 of this chapter form the Gospel reading for today), the words in italics being the prayer known as "The Magnificat":
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God.
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
And Mary rising up in those days, went into the hill country with haste into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.
And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Because he that is mighty, hath done great things to me; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him. He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy: As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.
And Mary abode with her about three months; and she returned to her own house. Now Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, and she brought forth a son.
It's interesting that this Feast should come after 1 the Feast of St. John the Baptist which we just celebrated eight days ago, but this date marks the end of the three month visit, which would have begun some time soon after the Annunciation (in the Eastern Churches, the Visitation is recalled on March 30). This July 2 date is also the day after the octave of the Baptist's birthday and helps explain why his birth was so important. The Catena Aurea attributes to a "Greek Expositor" the following words about St. John, as an infant in Elizabeth's womb, recognizing the Savior:
For the Prophet sees and hears more acutely than his mother, and salutes the chief of Prophets; but as he could not do this in words, he leaps in the womb, which was the greatest token of his joy. Who ever heard of leaping at a time previous to birth? Grace introduced things to which nature was a stranger. Shut up in the womb, the soldier acknowledged his Lord and King soon to be born, the womb’s covering being no obstacle to the mystical sight.
It was at the Visitation that John, along with his mother, were filled with the Holy Ghost, the cause of his being born without the stain of original sin. It is today that our Redeemer, Our Lady, and the one about whom Christ said "there hath not risen among them that are born of women a greater than John the Baptist" all came together -- the three pure ones all born without sin after the Fall (of course, Christ and His mother were also conceived without sin).1
In Polish folklore, during the Blessed Virgin's journey to visit Elizabeth, she ate berries she found along the way. In remembrance of this, it's customary that Polish pregnant women not eat berries until this date so that "Our Lady of Berries" would have enough and would petition God for them to grant them healthy children. Given this tradition, today is a day to enjoy berries.
The patron of Enna, Sicily is Our Lady of the Visitation (Madonna della Visitazione), and the festivities begin three days before the feast, on June 29, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. On the 29th, a procession is made from the Church of St. Peter (San Pietro) to the cathedral, where there's a statue of Our Lady that is kept hidden in a niche all year except for Easter, from Christmas to January 11 (in remembrance earthquake of 1693 in which the city was spared), and from September 8 to September 12, days on which we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, and the Most Holy Name of Mary. The niche is opened to reveal the statue, covered in jewels, and crowned with white gold. On the feast itself, there is Holy Mass followed by a great procession of the statue from the cathedral to the Church of Montesalvo, and along the way, guns salute Our Lady.
https://fisheaters.com/visitation.html