July is Dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus

Eternal Father,
I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, the merits, love and sufferings of His Sacred Heart, the tears and sorrows of Our Immaculate Mother, as the price of the favor I wish to obtain, if it is for Thy glory and my salvation. Amen.

A Time of Regeneration

The Blood that coursed through the veins of Christ was a part of that Sacred Humanity made possible by the maternity of Mary, whose parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne are honored this month. (July 26). Our Lord’s blood poured out on the Cross purchased our salvation, washed clean the robes of the martyrs, and gave birth to the Church as it flowed from his wounded side. The Precious Blood of Christ — now pulsing through his Mystical Body — continues its salvific work, preserving and purifying, repairing and providing nourishment for regeneration and renewal of its members.

July’s longer and warmer days also provide us with the opportunity for renewal, both interior and exterior. Schedules relax and pressures ease, inviting travel. But, whether we travel or not, like the missionary, Bl. Junipero Serra (July 1), we preach to others — by our conduct, our speech, even the clothes we wear. May we be modest in everything we do, imitating St. Maria Goretti, the young martyr for purity (July 6), and “preaching” Christ to everyone we meet.

The summer Readings of Ordinary Time remind us that our earthly pilgrimage is also a journey, a great adventure towards union with Christ, the Beginning and the End of our journey. Each Sunday with its Easter renewal becomes a mile marker along the way, linking where we have been with where we are going. May the Precious Blood of Jesus sustain us as we journey to our true home, with Mary and the angels as our companions on the way.

The Devotion to the Precious Blood

This devotion is one of the most ancient of pious Church practices. It is said that the Blessed Virgin venerated the Most Precious Blood of her infant Son on the day of His circumcision as she collected the first relics of His Precious Blood on a piece of cloth. On that momentous occasion she united her tears with that of the Word Incarnate on account of not so much of the sensible pain but of His supernatural sorrow for the hard-heartedness of mortals.

It was the first of seven blood-sheddings of Our Divine Savior, the rest being:
2. The Agony in the Garden
3. The Scourging at the Pillar
4. The Crowning with Thorns
5. The Way of the Cross
6. The Crucifixion
7. The Piercing of His Heart

In his book, The Precious Blood, Father Frederick William Faber, D.D., calls Saint Paul the Doctor of the Precious Blood owing to his evident fondness to preach on the subject in his epistles (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12). He recounts that the lives of saints are replete with devotion to the Precious Blood making special mention of Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Austin, Saint Gertrude and Saint Catherine of Sienna whom he considered the Prophetess of the Precious Blood for putting emphasis on it as the solution to the ills of her times.

Father Faber also remarks that the Precious Blood makes us appreciate more Christ’s redemption of mankind, His sacrifice and Passion. It also makes us comprehend the beautiful doctrine and the august realities of the Blessed Sacrament as we kneel in front of the tabernacle in humble adoration.

Over time the Church gave Her blessing to the devotion by approving societies like the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; enriching confraternities like that of Saint Nicholas in Carcere, in Rome, and that of the London Oratory; attaching indulgences to prayers and scapulars in honor of the Precious Blood; and instituting commemorative feasts of the Precious Blood, Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent and, since Pius IX, the first Sunday of July. [6]

Sadly, however, the feast was removed from the church calendar in 1969, the argument being that the cultus of the Precious Blood is included in the Mass and Divine Office of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Nevertheless, it is still laudable and salutary to continue to see the month of July as dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, just as Blessed Pope Pius IX intended it to be.[e all that can displease Thee or resist Thy holy will; let Thy pure love imprint Thee so deeply upon my heart, that I shall nevermore be able to forget Thee or to be separated from Thee; may I obtain from all Thy loving kindness the grace of having my name written in Thee, for in Thee I desire to place all my happiness and all my glory, living and dying in very bondage to Thee. Amen.
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia

To the Precious Blood of Jesus

O Precious Blood of Jesus, infinite price of sinful man’s redemption, both drink and laver of our souls, Thou who dost plead continually the cause of man before the throne of infinite mercy; from the depths of my heart, I adore Thee, and so far as I am able, I would requite Thee for the insults and outrages which Thou dost continually receive from human beings, and especially from those who rashly dare to blaspheme Thee. Who would not bless this Blood of infinite value? Who doth not feel within himself the fire and love of Jesus who shed it all for us? What would be my fate, had I not been redeemed by this divine Blood? Who hath drawn it from the veins of my Savior, even to the last drop? Ah, this surely was the work of love. O infinite love, grant that every heart and every tongue may be enabled to praise Thee, magnify Thee and give Thee thanks now and for evermore. Amen

For the Fruits of the Precious Blood

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast appointed Thy only-begotten Son to be the Redeemer of the world, and hast been pleased to be reconciled unto us by His Blood, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate with solemn worship the price of our salvation, that the power thereof may here on earth keep us from all things hurtful, and the fruit of the same may gladden us for ever hereafter in heaven. Through the same Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, who camest down from heaven to earth from the bosom of the Father, and didst shed Thy Precious Blood for the remission of our sins: we humbly beseech Thee, that in the day of judgment we may deserve to hear, standing at Thy right hand: “Come, ye blessed.” Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen.

Consecration to the Precious Blood

O Jesus, fairest of the children of men, Thou whom I see crushed beneath the weight of my sins, covered with wounds, Thy hands and feet pierced with nails, Thy side opened with a lance, I adore Thee and recognize Thee as my Lord and my God and as my beloved Redeemer. Pierced with grief at sight of the Blood flowing from Thy wounds for the redemption of souls, I feel irresistibly urged to consecrate myself to the worship of this regenerating Blood and, by an exemplary life, to atone for all the profanations of this Divine Blood and for those which It still receives daily in the veins of Thy Sacred Body present mystically on the altar. By this consecration which I beg Thee to accept, O my Savior, I desire to spend my whole life in proving to Thee my gratitude and my love by paying frequent homage to Thy Precious Blood and by propagating this devotion as far as is in my power. I desire every pulsation of my heart to be a renewal of this consecration, a constantly repeated act of love for this redeeming Blood, a perpetual offering of Its merits in behalf of sinners and all the souls dear to me, and a hymn of unceasing praise in union with that of the Saints and all the blessed in Heaven: “To the Lamb who redeemed us in His Blood, be honor and glory and benediction forever.”

O Mary, Mother of the Divine Redeemer, obtain for me the grace of adoring fervently throughout my life the Blood of thy Divine Son and of singing forever Its mercies in Heaven. Amen.

Consecration to the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ

Conscious, merciful Savior, of my nothingness and of Thy sublimity, I cast myself at Thy feet and thank Thee for the many proofs of Thy grace shown unto me, Thy ungrateful creature. I thank Thee especially for delivering me by Thy Precious Blood from the destructive power of Satan. In the presence of my dear Mother Mary, my guardian angel, my patron saint, and of the whole company of heaven, I dedicate myself voluntarily with a sincere heart, O dearest Jesus, to Thy Precious Blood, by which Thou hast redeemed the world from sin, death and hell. I promise Thee, with the help of Thy grace and to the utmost of my strength to stir up and foster devotion to Thy Precious Blood, the price of our redemption, so that Thy adorable Blood may be honored and glorified by all. In this way, I wish to make reparation for my disloyalty towards Thy Precious Blood of love, and to make satisfaction to Thee for the many profanations which men commit against that precious price of their salvation. O would that my own sins, my coldness, and all the acts of disrespect I have ever committed against Thee, O Holy Precious Blood, could be undone. Behold, O dearest Jesus, I offer to Thee the love, honor and adoration, which Thy most Holy Mother, Thy faithful disciples and all the saints have offered to Thy Precious Blood. I ask Thee to forget my earlier faithlessness and coldness, and to forgive all who offend Thee. Sprinkle me, O Divine Savior, and all men with Thy Precious Blood, so that we, O Crucified Love, may love Thee from now on with all our hearts, and worthily honor the price of our salvation. Amen.