Prayers Before Holy Communion
By Bella Francis
Prayers by St. Thomas Aquinas before Holy Communion
Almighty and Eternal God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sick, I come to the Physician of life, unclean, to the fountain of Mercy blind to the light of eternal splendor, poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore, I beg of You through Your infinite mercy and generosity, heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty and clothe my nakedness. May I thus receive the Bread of Angels the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility contrition and devotion, purity and faith, purpose and intention as shall aid my soul’s salvation. Grant, I beg of You that I receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also, its full grace and power. Give me the grace most merciful God, to receive the Body of Your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary in such a manner that I may deserve to be intimately united with His mystical Body and to be numbered among His members. Most loving Father, grant that I may behold for all eternity, face to face , Your beloved Son whom now on my pilgrimage, I am about to receive under the sacramental veil, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God world without end. Amen.
St. Thomas studied in Paris and Cologne and became and acclaimed scholar and theological advisor to the papal court .
His fellow students at first nicknamed him the ‘dumb ox’ because he was a heavy set man with a quiet manner. This great teacher and Doctor of the church, once wrote that in the sacrament of the Eucharist, Christ preaches an ‘unrivaled’ humility which disdains no dwelling but consents to come like a guest to any heart even one that is defiled. In keeping with his own admirable reverence for our Lord, St. Thomas also said that no one should approach Our Lord in communion without reverent devotion and fervent love, without the repentance or without recalling the mystery of our Lord’s Redemption. We should all be as dumb as this ‘dumb ox’.
It is indeed telling that such a towering figure as St. Thomas could be so filled with the spirit of Christ as to approach him as he says in this prayer as one sick, unclean, blind, poor and needy asking for our Lord’s Grace for Holiness in His presence.
Another expression of a prayer before Holy Communion by St. Thomas Aquinas.
I thank you Lord God, Almighty Father, despite my unworthiness by Your mercy alone, you desire to admit me into the most sacred Body of Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I beg you gracious Father that this Holy Communion be not an occasion of punishment for my soul, but a healthy intercession for forgiveness, be an armour for my faith, shield for my good will, death of all my vices, extermination of all my carnal appetites, increased charity, patience, true humility and all virtues, a perfect stillness of my body and my spirit, a firm defence against all enemies visible and invisible, strength in temptations, perpetual union with you alone my true Lord and God, a happy and blissful death. I beg You to take me a sinner to that ineffable invitation where You with Your Son and the Holy Spirit and your Saints dwell in true light, sanctification, fulfilled and lasting joy and perfect happiness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
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