The Mystery of the Blood of Christ (In the writings of St. Catherine of Siena) God is the highest and eternal good, and He cannot will other than our good; it is His will that we be made holy in Him, and everything that He does or that He permits is directed toward this end. And if we were to doubt this, I assure you that we could remove all doubt by looking at the Blood of the humble and immaculate Lamb, wounded, filled with pain, and afflicted with thirst on the cross. This shows us that the great and eternal Father loves us inestimably, to the point of giving the Word for us His Life, driven by love to the infamous death of the cross. So you see that the Blood of Christ destroys all doubt, if there were to be doubt that God might will other than our good. (L 13) What then do we need? We need the Blood of Christ. In his blood we will find the firm hope that will remove from us every servile fear. We will find that living faith which will make us know and experience that God wills naught but our good. Because in the Blood of Christ we see the ineffable love which God has for us – more than anything else the Blood of Christ manifests the love and charity of God – we feel drawn to love Him in return with all our heart and soul and strength. (L 299) The soul, gazing into the depth of the charity of God, understands the He who is the highest and eternal Good, out of pure love has created us and redeemed us in the Blood of His Son. With this same love He ordains all: tribulation and consolations. The blood which you see poured out with so much fire of love manifests to us that this is the truth. (Dialogue Chap. 138) Let Him who wills drink of the Chalice of the Blood of Christ. Here only is the thirst of man satisfied. If a man possessed the whole world it would not satisfy him, because he is greater than all these things and something less than himself could never satisfy him, but only the Blood of Christ! For in the blood of Christ is found the eternal Godhead – infinite Deity greater than the man. The desire of man can be satisfied only with the fire of divine charity. Hasten! That the memory receive that which the intellect knows of divine charity and you will find yourself clothed with the fire of the Blood of the Son of God. (L 146) Our self-will always generates trouble and bitterness, but who has immersed his will in the Blood of Christ, he is in perfect peace. (L359) I write to you in His Precious Blood with the desire to see you filled with the remembrance of the Blood of Christ, and the eye of your intellect open to the fire of divine charity manifested in the Blood of Christ. Then your will and your heart will be filled and satiated with love. The three powers of our soul- memory, intellect and will, are united, as the Lord said: “where two or three are gathered in My name, I am there in the midst of them”. Gather together, then, these three powers of the soul, and go to the well-spring of Christ’s Blood that the vessels of your memory be filled. (L 375) Love the Blood of Christ! Drink deeply of the Chalice of this gentle Lamb, that the fortress of your soul be strong. (L 36) he has come as our Captain, without weapons, His hand nailed to the cross. He has defeated our enemies. With his Blood He encourages us to fight like men without the slightest fear. (L 169) Drink and drink again of the Blood of Christ that as one wholly in love you may run into battle and combat manfully. (L 293) His Blood is not without fire. Rather, it was poured out with the fire of love. In this glorious Blood you will begin to love the love of God; you will be made strong and patient. Nothing shall disturb you because you have seen in the light of Faith that God wants only our sanctification and for this end he wills or permits all that occurs in our life. The soul, immersed in Christ’s Blood, in nothing seeks self; seeks neither time nor place nor its own way, but only the will of God. How good it is, then, to drink deeply of this precious Blood by continuous remembrance, for great is the benefit which follows. To this good I invite you. (L 381) My soul inebriate by the Blood of Christ, loses all thought of self, of self-love, of servile fear; seeks no glory except the cross of Christ Crucified. All the powers of the soul are occupied with the Blood of Christ. By means of this Blood divine love is found, and love of self cast out. Thus, it is that I want that you and I be gently inebriated with the Blood of Christ Crucified, so that all which is bitter seems sweet and heavy burdens light; from thorns and trials we draw out roses and peace and quiet. ( L25) Therefore, run – let us run together – a faithful Christians in the love of this Blood. Like men who have drunken too much wine, we have become drunken from the Blood of Christ, burned and consumed in divine, tender, charity, made one in Christ. Like a drunken man who has no thought of himself but only of the wine he has taken and has yet to take, drink deeply, deeply of the Blood of Christ Crucified. Do not permit yourself to die of thirst; do not drink only a little but drink deep and long until you have become totally forgetful of self. (L 29) So well does the Blood of Christ inebriate the soul, that all thought of self is lost, nothing remains… neither time nor place, nor consolation, nor tribulation, nor self-will, nor self-choosing, but all is submitted to the Will of God found in the Blood of Christ. (L 124) The Son of God is that Blood which warms, casting out any chill, enriching the voice of him who drinks of this Chalice, giving joy to the soul and to the heart. For this Blood was poured out with the fire of divine charity, and so much does it inflame a man his old self is cast out. (L 208) I tell you: drink deeply, deeply of the Blood of Christ! Let It be your only nourishment! (L 208) Immerse yourself in the Blood of Christ Crucified; cleanse yourself in His Blood; deeply drink, and become as one drunken; clothe yourself with His Blood; repent and rejoice in His Blood; let your weakness and your blindness be lost in the Blood of the immaculate Lamb. In the light of Christ’s Blood, run as a manly soldier in search of the love of God. (L 333) Bear the armor of true charity covered with the red garment of the Blood of Christ Crucified. Let all men see this Blood; and never be ashamed of the Blood of Christ. ( L 128) Bear witness to the Blood of Christ openly before all men in good and holy works. Do not behave like so many foolish people who embarrassed to give witness to the Blood of Christ before the world, and to own themselves servants of Christ, unwilling to be seen clothed in the Blood of Christ. Oh! The confusion of the world! which is ashamed to remember Christ and His Blood – by which they were redeemed with so much fire of love – and they feel not ashamed of their iniquity! (L 128) Wage a gentle and holy warfare against evil. The more we remember the gentle Savior, the more we will be animated to wage an even stronger combat, seeing that because of sin our Father died. Just as son is filled with anger against the enemy who has slain his Father, so the soul, seeing the Blood of His Creator, feels a horror for the enemy who has slain him. Thus I want you to do. And in order that you may combat well, I want you to place before you the remembrance of the Blood of the Son of God poured out with so much fire of love. This Blood will be for us a continuous baptism of fire always purifying ad inflaming our soul, removing from it the chill of sin. (L 148) This is not the time to sleep but to rise from the sleep of negligence, to put aside the blindness of ignorance and to espouse the truth with the espousal ring of the most holy Faith, announcing the truth freely and widely, not hiding it for whatever fear, willing to give our life if need be, wholly inebriated by the Blood of the humble and immaculate Lamb. (L 330) GLORY TO THE BLOOD OF JESUS! Labels: saints |
