“The month of July begins today, which popular tradition has dedicated to the contemplation of Christ’s Precious Blood, unfathomable mystery of love and mercy.
In today’s liturgy, the Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Galatians that “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5,1). This freedom has a high price: it is the life and blood of the Redeemer. Yes! Christ’s Blood is the price God paid to free humanity from the slavery of sin and death.
The Blood of Christ is the undeniable proof of the heavenly Father’s love for all men, without exception.
All this was well emphasized by Blessed John XXIII, who had a devotion to the Blood of the Lord from childhood, when he would hear the appropriate litany recited in his family. Once elected Pope, he wrote an Apostolic Letter to promote this devotion (Inde a primis, 30 June 1959), inviting the faithful to meditate on the infinite value of that Blood, “a single drop of which can save the whole world from every sin” (Hymn: Adoro Te devote).
May meditation on the sacrifice of the Lord, a pledge of hope and peace for the world, be an encouragement and an incentive for building peace, even where it seems almost unattainable.”
John Paul II
Angelus July 1, 2001
