Articles on Spirituality

This is an article that appeared in the Wine Cellar, February, 1994, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 40-48

This article is taken from an address given by Fr. Robert Schreiter at the Second Precious Blood Congress, St. Louis, MO August, 1993.

This is an address given at an International Spirituality Workshop for the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, Rome, September, 1995.

This is an article published July 1, 1985 in the Cincinnati Province Newsletter. This article reflects upon how the spirituality of the Precious Blood can be a focus for mission within a parish community.

This a statement from the Precious Blood Brothers International Symposium that was held in the United States July 24-28, 2006. The purpose of this brief paper is to articulate the hopes and visions of how we can move into the future with renewed fidelity to our history, our tradition and our identity as Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

In response to the keynote addresses at the 2010 Precious Blood Convocation in St. Louis, Missouri, six panelists offered their reflections looking through the lens of the spirituality of the Precious Blood.  The presentations highlighted five images from the spirituality of the Precious Blood: prophetic witness, evangelization, covenant, conversion journey and reconciliation.  

This article is the Keynote Address given by Fr. Charles E. Bouchard, O.P., at the 2010 Precious Blood Convocation on July 27, 2010.  The convocation was a gathering of approximately 300 members and lay associates of the Precious Blood Religious Congregations serving throughout North America.

This article is the Keynote Address given by Sr. Barbara E. Reid, O.P., at the 2010 Precious Blood Convocation on July 27, 2010.  The convocation was a gathering of approximately 300 members and lay associates of the Precious Blood Religious Congregations serving throughout North America.  The theme of the convocation was "Who will speak a word that will rouse them?  I can, I must, I will. Will you?" In her talk, Barbara Reid reflects upon the call to prophetic leadership in response to the needs of the church and the world today.

"Latin American Perspectives on Precious Blood Spirituality" by Fr. Thomas Hemm, CPPS and

"Blood Cries Out: National Reconciliation" by Fr. Ernest Ranly, CPPS

With Chalice in Hand, We Stand at the Foot of the Cross: We, the women and men of the blood, stand at the foot of the cross where Jesus still bleeds; wars in our streets, wars in our neighbor's yeards, wars around the world. The Adorers of the Blood of Christ are Artisans of Peace: The adoratin of the blood of Christ ought to encourage the person to be a peace-maker; to construct peace.

One of the social realities which globalization has heightened has been the increasing presence of many cultures together. Cultures have, of course, always rubbed up against one another throughout history. But what we see today is that more people than ever are affected by what has come to be know as multiculturalism, that is, the situation in which people must learn to live with more multiple cultures simultaneously.

Fr. Loipfinger writes: I wish to develope the following thoughts: The Precious Blood spirituality is truly a way of life, a way through life, a way of life, because therein we discover what is truly a fundamental spirituality which is an integral aspect of the Church, which makes us into apostles, and which leads us to the praise and glory of God.

Excerpts from Pope John Paul II's Evanelium Vitae concerning the sprinkled blood from the Old Testament and the Blood of Christ. Don Michele Colagiovanni Evangelium Snguinis on the Gospel of Blood.

This presentation will explore four basic symbols of Precious Blood spirituality. They are: covenant, cross, cup and the Lamb. All of these are rooted in the Scriptures, and evoke a wide range of meanings and memories. Each symbol will be presented as to its basic meanings as presented in the Scriptures, and then some of the meanings it haas for us today, both in our personal and communal lives in community, and also these connect with the work we do for the sake of the Church and the Reign of God.

The Importance of Symbol

Theology is often formulated in concepts. For sustaining our spiritual lives, however, it is symbols which really nourish us. Concepts can be a way of our identifying a whole body of information, but symbols stimulate our imagination. They create entire worlds for us, weaving memory, thought, and feeling together. Concepts have a role to play in spirituality, to help us define the limits of our thinking and to relate our spirituality as a body of ideas to other spiritualities.

Blood of Christ, Price of Our Redemption

Although the chalice is one of the most important instruments used in celebrating the Eucharist, it is still an instrument. In an emergency it can even be dispensed with. Yet the chalice is so close to the Blood of Christ that it assumes a marvelously symbolic strength all its own that can guide us to a deeper understanding of our lives relative to the 'Price of Our Redemption'.

If we see the ministry of the Covenant as central to what we do, then our special focus and contribution to the overall mission of the Church would center around two things: community-building and communication. In the ministries of the Church which we would undertake, a special trademark would be concern for building up the bonding which is the cement of community. We would be interested in overcoming the isolation which individuals feel and which the individualism of our culture makes us particularly prone to.

In talking about the spirituality of the Precious Blood, trying to find new ways of speaking about the Precious Blood, often the comment that we hear or even say ourselves -- How does this apply to my own life and ministry today in the Church? What follows is an attempt from one perspective to make sense of this apostolic spirituality of the Precious Blood. Hopefully the following comments and reflections will aid us in arriving at ways in which our lives and ministry are continuing to be shaped by a spirituality of the Precious Blood.

As heralds and ambassadors, we must remember that "the message has the authority, not the herald of the message." In this light, we can no longer hold ourselves up in hierarchical positions. As heralds and ambassadors, we must become priests and poets of the Word. How often Gaspar eloquently quotes the Song of Songs, "The blossoming vine gives forth its fragrance (Songs 2:13)," in speaking of the preaching of the members and its fruitful attractiveness.

The blood of the poor stops at our door. The prophet Isaiah says to us today as we spread our hands in prayer and raise our voices in praise: "Your hands are full of blood." Whose blood?

--the blood of men, women, and children martyred in Central America;

--the blood of South African blacks yearning for freedom;

--the blood of the homeless sleeping in the streets of St. Louis;

--the blood of the AIDS victim dying alone because of our fear;

This thesis continues and expands one undertaken at the licentiate level at Regis College, Toronto, in 1989. In addition to developing some themes treated there only minimally, this doctoral dissertation represents a general reorientation of the topic. Whereas the previous thesis dealt primarily with the personal spirituality of Gaspar Del Bufalo, the present work strives to show how a form of Christian spirituality that may be termed "gasparian" can have relevance to anyone who looks to Gaspar's figure as a model of life in Christ.

The theme of the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ has been central to the identity and self-understanding of our Congregation from the very beginning. It was under this title that St. Gaspar del Bufalo created our Institute in 1815, and it was this very title he defended before Pope Leo XII when the Institute came under attack in 1825 from his opponents.