Blood of Christ, Stream of Mercy, Save Us

July 1st Readings Reflection: Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s Gospel recounts two main incidents. The first is when the Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant and gave us the beautiful words that we pray before receiving Holy Communion: “Lord, I am not worthy to have [Y]ou enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” Jesus commended the centurion for his faith and healed the servant “that very hour.” Jesus then healed St. Peter’s mother-in-law. Probably inspired by the amazing occurrences of the day, many people flocked to Jesus that evening, asking Him to heal their sick and drive out demons from those who were possessed. Our Gospel reading ends by quoting the Prophet Isaias: “He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

July is the Month of the Precious Blood because, from 1849 until 1969, July 1 marked the Feast of the Precious Blood. While our current liturgical calendar no longer observes this feast, it is retained in the traditional calendar, and today’s Gospel reading seems to correlate with this traditional feast.

The Litany of the Precious Blood uses the title “Stream of Mercy” to describe Christ’s Precious Blood. During the thirty-three years that Christ lived on earth, He shed His Blood several times. The first was just seven days after His Nativity, when He was circumcised in accordance with the Law. The next recorded time that Jesus shed His Blood was during the Agony in the Garden, when His sweat turned to blood as He bore the weight of all sins ever to be committed in time. He shed His Blood again during the Scourging at the Pillar and the Crowning of Thorns. Finally, as He died on the Cross, Our Lord offered His Precious Blood in the most supreme sacrifice, giving His life for the sins of the world: “[B]y [H]is bruises we are healed” (Is 53:5 DRB).

While Christ shed His Blood upon the Cross once for all, His sacrifice is eternal, since He Himself—the Victim—is eternal. Every single time a priest offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ offers His Precious Blood to the Father again. The Mass is often called the unbloody sacrifice in contrast with the bloody sacrifice of Calvary. Christ shed His Blood once on the Cross, but He continues to offer It until the end of time through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which ordinary bread and wine become His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Jesus is just as truly, physically present in the Holy Eucharist as He was during His Passion, albeit hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. For this reason, St. Paul wrote, “The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is… the communion of the blood of Christ” (1Cor 10:16).

Seated at the right hand of the Father, Our Lord continues to exercise His authority over heaven and earth. Like the centurion in today’s Gospel, we are not worthy that He should enter under our roof. However, we know that He has the power to heal us through His Most Precious Blood poured forth out of pure love for us. In closing, I would like to quote the words of Pope St. Clement I from the first century A.D.:

“Let us fix our gaze on the Blood of Christ and realize how truly precious It is, seeing that It was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world.”

Precious Blood of Christ, cleanse us!