The month of July is devoted to The Precious Blood of Jesus. This week we explore what it means that Christ shed His blood for us and why devotion to the Precious Blood is important.
1. In the Old Testament, we see a foreshadowing of the power of Jesus’s blood
o In the story of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt they were told to put the blood of an unblemished male lamb on their door posts. The Angel of Death passed over their houses and their first born sons were spared. (Exodus 12:13)
o Covenants were always sealed with a sacrifice and with blood
2. What is so special about the Precious Blood?
o “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
o Blood represents life – the fact that Jesus shed His blood for us means He gave His entire life.
o One single drop of Jesus’s blood would have been enough to save us, but He shed every single drop to show how serious sin is and how much He loves us.
3. Christ established a new covenant with us through His blood. We were in slavery to sin and death. Christ redeemed us and the price he paid for us was His very blood. He is the true lamb and when we are covered in His blood we are protected from evil.
o This covenant is renewed at every Mass and every time we go to confession, when we allow His Precious Blood to cleanse us of our sins once again.
“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.” ~St Augustine
“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.” ~St John Chrysostom.
“Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it.” ~From The Diary of St. Faustina