Dedicating July to the Precious Blood

I was not aware of this, but July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. It appears that there was a Feast of the Precious Blood prior to the 1969 calendar. At one time it was the first Sunday in July, at another time it was July 1. In 1969, the feast was combined with Corpus Christi, which now commemorates both the body and blood of the Lord.

Catholic Culture has a good article on this with some excellent links on the topic. The links include:

The Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood - I had not come across this chaplet before, but I think that this would be a very good devotion that I would like to take up. We have such wonderful devotions in the Church (such as the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, and the Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross) which allow us to contemplate significant moments in the life of Christ and how we can enter into those moments.

Litany of the Blood of Christ - In the past I did not much care for litanies; they seemed monotonous and mindless. It was not until I really began praying the Rosary in earnest, in understanding how sound and rhythm can initiate and enhance contemplation, did I begin to see the value of litanies. We used this litany at our parish's Corpus Christi procession.

Pope John XXIII's Document Promoting Devotion to the Precious Blood - There the Holy Father notes how when he was growing up, his family would recite the Litany of the Precious Blood every day in July. He makes a moving exhortation on the role of devotions in our faith life:

"Now among the cares of our pastoral office, venerable brethren, we are convinced that, second only to vigilance over sound doctrine, preference belongs to the proper surveillance and development of piety, in both its liturgical and private expressions."

That is a sobering and hopeful contrast to the World's usually contemptuous use of such terms as "pious devotion," intended to indicate either hypocrisy or naivete.

Pope John Paul II's Message to Those Devoted to the Precious Blood - There the Holy Father said: "How could we ever fail to recognize the value of every human being, when Christ shed his blood for each one without distinction?" This is an important reminder, in light of Pope Benedict XVI's Caritas in Veritate, that Christ's Precious Blood makes all human life precious, which speaks to how Catholics and all people should act as regards life issues such as abortion, contraception, in vitro fertilization, and embryonic stem cell research, as well as social justice issues such as hunger, economic opportunity, human labor, and poverty.

Here are some other interesting related entries at various sites:

Saint Louis Catholic (Latin version of the Litany of the Precious Blood)

Vultus Christi (Pope Benedict's comments on the Feast of the Precious Blood)

Vultus Christi (A beautiful prayer based on the Feast of the Precious Blood by Father Mark)

Maria Stein Center and Shrine of the Holy Relics (The Sisters of the Precious Blood have a retreat center and shrine with many relics in western Ohio)

Processing through Time and the Scriptures - John 4:31-38

I wanted to follow up on the 175th anniversary of the Sisters of the Precious Blood. I was praying using lectio divina or "divine reading," which I have recently taken up. Although I do it quite poorly, it is still of tremendous benefit to me. I was reading John 4:31-38:

Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has any one brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

So much is here. So many times in his gospel, John gives us insights into the depths of the mystery of the Eucharist as we contemplate food in the material and in the spiritual senses. Like the apostles, we are often stuck solely in the material, missing the spiritual and the communion of the material and the spiritual. (John Paul II and Christopher West are helping me to see more the communion of the material and the spiritual.) It helps me greatly to contemplate Jesus' words: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work." I need to "lift up my eyes" from the strictly material. I need to make his will my will.

I like, too, the reference here to the harvest. It echoes Matthew: "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38). The talk about one sowing and one reaping points to the procession of time that orders like the Sisters of the Precious Blood partake in. Earlier sisters sowed; later sisters reaped, and so it will continue as long as the order continues. And they can do so because their food is Christ; their will is God's will. And by so doing, they are accomplishing his work.

Processing through Time-175th Anniversary of the Sisters of the Precious Blood

It is beneficial to consider how we can conduct a kind of procession through time. We see this as the Sisters of the Precious Blood (CPPS) celebrate their 175th anniversary. They describe themselves this way:

We are an apostolic congregation rooted in Eucharistic prayer and motivated by the great gift of the Precious Blood of Jesus poured out for all.

The foundress of the Sisters of the Precious Blood was Mother Maria Anna Brunner:

She was a married woman, a mother of six children, a widow, and, at age 68, the foundress of a congregation of women religious.

Maria Anna had a deep love for the Eucharist and a great heart for the poor.

She had a special devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus and spent many hours in prayer and reflection. Her daily work of caring for orphans and feeding the hungry was built upon her prayer life.

Maria Anna’s dedication attracted other women to join her. Soon this little group became the nucleus of what was to become, in 1834, the Sisters of the Precious Blood.

Mother Maria Anna Brunner died in 1836, but her work continues. Today, on three continents, Sisters of the Precious Blood build on her vision, living their mission of Eucharistic prayer, simplicity, outreach to the poor and reconciliation.

For 175 years, the Sisters of the Precious Blood have been building on Mother Maria Anna Brunner's vision, following Jesus in the Eucharist, especially in his Precious Blood, through the years, decades, even centuries, as they process through time with their eyes fixed on Jesus. Their adoration takes them to the poor, to bring Jesus to them.

Let us pray that God will richly bless the Sisters of the Precious Blood during this 175th anniversary year, bringing them many new vocations. Fr. John Hardon, S.J. has written about the connection between the Eucharist and vocations, which you can find here.