Oct 8, 2025 Written by 

The Blood Theme

The theme of blood, linked to that of the Paschal Lamb, is of primary importance in Sacred Scripture. In the Old Testament, aspersion with the blood of sacrificed animals represented and established the covenant between God and his People, as we read in the Book of Exodus: "and Moses took the blood and threw it upon the people, and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words' " (Ex 24: 8). 

Jesus refers explicitly to this formula during the Last Supper, when, offering the cup to the disciples, he says: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26: 28). And effectively, from the scourging to the piercing of his side after his death on the Cross, Christ poured out all his Blood as the true Lamb sacrificed for the redemption of all. The salvific value of his Blood is expressly stated in many passages of the New Testament. It suffices to mention, in this Year for Priests, the beautiful words of the Letter to the Hebrews: "Christ... entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own Blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (9: 11-14). 

Dear Brothers, it is written in Genesis that the blood of Abel, killed by his brother Caine, cries to God from the earth (cf. 4: 10). And, unfortunately, today as in the past, this cry never ceases, as human blood continues to be shed because of violence, injustice and hatred. When will human beings learn that life is sacred and belongs to God alone? When will they understand that we are all brothers and sisters? To the cry which rises from so many parts of the earth for the blood that is spilled, God responds with the Blood of his Son, who gave his life for us. Christ did not respond to evil with evil but with goodness, with his infinite love. The Blood of Christ is the pledge of God's faithful love for humanity. Every human being, even in conditions of extreme moral wretchedness can say, fixing his eyes on the wounds of the Crucified One: "God has not abandoned me, he loves me, he has given his life for me", and thus rediscover hope. May the Virgin Mary, who at the foot of the Cross together with the Apostle John received the testament of Jesus' Blood, help us to rediscover the inestimable richness of this grace and to feel deep and everlasting gratitude for it.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus 5 July 2009]

15 Last modified on Wednesday, 08 October 2025 02:50
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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The present-day mentality, more perhaps than that of people in the past, seems opposed to a God of mercy, and in fact tends to exclude from life and to remove from the human heart the very idea of mercy (Pope John Paul II)
La mentalità contemporanea, forse più di quella dell'uomo del passato, sembra opporsi al Dio di misericordia e tende altresì ad emarginare dalla vita e a distogliere dal cuore umano l'idea stessa della misericordia (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
«Religion of appearance» or «road of humility»? (Pope Francis)
«Religione dell’apparire» o «strada dell’umiltà»? (Papa Francesco)
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Chi vive accanto a noi, forse disprezzato ed emarginato perché straniero, può insegnarci invece come camminare sulla via che il Signore vuole (Papa Francesco)
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Tanti santi e sante hanno sperimentato la notte della fede e il silenzio di Dio – quando noi bussiamo e Dio non risponde – e questi santi sono stati perseveranti (Papa Francesco)
In some passages of Scripture it seems to be first and foremost Jesus’ prayer, his intimacy with the Father, that governs everything (Pope Francis)
In qualche pagina della Scrittura sembra essere anzitutto la preghiera di Gesù, la sua intimità con il Padre, a governare tutto (Papa Francesco)
It is necessary to know how to be silent, to create spaces of solitude or, better still, of meeting reserved for intimacy with the Lord. It is necessary to know how to contemplate. Today's man feels a great need not to limit himself to pure material concerns, and instead to supplement his technical culture with superior and detoxifying inputs from the world of the spirit [John Paul II]
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This can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God, an encounter which has become a communion of will, even affecting my feelings (Pope Benedict)
Questo può realizzarsi solo a partire dall'intimo incontro con Dio, un incontro che è diventato comunione di volontà arrivando fino a toccare il sentimento (Papa Benedetto)
We come to bless him because of what he revealed, eight centuries ago, to a "Little", to the Poor Man of Assisi; - things in heaven and on earth, that philosophers "had not even dreamed"; - things hidden to those who are "wise" only humanly, and only humanly "intelligent"; - these "things" the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, revealed to Francis and through Francis (Pope John Paul II)
Veniamo per benedirlo a motivo di ciò che egli ha rivelato, otto secoli fa, a un “Piccolo”, al Poverello d’Assisi; – le cose in cielo e sulla terra, che i filosofi “non avevano nemmeno sognato”; – le cose nascoste a coloro che sono “sapienti” soltanto umanamente, e soltanto umanamente “intelligenti”; – queste “cose” il Padre, il Signore del cielo e della terra, ha rivelato a Francesco e mediante Francesco (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)

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