Like Blood in Our Veins
Simone Riva - Prior to the liturgical calendar reform brought about by the Second Vatican Council, the first Sunday in July was dedicated to the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Christ. Benedict XVI mentioned this during the Angelus on July 5, 2009, reflecting on the blood of men that still flows throughout the world because of wars and hatred.
On that occasion, the Pope asked, “When will men learn that life is sacred and belongs to God alone? When will they understand that we are all brothers?” These questions take on the tone of a great provocation, even for our times.
The fact that the blood of the Son of God is inextricably linked to ours—so much so that we cannot think of Him without thinking of our own lives—fills with emotion those who have not yet surrendered to routine. The function of blood in humans, which is to carry vital energy to every part of the body, is comparable only to that of love, which, as Jesus shows on the cross, generates itself by giving itself.
Carnal and concrete, the blood of Christ turns the spotlight back on our humanity: on what we are, on what gives passion to life, and on what no mechanism can replace. As Pope Francis said when he met with the Italian bishops on June 17, 2024, "Then there are the challenges that call for respect for the dignity of the human person. Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, the data economy, and social media are profoundly transforming our perception and experience of life.
“In this scenario, human dignity risks being flattened or forgotten, replaced by functions, automatisms, simulations. But the person is not a system of algorithms: he or she is a creature, a relationship, a mystery. I would therefore like to express a hope: that the journey of the Churches in Italy will include, in consistent symbiosis with the centrality of Jesus, the anthropological vision as an essential tool of pastoral discernment. Without a lively reflection on the human being—in his corporeality, his vulnerability, his thirst for the infinite, and his capacity for connection—ethics is reduced to a a code, and faith risks becoming disembodied."
This mandate from the Pope is decisive. It is no coincidence that he defines man as a “creature, relationship, and mystery.” If this were truly the starting point for every day, every proposal, and every reflection on life and on man, the time for empty words and tedious schemes we have been repeating for years would soon end, giving way to a true encounter with the truth about ourselves and others.
The redundant constraints of certain texts, even those produced in ecclesial circles, would be set aside so that we might intercept those we encounter in their real need, which is often never on the agenda. “Pastoral discernment” would thus finally take its cue from concrete human beings rather than from ideological constructs derived from endlessly repeated formulas, which operate on the false belief that truths become true by dint of being repeated.
It is a beautiful challenge that needs free men and women who are willing to be moved by what they encounter, certain of Who is leading history. As Jovanotti would say, “It takes rain, wind, and blood in your veins... and a reason to live, to lift your eyelids and not remain lamenting and falling in love every day, every hour, every day, every hour more” (from Tensione Evolutiva).
In short, we are always faced with the same alternative: either we get used to it or we fall in love. We can see this in the turmoil within us and in the circumstances that we cannot escape.
