My dear Brothers and Sisters,

The life of the Catholic Church is so rich that every month is dedicated to a particular mystery of our faith. The month of July is traditionally dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. During this month the Church invites us to contemplate the infinite price that our Lord Jesus Christ paid for our redemption.

In the Old Testament, we see that God spared all those homes that were marked with the blood of the Passover lamb in Egypt. In the fullness of time, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, shed His Precious Blood for the forgiveness of our sins and the salvation of the world.

In Sacred Scripture St. Peter reminds us: “You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish.” (1Peter 1:18-19)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Christ’s sacrifice is unique and all-sufficient:

“The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice… because in this divine sacrifice, which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the Cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner.”
(CCC- 1367)

The Catechism also reminds us that Christ’s sacrifice accomplished our redemption once and for all:

“By his obedience unto death, Jesus accomplished the substitution of the suffering Servant, who makes himself ‘an offering for sin,’ when ‘he bore the sin of many,’ and who ‘shall make many to be accounted righteous,’ for ‘he shall bear their iniquities.” (CCC 615)

Dear brothers and sisters, every celebration of the Holy Eucharist makes present the one saving sacrifice of Christ. When we receive Holy Communion, we participate in the Body and Blood of our Lord, the source and summit of the Christian life.

The Church has long fostered devotion to the Precious Blood. Pope St. John XXIII, in his 1960 Apostolic Letter Inde a Primis, encouraged the faithful to cultivate this devotion, recognizing the Precious Blood as a profound reminder of Christ’s immeasurable love and the price of our redemption.

Among the saints who deeply contemplated the Passion of Christ was St. Bridget of Sweden, a 14th-century wife, mother, mystic, and religious founder. Through her prayers and meditations, she invited the faithful to meditate on the wounds of Our Lord Jesus and the great love revealed through His Most Precious Blood. Her devotion reminds us that the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is not only the price of our redemption but also the greatest sign of God’s mercy poured out for the salvation of the world.

In one of her beautiful prayers, traditionally known as the Twelfth Prayer of St. Bridget, she writes:

“O Jesus, Mirror of Truth, Symbol of Unity, Bond of Charity, remember the multitude of wounds with which You were covered from head to foot, torn and reddened by the shedding of Your Most Precious Blood. O great and universal pain which You suffered in Your virginal flesh for love of us! Sweetest Jesus, what is there that You could have done for us that You have not done?”

As we enter the month of July, I humbly encourage you to take time to meditate on the sacrifice of Our Lord and participate fully and actively in the Mass. I also encourage you to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a preparation for the Eucharist. Pray with gratitude for the Blood that was poured out for each one of us “for the forgiveness of sins”. (Matthew 26:28)

May this month renew in each of us a deeper appreciation for the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the price of our redemption. Let us confidently entrust ourselves and our families to the protection of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus, reverence this great gift with grateful hearts.

May the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus cover us, protect us, and defend us always!
Entrusting each one of you to the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that He may make you saints!

+Fr. Gabriel Barrera.