Today is the 202nd anniversary of the founding of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood by St. Gaspar del Bufalo. This fledgling congregation in 1815 in Giano, Italy, had few members, little money, and a very tough road ahead. But look at all the good that St. Gaspar and his Missionaries have accomplished in the years since!
It’s hard to imagine the commitment, faith and drive that it took for St. Gaspar to start his own congregation. It would have been much easier to join up with one already in existence. He did so not out of vanity or self-aggrandizement, but because he felt called to do something new, something that no one in his corner of the world was then doing.
Clearly, not all of us are called to start our own religious institute. But it’s equally clear that each of us, every son and daughter of God, is called to a special task in this life, a task that only he or she can do. My prayer on this anniversary of our founding is that each of us remains faithfully committed to the Precious Blood family, and further, that each of us accepts, embraces and carries out the individual call that God has placed in every heart.
Glory to the Blood of Jesus, now and forever!