BLOOD OF JESUS CAN HEAL THE VIOLENCE, HATRED IN THE WORLD

VATICAN CITY, JUL 2, 2000 (VIS) - This morning, before praying the angelus with the tens of thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, below his study window, John Paul II reflected on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blood of Christ. He also denounced the violence and hatred in the world which lead to bloodshed.

"The Heart of Jesus," he said, "contains a message for every person; it also speaks to the world today. In a society where techniques and computer technology develop at ever increasing rates, and where one is assailed by a thousand, often conflicting interests, man risks losing the center, his own center. By showing us His Heart, Jesus reminds us above all that it is there, in the most intimate part of the person, that each one's destiny is decided, death or life in a definitive sense."

The Pope then pointed out that "the Blood of Christ redeemed us. Here is the truth which, precisely yesterday, at the start of July, traditionally dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Christ, we proclaimed on the occasion of the Jubilee of the 'Sanguis Christi' Union."
"How much blood has been unjustly shed in the world!" he then exclaimed. "How much violence, how much disdain for human life! Mankind today, often wounded by hatred and violence, needs, more than ever to experience the efficacy of the redeeming blood of Christ. That blood, which was not shed in vain, carries within it the power of God's love and the pledge of hope, redemption, reconciliation."

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