NOTE: According to the traditional liturgical calendar, today the Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood is celebrated. We will therefore hear the Gospel reading designated for this day.
Jn 19:30-35
When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth—that you also may believe.
On the Solemnity of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, celebrated on July 1 according to the traditional calendar, we turn our gaze and hearts once again to the unforgettable event at Calvary, which is made present day by day in the sacrifice of the Holy Mass. Though we can never fully comprehend it, we can marvel at and adore the love revealed to us on the cross.
Could there possibly be a greater love? Certainly not!
By contemplating it from the perspective of love, we can understand the event of the cross as deeply as possible and enter intimately into the mystery of God’s love. The cross is the path the heavenly Father chose, moved by His love for us. While it was the means to free humanity from the chains of guilt, it was also the clearest manifestation of the depth of God’s love for us. The very fact that He descended from the glory of heaven to earth and took on our human condition is already overwhelming. The coming of the Son of God into the world—even knowing that humanity would reject, persecute, and crucify Him—surpasses anything we could ever imagine.
If we ask ourselves why God undertook all this, we cannot overlook love. Why did You do this, beloved God? Why did You take on so much suffering? He has already given us the answer: Love compelled Him to do it! God wanted to save mankind, not leave it at the mercy of Satan. He did not want people to be deprived of His love and lose communion with Him forever.
But this love entailed great suffering. In the Garden of Gethsemane, we see how our Lord Jesus Christ once again accepts the suffering He would have to endure for the sake of humanity and for their salvation. Sacred Scripture is realistic, and it benefits us to be aware of this. We should not assume that simply because we have chosen to follow the Lord, we can accept all suffering with a smile. In Gethsemane, Jesus asked the Father three times that, if possible, the cup might pass from Him without His having to drink it (Mt 26:39–44). However, He immediately submitted His will to that of the Father who sent Him.
Jesus’ “yes” to the Father’s will—which enabled Him to walk the path of the cross to the very end—is immeasurable. This “yes” sprang from the deepest source: love for the Father. At the same time, the Father’s love is revealed to us—the love that sent His own Son for the salvation of the world. For us, this is an example of how to bear the weight of a cross: by saying “yes” to the Father’s will. Then He will send His angels to comfort us (cf. Lk 22:43).
Contemplating Jesus’ “yes” can awaken gratitude in our hearts and give us the strength to follow the One who shed His Precious Blood for us. We have the grace to receive the sacraments of the Church and to allow ourselves to be continually sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. This blood has the power to cleanse us of our sins because we understand that the blood of Christ is His redeeming love poured out upon us to free us from every stain on our souls. Today, with a great feast, the Church reminds us of this and leads us back to the origin of our Redemption, awakening our gratitude and showing us the infinite value of the Savior’s blood.
The epistle that the Church has chosen for today reads as follows: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. (…) Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.” (Heb. 9:11-12. 15)
Just as the angel of death passed over the houses of the Israelites and did not kill their firstborn when he found the doorposts smeared with the blood of the lamb (Exodus 12:7), so too will the angel of death pass over those whom he finds covered with the blood of the Lamb of God.