PRAYERS BEFORE HOLY COMMUNION
 

OFFERING OF ALL MASSES IN THE WORLD
HOLY COMMUNION
BEFORE HOLY COMMUNION
AN ACT OF CONTRITION, WITH GOOD RESOLUTIONS
OFFERTORY PRAYERS
IRISH TRADITIONAL PRAYER
PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
TO MARY BEFORE HOLY COMMUNION
ACTS OF FAITH, ADORATION, CONTRITION, HOPE AND CONFIDENCE

OFFERING OF ALL MASSES IN THE WORLD

I unite myself with every Mass which at this time is being offered throughout the world. I place them in the hands of Mary, the Mediatrix of all graces, that she may obtain them for me.

HOLY COMMUNION

Every time we receive Holy Communion, our venial sins are forgiven.
To Saint Gertrude the Great, Jesus Christ has revealed: “ Every time a soul
receives Holy Communion, something beautiful happens to each s oul in Heaven,
on Earth and in Purgatory.”

 The Cure d' Ars said:

“One single Communion well received, it is worth more than the sum of 20,000 NFF given to the poor."

Every time we receive Holy Communion, our place in Heaven is raised forever,
our stay in Purgatory is shortened.

We must not let a single day pass, without receiving Holy Communion!

Our Lord has told us, that after receiving Holy Communion, to say the following:

“Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, may the whole world burn with love for You!"

AN ACT OF CONTRITION, WITH GOOD RESOLUTIONS

Here call to mind the chief sins of your past life and make resolutions against
the temptations and dangerous occasions you may meet with this day.

O my God! How little have I served Thee in time past! How greatly have I sinned against Thee! I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is always before me. But I repent, O Lord, I repent. I am heartily sorry that I have spent that time in offending Thee which Thou gavest me to be employed in Thy service, in advancing the good of my own soul, and obtaining everlasting life. I am sorry above all things, that I have offended Thee, because Thou art infinitely good, and sin is infinitely displeasing to Thee. I desire to love Thee with my whole heart, and I firmly purpose, by the help of Thy grace, to serve Thee more faithfully in the time to come.

Receive, I beseech Thee, the offering I now make to Thee of the remainder of my life. I renew the vows and promises made in my Baptism. I renounce the Devil, and all his works, the worl, and all its pomps. I now begin, and will endeavor to spend this day according to Thy Holy Will, performing all my actions in a manner pleasing to Thee. I will take particular care to avoid the failings I am so apt to commit, and to exercise the virtues most agreeable to my state and employment.

AN ACT OF ADORATION AND THANKSGIVING

O Eternal God! Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the beginning and end of all things; in whom we live, and move, and have our being; prostrate before Thee in body and soul, I adore Thee with most profound humility. I bless Thee, and give Thee thanks for all the benefits Thou hast conferred upon me; especially that Thou hast created me out of nothing, made me after Thine own image and likeness, redeemed me with the Precious Blood of Thy Son, and sanctified me with Thy Holy Spirit. I thank Thee that Thou hast called me into Thy Church, assisted me by Thy grace, admitted me to Thy Sacraments, watched over me by Thy special providence; blessed me, notwithstanding my sins and unworthiness, with the continuance of Thy gracious protection; and for all the innumerable blessings which I owe to Thy undeserved bounty. I thank Thee especially for having preserved me during the past night, and for bringing me in safety to the beginning of another day. What return can I make to Thee, O my God, for all that Thou hast done for me? I will bless Thy Holy Name, and serve Thee all the days of my life. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is within me praise His Holy Name.

BEFORE HOLY COMMUNION

PRAYERS WHICH MAY BE SAID AT THE OFFERTORY:

WHEN THE PRIEST OFFERS THE HOST

I place upon the paten my heart, the hearts of all those near and dear to me,
especially the hearts of my relatives; the hearts of all those for whom I have
promised to pray; the hearts of all those who have injured me; the hearts
of all those whom I have injured; the hearts of all the agonizing.
Jesus, when Thou changest the Host into Thy body, change our hearts
into hearts pleasing to Thee.

WHEN THE PRIEST OFFERS THE CHALICE

I place within the chalice the souls of all the faithful departed, especially
my relatives and all those for whom I should pray; the souls for those for whom
I may have forgotten to pray; the souls most devoted to the Precious Blood,
the Sacred Heart, and the Blessed Virgin; the souls of the most abandoned.
Jesus, when Thou changest the wine into Thy Precious Blood, bring these
poor souls from their place of suffering into eternal happiness.
Mother of Sorrows! mother of Christ! You had influence with thy Divine Son
when on earth, Thou hast the same influence now in Heaven, pray for me,
obtain  from thy Divine Son my request, if it be His Holy will.
 

FROM AN OLD IRISH TRADITION

My loving Lord, a thousand welcomes! O Son of Mary, I love Thee;
indeed I do. Who am I at all that Thou shouldst come next or near me?
O God of Heaven! make a little corner for me in Thy Heart, and never
while there's life in me let me lose my place there; and after death
may I still hide there. Amen.

Have pity on me, O Blessed Mother! Talk to my God for me.
Tell Him I'm a poor, ignorant creature, full of nothing but sin and
misery, but that I love thee, His Own dear Mother; and that I am a
poor servant, and for thy sweet sake, to help and pity me. Amen.
 
 

PREPARATION FOR HOLY COMMUNION
 

DEAR JESUS, I ardently desire to receive Thee. The moment draws near, the rapturous moment, in which I shall receive Thee, my God, into my soul. I come to Thee, I run to meet Thee with the utmost devotion and reverence of which, I, as a little child, am capable. Stretch forth Thy most sacred hands to embrace my soul -- Thy pierced hands which were stretched forth amid the anguish of Thy Passion to embrace all sinners. I stretch forth not only my hands, but my heart and my soul, to embrace Thee and to lead Thee into the innermost and secret recess of my heart.

Would that I had within me as great a devotion, love and purity as Thou hast ever been adored with by the heart of any mortal. Would that I were filled with all virtues, with all holy desires, with perfect devotion. Would that I had the purity of all Thine Angels, the charity of all Thine Apostles, the holiness of all confessors, the chastity and cleanness of heart of all virgins and the holy fire of love of all Martyrs. Would that I would receive Thee now with all that devotion, reverence and love with which Thy most Blessed Mother received Thee in Thine Incarnation, and in Thine Adorable Eucharist! Would that I had Thine Own Sacred and Divine Heart, that I might receive Thee as Thine ineffable Majesty deserves!

I offer Thee, my sweetest Jesus -- to be my fitting preparation, to make amends for all my unworthiness, my negligences, my lack of preparation, devotion and affections -- I offer The the love which the Saints and the Blessed Mother had when they received Thee in this Holy Sacrament.

I offer Thee, most holy Jesus, Thine Own meritorious Heart, and all the ineffable virtues and graces which the most Blessed Trinity bestowed without measure upon it, that all my vileness and all my unworthiness may be covered, and that a proper and most peaceful abode may be prepared for Thee in my soul. Amen.

PRAYER TO MARY BEFORE HOLY COMMUNION
 

O most sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God and my Mother, lend me, I beseech thee, thine Immaculate Heart to receive my Jesus, that so I may receive Him by thee, by whom the world received Him. O jesus! I offer Thee Thy sinless Mother's Heart, with all its perfect dispositions at the moment of Thy Incarnation, and in all her Communions. Come to me now by her, as I come to Thee by her. With her heart let me receive Thee.

ACTS OF FAITH AND ADORATION, CONTRITION, HOPE AND CONFIDENCE

Acts of Faith and Adoration

MY GOOD Jesus, I believe with a firm and lively faith, that in this adorable Sacrament are Thy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. I believe that in this consecrated Host I shall receive that same Body Which was born of the most pure Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, Which suffered so many pains and torments for love of me on the Way of the Cross and on Calvary, and which rose gloriously from the dead. I believe that I shall receive the most holy Soul Which is enriched with all the treasures of the Divinity; I believe that I shall receive God Himself.

I adore Thee, O my God, as my Creator, my Preserver, my Redeemer, and my Judge, truly present in the Holy Eucharist.

Divine Host, I adore Thee with the Angels who fill the sanctuary and hover over the tabernacle as they hovered over the cave of Bethlehem in the Holy Night; I adore Thee, my God, with the Blessed Virgin, and in union with all the Saints.

Lord and Master of the universe, Who hast fixed Thy dwelling amongst men, I adore Thee with profound gratitude. O my Jesus, bless this temple wherein Thou residest, but still more the heart that I offer Thee as a living abode and place of rest. Deign ever to inhabit it by Thy grace and Thy love, and may my sins never banish Thee from it! Lord, I have a firm faith, but do Thou strengthen my faith, and animate it so that it may produce in my soul deeper sentiments of adoration and love.

Good Lord, increase my faith that I may love Thee more, and be more generous in my sacrifices for the love of my neighbors.

Act of Contrition, Hope and Confidence

O JESUS, loving Spouse of my soul, the longed-for moment draws near; the happy moment, in which I, Thy unworthy creature, shall receive the most Holy sacrament of Thy Body and Blood, as the most effectual remedy for all my miseries. For the love of Thee I grieve most bitterly for every one of my sins and for all my negligences, whereby I have offended Thy tender goodness, and defiled my soul, which Thou didst ransom with Thine Own most precious Blood. How shall I presume to receive Thee into a heart all surrounded with briers and thorns of earthly attachments, reeking with unwholesome vapors of worldliness and vain desires! But, my merciful Jesus, though I am sick of soul, I remember the words which fell from Thine Own gracious lips---that they who are whole need not the physician, but they who are sick---and this gives me confidence. Surely, my Lord, if any one has cause to trust Thee it is I! Others may have their innocence or their virtues to fall back upon, but I have Thy mercy, Thy great mercy only. I have made myself undeserving of it, but when hast thou ever treated me as I deserved? Where should I be now if justice and not mercy had had its way? Good Jesus, Who didst invite the blind and the lame, the poor and the needy, to Thy supper, behold, as one of them all, I will draw near to the most sacred feast of Thy Body and Blood, the banquet of the Angels, not in presumption, but with a contrite and humble heart, with lowly confidence, with hope in Thy goodness and mercy, with love in return for all Thy love, with fervent desire to please Thee, to live henceforth according to Thy Spirit, and in the imitation of the virtues of Thy Sacred Heart that I may praise and glorify Thee eternally.