Prayers Before and After Mass

Prayer of St Pio of Pietrelcina - After Holy Communion

Stay with me, Lord,

For it is necessary to have

Your Presence so that I do not forget You.

You know how easily I abandon You.

Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak

and need Your strength,

that I may not fall so often.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life,

and without you,

I am without meaning and hope.

Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light,

and without You, I am in darkness.

Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.

Stay with me, Lord,

so that I hear Your voice

and follow You

Stay with me, Lord,

for I desire to love You ever more,

and always be in Your company.

Stay with me, Lord,

if You wish me to be faithful to You

Stay with me, Lord,

for as poor as my soul is,

I want it to be a place of consolution for You,

a dwelling of love.

Stay with me, Jesus,

for it is getting late

and the day is coming to a close,

and life passes;

death, judgement and eternity approaches.

It is necessary to renew my strength,

so that I will not stop along the way

and for that,

I need You.

It is getting late and death approaches,

I fear the darkness, the dryness, the cross, the sorrows.

O how I need You, my Jesus,

in this night of exile!

Stay with me tonight, Jesus,

in life with all its dangers, I need You.

Let me recognise You

as your disciples did

at the breaking of the bread,

so that the Eucharistic Communion

be the light which disperses the darkness,

the force of which sustains me,

the unique joy of my heart.

Stay with me Lord,

because at the hour of my death,

I want to remain united to You,

if not in communion,

at least by grace and love.

Stay with me Jesus,

I do not ask for divine consolation,

because I do not merit it,

but the gift of your Presence,

oh yes, I ask this of You!

Stay with me, Lord,

for it is You alone I look for,

Your love, Your Grace, Your Will,

Your Heart, Your Spirit,

because I love You

and ask no other reward

but to love You more and more.

With a firm love, I will love You

with all my heart while on earth

and continue to love You perfectly

during all eternity.

Amen.

Thomas Aquinas - Prayer Before Mass

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Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son Our Lord Jesus Christ, I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.

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Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness.

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May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me to salvation.

May I receive the sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood, and its reality and power.Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members.

Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You for ever.

Amen.

Thomas Aquinas - Prayer After Mass

Lord, Father all-powerful and ever-living God, I thank You, for even though I am a sinner, your unprofitable servant, not because of my worth but in the kindness of your mercy, You have fed me with the Precious Body & Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

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I pray that this Holy Communion may not bring me condemnation and punishment but forgiveness and salvation.

May it be a helmet of faith and a shield of good will.

May it purify me from evil ways and put an end to my evil passions.

May it bring me charity and patience, humility and obedience, and growth in the power to do good.

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May it be my strong defence against all my enemies, visible and invisible, and the perfect calming of all my evil impulses, bodily and spiritual.

May it unite me more closely to you, the One true God, and lead me safely through death to everlasting happiness with You.

And I pray that You will lead me, a sinner, to the banquet where you, with Your Son and holy Spirit, are true and perfect light, total fulfilment, everlasting joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness to your saints. grant this through Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Prayer before a Crucifix

BEHOLD, O good and sweetest Jesus,

I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight,

and with the most fervent desire of my soul

I pray and beseech Thee

to impress upon my heart

lively sentiments of

faith, hope and charity,

with true repentance for my sins and

a most firm desire of amendment:

whilst with deep affection and grief of soul

I consider within myself

and mentally contemplate

Thy five most precious Wounds,

having before mine eyes that which David,

the prophet, long ago spoke

in Thine Own person concerning Thee, my Jesus:

They have pierced My hands and My feet,

they have numbered all My bones

[Psalm 21, 17, 18]

Prayer After Mass

O God, I come before you this morning, with all my failings, my troubles, my weaknesses, and all my sins. I go away now one with Christ, your Son, to live with His life in this little part of your world in which you, My Father, has set me down.

I have offered my life with Christ to you in this Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Let me go out now and be true to that offering among all those with whom I shall meet in the course of this day (week).

Let me be to them a Christ, loving with His love; not with sentimentality and selfishness,not asking for anything, but ready to give of myself in patience, in submission, in compassion, in wrestling with self; and with Your help dying to self.

I have not just spoken to You this morning, I have received You into my soul. Let me take You with me into the world.

Oh Jesus, win for all of us the kind smile of Our Father. Let Him see in each one of us, not ourselves but you His Beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

St Ignatus Loyola

Soul of Christ, sanctify me,

Body of Christ, Save me

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O Good Jesus, hear me.

Within Thy wounds hide me.

Suffer me not to be separated from thee.

From the malignant enemy defend me.

In the hour of my death call me.

And bid me come unto Thee,

That with all Thy saints,

I may praise thee

Forever and ever.

Amen.

Padre Pio on the Value of Holy Mass

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According to some estimates, approximately 20 million people have attended the Mass celebrated by Padre Pio.

Concerning the value of the Mass, Padre Pio said:

"If men only appreciated the value of a holy Mass they would need traffic officers at church doors every day to keep the crowds in order."

Padre Pio was asked what his Mass meant to him. He responded: "It is a sacred participation in the passion of Jesus. All that the Lord suffered in His passion, I suffer, to the extent that it is possible to a human being. And that is apart from any merit of mine, but entirely due to His goodness."

Before Padre Pio offered the unconsecrated host on his Paten, he would run his fingers around the host to make sure there were no loose particles.

Padre Pio: "Every holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know. It is easier for the earth to exist without the sun than without the holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

Padre Pio: "I am going to the wine-press of the Church, to the holy altar, where from the Blood of that delightful and unusual Grape, is distilled the sacred Wine with which only a few fortunate people are permitted to become inebriated."

On July 25, 1915, Padre Pio wrote a letter to Annita Rodote on how to properly attend the Holy Mass:

"The Divine Master calls the church the house of prayer. In order to avoid irreverence and imperfections I exhort you in the Lord to:

Enter the church in silence and with great respect.

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Take the holy water and make the sign of the cross carefully and slowly.

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At your pace, kneel down and render to Jesus the tribute of you presence.

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Confide to him all your needs, and those of others.

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Speak to him with filial abandonment.

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Be very composed when standing up, kneeling down, and sitting.

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Carry out every religious act with the greatest devotion.

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Be modest in your glance.

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Don't turn you head here and there to see who enters and leaves.

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Don't laugh.

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Don't speak to anybody, except when requested for charity or other strict necessity.

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Say the words distinctly, observe the pauses, and never hurry.

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Behave in such a way that all the presents are edified by you.

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Don't leave without asking Jesus for his blessing, and forgiveness for your shortcomings.

Leave the church recollected and calm."

From his own handwriting to his spiritual directors and the spiritual daughter Cleonice Morcaldi, we know that Padre Pio experienced during Mass the Passion of Jesus, including the Agony in the Garden with the sweat of blood, the scourging, the crowning of thorns, the hostile crowds, the Via Crucis, Veronica, Simon of Cyrene, the Crucifixion, the seven words, the sipping of the gall, the death and deposition.

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"My Mass is a sacred accomplishment of the Passion of Jesus."

"In knowing the Passion of Jesus, you will also know my Passion."

"The Mass is the complete union between Jesus and me."

"All of Paradise is close to the altar when I say Mass."

"The angels attend my Mass In legions."

"The angels around the altar adore and love."

"The Holy Virgin assists me."

"During the Consecration a new, awesome and wonderful annihilation and creation happens."

"I suffer all what Jesus suffered, from the Garden to the Cross."

"I inadequately suffer to the extent a human creature can possibly suffer."

"I suffer the agony of death like Jesus in the Garden Gethsemane."

"The sufferings are so acute that they can neither be described nor imagined."

"I suffer the bitterness of gall very often during the Mass."

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"I suffer the most from the Consecration to the Communion."

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"My suffering is insignificant compared to the suffering Jesus experienced."

"I don’t want my Calvary to be alleviated; rather to make it harder. We must suffer."

"The offertory is the moment when the soul becomes detached from all that is profane."

"I suffer the crowning of thorns during the Holy Mass and also before and after it."

"Without the crown of thorns the immolation would not be complete. The thorns are around the whole head."

"The crown of thorns is never taken away. The head and the heart are the wound that hurt the most."

"I suffer the scourging from the beginning to the end of the Mass, but more intensely after the Consecration."

"I also speak the "seven words" that Jesus stated on the Cross."

"During the Way of the Cross I am Jesus Himself. Jesus himself helps me like Simon of Cyrene and Veronica"

"At the Calvary, there where screams, blasphemies, loud clamor, and threats . . . that was really an uproar."

"I find my rest on the Cross."

"In His last gaze the dying Jesus looked towards His Holy Mother."

"I put last gaze on my brothers in exile."

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"In the Communion I ask the Lord to let me be another Jesus, all Jesus, always Jesus."

"My Communion is a fusion. Like two candles that fuse together and cannot be distinguished one from the other."

"I die mystically, at the Holy Communion. The Communion is the culminating point of my suffering."

"In the communion Jesus put his delight in his creature."

"The Eucharist gives and idea of the union we will have in heaven."

"How could I live failing even for a single morning to receive Jesus in the Communion?"

"Help me carry the cross. I that carry it for all."

"O lord, don't strike my poor brothers, strike me."

"I want to expiate the sins of all, like Jesus did on the cross."

"I take all iniquities on myself, as it is part of the Divine Sacrifice."

"I see all my children who come to the altar, as if in a mirror. I tell Mary: Here are the children of your Son."

"If we only knew how God regards it, we would risk our lives to be present at a single Mass."

"The mass gives to God an infinite glory."

"Mass is redemption of your soul and reconciliation with God."

"Listen to the Mass the way the virgin Mary stood at the Calvary"

"The holy Mass regenerates the world."

"The fruits that we receive at Mass cannot be enumerated. We will know it only in Paradise."

"I want to save my soul at any cost."

"I live for Jesus Christ, I live for his glory, I live to serve him, I live to love him."

"If it depended on me I would never leave the altar

14 Wonders of the Power of Holy Mass

After reading this you will understand the treasure of the Holy Mass.

1 – At the hour of death, your greatest consolation will be the Holy Masses that you devoutly attended during your life.

2 – Every Holy Mass you have heard will accompany you to the Divine Court and will advocate for you to obtain forgiveness.

3 – With each Holy Mass you can lessen the temporal punishment that you deserve for your sins, in proportion to the Fervour with which you listen.

4 – With the devout participation of the Holy Mass you pay the greatest homage to the Most Holy Humanity of Our Lord. The well-attended Holy Mass supplies your greatest negligence and omission.

5 – For the Holy Mass well heard forgive all your venial sins that you are determined to avoid, and many others that you do not even remember. The demon also loses control over you.

6 – By offering the Holy Mass, you offer even greater comfort to the blessed souls of Purgatory.

7 – A Holy Mass devoutly attended while you live, will bring you much more benefit than many offered for you after your death.

8 – You are freed from many dangers and misfortunes in which you might fall, if it were not for Holy Mass.

9 – Remember also that with Holy Mass you reduce your purgatory.

10 – With each Holy Mass you increase your degree of glory in Heaven. In it you receive the blessing of the Priest, which God ratifies in heaven.

11 – During the Holy Mass you kneel in the midst of a multitude of angels invisibly attending to the Holy Sacrifice.

12 – You get blessings in your business and temporal affairs.

13 – When we hear Holy Mass in honour of a particular saint, giving thanks to God for the favours requested of this saint, we gain his protection and special love, for the joy and happiness that his works follow.

14 – Every day that we hear Mass, besides the other intentions, we must honour the Saint of the day.

IMPRIMATUR:

JUAN J. CLENNON

Archbishop of St. Louis

September 26, 1909