Category: M

O sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, I implore Thee, pierce the very marrow of my soul with the delightful, health-giving dart of Thy love, with true, tranquil, holy, apostolic charity, so that my whole soul may ever languish and faint for love of Thee and for desire of Thee alone. May it long and pine for Thy courts; may it ever desire to be dissolved and to be with Thee. Grant that my soul may hunger for Thee, Who art the bread of angels, the comforting nourishment of all holy souls, our daily and most delectable bread, our super substantial bread, in which is found every sweet delight. May my heart ever hunger for Thee, on whom the angels lovingly gaze; may it feed on Thee; and may the innermost depths of my being be filled with the sweetness which comes from having tasted Thee. May my soul ever thirst for Thee, Who art the source of life, the fount of wisdom and knowledge, the brightness of everlasting light, the flood of all true happiness, the riches of the house of God. May I at all times think of Thee; may I ever seek Thee and ever find Thee; may I always follow thee and reach Thee; may Thy holy name be in my heart and on my lips; and to Thy praise and glory may every work of mine be done. Humble and discreet, loving and happy, ever ready and cheerful in Thy service, may I persevere, by Thy grace, even unto the end. Be Thou alone and evermore my hope; be Thou all my trust; be Thou my wealth, my delight, my joy, my consolation, my rest, my endless peace. Be Thou to me as a goodly taste, as a pleasant perfume, as a soothing sweetness. Be Thou my food and my refreshment; my refuge and my help; my wisdom; my portion, mine own possession and my treasure. In Thee, O Lord, may my mind and my heart remain fixed and firm, and rooted immovably for evermore.

Amen.

I give thanks to Thee, O Lord, most holy, Father almighty, eternal God, that Thou hast vouchsafed, for no merit of mine own, but out of Thy pure mercy, to appease the hunger of my soul with the precious body and blood of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Humbly I implore Thee, let not this holy communion be to me an increase of guilt unto my punishment, but an availing plea unto pardon and salvation. Let it be to me the armour of faith and the shield of good will. May it root out from my heart all vice; may it utterly subdue my evil passions and all my unruly desires. May it perfect me in charity and patience; in humility and obedience; and in all other virtues. May it be my sure defence against the snares laid for me by my enemies, visible and invisible. May it restrain and quiet all my evil impulses, and make me ever cleave to Thee Who art the one true God. May I owe to it a happy ending of my life. And do Thou, O heavenly Father, vouchsafe one day to call me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet, where Thou, together with Thy Son and the Holy Ghost, art to Thy saints true and unfailing light, fullness of content, joy for evermore, gladness without alloy, consummate and everlasting happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, behold I come to the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: I come as one infirm to the physician of life, as one unclean to the fountain of mercy, as one blind to the light of everlasting brightness, as one poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore I implore the abundance of Thy measureless bounty that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to heal my infirmity, wash my uncleanness, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty and clothe my nakedness, that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, with such reverence and humility, with such sorrow and devotion, with such purity and faith, with such purpose and intention as may be profitable to my soul’s salvation. Grant unto me, I pray, the grace of receiving not only the Sacrament of our Lord’s Body and Blood, but also the grace and power of the Sacrament. O most gracious God, grant me so to receive the Body of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which He took from the Virgin Mary, as to merit to be incorporated into His mystical Body, and to be numbered amongst His members. O most loving Father, give me grace to behold forever Thy beloved Son with His face at last unveiled, whom I now purpose to receive under the sacramental veil here below.

Amen.

I entreat Thee also, O Lord, by this most holy mystery of Thy Body and Blood, wherewith we are daily fed, and cleansed, and sanctified in Thy Church, and are made partakers of the one Supreme Divinity, grant unto me Thy holy virtues, that filled therewith I may with a good conscience draw near unto Thy holy Altar, so that these heavenly mysteries may be made unto me salvation and life; for Thou hast said with Thy holy and blessed lips: The Bread which I will give is My Flesh, for the life of the world. I am the living Bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever. O most sweet Bread, heal the palate of my heart, that I may taste the sweetness of Thy love. Heal it of all infirmities, that I may find sweetness in nothing out of Thee. O most pure Bread, having all delight and all savour, which ever refreshest us, and never failest, let my heart feed on Thee, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savour. The Angels feed on Thee fully; let pilgrim man feed on Thee after his measure, so that, refreshed by this nourishment, he may not faint by the way. Holy Bread! Living Bread! Pure Bread! Who didst come down from heaven, and who givest life to the world, enter into my heart and cleanse me from all impurity of flesh and spirit. Come into my soul; heal and cleanse me within and without; be the protection and continual health of my soul and body. Drive far from me all foes that lie in wait: let them flee afar off at the presence of Thy power; that, strengthened by Thee without and within, I may by a straight way arrive at Thy kingdom, where, not as now in mysteries, but face to face, we shall behold Thee; when Thou shalt have delivered up the kingdom to God Thy Father, and shalt be God All in all. Then shalt Thou satisfy me with Thyself by a wondrous fullness, so that I shall never hunger nor thirst any more for ever. Who with the same God the Father, and the Holy Ghost, ever livest and reignest world without end. 

Amen.

O great High-Priest, the true Pontiff, Jesus Christ, who didst offer Thyself to God the Father a pure and spotless Victim upon the Altar of the Cross for us miserable sinners, and didst give us Thy Flesh to eat and Thy Blood to drink, and didst ordain this Mystery in the power of Thy Holy Spirit, saying, “Do this for the commemoration of Me,” I pray Thee, by the same Thy Blood, the great price of our salvation; I pray Thee, by that wonderful and unspeakable love wherewith Thou deignedst so to love us, miserable and unworthy, as to wash us from our sins in Thine own Blood: teach me, Thine unworthy servant, by Thy Holy Spirit, to approach so great a Mystery with that reverence and honour, that devotion and fear, which is due and fitting. Make me, through Thy grace, always so to believe and understand, to conceive and firmly to hold, to think and to speak, of that exceeding Mystery, as shall please Thee and be good for my soul. Let Thy good Spirit enter my heart, and there be heard without utterance, and without the sound of words speak all truth. For Thy Mysteries are exceeding deep, and covered with a sacred veil. For Thy great mercy’s sake, grant me to approach Thy holy Mysteries with a clean heart and a pure mind. Free my heart from all defiling and unholy, from all vain and hurtful thoughts. Fence me round about with the holy and faithful guard and mighty protection of Thy blessed Angels, that the enemies of all good may go away ashamed. By the virtue of this mighty Mystery, and by the hand of Thy holy Angel, drive away from me and from all Thy servants the hard spirit of pride and vainglory, of envy and blasphemy, of impurity and uncleanness, of doubt and mistrust. Let them be confounded that persecute us; let them perish who are bent upon our ruin.

Amen.

King OF virgins and Lover of chastity and innocence, extinguish in my frame, by the dew of Thy heavenly blessing, the fuel of evil concupiscence, that I may be pure both in soul and in body. Mortify in my members the lusts of the flesh and all harmful emotions, and give me true and persevering chastity with Thine other gifts which please Thee in truth, so that I may with chaste body and pure heart offer unto Thee the sacrifice of praise. For with what contrition of heart and fountain of tears, with what reverence and awe, with what chastity of body and purity of soul, should not that Divine and heavenly Sacrifice be celebrated, wherein Thy flesh is indeed eaten, where Thy blood is indeed drunk, wherein things lowest and highest, earthly and Divine, are united, where the holy Angels are present, and where Thou art in a marvelous and unspeakable manner both Sacrifice and Priest!

Amen.

Who can worthily be present at this Sacrifice, unless Thou, O God, makest him worthy? I know, O Lord, yea, truly do I know, and this do confess to Thy loving-kindness, that I am unworthy to approach so great a Mystery, by reason of my numberless sins and negligence; but I know, and truly with my own heart do I believe, and with my mouth confess, that Thou canst make me worthy, who alone canst make that clean which proceedeth from that which is unclean, and sinners to be just and holy. By this Thine Almighty power I beseech Thee, O my God, to grant that I, a sinner, may assist at this Sacrifice with fear and trembling, with purity of heart and plenteous tears, with spiritual gladness and heavenly joy. May my mind feel the sweetness of Thy most blessed Presence, and the love of Thy holy Angels, keeping watch around me.

Amen.

Mindful then, O Lord, of Thy worshipful Passion, I approach Thine Altar, sinner though I am, to join in the offering unto Thee that Sacrifice which Thou hast instituted and commanded to be offered in remembrance of Thee for our well-being. Receive it, I beseech Thee, O God most High, for Thy holy Church, and for the people whom Thou hast purchased with Thine own Blood. Let not, through my unworthiness, the price of their salvation be wasted, whose saving Victim and Redemption Thou didst Thyself vouchsafe to be. Also behold in pity, O Lord, the sorrows of Thy people, which I bring before Thee; the perils of Thy servants; the sorrowful sighing of prisoners; the miseries of widows and orphans, and all that are desolate and bereaved; the necessities of strangers and travelers; the helplessness and sadness of the weak and sickly; the depressions of the languishing; the weakness of the aged and of children; the trials and aspirations of young men; and the vows of virgins.

Amen

For Thou hast mercy upon all, O Lord, and hatest nothing that Thou hast made. Remember how frail our nature is, and that Thou art our Father and our God. Be not angry with us for ever, and shut not up Thy tender mercies in displeasure. For it is not for our just works that we present our prayers before Thy face, but for the multitude of Thy tender mercies. Take away from us, O Lord, our iniquities, and mercifully kindle in us the fire of Thy Holy Spirit. Take away from us the heart of stone, and give us a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore Thee, a heart to delight in, to follow, and to enjoy Thee. And we entreat Thy mercy, O Lord, that Thou wouldst look down graciously upon Thy family, as it pays its vows to Thy most holy name; and that the desire of none may be in vain, and the petitions of none unfulfilled, do Thou inspire our prayers, that they may be such as Thou delightest to hear and answer.

Amen.

We pray Thee also, O Lord, Holy Father, for the souls of the faithful departed: that this great Sacrament of Thy love may be to them health and salvation, joy and refreshment. O Lord, my God, grant them this day a great and abundant feast of Thee, the living Bread, who calmest down from heaven and givest life unto the world; even of Thy holy and blessed Flesh, the Lamb without spot, who takest away the sins of the world; that Flesh, which was taken of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and conceived by the Holy Ghost; and of that Fountain of mercy which, by the soldier’s lance, flowed from Thy most sacred Side; that they be thereby fed and satisfied, refreshed and comforted, and may rejoice in Thy praise and in Thy glory. I pray Thy loving mercy, O Lord, that on the bread and wine to be offered unto Thee may descend the fullness of Thy blessing and the satisfaction of Thy Divinity. May there descend also the invisible and incomprehensible Majesty of Thy Holy Spirit, as it descended of old on the sacrifices of the Fathers, which shall make these oblations Thy Body and Blood; and may this offering be acceptable unto Thee, through Him who offered Himself a sacrifice to Thee, O Father, even Jesus Christ, Thine only Son, our Lord.

Amen.