The blood of San Gennaro liquefied on September 19, 2021 | Credit: Archdiocese of Naples |
Source - ACI Prensa
This weekend, before starting the traditional procession of Saint Januarius in Naples (Italy), it was announced that the blood of the Italian saint miraculously liquefied again, as it had happened in previous years.
On Saturday, April 30 at 5:00 pm (local time), the Archbishop of Naples, Mons. Domenico Battaglia, entered the Chapel of the Treasury of the Cathedral of Naples, opened the safe that keeps the relics of Saint Januarius and he found it already liquefied, rare though, but it has already happened in the past.
“I am sure that today you want our gazes to be able to go beyond the immediacy of the admirable sign of your blood, avoiding interpreting it in auspicious terms. To understand instead the evangelical sense”, said Bishop Battaglia on April 30.
"You want us not to stop at the solid or liquefied lump of your blister, but rather that your blood becomes a filter for us through which to look at the path of our city and all of humanity," he added.
According to the Archbishop of Naples, the blood of Saint Januarius invites "today more than ever, to work with everyone to stop the flow of innocent blood, the hands of brothers that attack brothers, the wounds that tear the social fabric".
This year, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the procession of the relics of Saint Januarius was held outdoors. Both the bust of the Italian saint and the vials with his blood left the cathedral and were carried in procession by thousands of people to the Basilica of Santa Chiara.
In said basilica, a Mass presided over by Archbishop Battaglia was celebrated at 6:00 pm and prayers were offered for the prodigious liquefaction of the blood.
In his homily, the pastor from Naples said that we live in a "complex and difficult time", but that the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood "of our Martyr Januarius" is a "luminous sign of the blood of the One who He loved offering himself for us on the cross”, and that “it continually refer us to the blood of so many little ones, innocent, victims of evil, of violence, of bad fame, of war”.
“The blood still flows! It flows in our Europe, in this world of ours, inhabited by the senselessness of war, by fratricidal hatred, by the madness of the brother who raises his hand against his brother”, said Bishop Battaglia.
However, he assured that there is also a "beneficial blood that continues to flow, a blood inhabited by the very blood of Christ, a blood to which the blood of Bishop Januarius refers us."
“It is the blood of all those who do not give up, it is the blood of those who do not turn around, it is the blood of those who fold their hands to be a sign of light and hope even when everything seems dark and gloomy around him,” he added.
Throughout the following week, in the Chapel of the Treasure (except Saturdays and Sundays) the case containing the ampoules of the Blood of Saint Januarius will be venerated every day.
The liquefaction of the blood of this saint is an inexplicable phenomenon that occurs three times a year: the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, on the occasion of the transfer of the saint's remains to Naples; the day of his liturgical feast, September 19; and on December 16, anniversary of the intercession of Saint Januarius to avoid the effects of the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 1631.
The process does not always occur in the same way: sometimes it takes several hours, or even days, to liquefy. On very few occasions the miracle has not happened.
On Saturday, April 30 at 5:00 pm (local time), the Archbishop of Naples, Mons. Domenico Battaglia, entered the Chapel of the Treasury of the Cathedral of Naples, opened the safe that keeps the relics of Saint Januarius and he found it already liquefied, rare though, but it has already happened in the past.
“I am sure that today you want our gazes to be able to go beyond the immediacy of the admirable sign of your blood, avoiding interpreting it in auspicious terms. To understand instead the evangelical sense”, said Bishop Battaglia on April 30.
"You want us not to stop at the solid or liquefied lump of your blister, but rather that your blood becomes a filter for us through which to look at the path of our city and all of humanity," he added.
According to the Archbishop of Naples, the blood of Saint Januarius invites "today more than ever, to work with everyone to stop the flow of innocent blood, the hands of brothers that attack brothers, the wounds that tear the social fabric".
This year, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the procession of the relics of Saint Januarius was held outdoors. Both the bust of the Italian saint and the vials with his blood left the cathedral and were carried in procession by thousands of people to the Basilica of Santa Chiara.
In said basilica, a Mass presided over by Archbishop Battaglia was celebrated at 6:00 pm and prayers were offered for the prodigious liquefaction of the blood.
In his homily, the pastor from Naples said that we live in a "complex and difficult time", but that the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood "of our Martyr Januarius" is a "luminous sign of the blood of the One who He loved offering himself for us on the cross”, and that “it continually refer us to the blood of so many little ones, innocent, victims of evil, of violence, of bad fame, of war”.
“The blood still flows! It flows in our Europe, in this world of ours, inhabited by the senselessness of war, by fratricidal hatred, by the madness of the brother who raises his hand against his brother”, said Bishop Battaglia.
However, he assured that there is also a "beneficial blood that continues to flow, a blood inhabited by the very blood of Christ, a blood to which the blood of Bishop Januarius refers us."
“It is the blood of all those who do not give up, it is the blood of those who do not turn around, it is the blood of those who fold their hands to be a sign of light and hope even when everything seems dark and gloomy around him,” he added.
Throughout the following week, in the Chapel of the Treasure (except Saturdays and Sundays) the case containing the ampoules of the Blood of Saint Januarius will be venerated every day.
The liquefaction of the blood of this saint is an inexplicable phenomenon that occurs three times a year: the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, on the occasion of the transfer of the saint's remains to Naples; the day of his liturgical feast, September 19; and on December 16, anniversary of the intercession of Saint Januarius to avoid the effects of the eruption of the Vesuvius volcano in 1631.
The process does not always occur in the same way: sometimes it takes several hours, or even days, to liquefy. On very few occasions the miracle has not happened.
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