Litanies
Petition in Honor of the Precious Blood
Precious Blood of Jesus, shed in the circumcision, make me pure of mind, heart and body. Precious Blood, oozing from every pore of Jesus in the Agony, enable me to love God's holy will above all. Precious Blood, flowing from the scourging at the pillar, inspire me with a sorrow for my sins, and a tolerance for suffering. Precious Blood, falling in profusion from the crown of thorns, grant me a ready acceptance of humiliations. Precious Blood, shed profusely in the crucifixion of our Lord, make me die entirely to self-love. Precious Blood, shed to the very last drop by the opening of Christ's Sacred Heart, give me that generous love which sacrifices all for God. Precious Blood, sacred price of my redemption, apply to me your infinite merits. Precious Blood, I adore you from the depths of my heart; I invoke you ardently, for you are my salvation, and by you I hope to obtain the joys of heaven. Amen.
A Random Prayer...
Blessing of Horses and other Draft Animals
The animals praise and glorify God inasmuch as they assist man and serve him. In their own way they assist man in attaining his ultimate goal, and for that reason the Church blesses them. In her blessing the church commends these animals to St. Anthony the hermit, who from the earliest times was regarded as the patron of farmers and animal breeders. The following prayers can be used when the animals are placed in harness for the first time. O God, our refuge and strength, the source of our devotion, hear the devout prayers of the Church, grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain in fact. Almighty, eternal God, who didst test glorious Saint Anthony the hermit in many temptations and didst grant him to go forth untouched by the seductions of this world: grant us Thy servants to make progress in virtue by his example and to be freed from the dangers of this life by his merits and intercession. May these animals, O Lord, receive Thy blessing; may they be sound in body and, by the intercession of Saint Anthony the hermit, may they be preserved from all evil. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. Translated by Most Reverend J. H. Schlarman Bishop of Peoria
more prayers...