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The Precious Blood: The Price of Our Salvation
Fr. Faber calls it the price of our salvation, for Our Lord died from loss of blood. Says, it is out of the Precious Blood that men draw martyrdoms, vocations, celibacies, austerities, heroic charities and all the magnificent graces of high sanctity. Says the Sacraments are God's machinery for keeping His Precious Blood always flowing in the Church and that the evils on earth and the pains of Hell would be much worse without the shedding of Our Lord\'s Precious Blood. Impr. 278 pgs, PB
- GenresCatholic
278 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
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August 11, 2020
In the concluding chapter, Fr. Faber* claims that most of us live in imaginary worlds which are nevertheless quite real to us. These worlds we ‘create’ have a beauty which allows us to throw our hearts into them. For some, it may be a life among the stars, or spent studying the strata of the earth, devoted to the epochs of history, or to caring for the young, elderly, sick, poor or animals or perhaps finding a cure for some disease. We each have some passion(s) which consumes us more or less and ‘out of which time will evolve revelations of the nature of man and of the laws and storms and methodological fluctuations of human actions, which cannot fail to illuminate in some wonderful way and with unexpected light the adorable character of God.’ Well anyway, that was the author's hope back in 1860 when this book was written. I can’t help wondering with a certain trace of sadness what he would think/write if he were alive today with so many atheists and agnostics studying facets of the Creator’s universe and yet failing to see His signature in what He has made.
And yet we know it is possible, indeed our generation is full of those with passions for many created things and yet lacking in the Gift of Faith, i.e., belief in the Creator.
What does this have to do with the Precious Blood? Everything.
In chapter 1, the Mystery of the Precious Blood, we learn through St. Paul, that grand lover of Jesus, that we owe our salvation to the Blood of Christ. Redeeming grace was his favorite theme and therefore he was forever praising the Precious Blood of Jesus.
In chapter 2, the Necessity of the Precious Blood, the author applies the effects of this Life-giving and -saving force to various situations showing where we poor creatures would be without the infallible operation of the Precious Blood upon our souls. ‘The power of the Blood of Jesus is never doubtful, its work never incomplete.’
Chapter 3, the Empire of the Precious Blood is so vast it is difficult to summarize, so instead here are a list of Scripture references pertaining to the Blood of Christ which Fr. Faber recommends for meditation to attain a deep and fervent devotion: John 6:54, 6:56; 1 Cor. 10:16; Eph. 1:7, 2:13; Col. 1:14, 1:20; Hebrews 2:14, 9:7, 10:19, 7:24, 8:11, 8:20; 1Peter 1:2, 1:19; 1 John 1:7, 5:6; Rev. 1:5, 5:9, 7:14, 8:11, and 9:13.
Chapter 4, the History of the Precious Blood, covers seven epochs or lives which are in a certain sense part of the unfathomable mystery of our redemption in relation to the life of God. They are: 1) the life of the Precious Blood in the Mind of God before Creation; 2) its life of efforts in the world from creation to the Incarnation; 3) its life upon the earth during the Thirty-Three Years; 4) its life of energy in the church afterward up to the day of Doom; 5) its contemporaneous life all that time in heaven; 6) its contemporaneous time in the Blessed Sacrament; and finally, 7) its eternal time in heaven. For all that this chapter sounds practical—history being a straightforward statement of events—I found this no less mystical than the others. The two resonant points which stood out for me were that our ‘God is a God who hides himself and who even manifests himself by means of new concealments. All holiness has the same love of secrecy imprinted on it as the seal of God.’ and, ‘It is not possible to exaggerate the importance of the conversion of a single soul.’
Chapter 5, the Prodigality of the Precious Blood, refers to the apparent wastefulness of Christ’s Blood, though not a drop was shed in vain. There were seven Bloodsheddings: the Circumcision, the Agony, the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, the Way of the Cross, the Crucifixion and the piercing of the Sacred Heart. This is a beautiful chapter and probably my favorite; it was the least esoteric and dealt directly with events in Christ’s life and how the Precious Blood was used in each circumstance. It was a unique view of Christ’s life—from the perspective of His Blood—something so necessary, so essential, vital even, yet when do we focus on it? This was a first for me.
And finally this brought me back to the last chapter, the Devotion to the Precious Blood and the worlds Fr. Faber says we can create, as mentioned at the beginning of this review.
We as Catholics have a rich heritage of devotions going back over two thousand years. Sadly, devotions are sometimes dismissed as nice little prayers for old ladies who have nothing better to do. Fr. Faber insists devotions not only cultivate piety and change the world but also continue to add to our knowledge of our Sacred Lord. He lists some of the benefits from devotion to the Precious Blood: easier to love and trust God; vehement and intelligent hatred of sin; love of souls; great devotion to the sacraments; devotion to Our Lady; special love for the Sacred Humanity of Christ and devotion to the Eternal Father. Could we ask for more? Well perhaps one thing, just a reminder that devotion to the Precious Blood does not interfere with other devotions, rather it fosters them, in that it is connected—as the life force which blood is—is connected to every other part of the body. Beautiful, salvific and magnificent!
Most highly recommended!
*Fr. Faber was a good friend and student of St. John Henry Newman and the author of a number of church hymns which are still popular today, among them, one of my personal favorites, Faith of our Fathers.
July 15, 2020: Another marvelous work by Fr. Faber! I would include all of page 63 if I could. It is excellent. Much better definition of success than the one which is better known by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
July 2, 2020: The Mass today at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was entirely devoted to the Precious Blood! The priest gave a delightful homily all about this sadly neglected devotion which reminded me that I got this book at the end of July last year and planned to start it at the beginning of the month this year and devote the entire month to celebrating the LORD's Precious Blood. Of course then, I thought I would be going to daily Mass, Adoration, etc. In other words, carrying on more or less as I had been doing. Ah well, the LORD knows best.
The other book by the great Fr. Faber which I have read is, Growth In Holiness. Cannot recommend that too highly. So I have high hopes for this!
And yet we know it is possible, indeed our generation is full of those with passions for many created things and yet lacking in the Gift of Faith, i.e., belief in the Creator.
What does this have to do with the Precious Blood? Everything.
In chapter 1, the Mystery of the Precious Blood, we learn through St. Paul, that grand lover of Jesus, that we owe our salvation to the Blood of Christ. Redeeming grace was his favorite theme and therefore he was forever praising the Precious Blood of Jesus.
In chapter 2, the Necessity of the Precious Blood, the author applies the effects of this Life-giving and -saving force to various situations showing where we poor creatures would be without the infallible operation of the Precious Blood upon our souls. ‘The power of the Blood of Jesus is never doubtful, its work never incomplete.’
Chapter 3, the Empire of the Precious Blood is so vast it is difficult to summarize, so instead here are a list of Scripture references pertaining to the Blood of Christ which Fr. Faber recommends for meditation to attain a deep and fervent devotion: John 6:54, 6:56; 1 Cor. 10:16; Eph. 1:7, 2:13; Col. 1:14, 1:20; Hebrews 2:14, 9:7, 10:19, 7:24, 8:11, 8:20; 1Peter 1:2, 1:19; 1 John 1:7, 5:6; Rev. 1:5, 5:9, 7:14, 8:11, and 9:13.
Chapter 4, the History of the Precious Blood, covers seven epochs or lives which are in a certain sense part of the unfathomable mystery of our redemption in relation to the life of God. They are: 1) the life of the Precious Blood in the Mind of God before Creation; 2) its life of efforts in the world from creation to the Incarnation; 3) its life upon the earth during the Thirty-Three Years; 4) its life of energy in the church afterward up to the day of Doom; 5) its contemporaneous life all that time in heaven; 6) its contemporaneous time in the Blessed Sacrament; and finally, 7) its eternal time in heaven. For all that this chapter sounds practical—history being a straightforward statement of events—I found this no less mystical than the others. The two resonant points which stood out for me were that our ‘God is a God who hides himself and who even manifests himself by means of new concealments. All holiness has the same love of secrecy imprinted on it as the seal of God.’ and, ‘It is not possible to exaggerate the importance of the conversion of a single soul.’
Chapter 5, the Prodigality of the Precious Blood, refers to the apparent wastefulness of Christ’s Blood, though not a drop was shed in vain. There were seven Bloodsheddings: the Circumcision, the Agony, the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, the Way of the Cross, the Crucifixion and the piercing of the Sacred Heart. This is a beautiful chapter and probably my favorite; it was the least esoteric and dealt directly with events in Christ’s life and how the Precious Blood was used in each circumstance. It was a unique view of Christ’s life—from the perspective of His Blood—something so necessary, so essential, vital even, yet when do we focus on it? This was a first for me.
And finally this brought me back to the last chapter, the Devotion to the Precious Blood and the worlds Fr. Faber says we can create, as mentioned at the beginning of this review.
We as Catholics have a rich heritage of devotions going back over two thousand years. Sadly, devotions are sometimes dismissed as nice little prayers for old ladies who have nothing better to do. Fr. Faber insists devotions not only cultivate piety and change the world but also continue to add to our knowledge of our Sacred Lord. He lists some of the benefits from devotion to the Precious Blood: easier to love and trust God; vehement and intelligent hatred of sin; love of souls; great devotion to the sacraments; devotion to Our Lady; special love for the Sacred Humanity of Christ and devotion to the Eternal Father. Could we ask for more? Well perhaps one thing, just a reminder that devotion to the Precious Blood does not interfere with other devotions, rather it fosters them, in that it is connected—as the life force which blood is—is connected to every other part of the body. Beautiful, salvific and magnificent!
Most highly recommended!
*Fr. Faber was a good friend and student of St. John Henry Newman and the author of a number of church hymns which are still popular today, among them, one of my personal favorites, Faith of our Fathers.
July 15, 2020: Another marvelous work by Fr. Faber! I would include all of page 63 if I could. It is excellent. Much better definition of success than the one which is better known by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
July 2, 2020: The Mass today at the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was entirely devoted to the Precious Blood! The priest gave a delightful homily all about this sadly neglected devotion which reminded me that I got this book at the end of July last year and planned to start it at the beginning of the month this year and devote the entire month to celebrating the LORD's Precious Blood. Of course then, I thought I would be going to daily Mass, Adoration, etc. In other words, carrying on more or less as I had been doing. Ah well, the LORD knows best.
The other book by the great Fr. Faber which I have read is, Growth In Holiness. Cannot recommend that too highly. So I have high hopes for this!
Displaying 1 of 1 review