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Happy the Man who Actively Assists at Holy Mass & Thereby Merits to Participate in the Sacrifice
Alexandra Clark | The Daily Knight
"O my God, how glorious, potent and beyond all price must be this Sacrifice which Christ makes of Himself in the Holy Mass, since the highest celestial intelligences are unable to grasp and comprehend it! O adorable Jesus, how unsearchable is this mystery, since Thy divine wisdom and understanding alone can know and appreciate it! Happy the man who assists at Holy Mass and thereby merits to participate in the Sacrifice Thou dost offer up for him, the virtue, the efficacy of which no created intelligence can fathom!"
Fr. Cochem, author who wrote the book The Incredible Catholic Mass said "if they understand the vast efficacy and value of the Holy Mass, they cannot fail to prize more highly this costly treasure, to love it more deeply and to assist at the Divine Oblation with greater reverence. There is in the Catholic Church no mystery more important, more consoling, more salutary, than this Sublime Mystery of the Altar. "
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the same one Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.
Thomas a Kempis in the Imitation bids us “As often as thou sayest or hearest Mass, it ought to seem to thee as great, as new, and as delightful as if Christ, that same day, first hanging on the Cross, was suffering and dying for the salvation of men.” (Bk. iv, Ch. 2)
A pious writer relates well: “That which on the Cross was a sacrifice of redemption is in Holy Mass a Sacrifice of appropriation, whereby the virtue and the power of the Sacrifice of the Cross is applied to each one individually.”
And Fr. Cochem adds: "These are joyful and reassuring words for the sinner. It has not been our privilege to stand beneath the Cross on Calvary and share in the fruits of that stupendous Sacrifice, but if we hear Mass with attention, the virtue and power of the Sacrifice of the Cross will be applied to our souls—not indeed in quite the same manner, yet to each one in particular according to the depth of his devotion."
St. Colette, who was remarkable for her great devotion to Holy Mass, said when she was assisting at Holy Mass she was heard at the Consecration to exclaim:
“O my God, my Jesus! O Angels and Saints, O men and sinners, what marvels are these that we see and hear!” After Mass her confessor asked what had made her cry aloud in this manner. She replied: “When your reverence elevated the Sacred Host, I beheld Christ upon the Cross, the Blood flowing from His precious wounds; at the same time I heard Him thus address the Eternal Father: ‘Look upon this Body of flesh, in which I hung upon the Cross, in which I suffered for mankind. Look upon My wounds, look upon the Blood that I shed, consider My sufferings, consider My death. All this I endured to save sinners. Now, if Thou dost consign them to perdition on account of their iniquities and deliver them over to the devil, what compensation shall I have for My bitter Passion, for My cruel death? The reprobate sinners will render Me no thanks; on the contrary, they will curse Me for all eternity. But if they were saved, they would praise and magnify Me forever in gratitude for My sufferings. For My sake, therefore, spare these sinners, O My Father, and preserve them from eternal damnation.’ ”
In regard to the Sacred Mysteries of Holy Mass:
"It must above all be borne in mind that the principal mysteries of Our Lord’s life and Passion are represented and set before us in it. David foretells this when in his prophetic spirit he says: “He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord.” (Ps. 110:4). And in order that we may have no doubt that in this passage he refers to the Sacrifice of the Mass upon our altars, he says in another psalm: “I will compass Thy altar, O Lord, that I may hear the voice of Thy praise: and tell of all Thy wondrous works.” (Ps. 25:6, 7). The same is signified by Christ when, at the institution of the Holy Eucharist, He said to His Apostles, “Do this for a commemoration of Me,” just as if He would say, “Since the time is now approaching when, after accomplishing the Redemption of mankind, I shall leave you and go to My heavenly Father, I institute the Holy Mass as the one Sacrifice of the New Testament wherein all the mysteries of My whole life and of My Passion are represented and placed before the eyes of all believers, in order that you may never forget Me, but have Me ever in your remembrance.”
Active Participation is prayerful recollection, devout attention, pious assistance at Holy Mass.
Various saints taught souls of the importance of assisting at Mass with prayerful active participation. This participation is of the heart, mind, will and strength. Modernist today would like us to believe their version of "active participation" which is to be in a "dialogue" and to have some part to play in the ceremonies of the Mass. True active participation is not the clapping hands, holding hands, dancing, playing a guitar, reading the Gospel or being a Eucharistic Minister. Those are all distractions, corruptions and liturgical abuse of just the last 60 years. This modernistic idea has destroyed the actual participation a soul must have in order to participate as Mary did at the foot of the Cross.
Let us delve into what the Church always understood by active participation. The Blessed Virgin Mary is a great starting point for souls to think about how accompany Our Lord in His Sacred Passion. She is the best example of how a soul must participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Yet, being the weak beings that we are, we need help, signs and gestures to get us into that right act of worship, devout prayer, and understanding of the reality of the Great Mystery of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. While our Blessed Mother could meditate, pray and contemplate perfectly, the rest of us have to work on it a bit more. And the Holy Mother Church in her wisdom has helped souls since the beginning to enter into the mysteries of Christ's saving graces. Thus, at Holy Mass, along with the priest we are to join in with our hearts, minds, body and strength in this perfect worship to God Almighty. All the aspects and ceremonies of the Holy Mass: the prayers, gestures, incense and sacred music lifts up our souls to help us to participate in the Holy Mass and achieve this goal of imitating Mary at the foot of the Cross!
Active Participation in the Holy Mass can merit an increase of Sanctifying Grace , but this depends entirely upon our cooperation
Fr. Cochem explains briefly:
How precious a thing divine grace is, how well it merits that we should use every exertion to obtain it. Sanctifying Grace is to be acquired by contrition; Actual Grace, the increase of grace, is the reward of every good work which we perform in the state of grace. The more excellent that work is and the more perfectly it is performed, the more and the greater graces does it merit. Hence we may infer that great graces may be obtained by hearing Mass devoutly, since that is one of the very best of all good works, as we have already seen. Moreover, all theologians teach that Holy Mass operates to give an increase of divine grace and of celestial glory. Furthermore, they teach that “not the priest alone, but those of the laity who have Mass said or merely assist at Mass can, each in his degree, merit an increase of Sanctifying Grace and of heavenly glory, but this depends entirely upon their cooperation.”
St. Francis de Sales says of it in his Introduction to a Devout Life: “Holy Mass is the sun of all spiritual exercises, the mainspring of devotion, the soul of piety, the fire of divine charity, the abyss of divine mercy and a precious means whereby God confers upon us His graces.”
Every time you hear Holy Mass in the state of grace, with devout attention and in a spirit of recollection, Our Blessed Lord, in His loving-kindness, makes you to participate in no less than 77 graces and fruits. (Click hereto see the 77 Graces and Fruits to Be Derived from Devout Attendance at Holy Mass: https://www.knightsrepublic.com/single-post/2020/03/28/77-Graces-and-Fruits-of-the-Holy-Sacrifice-of-the-Mass )
Active participation in the Mass is not something new, it has always been encouraged as we have seen from the above quotes. Active Participation was just called in various other ways like: "assisting" "attendance" "hearing" "offering" "praying" etc. The saintly Pope who conceived the phrase “active participation in the Mass” and used it first was Pope Saint Pius X. This is how he explained it:
“If you wish to participate in the Mass actively, you must follow with your eye, heart and mouth all that happens on the altar. Further, you must pray with the Priest the holy words said by him in the Name of Christ and which Christ says by him. You have to associate your heart with the holy feelings which are contained in these words and in this manner you ought to follow all that happens at the altar. When acting in this way you have prayed Holy Mass."
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the Greatest Prayer we can assist in and take part in
St. John Eudes declares that: Prayer is a participation in the life of the angels and saints, in the life of Jesus Christ and of His most holy Mother, even of the life of God and of the Three Divine Persons."
Christ addressed to St. Mechtilde: “When the priest says in the Mass, ‘Through whom the Angels praise Thy majesty,’ do thou join thy voice to theirs in that celestial hymn of praise whereby the ever-blessed Trinity magnifies Itself and is magnified and wherein the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Angels and Saints do participate. Wherefore, say a Pater and offer it to Me in union with that hymn of praise with which Heaven and earth and all created things glorify Me.”
"Some people say they have a scruple about omitting their daily prayers in order to follow the Mass, Says Fr. Cochem, "They ought rather to have scruples about neglecting the prayers of the Mass for their ordinary devotions, since the former are much more important than the latter. They may be compared respectively to gold and copper; besides, our daily prayers may be said at any time; whereas, the prayers of the Mass only have their full value when said while the Holy Sacrifice is being offered. Even if for one time the prayers we are accustomed to say every day were entirely omitted, we should not be anything like so much the losers as if the acts of adoration and oblation were not made during Mass. For as Holy Mass surpasses all other devotions and spiritual exercises, so the prayers which include the Act of Oblation exceed in value all other forms of prayer."
Just think how the:
Holy Mass Is the Most Excellent Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Holy Mass Is the Most Sublime Sacrifice of Praise to God
Holy Mass Is the Noblest Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
Holy Mass Is the Most Efficacious Sacrifice of Propitiation
Holy Mass Is the Most Complete Satisfaction for Sin
Holy Mass Procures for Us an Increase of Grace Here and of Glory Hereafter
Holy Mass Increases the Celestial Glory which Is to Be Our Portion Spiritual Communion
Holy Mass is the Most Certain Hope of the Dying
And so much more!
Praying the Mass and Singing the Mass
Pope Saint Pius X wrote the following in his motu proprio of 1903, Tra le sollecitudini: "Efforts must especially be made to restore the use of the Gregorian chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take a more active part in the ecclesiastical offices, as they were wont to do in ancient times.” (Paragraph 3)
Furthermore, in the 1928 document Divini cultus, Pope Pius XI echoed Pius X as he wrote to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1903 motu proprio.
In order that the faithful may more actively participate in divine worship, let them be made once more to sing the Gregorian Chant, so far as it belongs to them to take part in it. It is most important that when the faithful assist at the sacred ceremonies, or when pious sodalities take part with the clergy in a procession, they should not be merely detached and silent spectators, but, filled with a deep sense of the beauty of the Liturgy, they should sing alternately with the clergy or the choir, as it is prescribed. (Para. 9)
In the 1958 Instruction, De musica et sacra liturgia, which came out at the end of Pius XII’s pontificate, he mentions the participation of the faithful in HIgh sung Mass (Missa Cantate):
24. The more noble form of the Eucharistic celebration is the solemn Mass because in it the solemnities of ceremonies, ministers, and sacred music all combine to express the magnificence of the divine mysteries, and to impress upon the minds of the faithful the devotion with which they should contemplate them. Therefore, we must strive that the faithful have the respect due to this form of worship by properly participating in it in the ways described below.
25. In solemn Mass there are three degrees of the participation of the faithful:
a) First, the congregation can sing the liturgical responses. These are: Amen; Et cum spiritu tuo; Gloria tibi, Domine; Habemus ad Dominum; Dignum et justum est; Sed libera nos a malo; Deo gratias. Every effort must be made that the faithful of the entire world learn to sing these responses.
b) Secondly, the congregation can sing the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass: Kyrie, eleison; Gloria in excelsis Deo; Credo; Sanctus-Benedictus; Agnus Dei. Every effort must be made that the faithful learn to sing these parts, particularly according to the simpler Gregorian melodies. But if they are unable to sing all these parts, there is no reason why they cannot sing the easier ones: Kyrie, eleison; Sanctus-Benedictus; Agnus Dei; the choir, then, can sing the Gloria, and Credo."
MANNER OF ASSISTING WORTHILY AT THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
St. John Eudes gives us 5 ways we are to assist worthily at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to give God the glory He deserves.
1. As soon as you leave the house to go to Mass, you should realize that you are going not merely to attend or watch, but actually to perform an action more holy and divine, greater and more sublime, more noble and admirable than any other in heaven or on earth. Consequently, you must perform it in a holy and divine manner, that is, with thoroughly holy and divine dispositions, with great care and attention of mind and heart, and with the realization that what you are going to do is more vitally important to you than anything else in the world. I stress the words "you are going to perform" because all Christians are one with Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Priest, and, therefore, they share in His divine Priesthood. Hence, they are called priests in Holy Scripture (I Peter 2, g). The faithful are consequently entitled not only to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but also to participate in the action of the priest, that is, to offer with him and with Jesus Christ Himself the Sacrifice that is offered to God on the altar.
2. Upon entering the Church, you should profoundly humble yourself in spirit, considering yourself most unworthy to enter the house of God, to appear before His face, and to take part in so great a mystery, - a mystery which contains in itself all the mysteries and all the wonders of heaven and earth. Remember your nothingness and your sins, for which you ought to enter into a spirit of penance, humiliation and contrition at the beginning of the Mass, accusing yourself of your sins with the priest at the Confiteor, asking God's forgiveness, and begging Him to give you the grace and strength to keep yourself free from sins in future. To make reparation, offer your Heavenly Father the Holy Sacrifice of the Precious Body and Blood of His Son, once offered to Him on the Cross, and now about to be offered to Him on the altar.
3. Having adored our Lord Jesus Christ, Who becomes present on the altar to receive the homage and adoration we owe Him, pray that He, who changes the base and earthly nature of bread and wine into His body and blood, may also change and transform the heaviness, frigidity and dryness of our earthly and and hearts into the ardor, tenderness and vitality of the holy dispositions of His divine Heart. Then remember that all Christians are one with Jesus Christ, as members with their Head. and, therefore, share all His qualities. Recollect that Jesus Christ consummates this sacrifice as both Priest and Victim at the same time, so all present must likewise attend Mass both as priests and sacrificers, to offer up one and the same Sacrifice with Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Priest, and as hosts and victims, forming one Host with Jesus Christ just as they form one Priest with Him, one Host to be immolated with Jesus Christ, to the glory of God.
Thus you participate in the divine priesthood of Jesus Christ. As a Christian and member of Jesus Christ you bear the name and character of priest; therefore you ought to act in that capacity and exercise the rights it confers upon you, the right of offering up to God, together with the priest and with Jesus Christ Himself, the Sacrifice of the divine body and blood of God the Son in Holy Mass, and to offer it as far as possible, with the very dispositions with which it is offered by Jesus Christ, His Son, with holy and divine dispositions. What holy and filial dispositions! What humility, what purity and sanctity, what detachment from self and from all things, what attentiveness to God, what charity towards man and what love towards His Father! Unite yourself in desire and intention with these sublime dispositions.
Pray to Jesus to implant them in you, enabling you to offer up this divine Sacrifice with Him in union with the dispositions of His adorable Heart. Unite yourself also to the intentions for which Christ offers His endless Sacrifice. There are five principal intentions. The first is to honor God the Father in all that He is in Himself and in all things, and to pay Him fitting honor, glory, and love. The second is to render the All-bountiful Father a tribute of thanksgiving that measures up to His goodness and all the benefits He has ever bestowed on all His creatures. The third is to make complete satisfaction for all the sins of the world. The fourth is to perfect the fulfilment of all His designs and His holy will. The fifth intention is to beseech Divine Providence to grant you the things necessary to all men, both for their bodies and their souls.
So, in conformity with these intentions of Jesus Christ, you ought to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as follows:
(1) In honor of the Most Holy Trinity, in honor of all that Jesus Christ is in Himself, in all His states, mysteries, qualities, virtues, actions and sufferings, and in honor of all that He is and achieves whether through mercy or justice, in His Blessed Mother, in all the angels and saints, in His whole Church Militant, Suffering and Triumphant, and in all creatures of heaven, earth and hell.
(2) In thanksgiving to God for all the benefits and graces whether temporal or eternal, imparted to the sacred humanity of His Son, to the most Blessed Virgin, to all angels and men, to all creatures and especially to yourself. (3) In satisfaction to His divine justice for all your sins and for all the sins of the world, especially for those of the poor souls in Purgatory.
(4) For the fulfilment of all His designs and desires, especially those He entertains on your behalf.
(5) To obtain from His goodness all the graces necessary to you and to all mankind, so that He may be served and honored by all creatures with the perfection He demands of each one. All this you should perform in the Christian role of priest. But over and above that, in the role of host, when you offer Jesus Christ to God in Holy Mass as a victim you are obliged to offer yourself also, like Him, as a victim. Better still, pray that Jesus Christ will enter into you and draw you into Himself to unite and incorporate you with Himself as host, to sacrifice you with Him for the glory of His Father. The Host to be sacrificed must be slain and consumed by fire; so you must implore Our Lord to make you die to yourself, to your passions, to your self-love and to all that displeases Him, that He may consume you in the sacred fire of His divine love, and cause your whole life to be henceforth a perpetual sacrifice of praise, glory and love for His Eternal Father and for Him.
4. You should prepare yourself for communion-if not sacramental, at least spiritual communion. Consider that our Lord Jesus Christ, Who loves you beyond measure, becomes present in the Sacrifice not only to be with you, but to be with you in intimate friendship and to impart to you His gifts and graces. And what is far more, He wills to be actually within you. He has a most ardent desire to dwell in your very heart, and give Himself to you in sacramental or spiritual communion. Therefore, you ought to prepare yourself to receive Him by fostering dispositions necessary to communicate sacramentally, namely, sentiments of humility and love. Humble yourself before Him, considering yourself most unworthy to receive Him; nevertheless, since He so earnestly desires to have communion with you, you must also long to receive Him and invite Him, by countless acts of love, to enter your heart and to live and reign in you perfectly.
5. Finally, after having thanked Our Lord for the graces He has given you in Holy Mass, leave the church with a firm resolution to spend the day well in His service, with the thought that you must henceforth be a host at the same time living and dead: dead to all that is not God, living in God and for God, totally consecrated and sacrificed purely to the glory and love of God. Declare to Our Lord that you will be a victim of His love, and that you offer yourself to Him to do and suffer, for that end, whatever may please Him. Pray that He may accomplish this in you by His very great mercy; ask Him to give you the grace to lift up your heart to Him frequently during the day, to do everything for His glory. and choose to die rather than offend Him. For all these intentions, ask Him to give you His holy blessing.
Taken from his book: The Life and Kingdom of Jesus in Christian Souls: http://www.liberius.net/livres/The_life_and_kingdom_of_Jesus_000000343.pdf
A very good question to ask ourselves is proposed by Fr. Cochem: "Are You Eucharist-minded?" He then gives these 4 points:
1. Do you really long to be united with Jesus in Holy Communion, or is your heart filled with selfish and worldly love?
2. Truthfully, are you able to go to Holy Communion oftener than you do? Is there any serious reason that keeps you away, or is it simply carelessness or lack of faith?
3. If you were now on your deathbed, would you be satisfied with the love you show toward Jesus in Holy Communion?
4. Do you realize that at the hour of death your greatest consolation will be the Masses you have heard and the Holy Communions you have received?
Taken from his book: The Incredible Catholic Mass
In conclusion I leave you with these most beautiful and heartfelt prayers for before, during and after Holy Mass written by St. John Eudes (1680 A.D.) whose heart was on fire most ardently for Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist.
St. John Eudes on the topic of being well prepared for receiving Jesus in the Sacrament of Love, tells us: "Notice also that it is by no means useless to desire to have in you all the devotion and love of all holy souls, because Our Lord revealed to St. Mechtilde, a nun of the holy Order of St. Benedict, that if, when she went to Communion, she did not feel any devotion in herself, she should desire to have the devotion and the love of all the holy souls who had ever received Communion and He would consider her as if she did indeed possess it. We also read of St. Gertrude, a contemporary of St. Mechtilde, a member of the same order and of the same monastery, that one day, when she was about to receive Communion, and did not feel herself to he as well prepared or as full of devotion as she desired, she turned to Our Lord and offered Him all the preparation and devotion of all the saints and of the Blessed Virgin. The result of this was that He appeared to her and spoke to her the following words: "Now indeed thou dost appear in my sight, and in the sight of my saints, clad in just those garments and ornaments that thou hast desired!" Ah, Lord, how good Thou art thus to accept our good desires as real effects!"
PRAYER AT THE BEGINNING OF HOLY MASS
O my God and Sovereign Lord, behold me prostrate at the feet of Thy mercy. Deign to look with kindness upon so insignificant a creature, who recognizes and confesses before heaven and earth, that he is the most unworthy and ungrateful of all creatures. O Father of mercies, I accuse myself before Thee, before the angels and saints, of all the lapses of my past life, all the offenses I have committed against Thy divine majesty, my great coldness in Thy ardent love, my neglect in Thy holy service and in following Thy inspirations, and countless other faults of which Thou well knowest me to be guilty. 0 my God, when I consider that Thy well-beloved Son, whom I am here to adore, gave me even the first moment of His life, I account myself exceedingly guilty for not having consecrated to Thee the very first use of reason given me by Thy divine majesty. O my Lord Jesus, Thou didst spend all Thy days in poverty and suffering and didst end them on the Cross for love of me. Thou didst spend Thy whole life in uninterrupted works of ardent and exceeding great charity towards my soul. Yet I, treating my days and my life as something all my own, spend them ordinarily in useless or indifferent neglect, and often in offending Thy divine majesty. 0 my Saviour, grant that I may detest all my faults, since the very least of them was a reason why Thou didst will to be born in a stable and die on the Cross to expiate even that fault before the justice of Thy Father. O my Jesus, the very least of Thy humanly divine and divinely human actions, repeated so often for my benefit during the thirty. four years of Thy life on earth, possesses such value and merit, that even if it had taken place no more than once, it could rightfully claim that my whole life should be devoted to doing Thy will, as a mark of gratitude and thanksgiving and by way of repayment to Thy divine majesty. Yet I do not do this. On the contrary, it would seem that I was born for the sole purpose of offending and insulting Thee. 0 what ingratitude! What infidelity! How I detest my treachery! How sorry and ashamed I am, Most Lovable Jesus, of having been so unfaithful and ungrateful, and of having corresponded so miserably with so great and strong a love as Thine for me! My God, I cast all my sins into the stream of Thy Precious Blood, into the abyss of Thy mercies, into the fire of Thy divine love. Cleanse me and utterly consume my sins. Atone for all my failings, 0 Good Jesus, and accept in satisfaction this most holy Sacrifice of the Precious Body and Blood, which Thou didst offer on the Cross, and I now offer Thee in reparation. O my sweet Saviour, the disordinate love of myself and of the world is the source of all my offenses. Forever and with all my might I renounce that love. 0 Most Amiable Jesus, annihilate in me all earthly affections and establish in me the kingdom of Thy divine love. Amen. PRAYER AFTER HOLY COMMUNION
O Jesus, 0 my God and my Creator, my Sovereign Lord, what marvel is this? That I should truly, at this very moment, possess in my heart the One who resides eternally in the bosom Of the Father! That I should indeed bear within me the same Jesus whom the most holy Virgin bore within her pure womb! That the most amiable Heart of Jesus, upon which the well-beloved disciple rested, which was pierced by the lance upon the Cross, should truly rest in me, so close to my heart! That His most holy soul should be living in my own soul! That the divinity, the Most Holy Trinity, all that is most admirable i n God and in heaven should have become merged in me, a most insignificant and most unworthy creature! 0 God, what mercies, what favors are these! What can I say, what can I do when I behold such great and astonishing marvels? Ah, my Lord Jesus, let all the powers of my soul and body prostrate themselves before Thy divine majesty to adore Thee and render Thee fitting homage! May heaven and earth, and all the creatures that are in heaven and on earth come now and cast themselves at Thy feet that, with me, they may render to Thee a thousand acts of homage and adoration! But, 0 my God, how great is my boldness, that I should receive Thee, the Saint of saints, into so vile an abode, with so little love, so little preparation! Forgive me, my Saviour; with all my heart I beg forgiveness for this as well as for all the other sins and acts of ingratitude during my past life. 0 Most Gentle and Amiable Jesus, 0 Thou the only One of my heart, 0 well-beloved of my soul, 0 object of all my affections, 0 my sweet life, my dear soul, my one and only love, my treasure and my glory, my joy and my only hope! My Jesus, what am I to think of Thy, bounties, so exceeding great to me? What am I to do for Thy love, when Thou hast wrought so many wonders for me? What thanks can I give Thee? My Saviour, I offer Thee all the blessings that ever have been and ever will be given Thee for all eternity by Thy Father, Thy Holy Spirit, Thy holy Mother, by all Thy angels and by all the holy souls who have ever received Thee in Holy Communion. My God, may all that is in me be transformed into love and praise of Thee! May Thy Father, Thy Holy Spirit, all Thy angels, Thy saints, and all Thy creatures bless Thee eternally for me! Father of Jesus, Holy Spirit of Jesus, Mother of Jesus, angels of Jesus, saints of Jesus, bless Jesus for me! 0 Good Jesus, Thou hast given Thyself to me with a love most great. In this same love I give myself to Thee. I give Thee my body, my soul, my life, my thoughts, my words and my deeds, and all that depends upon me. I give myself all to Thee, that Thou mavest dispose of me and of all that belongs to me, in time and in eternity, according to Thy most adorable will. 0 my Lord and my God, do Thou Thyself make use of the power of Thy own hand to ravish me from myself, from the world and from all that is not Thyself, that Thou mayest entirely possess me. Destroy all my self-love, my own will and all my vices and unruly desires. Establish in my soul the kingdom of Thy pure love, of Thy holy glory and of Thy divine will, so that I may henceforth love Thee perfectly. And let me love nothing, except in Thee and for Thee. May all my pleasure be in pleasing Thee, all my glory in glorifying Thee and in leading others to give Thee glory. May my most perfect happiness consist in carrying out Thy holy desires. 0 Good Jesus, establish in me the reign of Thy humility, Thy charity, Thy gentleness and patience, Thy obedience, Thy modesty, Thy chastity and all Thy other virtues. Clothe me in Thy spirit, Thy thoughts and inclinations, so that I may no longer have any thoughts, desires, or inclinations except Thy own. Finally, annihilate everything in me that is opposed to Thee, and so in me love and glorify Thyself in all the ways Thou dost desire. 0 my Saviour, I offer Thee all the persons for whom I am bound to pray, and especially N.N. . . . Destroy in them all that is displeasing to Thee. Fill them with Thy divine love. Accomplish all the plans Of Thy divine goodness for their souls, and give to them everything that I have asked for myself. Amen PRAYER AT THE END OF HOLY MASS
O Jesus, most worthy of love, I praise and thank Thee countless times. I summon all the angels, all the saints and creatures to bless and glorify Thee with me, for all the graces Thou hast given me by this divine sacrifice. May it please Thee to preserve and multiply in my soul all the holy desires, thoughts, affections and sentiments which Thou hast implanted in my soul during this Holy Mass, and to give me the grace to bring forth the fruit Thou dost expect of me. Thou hast lowered Thyself to become present to me by this holy mystery. Grant, I beseech Thee, that during this day I may not let one hour go by without lifting up my heart and becoming present to' Thee in spirit. Thou didst descend to this altar to take possession of our hearts and receive from us the homage we owe Thee as our Sovereign Lord. Then take possession of my heart, Good Jesus; consecrate it to Thee forever. I recognize and adore Thee as my King and Sovereign Lord. I render homage with my being, my life and all my acts, especially those I shall perform today. Take them and do with them whatever pleases Thee. Give me the grace to die rather than offend Thee, and to be a host at the same time living and dead to all that is not Thee, living in Thee and for Thee. May my whole life be a perpetual sacrifice of praise and love for Thee, and may I be utterly immolated and consumed for Thy pure glory and for Thy holy love. To this end I implore Thee with my whole heart, O Good Jesus, to give me Thy most holy blessing.
