The Feast of The Most Precious Blood

Something odd happened to me today. Last week as I was looking ahead to this week's liturgy, and noted that on most days I would be celebrating the feasts of martyrs and would therefore be wearing red vestments, and would have red tabernacle curtains and ambo hangings already in situ, I decided today - Friday - I would celebrate a votive Mass of The Precious Blood. As I was preparing for Mass I began to wonder what the date of the old feast was. I have discovered that it was today, July 1st.

I suppose I have always had a devotion to The Precious Blood going back into my primary days when I was taught by Passionist nuns. It always seemed to me that removing the feast, or combining it with Corpus Christi, was a mistake. The powerful symbolism of blood is somehow hidden now, and we need it back so that we can really talk about the Sacrifice of Christ in a proper manner. It is wonderful that laity are now able to receive from the chalice, but they need to stop calling it "wine". Even very good Catholics do this, and it's hard to get them out of the habit. I encourage people to use the title, "Precious Blood" which perfectly describes the sacramental miracle. I believe a return to a devotion in honour of The Precious Blood may have the effect of bringing us closer to the person of Jesus. After all, the giving of blood is a very personal thing (as blood donors know), and THIS Blood is given for "you" and "me".