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My Bonds of Blood with Jesus.
Natural human love reaches its highest expression in marriage. A child is the visible manifestation of love—a bond of shared blood. Marriage serves as the bedrock for families, tribes, and nations. The infusion of God's grace purifies and elevates both marriage and all forms of human love. This infusion is real, not merely symbolic.
The bonds of blood are the foundation of patriotism. While it is often said that a soldier risks his life for his comrades rather than his nation, we should not take this statement too far. A soldier also risks his life out of love for his country as a patriot, and out of reverence for the Fourth Commandment. But also, because he shares the same blood as his fellow countrymen.
God established His Chosen People based on the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Jesus replaced the Twelve Tribes, held together by blood ties, with the Twelve Apostles. The Catholic faith emerged from the tribal Jewish religion within a universal tribe, the single "Tribe of Jesus." His universal priesthood, according to the order of Melchizedek, replaced the tribal Mosaic priesthood. Therefore, His Church is catholic (universal). However, even the universal Church maintains the bond of blood.
Through Mary's “yes” to the Angel, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. As an unborn child in her womb, Mary nourished Jesus with her blood, and He became a physical member of her family and the House of David. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of Jesus, and God’s "full of grace" spouse. The Word became a member of the tribe of Mary while remaining our Creator. The Incarnation of Jesus renews the creation of all tribes because God and man are reconciled in Him and He sheds His blood for our salvation.
Like every family and tribe, we need the bond of blood to claim and maintain our membership in the "tribe" of Jesus. Just as children conceived in love share the blood of their parents, God conceives us in His Church through Baptism, and we participate in His body and blood, humanity and divinity, through the Eucharist.
The Precious Blood of Jesus—our reception of His body, blood, soul, and divinity in the sacrificial Eucharist—is the remedy for all human dysfunctions and failures, including the abuses of tribalism and racism. While we may find a DNA ancestry search amusing, as members of the Tribe of Jesus, it is never distressing because we participate in His saving blood. We are His blood brothers.
The bond of blood that surpasses all marriages, families, tribes, and nations is the unifying Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist. His Precious Blood is not a symbol. The Real Presence unites us as brothers and sisters within His Mystical Body, the Church. "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands…" (1 John 1).
With some excerpts from Fr. Pokorsky
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