Devotions from June 28 to July 4, 2021
Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by God's love; let us allow ourselves to be questioned by the Lord, who calls us along paths we never thought were meant for us, which we never believed possible: this is the message of the week spanning June and July, during which we remember the holy apostles Peter and Paul and celebrate the Most Precious Blood of Jesus.
In fact, not only July 1 (the feast day), but the entire month is traditionally dedicated to contemplating the Most Precious Blood of Christ, an unfathomable mystery of love and mercy.
With the reform of the liturgical calendar in 1970, this celebration was combined with the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. However, devotion to the Most Precious Blood should not be forgotten; on the contrary, it should be promoted among the faithful. This July, let us accept the invitation to rediscover and reflect more attentively on the price of our redemption, on the infinite value of that Blood, of which “a single drop can save the whole world from every sin” (John XXIII), and to approach the sacrament of the Eucharist more frequently, returning also to those practices of devotion that have been authoritatively approved by the Supreme Pontiffs.
TUESDAY, JUNE 29
Saints Peter and Paul the Apostles
Pope Francis offers a powerful meditation on today’s solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles. Let us allow his words to reach our hearts and our lives: “Unity and prophecy. Our Apostles were challenged by Jesus. Peter was asked: ‘Who do you say that I am?’ (cf. Mt 16:15). At that moment he understood that the Lord is not interested in general opinions, but in the personal choice to follow him. Paul’s life also changed after a challenge from Jesus: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ (Acts 9:4). The Lord shook him inwardly: more than making him fall to the ground on the road to Damascus, he caused the presumption of a religious and upright man to fall. Thus proud Saul became Paul: Paul, which means ‘small.’ These challenges, these upheavals in life, are followed by prophecies: ‘You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church’ (Mt 16:18); and to Paul: ‘He is the instrument I have chosen for myself, to carry my name before the nations’ (Acts 9:15). Thus, prophecy is born when we allow ourselves to be challenged by God: not when we manage our own tranquility and keep everything under control. It does not arise from my thoughts; it does not arise from my closed heart. It arises if we allow ourselves to be challenged by God. Today we need prophecy, but true prophecy: not words that promise the impossible, but testimonies that the Gospel is possible. We need lives that manifest the miracle of God’s love. Not power, but consistency. Not words, but prayer. Not proclamations, but service. Thus Peter and Paul proclaimed Jesus, as men in love. Peter, before being crucified, thinks not of himself but of his Lord and, considering himself unworthy to die as He did, asks to be crucified upside down. Paul, before being beheaded, thinks only of giving his life and writes that he wishes to be ‘poured out as an offering’ (2 Tim 4:6). This is prophecy. Not words. This is prophecy, the prophecy that changes history” (Cf. Pope Francis, Homily, June 29, 2020).
For further reading:
• With living water– May/June
• On your word – May/June
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30
Beginning of the novena to Saint Veronica Giuliani
“I have found Love! Tell everyone. This is the secret of my joys and my sufferings: Love has allowed itself to be found.” This phrase effectively sums up the entire life of Saint Veronica Giuliani, a woman who allowed herself to be challenged by the love of God.
Let us prepare for her feast day (July 9) by praying the novena. Prayer, in fact, is an excellent way to draw closer to this wonderful figure of holiness and to get to know her better!
For further reading:
• Novena to Saint Veronica Giuliani
THURSDAY, JULY 1
Feast of the Most Precious Blood
It is possible to date a sort of official birth of the spirituality of the Blood of Christ to the organized movement within the Church that arose in the first half of the 1800s around a supposed relic of the Passion, preserved in the Basilica of San Nicola in Carcere (now San Giuseppe a Capo le Case).
The initiator was a pious priest who later became a bishop, Father Francesco Albertini, promoter of an association that later became the Confraternity of the Most Precious Blood. Within it, great spiritual figures emerged who continued and spread its work and devotion. Among them, the name of Saint Gaspar del Bufalo shines brightly. A Roman priest, he devoted himself to the apostolate and assistance to the poor and joined the Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood.
In the time of Saint Gaspar, and for many years afterward, the Feast of the Most Precious Blood was celebrated on the first Sunday of July; it was later moved to the first day of July. For the Saint, that Feast was like the triumphant conclusion of an entire month of meditations and prayers. Throughout the day, the Blessed Sacrament remained exposed on the throne of the main altar, among lights and flowers, and in the afternoon hours the Seven Effusions were prayed, alternating brief exhortations, hymns, and the recitation of the Pater and Gloria. Finally came the Eucharistic blessing. On that day, Saint Gaspar, filled with joy, exclaimed: “Oh! What a great feast of love this is!” and withdrew into prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, often being rapt in ecstasy.
For further reading:
• Chaplet and Novena to the Most Precious Blood of Christ
• Prayers to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ
“Fear makes me retreat; with love, I not only move forward, but fly” (Saint Thérèse of Lisieux).
The love of God is capable of making us fly: let us move forward with joy, ready to be challenged by the love of God!
I’ll see you in the comments on the post! Have a blessed journey!
