The Most Precious Blood of Jesus.
Within the formation of the human being within the womb of one’s mother, the heart begins the process of growth through the gift of blood. Blood is the carrier of life. Blood, also, carries within it the sin of our first parents and for this reason the Creator wishing to bring man back to His Loving Heart established a plan of rescue. This plan of re-bonding sinful man to his Creator is summarized in the word: Religion. It is the act of God which takes on the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of that sin that tore us from the presence of God. From the very beginning God manifested His Divine Love by offering the first mass. He took a naked man and woman and by the shedding of the blood of a lamb He clothed them. This act would continue down the ages until the Precious Blood of the Lamb of God would definitively conquer the effects of that original sin. That Precious Blood which we honor this Sunday has three unique qualities for our meditation. Christ’s Blood is a Ransom; It is an Antidote; It is a Power.
With the fall of man there was nothing Adam or Eve could do to repair the breach which sin caused. God would have to ransom man by paying the infinite debt Himself. Hence He established the manner in which the payment might take place: through the shedding of blood. Hebrews 9:22 says it all: “Without the shedding of Blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” The price of our salvation is the Blood of the Lamb. You and I cover ourselves in this Blood when through sincere confessions Christ’s Blood goes to the Father as the payment for our pride, greed, lust, sloth, etc. What a wondrous gift this is that you and I are purchased by the blood of the Lamb of God and offered to the Father through the cleansing wrought by His Blood poured out on Calvary. Yes, truly the Blood is the Price of our Salvation. But that is not all.
Our Lord’s Precious Blood is the antidote to our sin. Once I was in Texas dry land on a four wheeler with a boy and his father. The boy saw something on a rock and went to investigate. A rattler was disturbed and struck the boy. In pain the boy went directly to his father who carried with him the antidote to the snake bite. After administering the antidote the boy’s body was able to ward off the effects of the snake bite. Just so the Blood of the Lamb is given to each of us to destroy the effects of the sin which the evil snake places in us through his deceits. This great antidote is there for each of us but if we do not invoke that Blood and accepts its healing power then the poison of sin will consume and kill us. Thank God He has given us this antidote in the Precious Blood of Jesus.
Finally, this Precious Blood is the Power to conquer the world, the flesh and the devil. Wherever the Blood of the Lamb is invoked the evil one must flee. The invocation of the Precious Blood can wipe out all demonic thoughts, all desires for the pleasure of the world and the fleeting desires of the flesh. This Precious Blood is so powerful that Longinus’ spear caused the last drops of Blood and Water, the source of sacramental life, to exit the Body of Christ. In that moment the centurion was convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. No mere man could give us his blood as a power against the world. Only the Son of Man, the Lamb of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity could shed the Blood that would give us such power over the powers that threaten our eternal life. Now I ask you one thing: from whom did the Son of God receive this Blood?
That is correct…from the womb of His Mother, Mary. Unique in all history is a blood type which has only female chromosomes. You and I have blood indicating mother and father’s cooperation in the formation of our physical life. Jesus has only a mother and she is the spouse of the Holy Ghost Who overshadowed her and formed the child within her womb. What a awesome mystery this Blood speaks to us. In this Blood the two hearts of forever bound together. Hence there is only one act of re-bonding; God has done it; it involved the shedding of Blood; and it was perfectly realized on Calvary. May God help us treasure this Precious Blood and apply it to all our thoughts, words and actions.
In the hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Fr. Richard Voigt, S.D.B.
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