The Blood of Christ
A Challenging Spirituality

I. Why do we adore the Blood of Christ?

1.  Because the “Blood of Christ” stands for the whole person of Jesus Christ.
We adore him as our Redeemer and Saviour, who redeemed us not “with silver or gold,” but rather with his “Precious Blood.” Cf. I Peter 1:18f.

2.  Because God’s love becomes visible through the Blood of Christ.
Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us becomes especially clear by his shedding of Blood: the extent of his love, how much we mean to him, how great is his concern for us … (Apoc. 1:5).

3.  Because the Blood of Christ simultaneously encompasses his death and resurrection, thus the core of the entire Good News, the Paschal mystery.
“Blood” is a strong poetic symbol – simultaneously representing death and life, defeat and victory, pain and joy, devotion and fulfilment, sacrifice and triumph …. The Blood of Christ thus expresses the entire Paschal mystery (Easter and Passover). That is also shown, for example, by the glorified wounds of Jesus on the paschal candle.

4.  Because God’s omnipotence becomes visible in the Blood of Christ.
In the Bible the symbol of blood is used to emphasize God’s unique omnipotence: The blood of the lamb protects people from the angel of death (Ex. 12:23), seals a new and eternal Covenant with God (Ex. 24:8, Jer. 31:31, Luke 22:20) and frees us from the guilt of sin (Lev. 1-7, Matt. 26:27f., Eph. 1:7, I John 1:7…).

5.  Because Jesus entrusted us not only with his body, but also with his blood in the celebration of the Eucharist.
While the Body of Christ points more to nourishment for us, the Blood of Christ especially emphasizes the sacrifice. Thus, through these signs at Holy Mass, we can participate in the redeeming sacrifice on Golgotha with greater awareness.

6.  Because the Blood of Christ is spiritually present in the wounds of humanity.
To say it in a picturesque way, Jesus filled up the sins and suffering of all people with his redeeming love on the cross, and so defeated the “ruler of the world”. Cf. John 14:30. When we encounter with true love the people who are suffering and laden with sin, we unite ourselves inwardly to the Blood of Christ and can thus participate in the work of redemption (Col. 1:24).

7.  Because we want to respond to the love of the Father together with Jesus and Mary.
Therefore we consciously receive the love spilt out on the cross and give it to others, for the Father longs so much for the homecoming of his lost, yet so beloved children, who also very much hunger for true love.

II. How do we adore the Blood of Christ?

1.  We hold traces of the Blood of Christ in honour.
Numerous places still have relics of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ with traces of the Precious Blood (e.g. Mantova, Roma, Torino, Manoppello, Weingarten, Częstochowa…). Also in the traces of blood from numerous Eucharistic miracles (e.g. Heiligenblut, Walldürn, Legnica, Orvieto, Lanciano, Ferrara…) we adore the love spilt out on the cross.

2.  We cherish Holy Communion in both forms.
We thus like to receive the divine Blood by immersing the consecrated host in the Eucharistic chalice. It invites us to participate in the redeeming work of Christ more consciously and it reminds us of his spiritual presence in all the other sacraments and in the Word of God.

3.  We especially draw on liturgical and official prayers to the glory of the Blood of Christ,
e.g., the Day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ the Lord (Feast of Corpus Christi), the Votive Mass of the Precious Blood, particular Masses of religious communities, the Liturgy of the Hours, the official Litany of the Precious Blood. We are also enriched by the spirituality of numerous saints, pilgrimage shrines, and communities devoted to the Blood of Christ.

4.  We also receive inspiration from the traditional “Seven-fold Shedding of the Blood of Jesus.”
The contemplation of these stations in Jesus’s path of suffering yields impulses for our spiritual life and the stages of our own spiritual path. They are a school for true love and cheerful willingness to sacrifice.

5.  We offer ourselves up to the Heavenly Father – together with the Blood of Christ, which mystically flows to us out of the wounds of humanity.
United with Mary under the cross, we collect the drops of Christ’s redeeming Blood in our hearts like a “living chalice.” We make this Blood, which flows from the wounds of humanity, into a gift for our Heavenly Father, as atonement for the sins of all humanity, for the dying, the deceased in purgatory and for the renewal of the Church in the Holy Spirit.

6.  We deepen and propagate the spirituality of the Blood of Christ in every way and every place possible.
The prayer and testimony of our own lives are the most important means for achieving this. However we will also use studies, publications, devotions, retreats, spiritual exercises, ministering to pilgrims … according to our possibilities.

7.  We are open to cooperation with other communities, movements and people,
who would also like to live and work under the sign of the Blood of Christ. Whenever possible, we support all people who try to place the Paschal mystery into the center of their faith.

III. What makes the adoration of the Blood of Christ so relevant for today?

1.  The Blood of Christ gives us strength for repentance and courage for the radicality of the Gospel. 
We live at a time when more and more people run headlong into disaster due to their boundless pursuit of fun and comfort. A genuine adoration of the Blood of Christ enables us to swim against the stream: Repent, and believe in the Gospel! (Mark 1:15).

2.  The Blood of Christ reminds us that there is no happiness, no freedom, and no redemption without the cross.
Even numerous Christians try to bypass the cross in order to experience an immediate Easter. With a false understanding of love, they want to become happy without Golgotha and to make others happy. However there is no true love in this world without pain and sacrifice, without the “love spilt out on the cross”: … unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24).

3.  By the Blood of Christ every marriage, family and community can become a genuine school for love.
We have been created and born to find true happiness by loving God above all else and helping as many of our fellow human beings as possible to become truly happy. Cheerful willingness to sacrifice is that primary Christian competence which in the strength of the Blood of Christ helps us to lovingly bring about unity in every environment and every social gathering – even through our own wounds.

4.  The Blood of Christ gives us deliverance and protection from the powers of darkness.
Whoever places himself under the protection of the Blood of Christ repels the assaults of the evil one in the name and omnipotence of Jesus, who redeemed us with his Precious Blood (Apoc. 12:11). Neither magical nor other spiritualistic formulas, nor gestures nor “means of healing,” but rather unity with the Redeemer defeats the “ruler of this world” (John 14:30) and the followers of Satan. Humility, which in a way serves as a chalice for the Blood of Christ, is thus the best and most effective exorcism! Humility is the fundamental attitude of Mary, who lets herself be entirely filled up with the love of God as a “living chalice.”

5.   Blood-of-Christ adoration gives wisdom and strength in the struggle against the enemies of the Church.
The homosexual and gender lobbies, Freemasonry and other ideologies which present themselves as friends and benefactors of humanity, but are in reality enemies of life – all of them are powerless in the presence of the love which flows down from Golgotha and can be experienced in the celebration of the Eucharist. Therefore, we often encourage ourselves and one another with the biblical experience: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST IS STRONGER (cf. Hebr. 12:24).

6.  The Blood of Christ connects us to the martyrs and awakens the readiness for martyrdom.
Sound spirituality of the Blood of Christ takes measure of those who gave their lives with the Crucified One for the truth. In the awareness of Tertullian’s saying that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” this form of devotion also prepares us for periods of persecution of the Church, in which a total sacrifice is required – to the point of martyrdom.

7.  Consecration to the Blood of Christ fills us with a healing love.
In the Blood of Christ the healing love of God flows upon us: Jesus gives his divine life so that we can gain life as Children of God, and the wounds in our body, soul and spirit become healed. Those who immerse, so to speak, their weaknesses, faults, illnesses, and injuries into the Blood of Christ and unite them with the sacrifice of the Redeemer – they will gain salvation, internal and (God willing) external healing, and beyond that, holiness.

Father Winfried M. Wermter C.O.

YOUR PATH IS THE PATH OF JESUS

“You did not choose him, rather my Son chose you. HE gathered you under the sign of his Blood. The meaning of your calling is embodied in this name. It means an unceasing uniting of oneself with my Son, who spills out his Blood for the life of the world.

Just as the sacrifice of my Son unceasingly takes place in the Eucharist, so should your lives also be an unceasing Eucharist, thus an unceasing offering (sacrifice) of the daily renunciations, difficulties, not-understanding, … into the hands of the FATHER. How precious are the small, hidden, sacrifices offered up in love! However, only love gives them an eternal value.
Your community is a sign of hope for these times, and at the same time it is a sign of contradiction. While the world thinks about fun and pleasantries – you should persevere in austerity and self-denial. While so many people choose compromises with the world – you should be faithful and radical!”

(Our Lady in an internal locution with N.N.)

Blood of Christ Worship

Levels of Worship of the Blood of Christ

In the worship of the Blood of Christ there are three dimensions or levels, which mutually condition and aid each other:

1. Gratitude for God's love, which took our sins upon the cross and paid our debt.

2. The compassionate and consoling love for God, who suffers more from our sins than we do.

3. Union with the merciful love of God, which longs for the return of the prodigal son.

Worship of the Blood of Christ

The worship of the Blood of Christ always makes us more ready to atone with Christ for the sins of the world. It gives us a deep and intimate participation with the suffering of our Redeemer and His Apostles, most especially the martyrs. Above all, it opens us to the longing of our heavenly Father who did not spare His only beloved Son, in order to save His strayed children of the world.

We not only worship the Blood of Christ in the form of Devotions, but more especially through searching for and fulfilling the will of God. We are aware, that we are brother, sister and mother to Jesus Christ, when we do the will of God (Mark 3:35). In order to belong to the "true family of Jesus" (Mathew 12:46-50) and be "Blood related" with Him, we must above all and in all, listen to the Word of God and act according to it. (Luke 8:21).

Through the Blood of His sacrifice on the cross, Jesus showed us the measure of that love, which allows us to share in the death and resurrection of Christ. In our personal, communal and apostolic life, we experience the power and protection of the divine Blood of Christ, which leads us spiritually from losing to finding, and from defeat to victory, in every new situation. Every suffering, every want and even every mistake, can lead through the mystery of faith, to a deep participation in the liberating power of our Saviour's Blood.

Prayer in the power of the Blood of Christ

Our personal and communal prayer gain special power and meaning through the Blood of Christ. For that reason, we worship daily the "Price of our Salvation" and offer it, also for others, in the spirit of atonement for the sins of the whole world. Our prayer should be an expression of gratitude and praise, in which we bring confidently to God, the intentions of the entire world.
Through our prayer, we dedicate ourselves repeatedly to the Lord God, we strengthen and renew our spiritual family and support the mission of the entire Church.

Unity in the Blood of Christ

Our communal life allows us to share in the Paschal Mystery. We want to take on the difficulties and burdens of the Blood of Christ, which are present in every suffering, in order to experience the risen Christ among us. For He proclaimed, that He is there where two or three are gathered in His name. (Mathew 18:20).

Apostleship of the Blood of Christ

We wish always to live more consciously in the spirituality of the Blood of Christ and spread it throughout the Church, while being committed to the service of reconciliation, healing and deliverance (2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Luke 9:1-6; Ephesians 6:10-20) as well as through the Prayer of Intercession.