DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR JULY  2007.

+Thoughts for the Month in which we worship the Precious Blood of Our Holy Redeemer+

Glory be to Jesus,Who in bitter pains poured for me the life blood from his sacred veins.
Grace and life eternal in that blood I find;blest be His compassion,infinitely kind.
Blest through endless ages be the precious stream,which from endless torment doth the world redeem.
There the fainting spirit drinks of life her fill;there as in a fountain leaves herself at will.
Abel’s blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies;but the blood of Jesus for our pardon cries.
Oft as earth exulting wafts its praise on high,Hell with horror trembles,Heaven is filled with joy.
Lift ye then your voices;swell the mighty flood. Louder still and louder praise the Precious Blood.

(an 18th century hymn,translated by Edward Caswall)

Bishop Anthony writes: As I suggested last month,we can be truly instructed in our Catholic Faith by imbibing the piety of very many of our well-loved hymns. “Glory be to Jesus” ,the hymn above,is a case in point,each line resonant with Catholic instruction and showing us the truth that Christ’s precious blood was shed for us in agony on Calvary. The jewish people of old considered the ritual sprinkling of the blood of goats and calves to be a propitiation for their sins and faults. But,as Saint Paul tells us in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “The Holy Spirit meant us to see that no way of access to the true sanctuary lay open to us,as long as the former tabernacle maintained its standing.” The jewish temple ceremonies and  observances were “…instituted to hold their own until better times should come.” It is Christ’s own blood,not that of animals,which has ransomed our souls – a ransom that lasts for ever. “Shall not the blood of Christ who offered Himself,through the Holy Spirit,as a victim unblemished in God’s sight,
purify our consciences,and set them free from lifeless observances,to serve the living God?”[Hebrews 9]
In fact the ninth Chapter of Hebrews is a complete treatise on the saving power of Christ’s Precious Blood by his death on the Cross. As Saint Paul puts it: “He has been revealed once for all,at the moment when history reached its fulfillment,annulling our sin by His sacrifice.” Cardinal Manning assures us that whenever we go to Confession (or for that matter are truly sorry for our sins) it is the Precious Blood of Jesus that absolves us. He speaks of absolution as “the application of the Precious Blood to souls that are truly penitent.” And of course by a devout,frequent reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion, our souls are washed clean and we partake of Christ’s healing as we continue our spiritual journey towards eternal life.