FEAST OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST; MEMORIAL OF SAINT JUNIPERO SERRA, PRIEST; SAINT OLIVER PLUNKETT, BISHOP AND MARTYR; SAINT GAL, BISHOP OF CLERMONT AND BLESSED ANTONIO ROSMINI, PRIEST ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 1ST: Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. We also celebrate the Memorial of Saint Junipero Serra, Priest; Saint Oliver Plunkett, Bishop, Martyr; Saint Gal, Bishop of Clermont and Blessed Antonio Rosmini, Priest. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from cancer and other terminal diseases. We pray for the poor and needy, for justice, peace and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏🏽
FEAST OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST: During the month of July, we celebrate the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, the Redeemer. Supreme homage is given to the Sacred Blood. As we adore the Sacred Heart, because it is the Heart of Jesus, who is God, so we adore the Most Precious Blood. It is the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, which cleanses us from sin—therefore the Church developed a devotion to Jesus’ physical blood and its mystical power, just as it did for His Sacred Heart from which His blood poured out on the Cross. The Precious Blood of Jesus courses through the Church spiritually, giving eternal life to the Body of Christ through the sacraments. The Blood of Jesus is the fountain of salvation. Each drop that flowed from the wounds of the Saviour is a pledge of man’s eternal salvation. All races of the earth have been ransomed, and all individuals, who will allow the saving power of the Sacred Blood to be applied to their soul, are heirs of heaven. St. John Chrysostom calls the Precious Blood the saviour of souls; St. Thomas Aquinas, the key to heaven’s treasures; St. Ambrose, pure gold of ineffable worth; St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, a magnet of souls and pledge of eternal life. The sins of mankind, in their number, in their offense to the Supreme Being, in the effects on transgressors, are immense; yet, the Precious Blood of Jesus is not frightened by numbers, it has in Itself the power to appease an angered God and to heal wounded creatures.
The Precious Blood is a cleansing bath. Unlike all other blood, which stains, the Blood of Jesus washes clean and white. According to the words of St. John, in the Apocalypse, the Angels wonder, and the question is asked: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? The Lord answers: These are they that have washed their robes, and have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. For no other reason did the Precious Blood flow but to regain for the souls of men the beautiful dress of innocence, and , once regained, to preserve it throughout life and into eternity. The Blood of the Saviour is a well of consolation for troubled hearts. Can anyone, confidingly, look at the Sacred Blood trickling down from the Cross without taking courage to carry on, in spite of the difficulties which are the common lot of all? One glance at the Cross must be able to drive away fear. And, another, must be able to instill trust in Him who did not rest until the last drop, mingled with water, flowed out of an opened Heart. He, who was willing to do so much for men, must be willing to overlook and forget the frailties which they deeply regret; He must be willing to come to their assistance when harassed, to defend them when tempted, to comfort them when afflicted. The Blood of Jesus must be for Christians what the north-star is to sailors. Would that men on earth honored the Precious Blood in the manner in which they who are in heaven give honor and praise and thanksgiving! They proclaim that It purchased the glory which they enjoy. Without It, they would have remained slaves of Satan and outcasts from the eternal mansions of God. Let us profess that we owe to the Sacred Blood of Jesus all that we have in this life, and that to It we shall owe all that we shall enjoy in a better and eternal life! Many saints had a devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus, especially St. Catherine of Siena. Devotion to the Precious Blood spread widely through the preaching of Saint Gaspar del Bufalo, who was a 19th-century priest and the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. This devotion was later approved and recommended by the Holy See. Pope Pius IX instituted this celebration in 1849 and it has since been observed around the world for centuries. The feast day offers a great opportunity for us to reflect on what the blood of Jesus means for us in our personal lives and walk of faith. The feast day of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus is July 1st. This feast recalls the various titles of the Redeemer.
Precious Blood of our Savior, the life-giving spring made ever open by the redeeming Cross! You wash away the stains of the whole world and in the Church, Paradise regained, you bring forth flowers of sanctity.🙏🏽
SAINT JUNIPERO SERRA, PRIEST: St. Junipero Serra (1713 – 1784), born Miguel José Serra in 1713 on the Spanish island of Majorca on November 24, 1713, to a farming family and he was baptized the same day he was born, and was later sent to be educated by the Franciscans. In 1730 he joined the Franciscans and was ordained to the priesthood in 1737. When he entered the Franciscan order at the age of 17, he took the name of Junipero, who was a friend of St. Francis and one of his first followers. St. Junipero was considered brilliant by his peers; he was well-trained in Philosophy and Theology, and taught at the University of Padua until 1749. In 1750, at the age of 37, he traveled to the New World and began ministering to the people of Mexico City. St. Junipero landed in Mexico City on January 1, 1750, and spent the rest of his life working for the conversation of the peoples of the New World. In 1768 he moved north and began working in the Californian missions. Father Serra took over the missions of the Jesuits (who had been wrongly expelled by the government) in the Mexican province of Lower California and Upper California (modern California). As a result of his tireless missionary efforts, this indefatigable worker, the holy man is largely responsible for the foundation and spread of Catholicism along the Western coast of the United States when it was still mission territory —as testified by the many Californian cities with Spanish Christian names. He founded the first nine of twenty-one Catholic missions that spread along the California coast. He converted thousands of Native American Indians to the Christian faith and taught them new and sound methods of agriculture, animal husbandry, cattle raising, arts and crafts – craftsmanship. St. Junipero was a dedicated religious and missionary. He was imbued with a penitential spirit and activities.
On August 28, 1784, worn out by his apostolic labors, Father Serra was called to his eternal rest. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 71, and he is buried at the church of San Carlos Borromeo in Carmel, California. The Native Americans he ministered wept at his death out of their love for him. St. Junipero Serra was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on September 25, 1988 and canonized in September 23, 2015, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., by Pope Francis, the first canonization Mass to ever take place on American soil. His statue, representing the State of California, is in National Statuary Hall. He’s referred to as the apostle and founder of California. His personal motto was, “Always go forward, never turn back.” He is Patron Saint of vocations to Church ministry. His feast day is July 1st.
PRAYER: Almighty, eternal God, You dedicated the joy of this day to the glorification Blessed Junipero. Mercifully grant that we may strive to retain and complete by our works that faith which he continually proclaimed with insatiable zeal. Amen🙏🏽
SAINT OLIVER PLUNKETT, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Oliver Plunkett (1625 – 1681) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. He maintained his duties in Ireland in the face of English persecution and was eventually arrested and tried for treason in London and martyred. St. Plunkett was born on November 1, 1625 into an influential Anglo-Norman family at Loughcrew, near Oldcastle, Co Meath, Ireland, related to several aristocratic families. In 1647, he went to the Irish College in Rome to study for the priesthood and was ordained a priest in 1654. The arrival of Cromwell in Ireland in 1649 initiated the massacre and persecution of Catholics. Cromwell left in 1650 but his legacy was enacted in anti-Catholic legislation. During the 1650s, Catholics were expelled from Dublin and landowners were dispossessed. Catholic priests were outlawed and those who continued to administer the sacraments were hanged or transported to the West Indies. To avoid persecution, Plunket petitioned to remain in Rome, and in 1657 became a professor of theology. When anti-Catholicism eased, Plunket returned to Ireland. In 1657 he became archbishop of Armagh. He set about reorganizing the ravaged Church, and built schools both for the young and for clergy whom he found ‘ignorant in moral theology and controversies’. He tackled drunkenness among the clergy, writing ‘Let us remove this defect from an Irish priest, and he will be a saint.’ In 1670, he summoned an episcopal conference in Dublin, and later held numerous synods in his own arch diocese. However, he had a long standing difference with the archbishop of Dublin, Peter Talbot, over their rival claims to be primate of Ireland. He also antagonized the Franciscans, particularly when he favored the Dominicans in a property dispute.
With the onset of new persecution in 1673, St. Plunket went into hiding, refusing a government edict to register at a seaport and await passage into exile. In 1678, the so-called Popish Plot concocted in England by Titus Oates led to further anti-Catholicism. Archbishop Talbot was arrested, and St. Plunket again went into hiding. The privy council in London was told he had plotted a French invasion. In December 1679, St. Plunket was imprisoned in Dublin Castle, where he gave absolution to the dying Talbot. Taken to London, he was found guilty in June 1681 of high treason on perjured evidence from two disaffected Franciscans. On 1 July 1, 1681, St. Plunket became the last Catholic martyr in England when he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn. He became the first Irish martyr to be formally canonised and the last Roman Catholic to be martyred for the faith at Tyburn in England. Saint Oliver Plunkett was beatified in 1920 and canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint for almost seven hundred years. He’s the Patron Saint of Archdiocese of Armagh, Ireland.
Saint Oliver Plunkett, Bishop and Martyr ~ Pray for us🙏🏽
SAINT GAL, BISHOP OF CLERMONT: Saint Gal, Bishop of Clermont (489 – 553) was born at Clermont in Auvergne, about the year 489. His father was of the first families of that province, and his mother a descendant of the celebrated Roman martyr Vettius Apagatus, who suffered at Lyons for the faith of Christ. They both took special care of the education of their son, and when he reached a suitable age proposed to have him marry the daughter of a senator. The Saint, who had taken a resolution to consecrate himself to God, left his father’s house and went to the monastery of Cournon near the city of Clermont. He earnestly prayed to be admitted there among the monks, and having soon afterwards obtained the consent of his parents, with joy he renounced all worldly vanities to embrace religious poverty.
His virtues distinguished him and recommended him to Quintianus, bishop of Clermont, who taught him theology and was his spiritual director; he then promoted him to Holy Orders. When the bishop died in 527, Saint Gal was appointed to succeed him. In this new character his humility, charity, zeal, and above all his patience in bearing injuries, were conspicuous. Once when struck on the head by a brutal man, Saint Gal did not reveal the slightest emotion of anger or resentment, and by this meekness disarmed his attacker’s rage.Saint Gal participated in the important Council of Clermont in 535; six years later he took part in the Fourth Council of Orleans. He died in the year 553 after an illness which, by the sufferings it occasioned him, manifested once more his remarkable patience. After singing the Psalm Miserere, and another in thanksgiving, he gave up his holy soul to God. Many miracles occurred at his tomb; he is invoked especially against fevers.
Saint Gal, Bishop of Clermont ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽
BLESSED ANTONIO ROSMINI, PRIEST: Bl. Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati, an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or Societas a charitate nuncupata, pioneered the concept of social justice, and was a key figure in Italian Liberal Catholicism. Bl. Antonio was born on March 24, 1797 to Pier Modesto and Giovanna dei Conti Formenti di Riva at Rovereto, Austrian Tyrol (modern Trent, Italy), a very “Italian” town although part of the Austrian Empire since 1509. He was baptized the following day and received his early education locally. In 1816 he enrolled at the University of Padua, Italy, where he received doctorates in theology and canon law. After his studies he returned to Rovereto to prepare for Holy Orders. In February 1820 he accompanied his sister, Margherita, to Verona where the Marquess Maddalena of Canossa (now Blessed) had founded a religious institute. During the visit Maddalena invited him to found a male religious institute as a twin to her own institute. While the young man politely declined, her invitation in time proved prophetic. Bl. Antonio was ordained a priest on 21 April 1821 at Chioggia, Italy. In 1823 he travelled to Rome with the Patriarch of Venice, who arranged an audience for him with Pope Pius VII. In that audience the Pontiff encouraged him to undertake the reform of philosophy.
In 1826 he went to Milan to continue his research and publish the results of his philosophical studies. He wrote on many subjects, including the origin of ideas and certitude, the nature of the human soul, ethics, the relationship between Church and State, the philosophy of law, metaphysics, grace, original sin, the sacraments and education. On Ash Wednesday, 20 February 1828, Fr Rosmini withdrew to write the Constitutions of the budding Institute of Charity, in which he incorporated the principle of passivity (to be concerned with one’s personal sanctification until God’s will manifests itself to undertake some external work of charity) and the principle of impartiality (to free one of any personal preference in assuming a work of charity). To assure himself of God’s will in his philosophical and foundational work, Rosmini went to Rome a second time, in November 1828, and there received Pope Leo XII’s support. On 15 May 1829 he met with the new Pope, Pius VIII, who confirmed his double mission as philosopher and founder.
During this visit to Rome, Fr Rosmini published “Maxims of Christian Perfection” and “Origin of Ideas”, winning the admiration of many scholars. By 1832 the Institute of Charity had spread to Northern Italy and by 1835 it reached England, where the community enjoyed substantial growth. In England the Rosminians are credited with introducing the use of the Roman collar and cassock and the practice of wearing the religious habit in public. They were known for preaching missions, the practice of the Forty Hours, May devotions, the use of the scapular, novena celebrations, public processions and the blessing of throats on the feast of St Blaise. Pope Gregory XVI approved the Constitutions of the Institute of Charity on 20 December 1838. On 25 March 1839 vows were taken by 20 Italian and 6 British priests. On 20 September 1839 Fr Rosmini was appointed provost general for life. This happy period of growth and apostolic success, however, was tempered by opposition to his intellectual and philosophical writings from 1826 until his death.
Primarily his “Treatise on Moral Conscience” (1839) led to a sharp, 15-year controversy which required more than one Papal injunction to silence the “Rosminian Question”. Another important, controversial work was “The Five Wounds of the Church” (1832). Fr Rosmini found himself wedged between the obligation to renew Catholic philosophy and finding his works on the Index. But his obedience to the Church was admirable: “In everything, I want to base myself on the authority of the Church, and I want the whole world to know that I adhere to this authority alone” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Note on the Force of the Doctrinal Decrees”, L’Osservatore Romano English edition [ORE], 25 July 2001, p. 9). To close the issue definitively, the Pontiff submitted all Rosmini’s works to examination by the Congregation of the Index. On 3 July 1854, it was decreed: “All the works of Antonio Rosmini-Serbati that have recently been examined are to be dismissed, and this examination in no way detracts from the good name of the author, nor of the religious Society founded by him, nor from his life and singular merits towards the Church” (R. Malone, “Historical Overview of the Rosmini Case”, ORE, 25 July 2001, p. 10). Less than a year after this Decree, Fr Antonio Rosmini died on 1 July 1855 at Stresa, Italy, at age 58 on the feast day of the Precious Blood of JESUS. Found on his bedside cabinet was a worn-out booklet of personal prayers entitled, “Jesu Christi Passio”, containing some devotions to the Precious Blood of Jesus given to him by St. Magdalene of Canossa in the distant 1821. He had written on it, as a reminder to himself: “The Commemorations in honour of the most precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are to be recited daily, so that our own blood may be offered to the heavenly Father in union with that of Jesus”.
Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati, Priest ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽