To Love the Precious Blood
St. Gaspar del Bufalo, founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, poured out his life preaching the redeeming love that Christ poured out for us on the cross. This blogcast explores "To Love the Precious Blood" from the Ad Infinitum blog, written and read by Ryan Corey.
This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. This certainly was one of the most incredible weeks of my life; not only was I in Rome and Europe as a whole for the first time, but I was there for a Jubilee Year, something that usually happens only every twenty-five years. The city was overflowing with pilgrims; everywhere you looked there would be a bus full of people from different countries all meeting in Rome. It was here, amidst a packed city with tiring cobblestone streets that I encountered St. Gaspar del Bufalo.
Tucked away in Rome, just a short walk from the famous Trevi fountain, there is a small church on a street corner called St. Maria in Trivio. In this little church, which rivals many churches here in beauty, there is a beautiful side altar dedicated to St. Gaspar del Bufalo, in which his tomb is encased. The tomb is designed as a statue of St. Gaspar, presumably in his final moments. He is pictured raising his head and looking at the crucifix he is holding. In his final moments, St. Gaspar looks up and sees that instrument of man’s redemption by which the Lord’s Precious Blood was shed for the redemption of the whole world.
Our chaplain surprised us by saying that we would be having Mass on this very altar. I had never heard of St. Gaspar before, but his story intrigued me. After hearing about him, I was inspired by his devotion to the Precious Blood. He was a priest in early 19th century Rome who had a tireless commitment to the poor and the preaching of the Gospel. What distinguished him, however, was his strong devotion to the Precious Blood of Christ. Like the Precious Blood, St. Gaspar poured himself out in service to God and His Church, and he called people to deeper conversion to Christ through devotion to His Precious Blood.
St. Gaspar was no stranger to turmoil; he lived through Napoleon and was a missionary in the Papal States during a time of great banditry. Through all of this, he fought not with physical arms, but with a strong love of Christ and His Precious Blood. Following the example of St. Gaspar, it is important to reflect upon the Blood of Christ and draw closer to the mystery of it. The Blood of Christ, the Blood of God-incarnate was shed for all of us. One drop of that blood would have been sufficient for the redemption of the human race, but, as a sign of God’s inexhaustible love, Christ poured out His blood abundantly. St. Gaspar reminds us that this Precious Blood was poured out for you, for me. Despite our sins and our failings, we must be ever conscious of the fact that Christ loves us so deeply that He poured out His Blood for us.
May we learn from the example of St. Gaspar and draw deeper to the mystery of the Precious Blood of Jesus learn of His great love from “the sprinkling of his Blood, in which lies all our salvation.”
St. Gaspar del Bufalo, pray for us!
Author:
Ryan Corey worked as a summer associate at the Catholic Apostolate Center, where he assisted on the newsletter, blog, podcasts, videos, and various other projects. Ryan is a student at The Catholic University of America studying Philosophy and Theology. He is involved with Campus Ministry, the Knights of Columbus council, and he is currently serving as a member of the College Councils Advisory Board for the Knights. Ryan is originally from Chester County, Pennsylvania.
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