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.
(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.