Gethsemane, July 1, 2026
Readings: Exodus 12:21–27; Revelation 7:9–14; Luke 22:39–44
Feast of the Most Precious Blood
Very Reverend Father Custos,
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, as we gather in this holy place— the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus entered into His agony and where His sweat became drops of blood falling to the ground—we celebrate the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. And here, in this very place, you will be ordained priests. This is no coincidence. Divine Providence, in its wisdom, has chosen for you, dear brothers, this day and this place to remind us that the priesthood is born from the Blood of Christ, and that every priest is called to be a witness to that Blood, which speaks more eloquently than the blood of Abel.
From the very first pages of Sacred Scripture, blood speaks. The blood of Abel cries out to God from the land. It is the cry of violence, injustice, and innocent suffering. It is the cry of a humanity that has turned away from God, broken the covenant, and become an enemy of both God and brother. The land, which was meant to welcome life, instead became a witness to violent death.
Yet God hears this cry. From that moment onward, the entire history of salvation is God's response to the cry of the blood. It is a response that takes us by surprise, surpassing every human expectation.
The Book of Leviticus tells us that "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Lev 17:11), and that this blood has an atoning value. In Exodus, the blood of the lamb protects from death, marking the doorposts so that destruction may pass over. In the Temple, the blood renews the covenant and reconciles the people with their God. All these sacrifices served simply to remind God of the need for salvation that dwells in the human heart.
But in Jesus everything is fulfilled, in a new and definitive way. It is no longer the blood of animals offered to God, but the Blood of the Son of God offered for humanity. It is not blood taken by force, but blood given out of love. A blood that does not cry out for vengeance, but cries out for mercy.
The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that the Blood of Christ "speaks more eloquently than the blood of Abel" (Heb 12:24). Abel's blood cried out for justice; Christ's Blood cries out for forgiveness. Abel’s blood demanded that God act against sin; the Blood of Christ implores God to act with mercy towards sinners. Just as the Father hears Abel’s cry, so now He also hears Christ’s cry, and that cry of love and peace moves Him to forgive.
This is the mystery into which we enter today. The priesthood that the Church is about to confer upon you is the priesthood of the New Covenant, which offers the very Blood of Christ—the Blood that is life, that is forgiveness, and communion.
Every priest, at his ordination, is configured to Christ the High Priest. This means that he is called to become like Christ—whos whose life is poured out, whose blood is shed—not through violence, but through love; not to take life, but to give it. As the Book of Revelation reminds us, the saved are those who "have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:14). The priest is called to immerse himself in this mystery, to unite his own blood—his life, his service, his sacrifice—to that of Christ.
At every Eucharistic Celebration, the priest makes present that same Blood; making that very sacrifice available to all; he makes that one sacrifice of Christ present throughout time, in every place, for every generation. The Blood shed on Calvary flows through the centuries and reaches us today, here, in this Eucharist.
Today, you are being ordained to become channels of that river. You are not the source—Christ alone is the source. But you are called to bring to the people that life-giving Blood. In the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist and Reconciliation, you will be ministers of that Blood that purifies, forgives, and heals.
To you, who are ordained today in Jerusalem, in this land steeped in blood—both innocent blood and the Blood of Christ—a special vocation is entrusted. You are called to be witnesses in a land has seen too much violence, too much division, too much bloodshed. You are called to bring the Blood that reconciles, unites, and forgives.
The celebrations that take place in Jerusalem are never easy. Each time, they draw us back to the heart of the mystery of God’s love, which is also a mystery of suffering. They remind us that our vocation—for those who live in Jerusalem and for all who love this Church—is to place this mystery of love at the center of our lives, allowing ourselves to be permeated by it day after day; to let ourselves be saved in the very way the Lord has chosen to save us; To continue to be the place where the Word and the Land encounter one another.
The Blood of Christ is your life. It is the source of your priesthood, the strength of your ministry, and the hope of your salvation. Everything you are called to do—to preach, to teach, to absolve, to celebrate—flows from this Blood, which is His life and must now also become your life. Salvation lies in continuing to hold fast to these two cries: that of humanity, violent and sinful, and that of Jesus, who saves. This is our hope: that the ‘yes’ of love may be stronger than all our ‘no’s’. And that when the human cry continues to demand vengeance, God may continue, through you, to bestow His forgiveness.
That Blood is for all of us. It is for our healing, our forgiveness, and our salvation. We must not be afraid, nor flee from God out of fear of our faults and sins, nor hide from his presence. Let us not fear the Blood. Rather, let us go to Him. Let ourselves be washed by Him. Let ourselves be nourished by Him. Let ourselves be saved in the very way the Lord has chosen to save us.
In this Eucharist, we shall all receive the Body and Blood of Christ. May they become for us—for these new priests, for all the faithful, and for this Holy City—the source of life, the pledge of forgiveness, and the beginning of a renewed and redeemed life.
This, too, is our mission in this land, where the blood of humanity and the Blood of Christ have been shed. May the Lord grant us the grace to remain beside and within this mystery, and to find in it life in abundance.
Amen.
*Translated from Italian
