On Tuesdays during Lent, I am inviting others to join me in praying different versions of the Seven Offerings of the Precious Blood prayer at 12:30pm EST. I wanted to add a Lenten opportunity for others, but this was also a personal Lenten observation. I needed more intentional prayer time throughout my day and I was feeling lost about how to pray for the situation in the Ukraine. I've often said "the world needs the Precious Blood" and the Seven Offerings is a concrete way to pray for the situations and areas in the world that in need of reconciliation. And so this idea was born.
Without getting too theological, I want to elaborate on why we "offer" the Precious Blood instead of simply pray. In the times of the Old Testament, it was custom to make an animal sacrifice or offering to atone for sins. There were different prescriptions describing the type of animal to be used, different days in which offerings were appropriate and even ways to obtain the animal for the offering. The offering was a way for humanity to reconcile themselves with God. However, Jesus' death on the cross was the ultimate and final offering humanity needed.
"For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God." --- Hebrews 9:13-14
In scripture, there are seven instances when Jesus sheds His Precious Blood: his circumcision, sweating blood in the garden, scourging at the pillar, crowning of thorns, carrying of the cross, his crucifixion and the spear into his side. In each of these circumstances, Jesus is giving of himself in place of us, once again uniting God and humanity to right relationship.
So while this prayer may have various forms or different words, it always has the same sentiment. We once again offer Jesus' Precious Blood, seven times, for reconciliation in various aspects of our lives. Jesus' blood reconciles humanity with one another, with God and with creation and so in our prayer and offering, we are expressing the desire to continue that reconciling work. To me, this is the perfect way to pray for my personal situations but also the situation in Ukraine and the rest of the world.
If you feel called, please join me in this 15 minute prayer (which will be provided to you). Simply click this link at 12:30pm EST and you will enter our zoom room, where we can pray and continue God's reconciling work together.
