July 1 is the Feast of the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Passionist calendar. It was a feast dear to St. Vincent Strambi, an Italian Passionist who lived in the 19th century when Europe was convulsed by Napoleon’s dreams of world conquest. Over 4 million people, military and civilian, were killed in the Napoleonic wars that stretched out for decades after Napoleon came to power. Bent on victory, Napoleon saw war and the blood shed in mass warfare as the price of empire.

I suppose we can say Napoleon began the armaments race that we see still in progress today. And empire building, or preserving it, still goes on today, spilling so much blood.

Strambi had great devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus and often preached about it. He saw a new crucifixion in blood shed in fierce battles raging then through Europe and the suffering of those caught in “collateral damage” .The Feast of the Precious Blood turns our eyes not only to the blood flowing from Jesus’ side as he died on the cross but also to the blood shed today.

Painters like Durer (above) pictured angels holding cups catching blood from Jesus’ wounds. Don’t let his blood fall to the ground unnoticed, he tells us. It’s precious. All human life is precious.