3 and 30 Freedom July 2026

St. Francis of Assisi had a profound devotion to the Passion of Christ, which naturally centered on the Precious Blood of Jesus. This was most famously realized when he received the Stigmata—the physical wounds of Christ—at Mount La Verna in 1224.

Key Aspects of the Devotion

• The Five Wounds: St. Francis' devotion to the blood of Christ is intrinsically linked to his veneration of the Five Wounds. He viewed the blood, shed from these wounds, as the ultimate expression of God's love and the price of redemption.

• Franciscan Spirituality: St. Francis saw the Blood of Jesus as a powerful bond of unity. He viewed all his friars as "blood brothers" in Christ's blood, which calls them to live in humility, obedience, and mutual love.

• The Stigmata: By miraculously receiving the marks of the nail wounds and the pierced heart, Francis became a living reflection of the crucified Savior, permanently uniting his own suffering with the shedding of Christ’s Precious Blood.

• Eucharistic Reverence: St. Francis held immense reverence for the Holy Eucharist, believing that the blood and body of Christ are truly present at the altar. He instructed his followers to treat the Eucharistic vessel and the Precious Blood with the utmost dignity.

 The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood. The feast of the Precious Blood of our Lord was instituted in 1849 by Pius IX, but the devotion is as old as Christianity. The early Fathers say that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ, and that the sacraments were brought forth through His Blood.

Devotion to the Precious Blood is not a spiritual option, it is a spiritual obligation, and that not only for priests, but for every follower of Christ. Devotion, as we know, is a composite of three elements: It is first- veneration, it is secondly- invocation, and it is thirdly- imitation. In other words, devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain, is first of all to be veneration on our part, which is a composite of knowledge, love, and adoration. We are to study to come to a deeper understanding of what those two casual words, Precious Blood, really mean.

One of the oldest documents, outside of sacred scripture, from the first century of the Christian era – to be exact, from Pope St. Clement I, dated about 96 A.D. says "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." Pope Clement I

To understand the meaning of the Precious Blood we must get some comprehension of the gravity of sin, of the awfulness of offending God, because it required the Blood of the Son of God to forgive that sin. We are living in an age in which to sin has become fashionable.

This veneration of the Precious Blood, which is the first element in our devotion to the Precious Blood means that we have a deep sensitivity to the awfulness of sin. Sin must be terrible. It must be awful. It must be the most dreadful thing in the universe. Why? Because it cost the living God in human form the shedding of His Blood.

“Lord Jesus, You became Man in order by your Passion and Death and the draining of your Blood on the Cross, might prove to us how much You, our God, love us. Protect us, dear Jesus, from ever running away from the sight of blood. Strengthen our weak human wills so that we will not only not run away from the cross, but welcome every opportunity to shed our blood in spirit in union with your Precious Blood, so that, dying to ourselves in time we might live with You in Eternity. Amen”

Excerpted from The Precious Blood of Christ, Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ

God does not ask you to extend mercy to others without the promise of Him filling you with His mercy. This talk is part of a conference Sister Miriam was asked to speak at. I find her talk deeply moving ~ she invites us into a meditation that is very personal. I encourage you to write down what the Holy Spirit says to you while you listen to this talk.