The Order of Mass: (introductory rites) Entrance Procession(All stand for the entrance song or antiphon of the day.) In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Greeting – The priest greets the people in one of the following ways: 1. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Or 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Or 3. The Lord is with you. Or, if a bishop presides: 4. Peace be with you. The people reply: And with your spirit. Theme of the Mass – The priest, or a deacon, or another minister may briefly introduce the theme of the day’s Mass.

Penitential Act: The priest invites the faithful to recall their sins: Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. After a brief silence one of the following forms is used: 1. I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, All strike their breast as they say: through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore, I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. 2. Have mercy on us, O Lord. For we have sinned against you. Show us, O Lord, your mercy. And grant us your salvation.

3. The priest, a deacon, or another minister says the following or similar invocations: You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. You came to call sinners: Christ, have mercy. Or Christe, eleison. Christ, have mercy. Or Christe, eleison. You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us: Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. The absolution by the priest follows: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. If form 1 of the Penitential Act was used, the following invocations are then said or sung: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Or Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.

Rite of Sprinkling: From time to time on Sundays, especially in Easter Time, instead of the customary Penitential Act, the blessing and sprinkling of water may take place as a reminder of baptism. One of the following is prayed: 1. Dear brethren (brothers and sisters), let us humbly beseech the Lord our God to bless this water, he has created, which will be sprinkled on us as a memorial of our baptism. May he help us by his grace to remain faithful to the Spirit we have received. After a brief silence the priest joins his hands and prays: Almighty ever-living God, who willed that through water, the fountain of life and the source of purification, even souls should be cleansed and receive the gift of eternal life; be pleased, we pray, to bless + this water, by which we seek protection on this your day, O Lord. Renew the living spring of your grace within us and grant that by this water we may be defended from all ills of spirit and body, and so approach you with hearts made clean and worthily receive your salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

2. Almighty Lord and God, who are the source and origin of all life, whether of body or soul, we ask you to + bless this water, which we use with confidence to implore forgiveness for our sins and to obtain the protection of your grace against all illness and every snare of the enemy. Grant, O Lord, in your mercy, that living waters may always spring up for our salvation, and so may we approach you with a pure heart and avoid all danger to body and soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 3. During the Easter season Lord our God, in your mercy is present in your people’s prayers, and for us who recall the wondrous work of our creation and the still greater work of our redemption, graciously + bless this water. For you created water to make the fields fruitful and to refresh and cleanse our bodies. You also made water the instrument of your mercy: for through water you freed your people from slavery and quenched their thirst in the desert; through water the prophets proclaimed the new covenant you were to enter upon with the human race; and last of all, through water, which Christ made holy in the Jordan, you have renewed our corrupted nature in the bath of regeneration. Therefore, may this water be for us a memorial of the baptism we have received, and grant that we may share in the gladness of our brothers and sisters who at Easter have received their baptism. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Where the circumstances of the place or the custom of the people suggest, the priest may bless salt: We humbly ask you, almighty God: be pleased with your faithful love to + bless this salt you have created, for it was you who commanded the prophet Elisha to cast salt into water, that impure water might be purified. Grant, O Lord, we pray, that, wherever this mixture of salt and water is sprinkled, every attack of the enemy may be repulsed and your Holy Spirit may be present to keep us safe at all times. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. The priest pours the salt into the water. The priest sprinkles himself and the ministers, then the clergy and the people. An appropriate chant is sung. The rite concludes with this prayer: May almighty God cleanse us of our sins and, through the celebration of this Eucharist, make us worthy to share at the table of his kingdom. Amen.

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Sweet Jesus, you know me better than I know myself. You perceive the innermost secrets of my heart and see there my longing to be totally yours. Deep down within me I want to love you, but at the same time I am aware of the promptings of my sinful nature drawing me away from you and the unselfish service that I should render you. Jesus, I have asked, and now ask you again, to make me love you in spite of my weaker self. Fill each day of my life with acts of love for you, and make me realize what is your love really means. Enlighten my understanding, that I may clearly see that to love you means wealth beyond measure, and to serve you reward without limit. Sweet heart of Jesus, I implore that I may love you daily more and more.

Adoro te devote: Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore, Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more, See, Lord, at thy service, low lies here a heart Lost, all lost in wonder, at the God thou art. Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived; How says trusty hearing? That shall be believed; What God’s Son has told me, take for truth, I do; Truth himself speaks truly, or there’s nothing true. On the cross thy Godhead made no sign to men; Here thy very manhood steals from human ken: Both are my confession, both are my belief, And I pray the prayer of the dying thief. I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see, But can plainly call thee Lord and God as he. This faith each day has deeper been my holding of, Daily makes me harder hope and dearer love.

O thou our reminder of Christ crucified, Living Bread the life of us for whom he died, Lend this life to me then: Feed and feast my mind, There be thou the sweetness man was meant to find. Bring the tender tale true of the pelican; Bathe me, Jesu Lord, in what thy bosom ran— Blood that but one drop of has the worth to win All the world forgiveness of its world of sin. Jesu, whom I look at shrouded here below, I beseech thee, send me what I thirst for so, Some day to gaze on thee face-to-face in light And be blest for ever with thy glory’s sight. St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

To Be With You in Silence: In silence To be there before you, Lord, that’s all, To shut the eyes of my body, To shut the eyes of my soul, And to be still and silent, To expose myself to you who are there, exposed to me. To be there before you, the Eternal Presence. I am willing to feel nothing, Lord, to see nothing, to hear nothing. Empty of all ideas, of all images, In the darkness. Here I am, simply To meet you without obstacles, In the silence of faith, Before you, Lord. (Michel Quoist)

Sweet Heart of Jesus: The Sweet heart of Jesus, fount of love and mercy, today we come, thy blessing to implore; O, touch our hearts, so cold and so ungrateful, and make them, Lord, thine own forevermore. Sweet heart of Jesus, we implore, O make us love thee more and more. Sweet heart of Jesus, make us know and love thee, unfold to us the treasures of thy grace; that so our hearts, from things of earth uplifted, may long alone to gaze upon thy face. Sweet heart of Jesus, make us pure and gentle, and teach us how to do, thy blessed will; to follow close the print of thy dear footsteps, and when we fall, sweetheart, oh, love us still. Sweet heart of Jesus, bless all hearts that love thee, and may thine own heart ever blessed be; bless us, dear Lord, and bless the friends we cherish, and keep us true to Mary and to thee.

Seeking a Blessing: For Families in Need: O Living Bread that came down from heaven to give life to the world! O loving Shepherd of our souls, from your throne of glory, whence, a “hidden God,” you pour out your grace on families and peoples, we commend to you, particularly the sick, the unhappy, the poor, and all who beg for food and employment, imploring for all and every one the assistance of your providence; we commend to you, the families, so that they may be fruitful centers of Christian life. May the abundance of your grace be poured out over all. – Pope John XXIII

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My Jesus, I love you with my whole heart. I am sorry for having offended your infinite goodness, so many times in the past. I resolve, with the help of your grace, never to offend you again; and at this present moment I consecrate myself completely to you. I give to you, withholding nothing, all my own will, my inclinations, my desires, everything that is mine. From this day forward, do with me and with what belongs to me as it shall please you. All that I ask and desire is your holy love, final perseverance, and the perfect fulfillment of your will. I commend to you the souls in purgatory, particularly those who were most devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary, your holy mother. I commend to you too all poor sinners. And now, dear Savior, I join all my desires with the desires of your loving heart; I offer them to your eternal Father, and I beg him in your name, and for your love, to accept them and fulfill them.

Paul’s Prayer: I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14–21.

Sweet Sacrament: Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all, how can I love thee as I ought? And how revere this wondrous gift, so far surpassing hope or thought? Sweet to love thee, with my dearest King, Sacrament, we thee adore; Oh, make us love thee more and more. Had I but Mary’s sinless heart Oh, with what bursts of fervent praise thy goodness, Jesus, would I sing! Ah, see! Within a creature’s hand the vast Creator deigns to be, reposing, infant-like, as though on Joseph’s arm or Mary’s knee. Thy body, soul, and Godhead, all; O mystery of love divine! I cannot compass all I have, for all thou hast and art are mine. Sound, sound, his praises higher still, and come, ye angels, to our aid; ’this God, ’this God, the very God whose power both men and angels made. – Frederick William Faber.

Act of Trust: Lord Jesus, I believe in your presence on the altar; help my unbelief. I trust my life to you; fill up my lack of confidence. I love you: Warm my cold heart, which seeks comfort elsewhere. Accept my faith, hope, and love such as they are, and through the power of your sacred presence, make up for what is lacking so that I may know, trust, and serve you this and every day of my life. Act of Love: You know better than I how much I love you, Lord. You know it and I know it not, for nothing is more hidden from me than the depths of my own heart. I desire to love you; I fear that I do not love you enough. I beseech you to grant me the fullness of pure love. Behold my desire; you have given it to me. Behold in your creature, what you have placed there. O God, who love me enough to inspire me to love you forever, behold not my sins. Behold your mercy and my love.

For the Fullness of Love: Set our hearts on fire with love for you, O Christ our God, that in that flame we may love you with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls, and with all our strength, and our neighbors as ourselves; so that, keeping your commandments, we may glorify you, the giver of all good gifts. Prayer of Abandonment: Be a light to my eyes, music to my ears, sweet to my taste, and full contentment to my heart. Be my sunshine during the day, my food at the table, my repose in the night, my clothing in nakedness, and my succor in all necessities. Lord Jesu, I give you my body, my soul, my substance, my frame, my friends, my liberty, and my life. Dispose of me and all that is mine as it may seem best to you and to the glory of your blessed name. Amen.

A Light to Others: My Lord and my God, thank you for drawing me to yourself. Make me desire more deeply that knowledge of you that is eternal life. Lord, you have told us that the pure in heart shall see God —the single-minded who do not try to serve two masters, who have no other gods but you. Keep the burning of my desire for you, as clear and steady as the flame of a candle —a single, undivided focus of attention, a steady offering of the will. Let my whole being is filled with your light, so that others may be drawn to you. Let my whole being be cleansed by the flame of your love, from all that is contrary to your will for me, from all that keeps others from coming to you. Let my whole being is consumed in your service, so that others may know your love, my Lord and my God.

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For the Conversion of Sinners: Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly, and I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences with which he is offended; and by the infinite merits of his most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I ask you for the conversion of all sinners. O sacrament most holy, O sacrament divine,

Aspirations: My Lord and my God. O sacrament most holy, O sacrament divine, All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine. O heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for thee. May the heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored, and loved, with grateful affection at every moment, in all the tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. My Jesus, I adore you present on the altar for love of me: grant that I may love you more and more. My Jesus, I thank you with all my heart for your loving kindness to me. Blessed and praised every moment be the most holy and divine Sacrament.

My Jesus, in the Most Holy Sacrament you have given yourself to me: Accept in return all the senses of my body and all the faculties of my soul. Give me light and grace: light to know your holy will and grace to do it. Lord Jesus, I give you my body, my soul, my possessions and friends, all that I am and have. Dispose of them according to your will and to the glory of your name. My Jesus, too, often have I offended you, and now before you in the Blessed Sacrament I ask the grace never to sin again.

Eucharistic Exposition: O Saving Victim O saving victim, opening wide the gate of heaven to man below; our foes press on from every side; your aid supply, your strength bestow. To your great name be endless praise, immortal Godhead, one in three; O grant us endless length of days in our true native land with thee. Amen. Eucharistic Benediction: Humbly Let Us Voice Our Homage. Therefore, we, before him bending, this great sacrament reveres; types and shadows have their ending, for the newer rite is here; faith our outward sense befriending, makes the inward vision clear. Glory let us give, and blessing of the Father and the Son; honor, might, and praise addressing, while eternal ages run; ever too his love confessing, who, from both, with both is one. Amen.

The minister may lead the faithful in one or more of the following prayers: For your gift of the Eucharist, through which we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again: God, Our Father, we bless you. For the gift of the Eucharist, through which you give us strength and satisfy our hunger: God, Our Father, we bless you. For your gift of the Eucharist, through which all your children are brought together in brotherly love: God, Our Father, we bless you. You are the Bread of Life: Praise to you. You are the Bread of Salvation: Praise to you. You are the Blood that redeemed us: Praise to you. You are the source of our joy: Praise to you.

You are the Bread that feeds us: Praise to you. You are the Blood that quenches our thirst: Praise to you. You are the Bread that comforts us: Praise to you. You are the Bread that gives us strength: Praise to you. You are the Bread that heals us in body and mind: Praise to you. Lord Jesus Christ, you gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of your suffering and death. May our worship of this sacrament of your Body and Blood help us to experience the salvation you won for us and the peace of the kingdom, where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the Body of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into his mystical body and numbered among his members. Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see him face-to-face in glory, who lives and reigns with you for ever. Amen.

Prayer of Thomas More: Give me, good Lord, a full faith and a fervent charity, a love of you, good Lord, incomparable above the love of myself; and that I love nothing to your displeasure but everything in an order to you. Take from me, good Lord, this lukewarm fashion, or rather cold manner of meditation and this dullness in praying for you. And give me warmth, delight, and life thinking about you. And give me your grace to long for your holy sacraments and especially to rejoice in the presence of your blessed Body, sweet Savior Christ, in the holy sacrament of the altar, and duly to thank you for your gracious coming.

Prayer of St. Ambrose: Lord Jesus Christ, I approach your banquet table in fear and trembling, for I am a sinner, and I dare not rely on my own worth, but only on your goodness and mercy. I am defiled by many sins in body and soul and by my unguarded thoughts and words. Gracious God of majesty and awe, I seek your protection; I look for your healing. Poor troubled sinner that I am, I appeal to you, the fountain of all mercy. I cannot bear your judgment, but I trust in your salvation. Lord, I show my wounds to you and uncover my shame before you.

I know my sins are many and great, and they fill me with fear, but I hope in your mercies, for they cannot be numbered. Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King, God and man, crucified for mankind, look upon me with mercy and hear my prayer, for I trust in you. Have mercy on me, full of sorrow and sin, for the depth of your compassion never ends. Praise to you, saving sacrifice, offered on the wood of the cross for me and for all mankind. Praise to the noble and precious blood flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world. Remember, Lord, your creature, whom you have redeemed with your blood.

I repent of my sins, and I long to put right what I have done. Merciful Father, take away all my offenses and sins; purify me in body and soul, and make me worthy to taste the Holy of Holies. May your Body and Blood, which I intend to receive, although I am unworthy, be for me the remission of my sins, the washing away of my guilt, the end of my evil thoughts, and the rebirth of my better instincts. May it incite me to do the works pleasing to you and profitable to my health in body and soul, and be a firm defense against the wiles of my enemies. Amen.

Sancti, venite: Draw nigh and take the Body of the Lord, and drink the holy Blood for you outpoured. Saved by that Body and that holy Blood, with souls refreshed, we render thanks to God. Mankind is ransomed from eternal loss of flesh and blood offered upon the cross. Salvation’s giver, Christ, the only Son, by his dear cross and blood the victory won. Offered was he for greatest and for least, himself the victim, and himself the priest. The victims are offered by the law of old, which in a type this heavenly mystery told. He, ransomer from death and to the light from shade, now gives his holy grace, his saints to aid. Approach, ye then with faithful hearts sincere, and take the safeguard of salvation here. He, that his saints in this world rules and shields, to all believers life eternal yields; With heavenly bread makes them that hunger whole, gives living waters to the thirsting soul. Amen. (Bangor Antiphonary)

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Make it a firm defense against the wiles of all my enemies, seen and unseen, while restraining all evil impulses of flesh and spirit. May it help me cleave to you, the one true God, and bring me a blessed death when you call. I beseech you to bring me, a sinner, to that glorious feast where, with your Son and Holy Spirit, you are the true light of your holy ones, their flawless blessedness, everlasting joy, and perfect happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Thomas Aquinas.

Prayer Before a Crucifix: Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself on my knees in your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul, I pray and beseech you that you would impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, with a true repentance for my sins and a firm desire of amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate your five most precious wounds, having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy of you, O good Jesus: “They pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones.”

Anima Christi: Soul of Christ, sanctify me. The Body of Christ, save me. The Blood of Christ, fill me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from you. From the malicious enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me. And bid me come unto you. That with your saints I may praise you. For ever and ever. Early Fourteenth-Century, Prayer- For Reverence: Lord Jesus, who in this wonderful sacrament has left us a memorial of your passion: grant us, we beseech you, so to reverence the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always feel in our souls the fruit of your redemption. Who lives and reigns, God, world without end.

For Closer Union: Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love, so that I may always long for you alone, who are the Bread of Angels and the fulfillment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger and feed upon you, so that my soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence. May my soul thirst for you, who are the source of life, wisdom, knowledge, light, and all the riches of God our Father. May I always seek and find you, think upon you, speak to you, and do all things for the honor and glory of your holy name. Be always my only hope, my peace, my refuge, and my help in whom my heart is rooted so that I may never be separated from you. – St. Bonaventure.

For the Fruits of the Passion: Most sweet Jesus Christ, grant that your passion may be to me a power by which I am strengthened, protected, and defended. May your wounds are to me food and drink by which I am nourished and sustained. May the sprinkling of your blood be to me an ablution for all my sins. May your death prove to me life everlasting. And may your cross be to me an eternal glory. May your resurrection be my sure hope of future glory. In these be my refreshment, my joy, my preservation and sweetness of heart. For Mary’s Assistance: Most Holy Mary, with confidence in your intercession, I ask your prayers that I may always have a great devotion to your Son in the Blessed Sacrament and that, as he has given himself to me, so may I dedicate my life to his love and service.

For Frequent Reception of Holy Communion: Loving Lord Jesus, who came into the world to bring the life of grace to those who believe in you, we humbly ask you to pour upon us all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. May those who have neglected you turn to you and long to receive you in Holy Communion, and may we who today received your Body and Blood learn to approach your sacred banquet daily with devotion. There we will receive the remedy for all our faults and be so nourished with the life of your grace that we may come at last to the happiness of life with you at your eternal banquet.

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Opening Prayer: Let us pray- All pray in silence. Then the priest, with hands extended, says the Opening Prayer for the day, at the end of which the people acclaim: Amen. The liturgy of the word First Reading, All sit. At the end of the reading, the reader acclaims: The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Responsorial Psalm(The cantor or reader sings or recites the psalm, with the people making the response.) Second Reading (on Sundays and other feasts) To indicate the end of the reading, the reader acclaims: The word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Proclamation of the Gospel: All stand for the Alleluia or another chant laid down by the rubrics, as the liturgical time requires. Meanwhile, if incense is used, the priest puts some into the thurible. The deacon who is to proclaim the Gospel, bowing profoundly before the priest, asks for the blessing in a low voice: Your blessing, Father. The priest says in a low voice: May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips, that you may proclaim his Gospel worthily and well, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The deacon signs himself with the Sign of the Cross and replies: Amen. If a deacon is not present, the priest, bowing before the altar, says quietly: Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel. The deacon or priest goes to the ambo and addresses the congregation: The Lord is with you. And with your spirit. A reading from the holy Gospel according to N. He makes the Sign of the Cross on the book and on his forehead, lips, and breast. Glory to you, O Lord. At the end of the Gospel, the deacon or priest acclaims: The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Homily, All sit.

Profession of Faith: All stand. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, Up to and including “and became man,” all bow. And by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Prayer of the Faithful: The people respond to each intercession with Lord, hear our prayer or a similar response. The priest says a concluding prayer, to which the people respond: Amen. The liturgy of the Eucharist: Presentation and Preparation of the Gifts. A hymn may be sung. Otherwise the people make their responses to the prayers of offering: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: Fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life. Blessed be God for ever. By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity. Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: Fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink. Blessed be God for ever. With humble spirit and contrite heart, may we be accepted by you, O Lord, and may our sacrifice in your sight this day be pleasing to you, Lord God.

The priest may incense the offerings, the cross, and the altar. A deacon or other minister then incenses the priest and the people. Then the priest, standing at the side of the altar, washes his hands, saying quietly: Wash me, O Lord, from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Prayer Over the Gifts: Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father. The people rise and reply: May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church. The priest prays from the Proper of the Day, at the end of which the people acclaim: Amen.

The Eucharistic Prayer: preface– The Lord is with you. And with your spirit. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right and just. The priest prays one of the many Prefaces, in accord with the rubrics. (Eucharistic Prayers II and IV have their own Prefaces; see pages 108 and 116). At the end of the Preface, all sing or say aloud: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. All kneel. There are many ways of thanking God for all he has accomplished for us through Christ.

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I offer You all the crosses and sufferings of the world, in union with Your life on earth, in expiation for sins. Please join my every action and heartbeat to the pulsations of Your heart. I unite all my works of this day to those labors You performed while You were on earth, bathing them in Your precious Blood, and I offer them to the Heavenly Father so that many souls may be saved. Amen.

This prayer is based on the following revelations: “When you awake, enter at once into My Heart, and when you are in it, offer My Father all your actions united to the pulsations of My Heart … If [a person is] engaged in work of no value in itself, if she bathes it in My Blood or unites it to the work I Myself did during My mortal life, it will greatly profit souls … more, perhaps, than if she had preached to the whole world. You will be able to save many souls that way.” — Our Lord to Sr. Josefa Menendez (1890-1923)

“When you awake in the morning, let your first act be to salute My Heart, and to offer Me your own …Whoever shall breathe a sigh toward Me from the bottom of his heart when he awakes in the morning and shall ask Me to work all his works in him throughout the day, will draw Me to him … For never does a man breathe a sigh of longing aspiration toward Me without drawing Me nearer to him than I was before.” – —Our Lord to St. Mechtilde (1241-1298)

“It is not merely by praying that souls are saved, but through the actions of even the most ordinary lives lived for God … Offer Me everything united to My life on earth … Offer Me all the crosses of the world. There are so many, and few think of offering them to Me in expiation for sins.”—Our Lord to Gabrielle Bossis (1874-1950)

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Prayer of St Augustine: Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you, and desire nothing, save only you. Let me hate myself and love you. Let me do everything for the sake of you. Let me humble myself and exalt you. Let me think of nothing except you. Let me accept whatever happens as from you. Let me banish self and follow you, And ever desire to follow you. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in you, That I may deserve to be defended by you. Let me fear for myself, let me fear you, And let me be among those who are chosen by you. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of you. Let me cling to nothing, save only to you, And let me be poor because of you. Look upon me, that I may love you. Call me, that I may see you, And for ever enjoy you. Amen.

Preparation for Mass; attributed to St Ambrose(c. 339-397), bishop of Milan: Lord Jesus Christ, I approach your banquet table in fear and trembling, for I am a sinner and dare not rely on my own worth but only on your goodness and mercy. I am defiled by many sins in body and soul and by my unguarded thoughts and words. Gracious God of majesty and awe, I seek your protection, I look for your healing. Poor troubled sinner that I am, I appeal to you, the fountain of all mercy. I cannot bear your judgement, but I trust in your salvation. Lord, I show my wounds to you and uncover my shame before you. I know my sins are many and great, and they fill me with fear, but I hope in your mercies, for they cannot be numbered.

Lord Jesus Christ, eternal king, divine and human, crucified for humanity, look upon me with mercy and hear my prayer, for I trust in you… Have mercy on me, full of sorrow and sin, for the depth of your compassion never ends. Praise to you, saving sacrifice, offered on the wood of the cross for me and for all. Praise to the noble and precious blood flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord, Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world. Remember, Lord, your creatures, whom you have redeemed with your blood. I repent of my sins and I long to put right what I have done.

Merciful Lord, take away all my offenses and sins; purify me in body and soul, and make me worthy to taste the holy of holies. May your body and blood, which I intend to receive, although I am unworthy, be for me the remission of my sins, the washing away of my guilt, the end of my evil thoughts and the rebirth of my better instincts. May it spur me on to works pleasing to you and be profitable to my health in body and soul and a firm defense against the wiles of my enemies. Amen.

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May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with purity and faith, with the repentance and love and the determined purpose that will help to bring me to salvation. May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood and its reality and power. Kind God, may I receive the body of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into his mystical body and numbered among his members.

Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with you for ever. Amen. Adoro Te Devote: Attributed to St Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274): Hidden here before me, Lord, I worship you, Hidden in these symbols, yet completely true. Lord, my soul surrenders, I am longing to obey, And in contemplation wholly faints away. Seeing, touching, tasting; these are all deceived; Only through the hearing can it be believed.

Nothing is more certain; Christ has told me so; What the Truth has uttered, I believe and know. Only God was hidden when you came to die; Human nature also here escapes the eye. Both are my profession, both are my belief; Bring me to your Kingdom like the dying thief. I am not like Thomas, who could see and touch; Though your wounds are hidden, I believe as much. Let me say so boldly, meaning what I say. Loving you and trusting, now and every day.

Record of the Passion when the Lamb was slain, Living bread that brings us back to life again; Feed me with your presence, make me live in you; Let that lovely fragrance fill me through and through. Once a nesting pelican gashed herself to blood For the preservation of her starving brood; Now heal me with your blood, take away my guilt; All the world is ransomed if one drop is spilt. Jesus, give me what I ask; Let me see your glory in a blaze of light, And instead of blindness give me, Lord, my sight. Amen.

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