In the month of May we honor Mary; October, the most Holy Rosary. In the month of June we honor and adore the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. November, we pray in a very special way for our beloved deceased who have passed from this life to the next, from time into eternity. The month of July, unknown to many followers of Christ, is the month in which we honor in a special way the most Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
CALLED TO HONOR THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS. As Catholics we are called in a very special way to honor and to praise the Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for many reasons. One of the foremost reasons for the call to praise the Precious Blood of Jesus is of the greatest importance—the whole of humanity, as well as each one of us in a very special and individual way, have been saved by the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. St. Peter expresses this truth succinctly. “You were saved not by gold or silver, or by the blood of calves or bulls, but by the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (1 Pt. 1:18-19)
AN IMPORTANT REMINDER: THE PRICE OF OUR REDEMPTION. This being the case, we should all call to mind frequently who we are, where we are heading, and who came to save us. God gave us life—both natural and supernatural. Jesus came to save us by shedding every drop of His Precious Blood for us, especially in all of the gruesome and gory details of His Passion. He suffered the shedding of His Precious Blood for you, as well as me, as if we were the only person who ever lived. How great is the love of Jesus for you and me. As Saint Paul reminds us: “He loved me and gave His life up for me.” (Gal. 2:20) How much, in our turn, should we express our gratitude and love for the Lord Jesus Christ and His most Precious Blood.
Therefore, we would like to encourage all to express this heartfelt gratitude to Jesus for the immense love He has for us by offering ten different ways in which we can meditate upon the most Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Constantly we should remind ourselves of the solemn but sober truth: I was saved by the shedding of the Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! How much Jesus truly loves me and the salvation of my immortal soul!
TEN WAYS TO HONOR THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST.
1. THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. Become the Guardian Angel present in the Garden of Olives. The Apostles fall asleep more than once, but the Guardian Angel comes to comfort and console Jesus. Your turn now: become the Guardian Angel to console the suffering Jesus and to wipe the Blood He sweats from His brow.
2. THE SCOURGING. Review the scene in The Passion of the Christ when Jesus is scourged brutally. Accompany the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Magdalene in witnessing this bitter and cruel torture. Then with Our Lady of Sorrows and the Magdalene take the towels given to them by Claudia, the wife of Pontius Pilate, and gently wipe up the Precious Blood of Jesus from the pavement.
3. THE CROWNING WITH THORNS. Continuing with the Passion of Jesus, accompany Jesus that Thursday night into the early hours of Good Friday and be present when the cruel men weave a crown of thorns and violently press this mock-crown of a King on the Precious Head, brow and forehead of Jesus. The sharp thorns pierce and penetrate His Sacred Head, thereby causing streams and rivulets of Blood to pour down His Sacred Face to the ground. Be with the Lord Jesus to console Him and thank Him for shedding His Precious Blood as the price of your redemption.
4. CARRYING OF THE CROSS AND THE BLOODSHED OF JESUS. According to the Mellifluous Doctor, Saint Bernard, one of the most excruciating pains and sufferings of Jesus in all of His Sacred Passion is when Jesus is carrying the cross and falls under the weight of the cross. The suffering is this: the weight of the cross digs into the shoulder of Jesus, thereby lacerating it, and this happens, according the Tradition of the Stations of the Cross three times—possibly more! Every fall results in an agony of pain penetrating his Sacred Shoulder and running through His entire Body.
5. THE STRIPPING OF JESUS’ GARMENTS. Upon arriving at the top of Calvary, the soldiers mercilessly torment Jesus physically, emotionally, and morally by roughly ripping off his garments. By doing this, the wounds that Jesus suffered in the Scourging a few hours earlier are opened anew thereby causing unspeakable pain. This Jesus suffers to repair for the sins against the virtue of modesty and chastity.
6. THE CRUCIFIXION. Jesus’ agony and suffering reaches its climax and peak at the crucial moment of His crucifixion. Strive with all of the energy of your heart, mind and soul to contemplate the Crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. Imagine the nails piercing, one by one, His Sacred Hands and then His Feet. Contemplate His Precious Blood pouring forth in streams and falling into the ground. All this was done for love of you and me. How much Jesus truly loves you!
7. JESUS ON THE CROSS AND MARY AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. Now as Jesus hangs on the cross in agony, for those three agonizing hours Our Lady of Sorrows is standing at the foot of the cross, and the whole time the Precious Blood of Jesus is running down the cross, constantly dripping then falling into the ground. Be there and console the Lord Jesus and His Mother.
8. THE PIERCING OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS. Even after Jesus dies on the cross and breathes forth His spirit to the Father, He is still giving. The soldier lifts up the lance and violently thrusts it into the side of Jesus piercing His Sacred Heart. Blood and water come gushing forth—the price of our Redemption. Also, in the piercing of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church is born and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist portrayed symbolically and mystically!
9. THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST. Now 2000 years later, what happened on Calvary becomes truly present every time the Catholic priest celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In the solemn moment of Consecration, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus becomes truly present. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the fruits of the Sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary are renewed. Enter more fully into Mass and strive with all of the fiber of your being to remember that the Precious Blood of Jesus is truly present.
10. HOLY COMMUNION: MARY AND LOVE. In conclusion, strive to receive Holy Communion which is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ with great faith, fervor, devotion, humility, confidence and overflowing love. However, of great importance: receive Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity with great love through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Indeed, it was Mary, the Immaculate One, who gave Jesus His Humanity—His Body and Blood. Beg Mary that the reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus will transform you into a saint. In the words of Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)
