In Exodus (12:17), homes whose doorposts were daubed with blood were protected from death; it was a visible sign to the angel to pass over the home. When we pray to be covered with the Most Precious Blood of Jesus, we are placing our lives and our souls under the powerful protection of Christ’s very blood.
Precious Blood - Protection for my children
Jesus, cover my children with your Precious Blood. Bless and protect them in body, mind, and spirit. Nourish them in faith, hope, and love.
I have prayed this prayer at the moment the priest raises the chalice to Heaven at every Mass for the last eight years.
I do not recall what inspired this prayer, nor do I recall how the words formed themselves into a prayer. Over the years, I adjusted a word here and there and have come to believe profoundly in the efficacy of asking for the protection and nourishment of the Precious Blood.
It became even more important during the madness of Covid, when the sacramental life of the Church was curtailed, and the reception of the Precious Blood became impossible.
During that time, I came to appreciate the need to prepare our children for the attacks of the evil one. So the first part of the prayer asks for the protection of their bodies, minds, and spirits. The second part of the prayer asks for their faith to be nourished and for it to grow.
Over the course of time that I have prayed this prayer, I have watched as my children have gone through difficult personal moments and difficult social moments – lock downs, etc. In spite of the dangers, they have been protected. Not only have they been protected, they have flourished in faith.
I am wondrously grateful. I appreciate that this is entirely the Lord’s mercy and grace. I also understand that there may be a time when He allows a disaster or a challenge to affect one of them. I try not to live in fear of this and trust His wisdom.
Precious Blood - Entrusting my spouse and my marriage
My husband and I have been married for 25 years. It is fair to say that we have navigated some fairly stormy seas and have endured our share of wreckage.
About a year ago during Mass, I realised that at the moment of Consecration, I should include my marriage. We were in a difficult phase, and there was a lot of bitterness and resentment lying about.
I began to pray:
Precious Blood of Jesus, please cover my marriage with your blood and wash us clean of all bitterness, resentment, sorrow, and grief.
After some months, I noticed that the prayer changed:
Precious Blood of Jesus, please give our marriage nourishment with your Precious Blood flowing between us.
I thought this was awesome, because I appreciated that the Lord had indeed removed much detritus and sorrow between us. There was a feeling of new life.
But the prayer changed again:
Precious Blood of Jesus, pour forth on my marriage and give us life that we might flourish and bear fruit for each other and the Kingdom.
When I reflected on my relationship with my husband, I could see that the Lord had truly been with us on our journey towards deeper reverence and tenderness for one another.
Thus, I have grown to believe deeply in the power and efficacy of the Precious Blood of Jesus. I have only had the opportunity to receive the Precious Blood thrice in the last four years. Each time I have been moved to tears of gratitude. The fascinating shift has been that in spite of receiving it so infrequently, the Lord has demonstrated its power in my life.
Precious Blood of Jesus, cover my family with your blood, fill us with your love, inspire in us faith and hope, give us courage for this time.
Sarah is Editor of Litany of the Home. She lives with her husband in Wagga Wagga where they both teach. Through homeschooling her now four grown up children, she developed a love of writing and correct grammar use. Sarah has been writing and speaking about faith, friendship, and being female for well over a decade. She and her husband, James, are members of the Fraternity of the Heart of Jesus in the Emmanuel Community.
