Prayers during the Mass of the Faithful (1962 Missal)

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Hello there!

I am wondering what prayers are recommended for the laity during the Mass of the Faithful. I normally only attend a Low Mass (which I do prefer, more meditative), but I find, with much of the Mass of the Faithful prayed in silence by the celebrant, that my mind can sometimes wander.

So which prayers do you pray to focus your mind on the amazing miracle happening before you? Which prayers would you recommend? I’m thinking the Divine Mercy Chaplet before Communion and the Anima Christi after.
 
I try to pray along with the prayers of the priest as much as possible. In addition to this, my missal has a section called “Devotions for Communion”. Among other things, it contains acts of faith, hope, love and humility suitable for preparation for Communion. It also has prayers by saints for before and after Communion. For example, I especially like this one by St. Thomas 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, 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 that You would vouchsafe to heal my infirmity, wash my uncleanness, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty and clothe my nakedness, that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings, the Lord of lords with such reverence and humility, with such sorrow and devotion, with such purity and faith, with such purpose and intention as may be profitable to my soul’s salvation. Grant unto me, I pray, the grace of receiving not only the Sacrament of Our Lord’s Body and Blood, but also the grace and power of the Sacrament. O most gracious God, grant me so to receive the Body of 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 now I propose to receive veiled in the way.
 
Here’s one for before Communion by St. Ambrose: Prayer before Holy Communion
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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 yu, 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 my sins, and I long to put right what I have done. Merciful Father, take away all my offenses and ins; 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.
 
City_Smurf said:
Hello there!

I am wondering what prayers are recommended for the laity during the Mass of the Faithful. I normally only attend a Low Mass (which I do prefer, more meditative), but I find, with much of the Mass of the Faithful prayed in silence by the celebrant, that my mind can sometimes wander.

So which prayers do you pray to focus your mind on the amazing miracle happening before you? Which prayers would you recommend? I’m thinking the Divine Mercy Chaplet before Communion and the Anima Christi after.
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It’s unfortunate that you feel distracted during Mass, but remember that Mass is not about how you feel, it is about God. You should be uniting yourself to the Church’s greatest prayer, which is the Mass, not dividing yourself from the liturgical action by selecting other, lesser prayers for private devotion. Follow the wisdom of St. Pius X: “Don’t just pray during the Mass, pray the Mass.”
 
It is perfectly fine to pray the same prayers along with the priest. Here are sort of my personal preferences:

Offertory - I pray along with the priest. I love the Lavabo Psalm.
Canon - I pray the Prayers for the living: Pope, Bishop, and those of the living whom I am particularly remembering.

During the Consecration, since I know the prayers by heart, I meditate on the miracle and only recite (mentally) the indulgenced acclaimation “Domine meus et Deus meas”.

I pray the Commemoration for the Dead and the Nobis Quoque.

I usually do not check that I am in perfect sync with the priest in all of these prayers.

After the Pater, I am usually meditating and preparing for Communion and say the Confiteor with the altar servers.

I have the great privilege to be able to attend both a Low Mass at 7:30AM and a Missa Cantata at 10AM each Sunday. In general, I pray the Mass at the Low Mass and meditate on the sacred mysteries during the Missa Cantata.
 
Thank you all for your replies.

I should like to say that it has not been my intenton to seperate my self and my payers from the liturgy… it’s more that I haven’t learned how to pray it, as it were.
giuseppeTO said:
It is perfectly fine to pray the same prayers along with the priest.
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I was not aware that it was fine for the laity to pray the same prayers along with the priest. I believe one of the driving forces behind my sometimes becoming distracted during parts of the Mass is a feeling of… “what am I meant to be doing?”.

I don’t mean this to say that I want a more “pseudo-active” role. One of the great things I love about the Extraordinary Form is the greater internal participation. But I also need organised prayer. Just the way I am, and at times I have not been sure about what I am meant to be praying.

I guess I bet start studying my missal more closely :D!
 
City_Smurf said:
I don’t mean this to say that I want a more “pseudo-active” role. One of the great things I love about the Extraordinary Form is the greater internal participation. But I also need organised prayer. Just the way I am, and at times I have not been sure about what I am meant to be praying.
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Nicely put.

Don’t forget there are many details other than the spoken word that contribute to the beautiful Mass prayers. There are the priest vestments, the signs of the cross, the bowing of the head to the crucifix and to the Missal, the genuflections, the holding of the fingers after the consecration, the placement of the Missal itself, etc. that all have meanings and symbolisms. Your handmissal should tell you what they all mean.
 
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