The Peace Offering was one of the chief sacrifices of the Old Law. It was an offering of gratitude for blessings received or of petition for blessings desired. So Jesus offered Himself upon the Cross, not only to obtain for us the blessings of eternal life, but also to render thanks to God for His mercy to man and make to Him the only possible return worthy of His Divine Majesty.

The blood of the heifer sacrificed was shed as a necessary part of the sacrifice. "The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall pour the blood round about the altar" (Lev. i, II). There is no mark of our gratitude to God like willingness to suffer for Him. The blood is, as it were, the life, and the shedding of it corresponds, in the body, to the sacrifice of our will in the soul, which is the noblest sacrifice that man can make to God. Do I sacrifice my will to God's or is self-will still strong within me?

Yhe blood was shed, moreover, as a means of obtaining fresh favors. Those who are anxious to gain great things from God, must make some sacrifice for His sake, and those who are most powerful with Him are those who give up their will to His. Christ in His Sacred Humanity is all-powerful with God, because in the head of the book it is written of Him, that He should fulfil the will of God and He was content to do it. Do I deserve such influence with Him?