According to an ancient legend, the pelican, in time of famine, wounded its breast to feed its young with its own blood. Christian writers took over this image to represent Our Blessed Lord who shed His own blood on the Cross to heal the wounds of our sins, and also to feed us with Himself in Holy Communion.

St Thomas Aquinas refers to the image in his hymn Adoro te devote:

O loving Pelican! O Jesus Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood,
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world’s entire guilt.

Any action of Our Blessed Lord would suffice to save us from our sins in terms of its value, but for our sake, Our Lord gave Himself completely for us. St Peter tells us that we were not redeemed with gold or silver but “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled.”

The devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus unites in our minds the redeeming sacrifice of the Cross and his loving gift of Himself to us in Holy Communion, the food and life of our souls. When we receive Holy Communion, we are nourished in the greatest way possible. It is for us to receive Him with due reverence and respond to this gift in our lives.