The Blood of Christ on the ground...

St Therese of Liseaux talked about the Blood of Christ that dripped onto the ground as Jesus hung and died on the Cross. People scramble to receive relics - supposed splinters from the Cross, tiny squares of cloth worn by a saint- are first class relics. In the past a holy person's possessions and even body parts were distributed within the Church. But the blood of Jesus Christ poured out of His body and was absorbed into the ground on the day He died. St Therese thought it irreverent that no one captured that blessed liquid. The blood by which our everlasting salvation was won was soaked up by the dirt it fell upon. No one did anything about it. The soldiers didn’t care. Jesus’ Blessed Mother was absorbed by what was happening to her Son or surely she would have realized it. I imagine she wiped away the blood from the crown of thorns with her own cloak. She’d want to clearly see his face again before they wrapped and buried his body. Her cloak was stained because of that and because she cradled his dead body.

This is not a reflection of the morbid but of the precious, of the sacred and holy. It is that same blood we consume at Mass. Mass is our opportunity to show God our gratitude for the blood His Son shed out of love for us. When we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, our attentiveness to that act will indicate our respect. It’s not the time to look at other people, though the devil would surely love that we be distracted by doing that! The reception of Eucharist is our chance to make amends for the mockery of the soldiers. Jesus’ sacred blood was physically on their hands but they wiped it away. His blood freely fell to the ground – drops of salvation soaked into the dirt. As we walk up the aisle during Mass these are thoughts we can contemplate. When the minister holds the cup before us and says, “Blood of Christ” we can respectfully consume the transformed wine and imagine ourselves being covered by the blood of salvation, the blood of our Savior as we stand under the Cross.

In the dirt is not where Jesus’ blood should be. It should be in me.