In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul tells us, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath.”
Through the bloody death of Christ, we sinners were saved. The blood He spilled became the blood that redeemed. And so we ponder that truth during the month of July, as it is dedicated to the precious blood of Christ.
This is a month to contemplate the sacrifice that Christ made when He endured mockery, beatings, a crown of thorns, nails driven through His body, and a sword that pierced His side. He allowed His blood to be spilled so that we may live.
What an incredible gift! It’s one that we are certainly not worthy of. Yet He freely gave it to us anyway. Why? Because He loves us. It’s as simple as that. Each one of us matters to God.
That knowledge should fill our hearts with immense joy.
Though it’s painful, take a few minutes to truly ponder our Lord on the cross. Picture His battered body hanging like a criminal, blood dripping down His face, pouring from His side and His hands and feet. It must have been a gruesome sight.
Understanding this, in 96 AD, St. Clement I said, “Let us fix our gaze on the blood of Christ and realize how truly precious it is, seeing that it was poured out for our salvation and brought the grace of conversion to the whole world.”
Christ endured that pain for you, for me, for everyone who has lived and who will ever live. He died so that we might live for eternity with Him.
So this July, let us heed St. Clement’s words and fix our gaze on the blood of Christ. Let us contemplate how truly precious it is.
And as we do so, let us also think about the innocent blood spilled every day in abortuaries around the world. Tiny babies, slaughtered because of their mere existence, cry out for justice. They too are like lambs slaughtered. Like Christ, these babies were innocent and did not deserve the death sentence. They did nothing to deserve being ripped apart, starved, or soaked with deadly chemicals.
Over 2,000 years ago, Pontius Pilate washed his hands of the innocent blood he was about to spill. Abortionists are the Pontius Pilates of today. They too have the blood of the innocent on their hands. They betray and kill goodness. And though they wash their hands after their deadly acts, they cannot wash away the stain of their sin. They cannot erase a life barely lived or make us forget that a baby once existed.
Every baby who has died in an abortion will be remembered by someone forever.
So as we focus this month on Christ’s precious blood, let us also remember today’s innocents whose blood is spilled out of fear, out of indifference, or out of pure hatred. Pray for the moms who feel they have no other choice. Pray for the babies who are threatened with death. And pray for a conversion of heart for the abortionists, whose hearts have been hardened by a culture of death and who don’t understand that shedding innocent blood is one of the most heinous acts imaginable.
The reason that Christ became man, that He shed His blood, is to redeem us. No one is beyond redemption.
And as we pray, let us reflect on the words of St. Thomas Aquinas: “Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what Thy bosom ran, blood whereof a single drop has power to win all the world forgiveness of its world of sin.”
This article first appeared in Catholic World Report at catholicworldreport.com/2024/07/05/babies-lost-to-abortion-and-the-precious-blood-of-christ.
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