Living the Liturgical Year Well: July, The Precious Blood of Jesus
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July is the height of summer. Out in nature the sun is shining, the earth is growing her bounty, fruits are ripening. It is a delightful time of the year. Liturgically, we turn our gaze towards our Lord and His sacrifice for us. The month of July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, poured for our salvation. It is said that the Church grew from the blood poured on Calvary and the line-up of saints being commemorated this month proves it. Through baptism we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb and now it is our turn to grow and ripen in our faith and let the Son shine on us.
Why the Precious Blood of Our Lord?
Saint John Chrysostom said: “This blood, when worthily received, drives away demons and puts them at a distance from us, and even summons to us angels and the Lord of angels. This blood, poured out in abundance, has washed the whole world clean. This is the price of the world; by it Christ purchased the Church.” We owe everything to this precious blood shed for us. Without it there would be no salvation. Catholic Culture has a beautiful overview on the devotion to the Most Precious Blood that we revisit every year.
Devotion to the Most Precious Blood
For years we have added Saint Gertrude’s prayer to the Most Precious Blood for the deliverance of souls in Purgatory at the end of our rosary. July is the perfect time to learn this short prayer by heart and to start making it a part of your daily prayer life. It can be added for copywork, which helps a lot with memorization.
Another beautiful prayer to the Precious blood is this one, from Saint Catherine of Siena:
Precious Blood,
Ocean of Divine Mercy:
Flow upon us.
Precious Blood,
Most pure Offering:
Procure us every Grace!
Precious Blood,
Hope and Refuge of sinners:
Atone for us!Precious Blood,
Delight of holy souls:
Draw us!
Apostles
As we continue our study of the Apostles, this month we will be encountering Saint Thomas and Saint James the Greater. Just as we have done with Saints Peter and Paul in June and Saints Philip, James the Less and Matthias in May, we will continue to discover these dear friends of Our Lord. We will actually have visited with half of the Apostles by the end of July! That was quick!
July 3rd: Saint Thomas
Picture book: The Twelve Apostles by Mariana Mayers
Activities:
– Apostles ID cards
– Peg dolls (We have yet to get to these, life has been so busy…)
Food: How about enjoying some Saint Thomas Fingers to celebrate his feast day?
July 25: Saint James the Greater
Picture book: The Twelve Apostles by Mariana Mayers
Activities:
– Apostles ID cards
– Peg dolls
Food: I love this suggestion to serve mini Tarta de Santiago in scallop shells! So lovely!
Family of our Lord
On July 26th, we celebrate Our Lord’s grandparents and Our Lady’s parents: Saints Joachim and Anne. This is a great day to honor grandparents in a special way. This is our Catholic Grandparents Day. I know that receiving beautiful drawings and cards in the mail is always a treasure. Maybe send a big fat envelope to grandparents, even if they live next door!
To celebrate Saints Joachim and Anne we will read about them in Once Upon a Time Saints by Ethel Pochoki, illustrated by Tom Matt. We might finally get to make some peg dolls, how cute would that be?!? And maybe add a young girl Mary? With summer being slower it would be a lovely project for the day! As for a treat, a Fruit Pizza sounds perfect and refreshing.
Friends of our Lord
On July 22nd, we celebrate the witness of Saint Mary Magdalene. Shew was so close to the heart of our Lord that he chose her to announce the Resurrection to his apostles. Unfortunately there is no picture book (that I know of) on Saint Mary Magdalene. But we might read (or listen) to this great article by Catholic Answers on who Mary Magdalene was. And to celebrate, enjoy some Madeleines (these are some of my very favorite French pastries).
.Just a week later, on July 29th, we commemorate other close friends of our Lord, the siblings Martha, Mary, Lazarus. This is a newer feast day (2021), even though it has long been Saint Martha’s feast day. Patroness of homemakers she is very dear to my heart! Again, there are no picture books about their lives, but they are so familiar to us through the Bible. Catholic Culture does have a lovely article on the brother and sisters, as well as a few recommendations on how to celebrate them. I highly recommend the book Holiness for Housewives And Other Working Women by Dom Hubert Van Zeller. It is wonderful and Saint Martha’s feast day would be a great day to pick it up.
Two founders
In July we also commemorate the lives of two saints who have impacted the world both spiritually and historically. Saint Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order and Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order. Both saints have a very special place in the Church and they both have a place of honor among the 140 saints in the colonnades of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (saints 16 and 17). They even stand there side by side. They also have had the privilege of their statues being put in places of honor within Saint Peter’s Basilica!
- July 11th: Saint Benedict
- Picture book: The Holy Twins by Tomie dePaola
- Activity: The wonderful Mary, of Our Domestic Church, created this lovely activity to get to know and understand the Saint Benedict medal. Enjoy!
- As for food, let us enjoy some bread!
- July 31st: Saint Ignatius of Loyola
- Listen to his life’s story through the amazing podcast Saints Alive!
- Activity: Part of Saint Ignatius’s teaching is a daily examination of conscience. If this is not something that your family is familiar with, today would be a great day to find out about it and start practicing it.
- Dessert: this scrumptious Ignacio Cake can’t be beat, except if you add some berries and whipped cream to it.
A Daily Picture Book’s patroness
Last, but not least, on July 12th, on their wedding anniversary, we will celebrate the feast of Saints Louis and Zelie Martin, Saint Therese of Lisieux’s parents. How amazing to have a canonized married couple to have recourse to! I chose Saint Zelie as co-patroness of A Daily Picture Book because of her entrepreneurship, she ran a handmade lace business, her devotion and trust in the Lord in all things. This lovely picture book is wonderful: One Holy Marriage: the Story of Saints Louisand Zelie Martin, by Katie Warner, illustrated by Leah Pumfrey. And Catholic Cuisine has the prettiest cake idea to celebrate this wonderful couple!
For more ideas on how to celebrate saints Louis and Zelie, subscribe to A Daily Picture Book’s Booklover membership!
July promises to be a beautiful month, centered on our Lord and his family and friends. What treasures the Catholic Church offers us every month through devotions and the example and intercession of the saints! I love liturgical living and being able to celebrate so many beautiful lives given to the Lord! So please join us for a month of prayer and learning.
Love,
Mattie
