The Anima Christi (Soul of Christ) is a 14th-century prayer addressed directly to the person of Jesus, calling on his body, blood, and wounds for sanctification and protection. Catholics often pray it after receiving the Eucharist, though it works equally well as a morning prayer or in any moment when you need to feel hidden in Christ.
Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within thy wounds, hide me. Permit me not to be separated from thee. From the malicious enemy, defend me. In the hour of my death, call me, and bid me come to thee, that with thy saints I may praise thee for ever and ever. Amen.
Anonymous, 14th century
How this prayer works
The Anima Christi asks Christ to sanctify the one who prays through every part of his saving work: his soul, his body given on the cross, his blood poured out, the water that flowed from his pierced side. The phrase “inebriate me” (from the Latin inebria) means to saturate or fill completely, the way wine fills and warms. St. Ignatius of Loyola recommended this prayer after Communion in his Spiritual Exercises (1548), and it became a standard post-Communion devotion in many missals.
The second half of the prayer turns to protection and hope: hide me in your wounds, keep me close, defend me from the enemy, and call me home at death. It names the Christian life’s central fear (separation from Christ) and its central hope (to praise him forever with the saints). These are not abstractions. They name what happens in a Tuesday afternoon when temptation feels stronger than grace, or in a hospital room when the monitors start to slow.
Pray it slowly before you receive the Eucharist, or immediately after. Let each line settle. If you are not at Mass, pray it in the morning as an act of entrustment: today I belong to the body, blood, and wounds of Christ, and nothing can separate me from him. Carry it through this day.
