The Feast of Jesus’s Precious Blood and the Sacrifices of Saints

Today in the Catholic Church is the Feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus, but Christians across all denominations agree that we are redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ. It is only because Jesus died that we can hope to enter Heaven. St. Faustina was told by Jesus to pray that God have mercy on us through Jesus’s Passion: “Through the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

God did not have to redeem mankind when we sinned, but He did. Jesus could have redeemed mankind in any way, but He chose the horrific Passion and Crucifixion, all with the weight of every sin ever committed weighing him down far more than the physical cross could. Jesus poured out the last drop of his blood—when His side was pierced, blood and water came out, indicating Jesus’s chest and heart were almost completely drained (see herefor a medical explanation). That is how much He loved us.

Jesus also wanted us to share in the sacrifice He made, and be in the closest possible communion with Him, so He instituted the Eucharist and told us to eat His body and blood. Jesus Christ said in John 6:54, “Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.” How much Jesus humbled Himself for our sakes!

We can never do enough to thank Jesus for His suffering and death on the Cross, but keeping this Feast of His Blood is one way to thank him. We must also live out holy Christian lives, and follow all God’s commandments. Three other saints whose feast is today certainly did so.

Jesus redeemed mankind through His Blood, and St. Oliver Plunkett like His Divine Master died a bloody and awful death, shedding his blood to stay loyal to Christ and His Church. Meanwhile, St. Junipero Serra suffered pain and hardship to follow Christ’s command (Matt. 28:19-20), “Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” And back before Christ came to earth, Queen Esther risked her life and high position to save her people, the Jews.

First, we have St. Oliver Plunkett, the last Catholic to be martyred on Tyburn gallows and the first of the Irish Martyrs to be beatified. Plunkett was born to a noble Irish family that supported Irish independence from England. He was ordained a priest in Rome and stayed there for a time, but eventually came back to his own Ireland as the country’s chief bishop, with his seat at Armagh. He reformed his diocese against some initial prejudice, founded schools, sent students to study abroad, and specifically reached out to Gaelic speaking Catholics; much of that covertly due to English oppression of Catholics. Plunkett was finally arrested and falsely charged of conspiracy against King Charles II and other crimes, of which he was first acquitted. Later he was convicted by a judge admitted to be a “disgrace,” for the alleged crime of “promoting the Catholic faith,” for which he was brutally hanged, drawn, and quartered in 1681 at Tyburn, England.

Second is a name probably more familiar in America: St. Junipero Serra. Born in Spain, Miguel Jose Serra Ferrer took the name “Junipero” when he entered the Franciscan Order after St. Francis of Assisi’s friend Juniper. Serra taught at the Lullian University but was then sent to North America as a missionary. Contrary to the recent slanders of some woke or anti-Catholic individuals, Serra did a vast amount of good in the Americas. Despite a mosquito bite that left his leg permanently injured and his asthma, this energetic priest walked huge swathes of territory. He initially took over Mexican missions but ended up founding many missions along the West Coast of what is now the US, teaching thousands of Native American Indians not just religion but agriculture, cattle raising, and crafts. This founder of 21 missions had such a big impact on the area of modern California that one of the statues California chose to send to the US Capitol to represent the state was Fr. Junipero Serra.

Finally, we have Queen Esther, a great Jewish heroine of the Old Testament, celebrated by Christians too today:

“Queen of Persia and wife of Assuerus, who is identified with Xerxes (485-465 B.C.). She was a daughter of Abihail of the tribe of Benjamin, her Jewish name being Edissa. She had been adopted by her father's brother, Mardochai, and her beauty caused Assuerus to choose her as his queen instead of his divorced wife Vasthi. In this position she was able to protect her people against the plots of Aman, a royal favorite, [risking her life to go uncalled to the king that she might foil Aman’s plan to wipe out the Jews;] the feast of Purim being observed by the Jews in commemoration of their delivery.”

Perhaps we are not called upon to die as Oliver Plunkett—and another martyr we celebrate today, Chinese layman Huailu Zhang—did, or to sacrifice all material wealth and leave home to evangelize as Junipero Serra did, or to intercede with rulers as Esther did. But in each and every one of our lives—especially as America becomes increasingly anti-Christian—we will be asked to sacrifice and suffer and be humiliated.

Will we stay strong and love Christ all the more while we suffer, as Oliver Plunkett did? Will we preach the Gospel fearlessly no matter the risks, as Junipero Serra did? Will we be willing to stake and risk everything to aid others of God’s children, as Esther did? After all Jesus suffered in the shedding of His Precious Blood, we should be glad to suffer for His sake and to attain the everlasting joy of Heaven.