The feast of the Precious Blood was instituted by the saintly Pope Pius IX in gratitude for the restoration of Rome to the Holy See.  St. Peter called Our Lord’s Blood Precious in his epistle and It is so because of the hypostatic union which joins Christ’s humanity to His divinity. The Sacrifice of the Mass as that on Calvary depends on the shedding of this Blood and our communion with It. Our bodies are thereby sanctified as temples of God and should never be cremated. The Precious Blood sustained the early church during centuries of persecution so successfully that by the time of Constantine there were 1800 dioceses.  Finally, there is a special message for priests and aspirants to the priesthood on the sanctifying power of the Holy Mass as seen in the life of St. Bernadino Realino whose holiness was attested by miracles from his own blood.
The words of today’s gospel: “I am the Good Shepherd” have a significant meaning for those of us “sheep” who look for protection and guidance from their Shepherd. There is also a reference to the last three chapters of the Book of Isaiah – prophecies relating specifically to the coming of Christ which curiously were deleted from a version of the Old Testament. One can only wonder why this was done. In any case, we should all remember the words of Jesus: “I know mine and mine know me. As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep. And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.”
Low Sunday is the culmination of the eight-day celebration of the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The term Low is intended to indicate the contrast between it and the great Feast one week earlier of Easter Sunday, certainly the greatest of all liturgical feasts. The Octave Day of Easter is considered part of the feast, though to a lower degree. The entire celebration of Easter is meant to give us confidence that we too can one day share in the same Resurrection of the body if we hold fast to the Truths of Faith and the power of Grace over sin that Our Lord won for us. We must have confidence that our path is right and our goal can and will be achieved.
The Mass for this Sunday focuses on the need for the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity, with the caution from St. Paul in his Epistle that Faith without Charity accomplishes nothing.  In the Lenten Season which begins in earnest on Ash Wednesday, Holy Mother the Church provides us with multiple opportunities to practice these virtues. At the same time, we are reminded that our time on earth, no matter our age, is very limited as compared to that of eternity.  The words, “Remember Man that dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return” should cause us to make good use of the time we have left.
We must settle all disputes we have with our neighbor before we come to the Eucharistic table and to love and care for the souls of our neighbors, whether or not we like them personally.  St. Frances de Sales who had a bad vice, that of an extreme temper, re-channeled the energy from that vice towards the teaching of the faith to thousands.  He wrote the Introduction to the Devout Life and is known today as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Teachers of the Faith.  St. Martina underwent unbelievable torture because she would not renounce her Faith and pay tribute to false gods as demanded by the Emperor.  How many of the saints have shown us similar acts of heroic virtue and steadfast Faith in the history of the Church and what do we give in return?  It is a question we must ask ourselves if we are to be true followers of Christ.  We are then taught of the importance of Faith through today’s Gospel reading where the disciples are caught in a storm with heavy waves which tossed their boat to and fro, threatening to sink it.  The disciples desperately awoke Jesus from His nap begging Him to save them.  He in turn rebuked them for their lack of Faith since He was aboard the boat and would not let harm come to them. Â
“Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men: for The Lord is nigh.”  These words taken from St. Paul’s epistle to the Philippians for the Third Sunday of Advent may seem strange in today’s times because of all that is wrong in today’s world  However, they are as true now as they were when they were first written because they refer not only to the upcoming Feast of the Nativity but to the Second Coming of Our Lord and Savior at the end of time. We can be joyous because we have already been saved through Baptism.  The promise of what lies ahead for us, if we are faithful, is far greater than any of the problems and sufferings that we endure in this life. The Lord is indeed nigh and all we have to do is recognize His presence in our midst and pray that He keeps us true to our baptismal promises.
“Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another?” This question posed to Our Lord by the disciples of St. John the Baptist in no way implies that St. John himself had any doubts about the Divinity of Our Lord. St. John had been informed by revelation who Jesus was: “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” but John knew that he must decrease so that Christ must increase and he wanted his disciples to follow Jesus, not himself. In today’s Mass we have both the Joy of Christ’s coming on earth and the forewarning of Christ’s Second Coming in the scriptural readings for the Second Sunday of Advent. The big question is: will we be prepared for both? Unless we pray that we will be among the elect, it will not happen – so now is the time to do so.
The new Liturgical Year begins with the first Sunday of Advent. Liturgy is derived from a Greek word and means public worship. It differs from private prayer in that the ends of adoration, thanksgiving, reparation and petition are united with the entire church and its public prayer. The official prayer of the Mystical Body is then made sublime and sacramental through the presence of Christ. The best example, of course, is the Eucharistic Sacrifice wherein Christ Himself unites his prayer to the Father with our own. But the other sacraments accomplish the same type of worship in their own way – even the sacrament of Penance. The prayers of today’s Mass offer hope in the Final Coming to those who have kept the Faith with humility rather than the judgment of the proud predicted in last Sunday’s scriptural readings. The famous words: “Look up your salvation is at hand” are meant to give us that hope.
We are reminded that prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory is important and having Masses offered is the best aid we can give them. Hope is critical for us despite all the difficulties we face individually and collectively. The parable of the mustard seed teaches us to have trust in God’s omnipotence which will draw tremendous results from the smallest beginnings.
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Servants of the Holy Family, a Catholic religious community in Colorado Springs was founded on the Feast of the Holy Family in 1977 and is placed under the patronage of the Sacred Persons of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Read more
