Just as June is the month of the Sacred Heart of JESUS, July is the month of the Precious Blood of JESUS. The Precious Blood is much more than a mere symbol. It is the real, lifegiving Blood He shed for us in His Passion – the Blood He shed when He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He was scourged, when He was crowned with thorns, when the nails went through His hands and feet, and when the centurion pierced His side with a lance. And this wasn’t just human blood. It was divine Blood, because it was united to the Person of the Son of God. So every drop is of an infinite value. As St Peter tells us, “You were ransomed … not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the Precious Blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

In the Old Testament, God instituted blood sacrifice as a temporary and symbolic means of restoring the relationship between sinful mankind and Himself. When an animal was sacrificed, its blood was offered in place of the sinner’s own life, reminding the people that sin has consequences and has to be atoned for. But these sacrifices, although pleasing to God, were imperfect, and could never truly atone for sin or wipe it out. The Blood of JESUS, however, is the fulfilment of the Old Testament sacrifices. His Blood, being divine and infinitely pure, not only covers sin, but completely removes it.

The tradition of dedicating July to the Precious Blood goes back to the 19^th Century. Blessed Pope Pius IX, in 1849, during the First Italian War for Independence, created a universal Feast to the Precious Blood to beg God’s mercy, and to bring an end to the war and peace to Rome. The war soon ended. The Feast of the Precious Blood, until 1970, was celebrated on 1st July.

Devotion to the Precious Blood of JESUS is very powerful. As well as being the price of our redemption:

1. It cleanses us from sin. The Precious Blood cleanses our souls in Confession restoring us to grace (should we have lost it), nourishes us in Holy Communion, and protects us from evil. When you receive absolution from the priest in Confession, think of the Blood of JESUS washing you clean.

2. The Precious Blood is feared by demons. In many exorcisms, invoking the Precious Blood has brought liberation, because Satan has no power over the Blood that defeated him on Calvary.

3. We receive the Precious Blood in Holy Communion. In the Holy Eucharist, JESUS is fully present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Host and in the Chalice. So even if we receive the Host alone or the Chalice alone in Holy Communion, we receive His Body AND His Blood. This is the doctrine of concomitance, meaning that the full Christ is present in either form.

Let us invoke the Precious Blood daily, especially during this month of July. Ask for the Precious Blood to cover you and your loved ones. You will find copies of the Litany of the Precious Blood at the back of the church. “Precious Blood of JESUS, price of our salvation, save us!”

Fr Paul Gillham, IC