The present month of July is lovingly dedicated by the Church to the Precious Blood of Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. July represents for us a golden opportunity to delve deeper into the mystery of that sublime love with which the Lord loved us on the Cross.
To save us from sin, Christ paid with his life, his very Most Precious Blood, which he generously poured out on the cross. Hence, the Blood of Christ, in itself, shows that highest price he had to pay to ransom us from that abhorrent tyranny of sin and death. Only by his Most Precious Blood that Christ could obtain for us the salvation we need and which lasts eternally. Our very dependence on Christ’s Blood also means that we rely on his unfathomable mercy.
This great devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus clearly brings to our minds the powerful words of consecration we hear every single day when we are present at Mass. For the wine we priests say: Drink of it, all of you: this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.
Saintly contributions concerning the reflection of the Most Precious Blood of Christ is really impressive. I would like first to start with the contribution of saints that are not yet canonized but we know that they are with the Lord Jesus in Heaven. A classic example of what I am saying is to be found in the homily delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, City of Westminster, on Saturday 18 September 2010. In this homily Pope Benedict shows us that the Blood of Christ is the essential pipeline for the Church’s life. He said:
The outpouring of Christ’s blood is the source of the Church’s life. Saint John, as we know, sees in the water and blood which flowed from our Lord’s body the wellspring of that divine life which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit and communicated to us in the sacraments (Jn 19:34; cf. 1 Jn 1:7; 5:6-7). The Letter to the Hebrews draws out, we might say, the liturgical implications of this mystery. Jesus, by his suffering and death, his self-oblation in the eternal Spirit, has become our high priest and “the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb 9:15). These words echo our Lord’s own words at the Last Supper, when he instituted the Eucharist as the sacrament of his body, given up for us, and his blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant shed for the forgiveness of sins (cf. Mk 14:24; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:20).
Saint Catherine of Siena depicts Christ’s Blood as an Ocean of Divine Mercy to be flowed upon us. Hence, at realizing the immensity of such a grace she ardently prays: Precious Blood, Ocean of Divine Mercy: Flow upon us! Precious Blood, Most pure Offering: Procure us every Grace! Precious Blood, Hope and Refuge of sinners: Atone for us! Precious Blood, Delight of holy souls: Draw us! Amen.
When worthily received, the Blood of Christ casts away demons and invites God and his angels to come to our aid. Saint John Chrysostom says: This blood, when worthily received, drives away demons and puts them at a distance from us, and even summons to us angels and the Lord of angels. This blood, poured out in abundance, has washed the whole world clean. This is the price of the world; by it Christ purchased the Church.
The price of Christ’s Blood is simply priceless. Saint Mary Magdalen de Pazzi asserts: Every time a creature offers up this Blood by which he was redeemed, he offers a gift of infinite worth, which can be equaled by no other! Moreover, the Blood of Christ becomes the ultimate source of Christ’s living within us really and truly. Hence, Saint Maximilian Kolbe states: You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine, Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support. What miracles! Who would have ever imagined such!
Christ’s Blood is the pool of our purification. Saint Ephraem the Syrians puts it so well when he said: O Lord, we cannot go to the pool of Siloe to which you sent the blind man. But we have the chalice of Your Precious Blood, filled with life and light. The purer we are, the more we receive. The Blood of Christ gives us the full dignity of God’s children. Saint Augustine tells us: Don’t hold yourselves cheap, seeing that the creator of all things and of you estimates your value so high, so dear, that he pours out for you every day the most precious blood of his only-begotten Son.
With the reflection of Saint Gaspar del Bufalo, the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, we are reminded that Christ’s Blood cleanses the souls and sanctifies them. This is precisely echoed in what we find in the Letter of the Hebrews when it says: So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood (Heb 13:12). Saint Gaspar says: We must let it be known how the Blood of Christ cleanses the souls and sanctifies them, particularly by means of the sacraments.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, in satisfaction for my sins, in supplication for the holy souls in Purgatory and for the needs of Holy Church [especially for the soul of (Name)]. Amen.
