BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD
WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD
JOHN 1:29
BACKGROUND
Devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus is as old as Christianity. The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.
Just as Eve, the mother of all life, whose name means Life, was taken from the side of Adam, the Church and all the life giving sacraments flow from the pierced side of Jesus.
In the first century, Pope St. Clement I wrote “Let us fix our gaze on the Blood of Christ and realize how truly precious it is; it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world.”
For centuries the Feast of Most Precious Blood was celebrated on July 1. But in 1969, Paul VI removed the feast day from the Roman Liturgical Calendar. His reasoning was is that the Most Precious Blood of Christ is already venerated in the solemnities of the Passion, the Feast of Corpus Christi, Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.” In today’s liturgy the entire month of July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. In some rites of the Church, July 1 is still celebrated as Feast of Most Precious Blood.
The Blood of Christ is the source of salvation for the world. God chose the sign of blood, because no other sign is so eloquent to express the supreme love of life given for others. This donation is repeated in every Eucharistic celebration, in which alongside the Body of Christ, His precious blood is made present; the Blood of the new and eternal Covenant, shed for all, for the redemption of sins.
SCRIPTURE
In the Bible, blood had a very significant meaning. Blood in the Old Testament was a key component in the system of atonement instituted by God. The lifeblood of a sacrificial animal offered in sacrifice represented the life of the individual making atonement.
The Bible regards blood as the symbol and source of life. Leviticus 17:14 states, “For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life…
God’s holiness and justice demand that sin be punished. The offering of an animal and even our own death are not sufficient sacrifices to pay for sin. Atonement for the infinite offense against God requires a perfect, spotless sacrifice.
Jesus Christ, the one perfect God-man, came to offer the pure, complete and everlasting sacrifice to make payment for our sin…..not by the blood of sacrificial animals, but by his own precious blood on the cross, Christ poured out his life in the ultimate atoning sacrifice for our sin and the sins of the world.
But when Christ came as high priest…he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption….
Hebrews Chapter 9
“for this is My blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28
In the scourging at the pillar, we see the Lord under raw strokes of the lash spurt out His divine Blood. Pilate displays the blood-covered Body to the crowds: Ecce homo (Behold the Man)! As we go through Jerusalem’s streets we follow the bloody footsteps to Golgotha. Precious blood trickles down the cross until a soldier opens the sacred side. Water and Blood flow from that side to wash us clean in the blood of the Lamb!
COMMENTARY
In my opinion, removing a feast as “precious” as this one from the Roman Liturgical Calendar may have had unintended consequences to lessen traditional devotions and thus deprive those traditional Catholics certain opportunities to reverence the body and blood of Christ.
The Eucharist, the Real Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ is a BIG DEAL at daily Mass. We can never be reminded too often of the Mystery of our Salvation! Our redemption flows from the pierced side of Jesus.
BLOOD OF CHRIST FALLING UPON THE EARTH,
HAVE MERCY ON US!
in must be the most dreadful thing in the universe, because it cost the living God, in human form, the shedding of His Blood. In order to die, the soul has to separate from the body. But for the Body to have the soul separate from the body, the body has to be deprived of its Blood.
In the very first letter of St. Peter, Vicar of Christ, Peter addressed the need for reverence for the “precious blood” of Christ, “realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ” I Peter 1:17-19.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, You became Man that you might suffer your Passion and Death even to the draining of your most precious blood so you might prove to us your love for us.
Protect us, dear Jesus. Strengthen our weak human wills so that we will not run away from the cross, but welcome every opportunity to shed our blood in spirit in union with your Precious Blood, so that, dying to ourselves in time, we might live with You in Eternity Amen
“GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD,
HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!