The Precious Blood: a devotion to Jesus rich in graces
In the Bible and in the Old Testament the importance of the Blood is reiterated. In Leviticus 17,11 it is written "The life of a creature resides in blood" (Leviticus 17,11). Blood is therefore part of life and is a fundamental component of the living being. Another illuminated passage is Genesis 4: 9-8 "Then the Lord said to Cain:" Where is Abel your brother? " He replied, "I don't know. Am I my brother's keeper? » He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground! ”. If that blood wasn't life how could he cry out to God? The whole Old Testament is full of episodes relating to the theme of blood. God the Father commands not to shed blood, that is, not to shed it unnecessarily with murderers, not to drink it and not to eat animal meats that still contain residual blood; because blood is life, blood is sacred. (Deuteronomy 12,23:XNUMX).
In Sacred Scripture we speak of the Blood in two ways: Spilled Blood and Sprinkled Blood.
In Exodus 12:22 we find that the Israelites were commanded to take a bundle of hyssop and bathe it in the blood of the Lamb, then spray it on the jambs and lintel of their own door. So when the angel of death came that night, seeing the blood on those doors, he passed beyond their homes. Because the Israelites did not simply put the blood basin on
threshold? Because they did not leave the container outside, perhaps resting on some pedestal. Because that blood was a prefiguration of the Blood of Christ that was shed during the Passion. In fact we read in Hebrews 9: 22-23 "According to the law, in fact, almost all things are purified with blood and without bloodshed there is no forgiveness. It was therefore necessary that the symbols of heavenly realities be purified by such means; the heavenly realities then had to be with sacrifices greater than these ”.
Still from Sacred Scripture we can draw that after Moses had read the commandments, they replied, "We understand - and we will obey." They therefore accepted the covenant with the Lord. The covenant was sealed, ratified, as we mentioned in Hebrews chap. 9 through the sprinkling of blood on it. Moses tells us: "Taking the blood of the calves and goats with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, he sprinkled the book itself and all the people ..." The blood shed by the burnt offerings was in a basin. Moses took some of this blood and poured it out at the altar. Then he took a bundle of hyssop, immersed it in the basin and sprayed the twelve columns with blood (they represented the twelve tribes of Israel). He bathed the hyssop again and finally sprayed the people. Blood covered people and sealed the deal! The sprinkling act granted the Israelites full access to God with joy. In addition to forgiveness and remission of sins, it has the value of communion. And they were sanctified, cleansed - worthy of being in the presence of God. Then Moses, Nabad, Abihu and seventy of the elders went up the mountain to meet God. The Lord appeared to them, and they sat in the presence of God and with him they ate and drank. : “But he did not stretch out his hand against the leaders of the children of Israel; and they saw God, and ate and drank "(Exodus 24:11).
Shortly before these men had feared for their lives and shortly after, through the sprinkling of the blood that washed them from their sins they were able to eat and drink in the presence of God. This is also a prefiguration of that defined covenant that Jesus Christ sealed with all men to give eternal salvation.
By meditating on the Passion of Christ and participating in the Eucharist, each man finds his way back to the one covenant of love, the Eternal New Covenant signed through the outpouring of the Blood of Jesus Christ.
"You are worthy to take the book and open its seals, because you have been immolated and redeemed for God with your Blood, men of every tribe, language, people and nation" (Ap 5,6-9): here is the admirable vision of the Apocalypse in which the multitudes sing the Glory of God, recognizing the power of the most precious Blood of Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 1,17-19 we read "And if in prayer you call the Father the one who, without personal regard, judges each according to his works, behave with fear in the time of your pilgrimage. You know that not at the price of corruptible things, such as silver and gold, you were freed from your empty conduct inherited from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, like lamb without defects and without stain. "
The Blood of Christ is the greatest and perfect revelation of Trinitarian Love and its life-giving effusion is the source of the Church, which is continually reborn, holy and immaculate, feeding on the divine Blood and, through it, is redeemed for the sinful man to whom wealth, freedom, glory and salvation are given.
Spiritual life finds an irreplaceable food in the Blood of Christ, the true fulcrum of the heart, life and mission of the Church. Jesus himself, at the Last Supper, gives significant importance to the Blood, which is a symbol of the Redemption Mark 14,22-24 “While eating, Jesus took some bread; said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them and said, "Take, this is my body." Then, taking a cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, and everyone drank it. Jesus said, "This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is shed for many." .
Even St. Paul and St. Peter, as we have already mentioned, in their letters speak with devotion of the human Ransom from sin, which took place through the death of Jesus, who loved men so much until he shed his Precious Blood.
As the Word of God of the New Testament testifies, the prayers and the very ancient Liturgy, the devotion to the Precious Blood dates back to the very origins of Christianity itself. Other testimonies are the writings of the Fathers of the Church, among which Saint Augustine (354-430) of whom we quote these words: “Christ made the blood of his followers precious for which he had paid with his own blood. Consider therefore, o soul redeemed by the blood of the spotless lamb, how great is your worth! Then do not consider yourself of little value, if the Creator of the universe and yours esteems you enough to shed every day for you (in the Eucharist) the precious blood of his Only Begotten ".
In the following centuries and in particular from the Middle Ages, devotion to the Blood of Jesus took on more pronounced expressions with the accentuation of devotion to the Humanity of Christ, especially by Saint Bernard of Chiaravalle (1090-1153) and Saint Francis of Assisi ( 1182-1226) and their disciples. San Bonaventura said: "Precious treasure, incomparable are the stille of the Blood of Christ". "A single drop of this Precious Blood would be enough to save the world," said Thomas Aquinas, by virtue of the infinite merits that conferred on him the union with the divine Person of the Word. And it was a river that spread on the earth from Golgotha and that poured from the Heart opened by the spear of the Roman soldier to show us the ardor of his infinite Love.
After a short period of decline, relating to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, devotion finds its ancient splendor and fruitful vitality by S. Gaspare del Bufalo who from the Mystery of the Blood derives the wealth of holiness for himself and for the faithful , and the strength of an apostolate aimed at the renewal of the society of his time, gathering numerous Priests and Brothers in the "Congregation" he called "of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood".
New light and impulse will come to devotion from the Pontificate of John XXIII, in particular from his Apostolic Letter "Inde a primis", the first pontifical document with the sole purpose of promoting worship to the Precious Blood.
In our day, devotion has been greatly enriched by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council. The fervor of study that characterized him, favored a happy return to those sources, the Bible and the Liturgy, from which the same devotion arose and to which for a long time he referred to it as his most vital nourishment. The Council documents, in their key statements, explicitly mention the Mystery of the Blood: the Constitution on the Church alone recalls it 11 times!
Another interesting document is "The Redeemer of man", the encyclical letter of Pope John Paul II, which reminds us of the essential and fundamental place which occupies the mystery of the Redemption in the Christian faith.