Saturday, December 31, 2011

A Litany of Preparation for Communion





A Litany of Preparation for Receiving Holy Communion

O God the Father, of Heaven: 
   Have mercy upon us.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world: 
   Have mercy upon us.

O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the Faithful, 
   Have mercy upon us.

Holy Trinity, One God: 
   Have mercy upon us.

Help us, O God our Savior: 
   Have mercy upon us.

From the dominion of all vices: 
   O Lord, deliver us.

From blindness of heart: 
   O Lord, deliver us.

From all evil: 
   O Lord, deliver us.

We sinners: 
   do beseech thee to hear us.

That thou spare us: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou give us a sure hope: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou vouchsafe us a right faith: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou bestow on us a perfect love: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou mortify in us the loathsome forms of all vices: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou quicken us with the excellency of all virtues: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That by thine Incarnation thou wouldest open for us an entrance into the Holy of Holies: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That by this most holy Mystery thou wouldest renew our souls and bodies: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That by it thou wouldest purify our consciences: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou suffer not this tremendous Mystery to be our condemnation: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That we may handle with pure hands this Holy Sacrament: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That we may receive it with pure minds: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That by it we may obtain pardon of all sins: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That by it we may be able evermore to cleave unto thee: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That by it we may be thought worthy to have thee dwelling in us, and ourselves to dwell in thee: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That it may please thee to pour into our hearts the Grace of the Holy Spirit: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That it may please thee to preserve the Christian people who have been redeemed by thy most precious Blood: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

That thou vouchsafe us a place of repentance: 
   We beseech thee to hear us.

O God the Father, who in thy great and ineffable love to man didst send thy Son into the world, to bring back the wandering sheep, turn not away thy face from us when we approach this thy tremendous and unbloody Sacrifice; for we trust not in our own righteousness, but to thy gracious compassion, whereby thou dost redeem our race. Amen.

From Ancient Collects and Other Prayers,
by William Bright

No comments:

Post a Comment