The Catholic Prayer Book and Manual of Meditations/Invocation of the Blessed Virgin, the Angels, etc.
Another Preparation
INVOCATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, THE ANGELS, AND HOLY PATRONS.
THAT I may worthily receive my Saviour, assist me, O my holy Patrons, and all the saints, thou especially, O holy Virgin Mary, who didst deserve to conceive and bear this man-God in thy most pure womb, implore for me, for the love of thy Son, the grace of the Holy Spirit, that I may receive him worthily into my heart. My holy Angel Guardian, and all you holy Angels, assist me now, and as you see me destitute of virtues and merits, clothe me, I beseech you, with virtues, and adorn me with merits, that I may not appear at the divine feast without a nuptial garment, and thus deserve to be excluded from it. O holy N. whose feast we celebrate to-day, obtain for me from the Lamb of God, that even my hidden sins may be blotted out, and that, washed in the blood of the Lamb, I may with joy and fruit refresh my soul with his most pure flesh; implore for me that the love of Jesus may light up my lukewarm heart, and inflame it wholly with his love. Amen.
“ Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” — Matt. xi. 28.
THESE are thy words, O Christ the Eternal Truth, and they are words of so great tenderness, and so full of sweetness and love, that they encourage me, but my sins terrify me, and my unclean conscience keeps me back from approaching to so great mysteries. The sweetness of thy words invites me, but the multitude of my offences weigh me down. Thou commandest me to approach thee with confidence, if I would have part with thee; and to receive the food of immortality, if I desire to receive life and glory everlasting. "Come,” sayst thou, "to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you." (Matt. xi. 28.) O sweet and amiable word in the ear of a sinner, that thou, O Lord, my God, shouldst invite the poor and needy to the communion of thy most sacred Body! But who am I, Lord, that I should presume to come to thee? Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; and thou sayst, come you all to me.
What means this most loving condescension, and so friendly an invitation? How shall I dare to approach, who am conscious to myself of no good in which I can presume? How shall I introduce thee into my house, who have so oftentimes provoked thy indignation? The angels and archangels stand with a reverential awe; the saints and the just are afraid; and thou sayst, come you all to me. Unless thou, O Lord, didst say it, who could believe it to be true? And unless thou didst command it, who would dare attempt to approach?
Trusting then, O Lord, in thy goodness, and in thy great mercy, I come sick to my Saviour, hungry and thirsty to the Fountain of life, needy to the King of heaven, a servant to his Lord, a creature to his Creator, and one in desolation to his loving Comforter. But whence is this to me, that thou shouldst come to me? Who am I that thou shouldst give thyself to me? How dares such a sinner appear before thee? And how dost thou vouchsafe to come to a sinner? Thou knowest me, and thou knowest that I have nothing of good in me, which can entitle me to this favour. I confess, therefore, my unworthiness, I acknowledge thy bounty, I praise thy goodness, and I give thee thanks for thy excessive charity. For it is of thy own mercy thou dost this, not for my merits; that thy goodness may be better known to me; that greater charity may be imparted, and humility more perfectly recommended. Since, therefore, this is what pleaseth thee, and thou hast commanded it should be so, thy merciful condescension pleaseth me also; and I wish that my iniquity may be no obstacle.
O Lord, in the simplicity of my heart, with a good and firm faith, and in obedience to thy command, I come to thee with hope and reverence; and I do verily believe that thou art here present, God and man. It is then thy will that I should receive thee, and through love unite myself to thee. Wherefore I implore thy mercy: and I beg of thee to give me for this a special grace, that I may be wholly melted away in thee, and overflow with thy love, and seek no more any comfort from anything else. For this most high and most excellent sacrament is the health of soul and body, the remedy of all spiritual diseases, by which my vices are cured, my passions are restrained, temptations are overcome or lessened, a greater grace is infused, virtue receives an increase, faith is confirmed, hope strengthened, charity inflamed and enlarged. For thou hast frequently bestowed, and still oftentimes dost bestow, many good things in this sacrament on thy beloved who communicate devoutly, O my God, the support of my soul, who art the repairer of human infirmity, and the giver of all interior comfort. For thou impartest unto them much consolation, to support them in their many troubles; and thou liftest them up from the depth of their own dejection, to the hope of thy protection; and thou dost recreate and enlighten them interiorly with a certain new grace; in such sort that they who, before communion, were perplexed, and felt no affection in themselves, after being fed with this heavenly meat and drink, find themselves changed for the better. And thou art pleased to deal thus with thy elect, to the end that they may truly acknowledge, and plainly experience how great is their infirmity when left to themselves, and how much they receive from thy bounty and grace. For of themselves they are cold, tepid, and indevout; but by thee they are made fervent, cheerful, and devout. For who is he that approaching humbly to the fountain of sweetness, does not carry away with him some little sweetness? Or who, standing by a great fire, does not receive from it some little heat? Now thou art a fountain always full and overflowing: thou art a fire always burning, and never decaying. Wherefore if I cannot draw out of the fulness of the fountain, nor drink my fill, I will at least set my mouth to the orifice of this heavenly well, that so I may draw from thence, some small drop to refresh my thirst, to the end that I may not be wholly dried up. And if I cannot as yet be all heavenly, and all on fire, like the cherubim and seraphim, I will, however, endeavour to apply myself to devotion, and to prepare my heart for the acquiring of some small flame of divine fire, by the humble receiving of this life-giving sacrament. And whatever is wanting to me, O good Jesus, most blessed Saviour, do thou in thy bounty and goodness supply for me, who hast vouchsafed to call all unto thee, saying, "Come to me all you that labour and are burdened , and I will refresh you .” (Matt. xi. 28.)
I labour indeed, in the sweat of my brow, I am tormented with grief of heart, I am burdened with sins, I am troubled with temptations, and am entangled and oppressed with many evil passions; and there is no one to help me, no one to deliver and save me, but thou, O Lord God, my Saviour; to whom I commit myself, and all that is mine, that thou mayst keep me, and bring me to everlasting life. Receive me for the praise and glory of thy name, who hast prepared thy body and blood for my meat and drink. Grant, O Lord God, my Saviour, that with the frequenting this thy mystery, the affection of my devotion may increase.
Lord, all things are thine that are in heaven, and on earth. I desire to offer up myself to thee as a voluntary oblation, and to remain for ever thine. Lord, in the sincerity of my heart, I offer myself to thee this day, to be thy servant evermore, to serve thee, and to become a sacrifice of perpetual praise to thee. Receive me with this sacred oblation of thy precious body, which I offer to thee this day, in the presence of thy angels invisibly standing by that it may be for mine and all the peopled salvation.
Lord, I offer to thee all my sins and offences, which I have committed in thy sight, and that of thy holy angels, from the day that I was first capable of sin until this hour, upon thy propitiatory altar, that thou mayst burn and consume them all with the fire of thy charity, and mayst remove all the stains of my sins, and cleanse my conscience from all offences, and restore to me thy grace, which I have lost by sin, by fully pardoning me all, and mercifully receiving me to the kiss Of peace. I offer also to thee all the good I have done, though very little and imperfect, that thou mayst make it better, and sanctify it; that thou mayst be pleased with it, and make it acceptable to thee, and perfect it more and more; and mayst, moreover, bring me, who am a slothful and unprofitable wretch, to a good and happy end.
I offer to thee also, all the goodly desires of thy devout servants; the necessities of my parents, brethren, sisters, and all those that are dear to me; and for all such as for the love of thee, have been benefactors to me or others, or who have desired and begged of me to offer up prayers and masses for themselves and all that belonged to them, whether they live as yet in the flesh, or whether they are now departed out of this world, that they all may be sensible of the assistance of thy grace, of the benefit of thy comfort, of thy protection from all dangers and of a deliverance from their pains: and that being freed from all evils, they may with joy give worthy thanks to thee. I offer up also to thee my prayers, and this sacrifice of propitiation for them in particular, who have in anything wronged, grieved, or abused me, or have done me any damage or displeasure. And for all those, likewise, whom I have at any time grieved, troubled, injured, or scandalized by word or deed, knowingly or unknowingly; that it may please thee to forgive us all our sins and offences one against another: Take, O Lord, from our hearts all jealousy, indignation, wrath, and contention, and whatsoever may hurt charity, and lessen brotherly love. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on those that crave thy mercy; give grace to them that stand in need thereof, and grant that we may attain to life.