The Precious Blood of the Lamb … Friday, January 4

Lamb of God (Photo credit: Nick in exsilio)

A Rosary Meditation … The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, the Crucifixion. “And when they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Him.” All things culminate here. Without this sacrifice there is nothing else. Without Calvary the Lord’s Supper, the Mass, wouldn’t be a sacrifice in and of themselves. Calvary reaches back to the meal in the Upper Room, it reaches forward to the Mass offered daily around the world for nearly 2,000 years now. This is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8b. This had always been God’s plan. A place called the Skull is very fitting. The death’s-head. Of course we all know that this isn’t the end of the story. Pity those who think it is. Sincerely. The Romans and the Jews of that day thought they’d put a stop to all this foolishness, this pretender to the throne of David. And there are people today who think the same thing. For them He was dead and buried and still is. And that’s a pity. Because in believing this, and in living this belief, they are in fact crucifying Him all over again. But we’ll pray for better things, ask for better attitudes, for both them and us. This sacrifice was planned from eternity. As terrible as the shedding of His Blood was there is no remission of sins without it, Hebrews 9:22, and the proof of this is that the life, yours and mine and even those that don’t believe, is in the Blood, Leviticus 17:14 and John 6:54. But our life, the life in the Blood, doesn’t come from bulls or goats, Hebrews 10:4. Only His suffices, Revelation 1:5b. Pray this Mystery, the Crucifixion, and ask for two things. That we who believe might have a deeper appreciation for what He does for us, and that those who don’t believe be brought to a proper understanding.

Today … St. Hermes. Martyr with Gaius and Aggaeus. There is some debate and doubt about the exact site of their martyrdom. They were once revered as martyrs of Bologna, Italy, but there is little evidence that they were martyred there. The town of Bologna, in Asia Minor or Bononia, on the Danube are more likely. Ever notice how, with some saints, there’s a bit of confusion over certain details? Legends grow up around them and the facts get blurred. And, bottom line, it doesn’t really matter. That they were, and are, saints is whats important. And whats even more important is the Life’s Blood of any saint. Because their life is not their own. It’s His.

Devotion 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 of the 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, which has given us this saving balm! O balm beyond all price, welling up from the fountain of infinite love, grant that every heart and every tongue may be enabled to praise Thee, magnify Thee and give Thee thanks both now and for evermore.
Amen.