Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Praise be Jesus Christ.
Today we celebrate the feast of our Lord's most precious blood,
that blood that was united with the divinity in the womb of the Virgin Mary,
that blood that was first shed at our Lord's circumcision,
and then again at the agony in the garden,
the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns,
and especially at the crucifixion.
Finally, that same blood that is offered in sacrifice on the altar here today
and at all the holy masses throughout the world.
That precious blood that was the price of our redemption,
because, as the letter to the Hebrews says,
without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
It is the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for the many,
that washes us clean from sin.
We should never forget the love that our Lord demonstrated
for each and every one of us by shedding his blood for our redemption.
We should also never forget that we are called to return that love
in the fight against sin.
Again, as the letter to the Hebrews says,
in your struggle against sin,
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
That implies that we ought to resist
to the point of shedding our blood.
And so then we return to our Lord,
love for love, blood for blood.
We ought to be willing to shed our blood
rather than offend the love of God.
Some may tend to want to throw in the towel
or claim burnout when faced with the pressures and stress
that life sometimes brings.
But we should ask ourselves,
have we ever been so stressed
that we've actually sweat blood?
Some may tend to get discouraged
in the face of the difficulty of persisting temptations.
But we should ask ourselves again,
have we resisted to the point of shedding our blood?
Then we see how far we still are
from loving our Lord as he loved us.
May the prayers of the blessed Lord
and the prayers of the blessed people
of the blessed people of the world
and the blessed Virgin Mary
help us to arrive there.
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.