{"id":3207,"date":"2008-04-28T23:20:29","date_gmt":"2008-04-28T23:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2008\/04\/saint-catherine-and-the-precio\/"},"modified":"2021-06-30T20:25:50","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T19:25:50","slug":"saint-catherine-and-the-precio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2008\/04\/saint-catherine-and-the-precio\/","title":{"rendered":"And Tasting of His Roseate Blood"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"s_cather.jpg\"<\/a>
\nSaint Catherine of Siena
\nVirgin and Doctor of the Church<\/strong>
\nThe Precious Blood<\/strong><\/p>\n

The image \u2014 and the adorable mystery \u2014 of the Precious Blood has been with us since Ash Wednesday. On that first day of the Lenten fast, what did Pope Saint Clement I say to us in the second reading at Vigils? \u201cLet us fix our thoughts on the Blood of Christ; and reflect how precious that Blood is in God\u2019s eyes\u201d (Letter to the Corinthians<\/em>). We began the Paschal journey with our eyes fixed on the Blood of Christ, just as Joshua\u2019s envoys in Jericho fixed their eyes on the scarlet cord suspended in the window of the harlot Rahab. The scarlet cord was the pledge of their salvation (cf. Jos 2:21).<\/p>\n

The Spring of the Master’s Side<\/strong>
\nOn Good Friday what did Saint John Chrysostom ask us? \u201cDo you wish to know the power of Christ\u2019s Blood? See where it began to flow, from what spring it flowed down from the cross, from the Master\u2019s side. . . . As a woman feeds her child with her own blood and milk, so too Christ continually feeds those whom he has begotten with his own Blood\u201d (Catechesis<\/em> 3:13\u201319). The Church responded with the very words of Saint John given us in today\u2019s first reading: \u201cThe Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, purifies us from all sin\u201d (1 Jn 1:7).<\/p>\n

Ad Coenam Agni<\/strong>
\nAnd what does the Church make us sing daily in the hymn at Vespers during Paschaltide?
\nUpon the Altar of the Cross
\nHis Body hath redeemed our loss;
\nAnd tasting of his roseate Blood,
\nOur life is hid with him in God.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Sober Drunkenness of the Saints<\/strong>
\nOne must be very careful to respect the patterns and repetitions of the liturgy by which the Church teaches us. We are to honour and preserve what has been handed on, lest elements that are arbitrary and subjective come to dilute the strong wine of tradition and so deprive us of the sober drunkenness of the saints! If you were to underline in red all the references to the Blood of Christ in the liturgy of Lent and Paschaltide, you would be astonished. The Blood of Christ courses like a torrent through the liturgy of these days. It is \u201cthe river whose streams make glad the city of God\u201d (Ps 45:4).<\/p>\n

A Mystic of the Blood<\/strong>
\nIt is evident, I think, that today\u2019s feast of Saint Catherine of Siena is a further invitation, a pressing exhortation, to fix our gaze on the Blood of the Lamb, to adore that Precious Blood, to yield every impurity and sin of ours to the torrent that gushes from Christ\u2019s pierced side, and to drink of the Chalice of Salvation. Saint Catherine is one of the great blazing mystics of the Blood. One could also speak of Julian of Norwich and, again, of Blessed Marie of the Incarnation. The Blood of Christ is sprinkled over every page of Catherine\u2019s writings. The Blood of Christ opens and seals her correspondence. The Blood of Christ is on her lips and in her heart.<\/p>\n

Divine Fire<\/strong>
\nFor Catherine, that Blood is a Divine Fire. It is the remedy for every ill: medicine for a Church in crisis, purity for a priesthood fallen into the filth of the world, strength for the weak, hope for the despondent, healing for the sick. For Catherine, the Blood of Christ is the power by which lives are changed, by which sinners become saints, by which monasteries are reformed.<\/p>\n

Cleansed in the Blood of the Lamb<\/strong>
\nThe Blood of the Lamb is given us in the sacraments. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Blood of Christ is applied to the wounds of the soul. \u201cThe Blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin\u201d (1 Jn 1:7). The Blood of Christ bathes the soul, cleansing of it of every trace of sin and making it resplendent in the eyes of the Father.<\/p>\n

Antidote for Every Poison<\/strong>
\nIn the Most Holy Eucharist, the Blood of Christ is given us as the fountain of immortality, the antidote for every poison of body, mind, and soul, an infusion of divine joy in this valley of tears. This was the experience of Saint Catherine and, because it was her experience, it became her teaching. Even more, it became the cry of her heart to all who would listen.<\/p>\n

The Mystery of the Precious Blood<\/strong>
\nThe Precious Blood of Christ is among those heavenly mysteries \u201chidden from the wise and understanding and revealed to infants\u201d (Mt 11:25). The mystery of the Blood is revealed to those who taste it with the palate of the soul, to those who approach the holy Chalice with the fear of God and with faith.<\/p>\n

Take My Heart<\/strong>
\nOne\u2019s dying words are not improvised. They are the expression of a lifetime. Saint Catherine, having lived immersed in Blood of Christ, died with the Blood of Christ on her lips. On the January 30th before her death, she prayed for the Church, the Bride of Christ: \u201cO Eternal God, accept the sacrifice of my life within this Mystic Body of holy Church. I have nothing to give but what you have given me. Take my heart, then, and squeeze it out over this Bride\u2019s face.\u201d For His Heart\u2019s Blood, she gave her heart\u2019s blood and, like her Bridegroom and Lord, she gave it for the Church.<\/p>\n

Your Son’s Most Sweet Blood<\/strong>
\nHer last recorded prayer, uttered three months later, is this:<\/p>\n

Lord, you are calling me to come to you, and I am coming to you \u2014 not with any merits of my own but only with your mercy. I am begging you for this mercy in virtue of your Son\u2019s most sweet Blood. Blood! Blood! Father, into your hands I surrender my soul and my spirit.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In Shining Robes of White Arrayed<\/strong>
\nIt was April 29th, 1380. Catherine was thirty-three years old. Her identification with the Blood of the Paschal Lamb was complete. And the Church was singing:<\/p>\n

At this High Feast the Lamb hath made,
\nIn shining robes of white arrayed,
\nThe passage of the Red Sea o\u2019er,
\nTo Christ our Prince we sing once more.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saint Catherine of Siena Virgin and Doctor of the Church The Precious Blood The image \u2014 and the adorable mystery \u2014 of the Precious Blood has been with us since Ash Wednesday. On that first day of the Lenten fast, what did Pope Saint Clement I say to us in the second reading at Vigils? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-most-precious-blood","category-saints"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVypq-PJ","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3207"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3207"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24305,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3207\/revisions\/24305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}