Sunday, July 01, 2007

July is the Month of the Precious Blood

Today is July 1. Last night I bought a Maryknoll Missal from 1965 from my parish's "Attic Treasures" sale. In it, I learned that, in the old calendar, July first was the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is what the missal says about the feast:

This feast was instituted for and celebrated by the Society of the Precious Blood, an Italian missionary institute, in the early 19th century. In 1849 Pope Pius IX extended the feast to the entire church. But devotion to the Precious Blood is as old as Christianity. The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood. It is a symbol of mankind's redemption. But we, too, must share in suffering; as St. Paul tells Timothy, "All who want to live a life of piety in Christ Jesus will have to suffer persecution." (II Timothy 2:12)

2 comments:

xxxxxx said...

Thats wonderful, I love it!

...I wish they hadn't changed the old calendar.
I just bought this Saints and Feast Days book, billed as a Lives of the Saints, with a calendar and ways to celebrate.
Just was I was looking for!

Staying in Balance said...

I know! When I found out that July 1 used to be the Feast of the Most Precious Blood, I was sad that it was now just the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. :(

I'm glad your book had ways to celebrate. That's awesome!

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"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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