Favorite Pre-Mass Prayers

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PietroPaolo

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What are some of your favorite prayers to pray in Church before Mass begins to prepare yourself spiritually to participate in the Sacred Mysteries? I recently wrote a post on my favorite five prayers to pray before Mass, you can read it here:

5 Great Prayers to Say Before Mass

And I was interested to know what prayers some of you like to pray that really help you focus on Christ and the Mass.

Merry Christmas!
 
I usually pray a Rosary and a Divine Mercy Chaplet before Mass. 🙂
 
I’m not sure this was really written as a prayer, but it could easily be turned into one. They used to say this on the intro screen before the EWTN Masses. I always thought it was so beautiful.

“Let the whole of mankind tremble, the whole world shake, and the heavens exult when
Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of a priest. O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally.”
 
m134e5 said:
I’m not sure this was really written as a prayer, but it could easily be turned into one. They used to say this on the intro screen before the EWTN Masses. I always thought it was so beautiful.

“Let the whole of mankind tremble, the whole world shake, and the heavens exult when
Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of a priest. O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally.”
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Not exactly a prayer, but an incredibly powerful meditation to use before Mass. Thanks!
 
Here are two that I try to say before each Mass:

A DECLARATION OF INTENTION
Eternal Father, I unite myself with the intentions and affections of our Lady of Sorrows on Calvary, and I offer to you the sacrifice that your beloved Son Jesus made of himself upon the cross, and now renews upon this holy altar:
To adore you and give you the honour that is due to you, confessing your supreme dominion over all things, and the absolute dependence of everything upon you, who are our sole and our last end.
To thank you for the countless benefits that I have received.
To appease your justice, aroused against us by so many sins, and to make satisfaction for them.
To implore grace for myself, for N., for all afflicted and sorrowing, for poor sinners, for all the world, and for the holy souls in purgatory. Amen.
  • Acta Sanctae Sedis (St Pius X, 8 July 1904)
PRAYER OF ST THOMAS OF AQUINAS
Almighty and everlasting God, behold, I come to the sacrament of your 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 and goodness, 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 your measureless bounty 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 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 your 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 among his members. O most loving Father, give me grace to behold forever your beloved Son with unveiled face, whom I now purpose to receive veiled in the way. Amen.
 
m134e5 said:
I’m not sure this was really written as a prayer, but it could easily be turned into one. They used to say this on the intro screen before the EWTN Masses. I always thought it was so beautiful.

“Let the whole of mankind tremble, the whole world shake, and the heavens exult when
Christ, the Son of the living God, is on the altar in the hands of a priest. O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally.”
Click to expand...
Wow, is that powerful! Thanks for sharing it - I’ve never seen it. Would love to know who specifically is credited for that. I think I’d like to create a wallpaper for my computer with that…
 
larsont7 said:
Here are two that I try to say before each Mass:

A DECLARATION OF INTENTION
Eternal Father, I unite myself with the intentions and affections of our Lady of Sorrows on Calvary, and I offer to you the sacrifice that your beloved Son Jesus made of himself upon the cross, and now renews upon this holy altar:
To adore you and give you the honour that is due to you, confessing your supreme dominion over all things, and the absolute dependence of everything upon you, who are our sole and our last end.
To thank you for the countless benefits that I have received.
To appease your justice, aroused against us by so many sins, and to make satisfaction for them.
To implore grace for myself, for N., for all afflicted and sorrowing, for poor sinners, for all the world, and for the holy souls in purgatory. Amen.
  • Acta Sanctae Sedis (St Pius X, 8 July 1904)
PRAYER OF ST THOMAS OF AQUINAS
Almighty and everlasting God, behold, I come to the sacrament of your 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 and goodness, 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 your measureless bounty 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 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 your 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 among his members. O most loving Father, give me grace to behold forever your beloved Son with unveiled face, whom I now purpose to receive veiled in the way. Amen.
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I love these. I will print them out and take them with me and eventually memorize them/ Thanks so much for posting them.
 
Prayer of St. Ambrose
O loving Lord Jesus Christ,
I, a sinner, not presuming on my own mertis, but trusting in Your mercy and goodness,
with fear and awe approach the table of Your most sacred banquet.
For I have stained both my heart and body with many sins,
and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and tongue.
Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful majesty, I, a wretched creature,
entangled in difficulties, have recourse to You, the fount of mercy;
to You I fly for healing and take refuge under Your protection,
and I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior whom I am unable to face as my Judge.
To You, Lord, I show my wounds,
to You I lay bare my shame.
I know that my sins are many and great and on their account I am filled with fear.
But I trust in Your mercy, which is endless.
Look down on me, therefore, with the eyes of mercy, Lord Jesus Christ,
eternal King, God and Man, crucified for men.
Hear me, for my hope is in You;
have mercy on me, for I am full of sin and wretchedness,
You who never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy.
Hail Victim of Salvation, offered for me and for all mankind on the tree of the cross.
Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ
washing away the sins of the whole world.
Remember, Lord, Your creature, whom You have redeemed with Your Blood.
I am grieved because I have sinned.
I desire to make amends for what I have done.
Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and my sins,
that, being purified both in soul and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies;
and grant that this holy oblation of Your Body and Blood,
of which though unworthy I purpose to partake,
may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of all my offenses,
the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires,
the accomplishment of works pleasing to You,
as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies. Amen.***

-Tim-
 
Thank you for these.

I’m nearly 45 years old, and grew up Catholic, and never was taught of a specific prayer before Mass. While kneeling after arrival, I will/would ask forgiveness for my sins and give thanks and praise to God, but had not used scripted or form prayers. I have a hard time memorizing things, and I look fairly ridiculous using papers or a booklet for prayer while kneeling. 😦 And I just can’t bring myself to use my phone; perhaps I should load up my Nook instead!
 
ccmcmg said:
Thank you for these.

I’m nearly 45 years old, and grew up Catholic, and never was taught of a specific prayer before Mass. While kneeling after arrival, I will/would ask forgiveness for my sins and give thanks and praise to God, but had not used scripted or form prayers. I have a hard time memorizing things, and I look fairly ridiculous using papers or a booklet for prayer while kneeling. 😦 And I just can’t bring myself to use my phone; perhaps I should load up my Nook instead!
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Why do you think you look “fairly ridiculous” kneeling and praying with papers or a booklet? :console: I kneel and pray with documents in hand all the time…it never occurred to me that this might somehow look bizarre. :confused:

That said, I have a number of prayers uploaded onto my Kindle in PDF format, including a Holy Communion Chaplet that I pray prior to Mass. It takes about 5-6 minutes. There are a couple of different versions of this chaplet; this is the one I use (including the prayers beads shown). Since I serve as sacristan for almost every Mass I attend, I pray the chaplet in the sacristy after I’ve finished preparing the sanctuary and while waiting for he priest to arrive. 👍
 
UpUpAndAway said:
Why do you think you look “fairly ridiculous” kneeling and praying with papers or a booklet? :console: I kneel and pray with documents in hand all the time…it never occurred to me that this might somehow look bizarre. :confused:

That said, I have a number of prayers uploaded onto my Kindle in PDF format, including a Holy Communion Chaplet that I pray prior to Mass. It takes about 5-6 minutes. There are a couple of different versions of this chaplet; this is the one I use (including the prayers beads shown). Since I serve as sacristan for almost every Mass I attend, I pray the chaplet in the sacristy after I’ve finished preparing the sanctuary and while waiting for he priest to arrive. 👍
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🙂
I realize I’m being self conscious; I don’t want to call attention to myself; perhaps it’s pride, but it’s also that I don’t want to look ‘holier than thou’, since we usually sit towards the front of the church anyway.

What I REALLY want to do is put my headphones in prior to Mass while I pray, because it is sooo noisy in the foyer, and the doors are kept open. 😦 On occasion, we will go to the Adoration Chapel across the street before Mass (and/or after), but I would so much prefer the quiet segue from prayerful silence before Mass, into the Holy Mass. Crossing the busy street through the loud foyer breaks that. At some point, I am going to visit with our priest about it; maybe he can offer some perspective on why the noise is allowed.

Peace of Christmas to you!
 
IrishRush said:
Wow, is that powerful! Thanks for sharing it - I’ve never seen it. Would love to know who specifically is credited for that. I think I’d like to create a wallpaper for my computer with that…
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It was written by St Francis of Assisi. Someone used to say it during the opening scene that EWTN always showed before their Masses. I always loved it.
 
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