In Catholic calendars, July is the month in which we honor the Precious Blood of Jesus. In 1849, Pope Pius IX instituted July 1st as the feast day for the Precious Blood; however, the feast was combined with the was feast of Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ) in 1969. Despite the move, July remains the month of devotion to the Precious Blood.
"Devotion to the Precious Blood is not a spiritual option, it is a spiritual obligation, and that not only for priests, but for every follower of Christ.... Devotion, as we know, is a composite of three elements: It is first- veneration, it is secondly- invocation, and it is thirdly- imitation. In other words, devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain, is first of all to be veneration on our part, which is a composite of knowledge, love and adoration. We are to study to come to a deeper understanding of what those two casual words, Precious Blood, really mean."
- from The Precious Blood of Christ by Fr. John A Hardon, SJ
To facilitate our understanding of the words "Precious Blood", we will offer additional reflections, prayers, quotes and resources during this month. We invite you into deeper veneration, invocation and imitation of the Precious Blood of Jesus, which saved us from our sins and is a model of true love.
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