The Apostolate of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is a pious society in Holy Roman Catholic Church. We propagate the Devotion to the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the world with the intention of achieving the wish of Christ returningall men and women to the Father as a way of promoting the dignity of human value and saving life. Devotion to the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is not a new one in the Holy Catholic Church. It is as old as the first Holy Thursday when Jesus Christ instituted the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist. The proclamation of the following words on the night before He suffered: “This is My Body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of Me…. This cup is God’s new covenant sealed with My Blood which is poured for you” (Lk. 22: 19-20) evoked from the Apostles a sublime religious fervour or reverence. Before then Jesus had performed great miracles but they saw the miracle of miracles in the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Cross, the Sacrifice of the New Law, the most admirable Sacrament, the wondrous presence, and the abiding memorial of Christ’s Passion. Seeing Christ setting Himself before them as a sacrifice of reconciliation or salvation and as the food of eternal life in the most precious and wonderful banquet made them adore the wondrous presence with a faith beyond description. Since then it has always been so in the Holy Catholic Church and it will continue to be so until the Lord comes back in glory. That is the Lord’s command. We must continue to proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns. (cf. 1 Cor.11:26). Our apostolate engages in school and hospital mission.Our school, the Precious Blood International College started in 2012 and is ranking among the best College in the country attracting candidates from different parts of the country and beyond. Our school provides scholarship to children of poor families. Our hospital which started in 2016 provides health services to the poor and needy. We are also involved in the restoration of peace in broken human relationship. Through these means we respond to the demand of our Lord Jesus who in 1995 called us to console Him and adore His Precious Blood. We look forward to the total satisfaction of souls and the return of God’s kingdom among men. We see the face of Jesus in the needy, the thirsty, the hungry and the unloved and console Him. With our lives, we point the cross to all men; for there is no other sign given for the salvation of man than the sign of the cross. In this way, we attempt to lead many to behold the One pierced on the cross. This is the call to love the Love. This is adoration..
The devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ is not a new one in the Holy Roman Catholic Church. It is a devotion that is as old as the first Holy Thursday when Jesus Christ instituted the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist. The Church at all ages continues in this mission as she celebrates the Holy Eucharist in obedience to the Lord’s command; “Do this in memory of Me”. Devotion to the Holy Eucharist in different chapels all over the world is also devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Most certainly too, one cannot talk of a living body (flesh) divorced of blood.
On the 5th of July, 1995, at about 3.00pm, the Agonizing Jesus Christ called and appealed to me in these words; “Barnabas console Me, adore my Precious Blood”. The voice was so gentle and pleading; I turned and could not see who was calling me. The voice continued, “Barnabas, console Me, adore My Precious Blood; I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ”. He kept silent for a moment. I noticed that there was a sudden calmness and quiet in the room in which I was. It seemed to me that there was no movement of any object in the world, that one could even hear the sound of a dropped pin. In this silent moment, I heard the voice of a choir, which sang the song of the Precious Blood and prayed in these words; “Precious Blood of Jesus Christ; save us and the whole world”. In the end, the voice said, “I bless you My son”. Immediately the whole episode passed. On the 6th of July, 1995, I had the same encounter as the previous day. It was the same hour of 3.00pm. As I was looking at the crucifix hanging on the wall, suddenly, cloud came down and covered it. In the cloud, appeared the Agonizing Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, bleeding. His Head was crowned with thorns. The Sacred Heart appeared at the position of His Heart, which issued Divine Rays. He kept silent for a while and then said: “Barnabas, I am Jesus Christ who died on the Cross of Calvary to save the world. I am the One Who laid my Body to be scourged that men might be free. I bore all the shame they deserved. With my Blood I purchased them, yet My people did not know me. I am still the One, Who is suffering the agony due to their sins. Barnabas, console Me, and adore My Precious Blood. I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ, Who loves you much; have mercy on Me, I bless you, My son”. Immediately, the whole scene passed. During these two incidents, I was unable to utter a word while they lasted, but pondered in my heart what all that could mean. On 3rd day, that is, 7th of July 1995 and at the same hour, the Agonizing Jesus Christ appeared, with His Face bathed with Blood and calmly said “Barnabas why is it that you cannot answer My Appeal of Love? Have mercy on Me. I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ, Who you and the world crucify every second and minute of the day with your sins. I called you to adore My Precious Blood. If you answer My Call of Love to adore My Precious Blood, I will choose you as My instrument to save you and your people, who will return to Me. Through My Precious Blood, I will renew the face of the earth. There shall be done on earth the Will of My Father as it is done in Heaven. Your eyes will see the Reign of Peace in the World”. He kept silent for a while. It was then that I answered, ‘Agonizing Jesus Christ, I am willing to do Your Will. I love You; I love You;…”As I said these words my heart melted and I wept with a heart full of sorrow. In the end, the Agonizing Jesus Christ said; “Remain in My Peace, I bless you, My son”. Then He varnished and the episode ended.
After the event of 7th of July, 1995, I narrated my experience to my sister Irene Magbo, who advised me to record the whole experience. This I did and the incidence stopped for the year. The memory of these incidents had almost gone when I had the fourth encounter on the 5th of July, 1996, at about 5.30am. On this day, the Agonizing Jesus Christ offered me the Chaplet of His Most Precious Blood with Its Litany. He said, “Barnabas, I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ, console Me, adore My Precious Blood. Consecrate your life to My Precious Blood and make constant reparation for sins committed against My Blood. Take this” He then gave me the Chaplet and said: This is the Chaplet of My Blood. Pray it and make it known to the whole world”. I received it and said: “Adoration to Your Precious Blood” He continued by saying: “Through this Chaplet, I will renew the face of the earth and draw all men to acknowledge the Price of their Redemption. I will also renew the Church so that the Holy Sacrifice offered to me will remain pure and worthy before ascending to My Altar in Heaven. I promise to protect anyone who devotedly prays this Chaplet against evil attacks. I will guard his five senses. I will protect him from sudden death. 12 hours before his death, he will drink My Precious Blood and eat My Body. 24 hours before his death I will show him My Five Wounds that he may feel a deep contrition for all his sins and have a perfect knowledge of them. Any person who makes a novena with It will get his intentions; his prayer will be answered. I will perform many wonderful miracles through It. Through It, I will destroy many secrets societies and set free many souls in bondage by My Mercy. Through this Chaplet, I will save many souls from Purgatory. I will teach him My Way, he who honours My Precious Blood through this Chaplet. I will have mercy on those who have mercy on My Precious Blood and Wounds. Whoever teaches this prayer to another person will have an indulgence of 4 years. I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ Who made these promises to My people who will embrace this Chaplet of My Precious Blood. Barnabas, if you carry out this Devotion faithfully, you will suffer many agonies with Me because the way is a desert way, so dry and rough. I will lead you and all men who answer My Call of Love, through this way to the Land of Promise. I promise again that I will renew the face of the earth through My little ones. Then, comes the Reign of My Glory, when all shall be one in Me”. Then I asked: “My Lord, people will not believe me and the Church will not welcome It. What shall I do to make It known to the world?” Our Lord replied: “Barnabas fear not about the spread of the Devotion. Only offer your life to Me. Be humble and obedient to the Church. Surrender to every cross and offer it for My consolation, pray always and never give up. If you do, all who hear of this Devotion will look for It and all who see It will embrace It and spread It also. My Church will welcome It when the time comes. Barnabas the way is hard; it is a desert way. You will pass the hour of dryness and confusion. Some will complain on the way. Some will give up their faith. But I plead with you, My son; remain faithful and obedient to My Command. I promise to lead you to the Land of Promise. There, your joy will be complete”. Then I asked some questions on the Chaplet of the Precious Blood: “Lord may I ask why the small beads are twelve in number and the big beads are one at the end of each set of twelve beads and it is prayed one Our Father and one Hail Mary on It. If people ask me, what will I tell them? He answered: “My son, this Devotion had been in My Holy Church ever since My day of circumcision. My Mother was the first to adore My Precious Blood with her Penitential tears as She saw Her only Son bleeding for humanity. But you can see that this age has forgotten the Price of their Redemption. Today, I give you this Chaplet for you and for all men to adore My Precious Blood, the Price of their Redemption. Wake up this Devotion and hasten the Kingdom of My Glory on Earth. Barnabas, each small bead represents a tribe of Israel. As you recite the Chaplet, My Precious Blood will rain on the earth for the conversion of the whole Israel, I mean the whole world. Each time you pray one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary” in every portion of the Chaplet, you honour the mystical Wounds, Pains and Precious Blood of the Agonizing and Sorrowful Hearts of the Son and His Mother. I assure you, many wounds shall be healed. I and My Mother will be consoled. The mercy of the Father will multiply; the Holy Spirit will rest upon you, My Precious Blood will flow to save. Know also, the red colour of the beads represent My Precious Blood and the white beads represent the Water that comes out from My Sacred Side, which washes away your sins. Remember that I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ Who loves you much. Receive My blessing; I bless you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”.
After the event of 5th July, 1996, I entered into series of prayers and mortification to ask God for strength and the way forward. On December 8, 1996, at about 9.30pm, in my prayer, I saw a vision of the Agonizing Jesus Christ, Who said to me: “Barnabas I have seen your obedience and that of your people over my orders. I appreciate your sacrifice. I am happy. Now, it is time to submit the prayers as I have given to you to your Parish Priest. On December 28, you will submit everything to him as I have given to you”. At this word, I asked: “My Lord, how can he accept it, since he was the one who burnt the message of Aokpe which one of our brothers gave to him last week?” our Lord answered: “I will take away his heart of stone and give him a heart like Mine, so that he will share much of My Agony. Obey My Order; I will do My work, which is Mine alone. Your obedience to My Orders will melt the hard gates of trials and give peace to My Flock. But if you remain unmoved to My Order, My Flock will suffer much. Barnabas, remember that I am the Agonizing Jesus Christ, who loves you much. I receive much consolation in every cross you accept with love. Accept your crosses and give Me joy. I bless you, in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”. On 28th December, 1996, I submitted everything to Rev. Fr. Boniface Onah who then was my Parish Priest. Unlike him, he did not burn the document. He gazed at the tabernacle and said; “My son, I have not seen anything like this before. We shall offer a Holy Mass for it. Let us make it nine days novena Mass”, he said, I replied; “Father nine days is too long. Let us do three days. Let us have it by 9.00pm”. He accepted as I requested, after which I went home. On 30th December, 1996, at about 11.30pm, I woke up to say my prayers; then I saw before my crucifix, the Agonizing Jesus Christ Who said to me after a brief silence, “Do whatever your Parish Priest tells you. I am beginning My work which no one can stop. I will inspire him to follow My Plan, which I have set to draw all men to Myself. I need your humility; I need your obedience. Remain in the peace from Heaven. I bless you”. On 1st January, 1997, we started the novena. From then to date, the Devotion spread as the Agonizing Jesus Christ promised He would do
We live the spirituality of the Cross. Our gazes are centered on the One who is pierced on the Cross. We see in Him the need to carry our own crosses every day of our lives in imitation of Him. We equally assist in carrying all the rejected crosses the world had abandoned. We see these crosses as petals of the rose of perfect purity scattered all over the world. We do these by surrounding to every crosses; seeing them as coming from God. In our lives we wish to be crushed, to be trampled underfoot so as to be the step through which others come to God. In this way, we point to the world that there is no other way to salvation, than the royal way of the Cross. True Devotees of the Precious Blood shall be the Apostles of the Cross. They will not be afraid to follow the suffering Master with their crosses on their own shoulder. Their feet will not be trembling to step into the fire of crucified love. Like their Master, they are ready to journey to Calvary, so as to die with Him, in order to resurrect with Him.
The answer to the following fundamental question will help us to grasp clearly the spirituality of the Apostolate of the Precious Blood.
The central message of the call of the reawaking of the devotion to the Most Precious Blood began with the appeal of consolation and adoration. The person of Jesus calling is the Agonizing Jesus Christ. The message reveals that the Agonizing Jesus Christ is the same Christ who came into the world through the womb of Virgin Mary, lived like us in everything except in sin, suffered and died and on the third day, He rose again. And now, He is at the right hand of God the Father. He reigns with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. The issue at hand is: Is this second person of the Holy Trinity still agonizing? Did He need our consolation? Before we delve into the details of this matter, it will be good to explain the three different senses available to understand the matter. These senses are univocal, equivocal and analogical senses.
The univocal senses: The univocal sense sees the person of the Agonizing Jesus Christ as one who is still suffering, who is yet to overcome death, pain, and agony. This sense renders the truth of resurrection invalid. For one who sees the person of the Agonizing Jesus Christ in this sense, Jesus is still hanging on the Cross, still carrying the Cross, and still sweating blood in the garden, just as He died 2000 years ago. One of the implications of this way of viewing the Agonizing Jesus Christ is the denial of the truth of resurrection. In resurrection, Jesus conquer death as the last enemy of man (Cf. 1 Cor. 15:26) He never die again, for redemption is once and for all (Heb. 9:6)
Equivocal Sense:The second sense is the equivocal sense. This sense negates the idea of the Agonizing Jesus Christ. Here, Jesus cannot suffer any more. He has done that once and for all. He is in heaven with the Father and Holy Spirit enjoying the glory they had in common from the beginning of the world. The idea of the Agonizing Jesus Christ can never be true. Jesus can never suffer in any way for love of us again. He has finished his work and is now in glory. Nothing concerns him and suffering of the world anymore. He will only come again to judge the (living and dead) World. Right now, it does not concern Him what happens in the world, since he has done His part. Another idea may be that He is only concern with the world in so far as it is about blessing those who are born again. Unrepentant sinners are not the friend of Jesus anymore. Jesus has turned His back from them; only the righteous ones are his friend. One of the major implications of the equivocal sense is that it separates Jesus from those He loved so much as to die for them on the Cross. Here the bond of love has broken. The head had been cut off from the members. This shows that it is now possible for the head to exist without the body. But this is Impossible! However, if it should be possible, then another being has come into being. Looking closely into the two senses just discussed, we should observe that there are some elements of truth in each sense, but not complete truth. These will lead us to the third sense which will pick the truth of each of the two senses and merge them to bring about complete truth. The sense is called analogical sense.
Analogical Sense: The third sense known as the analogical senseshows that Jesus Christ is indeed agonizing in a way, and at the same time that Jesus Christ had triumph over any form of agony. We see in this sense partially the same and partially different.
The simple reason why Jesus Christ is still agonizing in our time and at all time that sin and ingratitude continue to exist in the world is ‘love’. God is love, he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4: 16).
Through the Holy Spirit the Father gave us His Son in love (Luke 1: 35). On this consideration Thomas said that ‘the Son is the word; not any sort of word but one who breaths forth love!’ (Summa Theologiea q. 43. a.5) The indwelling of God in our soul is an act of love. St. Paul brought out clearly the nature of love in his letter to the Corinthians (1Cor 13: 15) Love endures; love is infinite and always present in time. This explain why, Jesus Christ though He is in Heaven as God, love has made Him always present in time with His brothers and sisters in the world. In Jesus Christ we see the marriage of time and eternity, the reconciliation of finite and infinite, man and God. Jesus is now the bridge between Heaven and earth. All these things are possible because of love. For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son that whoever believe in Him will not lost but have eternal life. (John 3:16).
Jesus came and died for love us, for no love is greater than this: that someone dies for the one he loves (John 15:13).This exactly is what Jesus did. On the third day He rose from the dead. While Jesus Christ was in the world, He gathered for the Father the new community of Israel.This community of the new Israel He made His bride. On the day of Pentecost He consecrated her with the Holy Spirit and married her forever. The new community of Israel is the Church. Now Christ is the head of this new family of God. The Church is the spouse of Christ (Eph 5:23-25) just as in marriage, the two (man and woman), come together and become one; Jesus and His Church is one. Unlike the earthly marriage that end with the death of either of the partner; the bond of the mystical marriage of Christ and His church last forever. The reason for this everlasting bond is simple. The Head, that is, Christ is infinite; the members - the church will surely unite with the Head infinitely. This is true because Jesus has said so that where He is, so we will be. (John 12:26). It follows that we cannot have the head without the body.
Having said these things, it is now becoming clear why the agony of the Church is also the agony of Christ. It will not be an error to say that the agonizing church is Agonizing Jesus Christ. This immediately calls to mind the episode of Saul of Tarsus, who later became Paul, with Jesus on the way to Damascus. (Cf. Act 9). Saul having received authorized letter from Jerusalem not only to persecute, but even to kill men and women of the followers of Jesus Christ in Damascus, set out to fulfil His mission. On his way, Jesus intercepted him and spoke to him passionately,“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me”.
The point of meditation here is Jesus words:“Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me”. Remember that Jesus had resurrected and was then enjoying the peace of paradise as He continued to enjoy when this incidence happened. The phrase, ‘persecuting me’ shows clearly that though Jesus is in heaven, the bond of love with His church has not yet broken and will never break. Here we see Jesus agonizing in His body, the Church. If the mere persecution of the church can set Jesus in deep agony that He could not hold Himself in the peace of paradise amidst the songs of praise and adoration of the Heavenly Choirs, that he moved to intercept Saul and question him why he was persecuting Him; how can we quantify the measure of His agony now over the enemies of His Church that are dragging many souls to hell. To such enemies, Jesus will cry ‘why are you destroying Me’, instead of “why are you persecuting Me”.
Is not the same Jesus Christ who said to the goats, those on His left, as He recounts what will happen on the last day: “when I was hungry you did not give Me anything to eat; thirst, you gave Me nothing to drink, stranger, you did not welcome Me into your house; naked you did not cloth Me, sick and in prison, you did not visit Me? (Mt 25:41-46)? Is this person of Jesus not the Agonizing Jesus looking for consolation? Your answer will definitely tell you that only the consolers, those who feed the hungry, who offer drinks to the thirsty, who welcome a stranger, who clothe the naked, who visit the sick and the prisoner, will be welcome to paradise, the kingdom of God (Mt25:34-40): the appeal of the Agonizing Jesus Christ calling all men to console Him and adore His Precious Blood is a necessary one.
We have attempted to throw light on the mystery of the agonising person of Jesus Christ and the great need to be a consoler. On a further discussion, we shall discuss the need to adore the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. When this must have being achieved, we shall see the great similarity between a consoler and an adorer. Hence to console is to adore; and to adore is to console. Consolation and adoration is simply looking deeply. Let us now attempt the third fundamental question about the glorious reign - the kingdom of God on earth.