Precious Blood Gems (August)
August 15, 2023
August 1. What need, then, was there of leading a life of poverty, humiliation, and contempt, for thirty-three years, of suffering a cruel and shameful death on an infamous cross, and of shedding all your blood? I know well, answers Jesus Christ, that one drop of my blood, or a simple prayer, would be sufficient for the salvation of the world. But neither would be sufficient to show the love which I bear to men. St. Alphonsus Liguori
August 2. Souls enter heaven only in a robe washed white in the Blood of the Lamb. St. Peter Julian Eymard
August 3 The least drop of Our Lord's blood was of infinitely more value than we, and nevertheless, to make us more His own, He wished to shed it all. St. Francis de Sales
August 4. A Christian, created in the image of God, redeemed by the Blood of a God! St. John Vianney
August 5 O Mary, you are that garden enclosed, which contains the Giver of Life; God Himself is within you, with heaven and all creatures. The whole world is saved by the Blood received from you. Without you, O Mary, there would be no paradise for me; without you, there would be no God for me. St. Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi
August 6 Thou art not only God’s creature..., thou art man redeemed and sanctified, His adopted son, favored with a portion of that glory and blessedness which flows from Him everlastingly unto the Only-begotten. Thou art chosen to be His... Thou wast one of those for whom Christ offered up His last prayer, and sealed it with His precious blood. What a thought is this, a thought almost too great for our faith! St. John Henry Newman
August 7. Look down, O Lord, from Thy sanctuary, and from Heaven Thy dwelling-place on high, and behold this sacred Victim which our great High-Priest, Thy holy Child, our Lord Jesus, offers up to Thee for the sins of His brethren; and be appeased for the multitude of our transgressions. Behold the voice of the Blood of Jesus, our Brother, cries to Thee from the Cross. Give ear, O Lord! be appeased, O Lord! hearken, and do not tarry for Thine own sake, O my God, for Thy Name is invoked upon this city and upon Thy people; and deal with us according to Thy mercy. Amen. St. Cajetan
August 8
The providence, that governeth the world,
In depth of counsel by created ken
Unfathomable, to the end that she,
Who with loud cries was 'spous'd in precious blood,
Might keep her footing towards her well-belov'd,
Safe in herself and constant unto him,
Hath two ordain'd, who should on either hand
In chief escort her: one seraphic all
In fervency [i.e. Francis]; for wisdom upon earth,
The other splendour of cherubic light. [i.e. Dominic]. Dante Alighieri
August 9. All who want to be married to the Lamb must allow themselves to be fastened to the cross with him. Everyone marked by the blood of the Lamb is called to this, and that means all the baptized. But not everyone understands the call and follows it. There is a call to following more closely that resounds more urgently in the soul and demands a clear answer. The fountain from the heart of the Lamb has not dried up. We can wash our robes clean in it even today as the thief on Golgotha once did. Trusting in the atoning power of this holy fountain, we prostrate ourselves before the throne of the Lamb and answer his question: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68). Let us draw from the springs of salvation for ourselves and for the entire parched world. St. Teres Benedicta of the Cross/Edith Stein
August 10. Lawrence was a deacon of the church at Rome. There he ministered the sacred blood of Christ. There for the sake of Christ’s name he poured out his own blood. In his life he loved Jesus Christ. In his death he followed in his footsteps. Brothers and sisters, we too must imitate Christ if we truly love him. St. Augustine of Hippo
August 11. These excesses are necessary for redemption; without the gushing forth of the Blood of Jesus on the Cross there would be no Salvation. St. Clare of Assisi
August 12. The soul of the Savior knew us all by our name and our surname; but, above all, on the day of His Passion, when He offered His tears, His prayers, His blood, and His life for us all, He darted forth in particular for you these thoughts of love. St. Francis de Sales to “Theotima”
August 13. Pray also at the ninth hour a great prayer with great praise, imitating the souls of the righteous who do not lie, who glorify God who remembered his saints and sent his Word to them to enlighten them. For in that hour Christ was pierced in his side, pouring out water and blood, and the rest of the time of the day, he gave light until evening. This way he made the dawn of another day at the beginning of his sleep, fulfilling the type of his resurrection. St. Hippolytus of Rome
August 14. The Dispenser of the most precious Blood of Jesus, which has infinite value and that washes away such sins, is God’s mercy embodied in the Immaculate. With good reason, therefore, we invoke her as “Refuge of sinners,” of all sinners; even if their sins were most serious and most numerous, even if those sinners had the impression they no longer deserved any mercy. St. Maximilian Kolbe
August 15. The devotion to the Precious Blood clothes Mary with a new glory. It makes Mary magnify Jesus, and Jesus magnify Mary. It causes her individual mysteries to shine forth like stars, the Precious Blood forming the clearness of the purple night in which their peculiar brightness is more visible and more distinctive. Frederick Faber
August 16
Like a good and judicious conqueror, who does not disdain me, the least of your captives,
you did not destroy me, but renewed me, who am sustained by your blood, compassionate Lord.
For yours is salvation, from you is pardon, and to you is befitting glory in all things forever.
Amen. St. Gregory of Narek
you did not destroy me, but renewed me, who am sustained by your blood, compassionate Lord.
For yours is salvation, from you is pardon, and to you is befitting glory in all things forever.
Amen. St. Gregory of Narek
August 17. Drink Christ to drink the blood which redeemed you; drink Christ to drink his words: the Old Testament is his word; the New Testament is his word. Holy Scripture is drunk and swallowed when the power of the eternal Word penetrates the depths of the mind and the virtue of the soul. St. Ambrose of Milan
August 18. Can I remain inert when my action or lack of it has an eternal consequence for so many souls? “The charity of Christ urges us”, says St. Paul (2 Cor 5,14). To the extent that we can infer, salvation depends, in its last concrete application, upon the action of the apostle. It depends upon us then whether the Blood of Christ will be beneficial for those for whom it was shed. St. Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga
August 19. There are hearts so hard that, even if Jesus Himself were to come down from heaven to preach to them and they were to see Him covered with wounds and bathed in His blood, they would still not be converted. O my God, let us not be one of them, but give us the grace to open our ears to the voice of all the sacred wounds of Thy body and Thy Heart. St. John Eudes
August 20. Lead me, O God, on Your path, and I shall be holy. But if Your Blood does not intercede for me, I shall not be saved. St. Bernard of Clairvaux
August 21. Christ founded the Church, gaining it at the price of His blood, and made it the depositary of His doctrine and His laws, bestowing upon it at the same time an inexhaustible treasury of graces for the sanctification and salvation of men and women. Pope St. Pius X
August 22. Mary sits upon her throne to magnify the Precious Blood. Her power is used for the propagation of its empire. Her prayers dispense its grace. Her holiness, which enchants all heaven, is the monument and trophy of that victorious Blood. Frederick Faber
August 23. Remember, he who shed his blood for you forbids you to shed the blood of your neighbor. St. Philip Benizi
August 24. When Bartholomew was sent by our Lord to preach, as I suppose, he heard how our Lord said to him: “Go, my disciple, fill the vessel that is necessary and follow your Master, love your Lord, give your blood for his blood, and your flesh for his flesh, and suffer what he suffered.” St. Theodore the Studite
August 25 The poor should not be abandoned by society. After all, they comprise the majority in the Christian Republic and they have also been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and so much appreciated by his Majesty who said He had been sent to the world by his Eternal Father to teach them. St. Joseph Calasanz
August 26. We hope and we are certain in our hope, because God is omnipotent, because He wills all people to be saved, because Christ has redeemed us with His Precious Blood, and because He has died for us and for us has risen again; and finally, because His promises—the promises of a God—are infallible: “Heaven and earth shall pass, but My words shall not pass” (Matthew 24:35). Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene
August 27. We wish nothing else except his glory and the salvation of souls which cost his Blood; and therefore, let us hope firmly, for all our confidence lies in the merits of the Divine Redeemer who looks upon his spouse, the Holy Church, with tender love. St. Maria de Mattias
August 28 I was perishing, far away, immersed in my sins; You came for me to redeem me and You loved me so much that You shed Your Blood for me. You loved me, Lord, more than Yourself, for You willed to die for me. For so high a price, You brought me back from exile; You freed me from slavery, You drew me out of torments, gave me Your Name and marked me with Your Blood, so that I would always remember You and keep You in my heart. St. Augustine of Hippo
August 29. The Spirit had been given to the prophets; blood had been poured out by sinners. The Spirit had been poured out as a blessing, but blood had been poured out as a curse. John’s blood was the last to belong to this order. Henceforth the blood which would gush forth from the side of Jesus would be spirit and life. Cardinal Jean Danielou
August 30. Each time that we raise our eyes to the image of our crucified Saviour and look upon those wounds and that Blood, let us say to him with loving confidence: Vulnera tua, merita mea. “My merits, O Lord, consist only in those wounds which thou hast suffered for me.” Bl. Ildefonso Schuster
August 31 Who will not bless this Blood of infinite value? Who will not feel on fire with emotion toward Jesus who sheds this Blood? Who would I be if I had not been redeemed by this Divine Blood? Who has not drawn Blood from the veins of my Lord to the last drop? Ah! This was certainly love! Oh! Immense love, which has given us this most salutary balm! Oh! Priceless balm that flowed from the font of an immense love. Alas! Make all hearts and all tongues to adore you, praise you and give you thanks now and forever, and until the day of eternity. Francesco Albertini