Additional Prayers of Thanksgiving

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

I give thee thanks, O Lord Holy, Father Almighty, Everlasting God: for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed me a sinner, through no merits of mine own, but only by the infinite goodness of thy mercy, with the precious Body and Blood of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And I pray thee that this Holy Communion may not bring upon me guilt unto an increase in my condemnation; but may be an effectual intercession for my pardon and salvation. Let it be unto me the armor of faith and the shield of godly resolution. Let it be profitable unto me for deliverance from all manner of vices; for the destruction of all concupiscence and wantonness; for the increase of charity and patience, of holiness and obedience; and for advancement in all manner of virtues. Let it be my sure defense against all the assaults of mine enemies seen and unseen; let it be effectual for the subduing of all sinful motions both of my flesh and of my spirit; that cleaving steadfastly unto thee, the one true God, I may attain in the end unto perfect felicity. And I pray thee that thou would vouchsafe to bring me a sinner, unto the unspeakable joys of that heavenly banquet; where thou, with thy Son and the Holy Ghost, art to thy Saints true light and full contentment, everlasting joy, delight unfailing, and perfect happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce, I beseech thee, O most dear Lord Jesus Christ, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of thy love, and with true, calm, and most holy apostolic charity, in such wise that my soul may ever languish and grow weak, consumed with the fever of divine love in yearning after thee alone; that I may have a desire to enter into thy courts, and thus to be dissolved and to be with thee. Grant that my soul may hunger after thee, who art the Bread of Angels and the comforting refreshment of the souls of the Saints. Be thou each day our daily Bread, containing in itself all sweetness and Savior, and able to content every man's delight. Be thou each day that for which my heart doth hunger, that it may always feed upon thee, on whom the Angels ever desire to set their gaze. May my soul ever thirst for thee, who art the source of life, the fount of wisdom and knowledge, the brightness of everlasting light, the flood of all true happiness, the fullness of the house of God. May I at all times think of thee; may I ever seek thee and ever find thee; may I always follow thee and reach thee; may thy holy Name be in my heart and on my lips; and to thy praise and glory may every work of mine be done. Humble and discreet, loving and happy, ever ready, and cheerful in thy service, may I persevere, by thy grace, even unto the end. Be thou alone and evermore my hope; be thou all my trust; be thou my wealth, my delight, my joy, my consolation, my rest and endless peace. Be thou to me as a goodly taste, as a pleasant perfume, as a soothing sweetness. Be thou my food and my refreshment; my refuge and my help; my wisdom; my portion, mine own possession, and my treasure. In thee, O Lord, may my mind and my heart remain ever fixed and firm, and rooted immovably for evermore. Amen.

Hymn of St. Thomas Aquinas

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore thee, Who truly art within the forms before me; To thee my heart I bow with bended knee, As failing quite in contemplating thee. Sight, touch, and taste in thee are each deceived: The ear alone most safely is believed: I believe all the Son of God hath spoken, Than Truth's own word there is no truer token. God only on the cross lay hid from view: But here lies hid at once the manhood too: And I, in both professing my belief, Make the same prayer as the repentant thief. Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see: Yet thee confess my Lord and God to be: Make me believe thee ever more and more: In thee my hope, in thee my love to store. O thou memorial of our Lord's own dying O living bread, to mortals life supplying! Make thou my soul henceforth on thee to live: Ever a taste of heavenly sweetness give. *O loving Pelican! O Jesus Lord! Unclean I am, but clean me in thy blood. Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt, Can purge the entire world from all its guilt.

Jesus, whom for the present veiled I see, What I so thirst for, oh, vouchsafe to me: That I may see thy countenance unfolding, And may be blest thy glory in beholding. Amen.

The Pelican is the noblest of birds. In times of scarcity when there are no small fish to feed her young, she will feed her nestlings with her own flesh to nourish them, no matter how long-even to the point of death. The Pelican symbol today is not visible in newer churches since many altars have been discarded by modernists and symbolism is practically non-existent.

Aspirations of St. Ignatius to the Most Holy Redeemer

Soul of Christ, be my sanctification; Body of Christ, be my salvation; Blood of Christ, fill all my veins; Water of Christ's side, wash out my stains; Passion of Christ, my comfort be; O good Jesu, hear thou me: In thy wounds I fain would hide, Ne'er to be parted from thy side; Guard me, should the foe assail me; Call me when my life shall fail me; Bid me come to thee above, With thy saints to sing thy love World without end. Amen.

An Act of Self Oblation

Accept, O Lord, my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I am and have thou hast given me; and I give all back to thee to be disposed of according to thy good pleasure. Give me only the comfort of thy grace and the joy of thy love; with these I shall be rich enough and shall desire nothing more.

Prayer to Our Lord Jesus Christ Crucified

Look down upon me, O good and most dear Jesus, while before thy sight I humbly kneel, and with the greatest desire of my soul, do pray and beseech thee to fix deep within my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment: and while I contemplate with great love and sorrow thy five wounds, contemplating them within me, and having before mine eyes that which David the prophet spoke concerning thee, O good Jesus: They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones.

A Prayer to Our Lord Jesus Christ

I beseech thee, most dear Lord Jesus Christ, that thy passion may be my strength, to guard, protect, and defend me: that thy wounds may be my meat and drink, to feed, satisfy, and comfort me; that thy Blood may be sprinkled upon me unto the washing away of all my sins: that thy death may be unto me life unfailing, thy Cross mine everlasting glory. Herein let me find refreshment, rejoicing, healing, and gladness of heart, O Jesus. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O Mary most holy, Virgin and Mother, behold I have received thy most beloved Son whom thou hast conceived in thine immaculate womb, brought forth, nourished, and embraced with caresses most gentle. Behold, I present and offer unto thee, with all reverence and humility, him at whose very sight thou shalt rejoice, and be filled with

all delights, that he may be loved by thy heart, and be embraced in thine arms; that he may be offered unto the Most Holy Trinity in the supreme act of worship, for thine honor and glory and for mine own needs and of the whole earth. I ask thee, therefore, O most holy Mother, to beg for me the forgiveness of all my sins, the abundant grace of henceforth serving him more faithfully, and the final grace, that I may be able to praise him with thee forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph

O guardian and Father of Virgins, Holy Joseph, to whose faithful care was committed Christ Jesus, very innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, I beg and beseech thee through this double dear pledge of Jesus and Mary, that, preserved from all uncleanness, thou may make me with an undefiled mind, a pure heart, and a chaste body, to serve Jesus and Mary ever most chastely. Amen.

Prayer to the Saint in whose Honour the Mass was Celebrated

O Blessed Saint N., in whose honor I have this day offered the unbloody Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ: help me, by thy mighty intercession before God, ever to increase in such understanding and use of this holy Mystery, that I may obtain the benefits of the Passion and Death of the same Christ our Savior; and that continually approaching unto this same most holy Mystery, I may thereby grow in grace, until I attain unto the fullness of life eternal. Amen.