Scripture: Hebrews 9:11–15 & John 19:30–35
On this day, the Church sets before our eyes the mystery of the Pretiosissimi Sanguinis Domini Nostri Jesu Christi—the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This feast, rooted in the recognition that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22), is a call to contemplate not only the historical reality of Christ’s Passion but the eternal power of His redeeming love.
“He entered once for all into the Holy Place…” (Hebrews 9:12)
The Epistle to the Hebrews reveals Jesus as both High Priest and sacrificial victim. Unlike the Levitical priests who entered the earthly tabernacle repeatedly with the blood of goats and calves, Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary once for all by His own blood, “thus securing an eternal redemption.”
St. John Chrysostom, reflecting on this passage, declared:
“He offered not the blood of others but His own. For this is what especially shows the love of Christ—that when we were enemies, He died for us.” (Homilies on Hebrews, Homily 15)
This is the sublime mystery: the Blood of Christ is not merely symbolic—it is efficacious. It cleanses the conscience, not just the flesh, making those who receive it into a new creation.
“One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear…” (John 19:34)
St. John’s Gospel, filled with signs and symbols, pauses with solemnity on this moment: water and blood flowed from the side of the crucified Christ. This is no incidental wound. As the Fathers affirm, it is a theophany—God revealing the birth of His Church.
St. Augustine proclaims:
“The Evangelist uses a careful choice of words. He does not say that the soldier struck or wounded His side, or anything else, but that he opened it. So that there, the door of life might be opened, from which the sacraments of the Church flowed.” (Tractate on John, 120.2)
The blood that flowed signifies the Eucharist; the water, Baptism. Together, they are the sacraments that incorporate us into Christ and sustain His mystical Body. In that moment, as Christ declared Consummatum est—”It is finished”—the old covenant passed, and the new covenant in His blood was born.
The Blood That Speaks
St. Paul tells us that Christ’s blood “speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel” (Heb 12:24). Where Abel’s blood cried out for justice, Christ’s blood cries out for mercy. The early Church Fathers, such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, saw in the Precious Blood the pledge of eternal life:
“I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ… and for drink I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible.” (Letter to the Romans, 7)
To honor the Precious Blood, then, is not mere sentiment. It is to stand in awe of the mercy poured out on the Cross and to recognize that every drop was a deliberate act of divine love.
Living the Mystery
The Feast of the Most Precious Blood calls us to live under the shadow of the Cross. We are to draw near to Christ’s wounds, as St. Bernard urged:
“Pass through His wounds to His heart. It is through the wounds of Christ that I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” (Sermo de Passione Domini)
May we not receive this blood in vain. Let it change us. Let it consecrate us. Let it make us living tabernacles of the One who poured Himself out usque ad effusionem sanguinis—unto the shedding of His very blood.
Precious Blood of Jesus, save us.