SR
Chapter 29Ansl.1.29

ORATIO XXIX. FACIENDA A SACERDOTE ANTE MISSAM.

The Priest Draws Near in Prayer

The priest begins by contemplating Christ’s priestly self-offering in the Eucharist and asks for grace to approach and celebrate this great mystery with purity, reverence, and angelic protection.

Highest Priest and true Pontiff, you offered yourself to God the Father as a pure and spotless sacrifice on the altar of the Cross for us miserable sinners, and you gave us your flesh to eat and your blood to drink, and you established this mystery by the power of your Spirit, saying: "Whenever you do these things, you shall do them in remembrance of me." I ask by your precious blood, the great price of our salvation; I ask by this marvelous and indescribable love through which you deigned to love us, miserable and unworthy as we are, so that you would wash us from our sins in your blood. Teach me, your unworthy servant — whom, among all your other gifts, you also deigned to call to the priestly office, not by any merit of mine, but by the sheer favor of your mercy — teach me, I beg you, through your Holy Spirit, to handle this great mystery with the reverence and honor, the devotion and awe that are fitting and proper. By your grace, let me always believe and understand, perceive and firmly hold, speak and think about this great mystery what pleases you and what benefits my soul. Let your good Spirit enter my heart, sounding there without sound, and without the noise of words speaking all the truth of these great mysteries; for they are exceedingly deep, and covered with a sacred veil. Because of your great mercy, grant me to celebrate the solemnities of Mass with a clean heart and a pure mind. Free my heart from filthy and shameful, vain and harmful thoughts. Strengthen me with the devoted and faithful guardianship of the blessed angels, and with their most powerful protection, so that the enemies of all good may withdraw in confusion. By the power of this great mystery, and by the hand of your holy angel, drive away from me and from all your servants the harsh spirit of pride and vainglory, of envy and blasphemy, of fornication and impurity, of doubt and unbelief.

Prayer for the Church and Persecutors

A brief petition that those who persecute and seek to destroy may be put to shame and perish.

Let those who persecute us be put to shame; let those who rush to destroy everything perish.

Prayer for Chastity and Pure Sacrifice

The priest asks for the gift of chastity and vividly contemplates the awe and reverence with which so great a sacrifice should be celebrated.

King of virgins, lover of chastity, God, with the heavenly dew of your blessing extinguish in my body the kindling of burning lust, so that the tenor of chastity may remain in me, of body and of soul.1 Put to death in my members the goads of the flesh, and all lustful commotions, and grant me true and perpetual chastity along with your other gifts, which are pleasing to you in truth, so that with chaste body and clean heart I may be able to offer you daily a sacrifice of praise.2 For with what great contrition of heart and fountain of tears, with what great reverence and trembling, with what great chastity of body and purity of soul is this divine and heavenly sacrifice to be celebrated, Lord, where your flesh is truly received, where your blood is truly drunk, where the lowest are joined to the highest, where the presence of the holy angels is present, where you are both sacrifice and priest, wonderfully and ineffably?34

Unworthiness and the Power of Grace

The priest confesses his unworthiness to approach the mystery, yet trusts in God’s power to make the unworthy worthy and asks to celebrate with fear, tears, and spiritual joy.

Who can worthily celebrate this, unless you, almighty God, first make the one offering it worthy? I know, Lord, and I truly know it, and I confess this very fact to your goodness: I am not worthy to approach so great a mystery, because of my excessive sins and my countless acts of neglect. But I know, and I truly believe with my whole heart, and I confess with my mouth, that you are able to make me worthy — you alone, who can make what is clean from what was conceived in uncleanness; you alone can make the unworthy worthy, and the unclean clean.5 And from sinners you make people righteous and holy. Through this omnipotence of yours I ask you: grant me, a sinner, to celebrate this heavenly sacrifice with fear and trembling, with purity of heart and a fountain of tears, with spiritual joy and heavenly gladness. May my mind perceive the sweetness of your most blessed presence, and the watch of your holy ones surrounding me.6

The Priest Offers the Sacrifice for the Church

Mindful of Christ’s Passion, the priest approaches the altar to offer the sacrifice of remembrance and intercedes for the Church, the people, and all who suffer.

Mindful, then, of your sacred Passion, I come to your altar — though I am a sinner — to offer you the sacrifice that you yourself instituted and commanded to be offered in remembrance of you, for our salvation.78 Receive it, then, I beseech you, most high God, for your holy Church and for the people you purchased with your own blood.910 And since you have willed that I, a sinner, should stand as mediator between you and this same people of yours — even though you may find in me no evidence of good work — do not, I pray, refuse the duty of the stewardship entrusted to me, nor let the price of their salvation perish through my unworthiness — those for whom you deigned to become the saving Victim, their redemption.1112131415 I bring before you, then, Lord — if you deign to look with favor — the afflictions of the faithful, the dangers of nations, the groans of captives, the misery of orphans, the hardships of travelers, the want of the weak, the despair of the sick, the frailty of the aged, the sighs of the young, the vows of virgins, the lament of widows.161718

Mercy for All and Renewal of Heart

The priest prays that God may remember human frailty, show mercy, take away iniquity, give a heart of flesh, and graciously hear the prayers of his household.

You, Lord, have mercy on all, for You have hated nothing that You have made. Remember what our very substance is, because You are our Father, because You are our God; do not be angry beyond measure, and do not withhold the abundance of Your mercy from us.19 It is not on the strength of our own righteous deeds that we lay our prayers before You, but in Your many mercies. Take away our iniquities, Lord, and mercifully kindle the fire of the Holy Spirit within us. Remove the heart of stone from our flesh, and give us a heart of flesh, so that it may fear You, love You, esteem You, delight in You, follow You, and enjoy You.20 We ask, Lord, that in Your mercy You would deign to look upon Your household as it awaits the duties of Your holy name, so that no one's vow may come to nothing, no one's petition be empty. Suggest to us the prayers that You Yourself are gracious to hear and delight to grant.21

Prayers for the Faithful Departed

The priest prays for the souls of the faithful departed, asking that they be refreshed by Christ’s Body and Blood, and invokes the Holy Spirit to sanctify the offerings and the priest himself.

We ask you also, Holy Father, for the souls of the faithful departed, that you may be for them salvation, health, joy, and refreshment — this great sacrament of devotion.22 My God, let there be for them today a great and full feast: from you, the living bread that came down from heaven and gives life to the world; from your flesh, holy and blessed — that is, from the spotless Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, conceived by the Holy Spirit from the womb of the holy and glorious Virgin Mary — from that, I say, fountain of devotion, which flowed through the soldier's lance from your most sacred side, so that, refreshed and satisfied, cooled and comforted by it, they may exult in your praise and glory.232425 I ask for your mercy, God, that the fullness of your blessing and the sanctification of your divinity may descend upon it. May that majesty of your Holy Spirit — invisible and incomprehensible — also descend, Lord, just as it once descended upon the sacrifices of the fathers, and may it make our offerings your Body and Blood, and may it teach me, an unworthy priest, to handle so great a mystery with purity of heart and with the devotion of tears, with reverence and trembling, so that you may gently and kindly receive the sacrifice from my hands, for the salvation of all, both the living and the dead.2627

Christ the Bread of Life and the Priest’s Heart

The priest prays through the mystery of the Eucharist, invoking Christ as the living bread, asking healing and sanctification for heart and soul, and desiring to be wholly transformed by this heavenly food.

I ask you, Lord, through the most holy mystery of your Body and Blood — by which we are daily fed and given to drink, washed and sanctified in your Church, and made partakers of the one and highest divinity — grant me your holy virtues, so that filled with them and a good conscience I may approach your altar, and these heavenly Sacraments may become for me salvation and life. For you have spoken with your holy and blessed mouth: 'The bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.' 'If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.' Sweetest Bread, heal the palate of my heart, so that I may perceive the sweetness of your love. Heal it from every weakness, so that it may perceive no sweetness except you, seek no love except you, love no beauty except you. Brightest Bread, holding every delight and every flavor of sweetness — you who always refresh us and never fail in yourself — let my heart consume you, and let the inward parts of my soul be filled with the sweetness of your taste. The angel eats you with a full mouth; let the pilgrim eat you according to his own measure, so that, refreshed by such provision for the journey, he may not fail on the way. Holy Bread, living Bread, beautiful Bread, pure Bread — you who came down from heaven and give life to the world — come into my heart, and cleanse me from every stain of flesh and spirit; enter into my soul, and sanctify me within and without.

Protection, Pilgrimage, and Face-to-Face Vision

The priest asks for protection from enemies, a straight path to Christ’s kingdom, and the final fulfillment of seeing God face to face and being eternally satisfied.

Be my protection and the lasting safety of my soul and of my body. Drive back from me the enemies lying in wait for me; let them withdraw far from the presence of your power, so that, fortified by you outside and within, I may arrive by a straight path at your kingdom, where we will see you not in mysteries, as is done in this present time, but face to face, when you hand over the kingdom to God the Father, and God will be all in all.28 Then, indeed, you will satisfy me from yourself with a wonderful fullness, so that I will neither hunger nor thirst for eternity.29

Read the original Latin

Summe Sacerdos et vere Pontifex, qui te obtulisti Deo Patri hostiam puram et immaculatam in ara crucis pro nobis miseris peccatoribus, et qui dedisti nobis carnem tuam ad manducandum et sanguinem tuum ad bibendum, et posuisti mysterium istud in virtute Spiritus tui, dicens: Haec quotiescunque feceritis, in mei memoriam facietis. Rogo per sanguinem tuum pretiosum, magnum salutis nostrae pretium, rogo per hanc miram et inenarrabilem charitatem qua nos miseros et indignos sic amare dignatus es, ut lavares nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine tuo, doce me servum tuum indignum, quem etiam inter caetera dona tua ad officium sacerdotale vocare dignatus es nullis meis meritis, sed sola dignatione misericordiae tuae, doce me, quaeso, per Spiritum sanctum tuum tantum tractare mysterium ea reverentia et honore, ea devotione et timore quibus oportet et decet. Fac me per gratiam tuam semper illud de tanto mysterio credere et intelligere, sentire et firmiter tenere, dicere et cogitare quod tibi placet et quod expedit animae meae. Intret Spiritus tuus bonus in cor meum, qui sonet ibi sine sono, et sine strepitu verborum loquatur omnem veritatem tantorum mysteriorum; profunda quippe sunt nimis, et sacro tecta velamine. Propter magnam clementiam tuam concede mihi missarum solemnia mundo corde et pura mente celebrare. Libera cor meum ab immundis et nefandis, vanis et noxiis cogitationibus. Muni me beatorum angelorum pia et fida custodia, ac tutela fortissima, ut hostes omnium bonorum confusi discedant. Per virtutem tanti mysterii, et per manum sancti angeli tui repelle a me et a cunctis servis tuis durissimum spiritum superbiae et caenodoxiae, invidiae et blasphemiae, fornicationis et immunditiae, dubietatis et diffidentiae.

Confundantur qui nos persequuntur, pereant illi qui perdere cuncta festinant.

Rex virginum, amator castitatis, Deus, coelesti rore benedictionis tuae exstingue in corpore meo fomitem ardentis libidinis, ut maneat in me tenor castitatis corporis et animae. Mortifica in membris meis carnis stimulos, omnesque libidinosas commotiones et da mihi veram et perpetuam castitatem cum caeteris donis tuis, quae tibi placent in veritate, ut sacrificium laudis casto corpore et mundo corde quotidie valeam tibi offerre. Quanta enim cordis contritione et lacrymarum fonte, quanta reverentia et tremore, quanta corporis castitate et animae puritate istud divinum et coeleste sacrificium est celebrandum, Domine, ubi caro tua in veritate sumitur, ubi sanguis tuus in veritate bibitur, ubi ima summis conjunguntur, ubi adest sanctorum angelorum praesentia, ubi tu es sacrificium et sacerdos mirabiliter et ineffabiliter?

Quis digne hoc celebrare potest, nisi tu Deus omnipotens offerentem feceris dignum? Scio, Domine, et vere scio, et idipsum bonitati tuae confiteor quia non sum dignus accedere ad tantum mysterium propter nimia peccata mea, et infinitas negligentias meas.

Sed scio, et veraciter ex toto corde meo credo, ore meo confiteor quia tu potes me facere dignum, qui solus potes facere mundum de immundo conceptum semine; solus de indignis dignos, de immundis mundos. et de peccatoribus justos et sanctos facis. Per hanc omnipotentiam tuam te rogo, concede mihi peccatori hoc coeleste sacrificium celebrare cum timore et tremore cum cordis puritate et lacrymarum fonte, cum laetitia spiritali et coelesti gaudio. Sentiat mens mea dulcedinem beatissimae praesentiae tuae, et excubias sanctorum tuorum in circuitu meo.

Ego enim memor venerandae passionis tuae accedo ad altare tuum, licet peccator, ut offeram tibi sacrificium quod tu instituisti, et offerri praecepisti in commemorationem tui pro salute nostra. Suscipe illud ergo, quaeso, summe Deus, pro Ecclesia sancta tua, et populo quem acquisisti sanguine tuo. Et quoniam me peccatorem inter te et eumdem populum tuum medium esse voluisti, licet in me aliquod boni operis testimonium non agnoscas, officium saltem dispensationis creditae non recuses, nec per me indignum eorum salutis percat pretium, pro quibus victima factus salutaris dignatus es esse redemptio. Profero ergo, Domine (si digneris propitius intueri), tribulationes plebium, pericula populorum, captivorum gemitus, miserias orphanorum, necessitates peregrinorum, inopiam debilium, desperationes languentium, defectus senum, suspiria juvenum, vota virginum, lamenta viduarum.

Tu enim misereris omnium, Domine, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti. Memorare quae sit nostra substantia, quia tu Pater noster es, quia tu Deus noster es; ne irascaris satis, neque multitudinem viscerum tuorum super nos contineas. Non enim in justificationibus nostris prosternimus preces ante faciem tuam, sed in miserationibus tuis multis. Aufer a nobis, Domine, iniquitates nostras, et ignem sancti Spiritus in nobis clementer accende. Aufer cor lapideum de carne nostra, et da nobis cor carneum, quot te timeat, te amet, te diligat, te delectetur, te sequatur, te perfruatur. Oramus, Domine, clementiam tuam ut sereno vultu familiam tuam, sacri tui nominis officia praestolantem, aspicere digneris, et ut nullius sit irritum votum, nullius vacua postulatio, tu nobis preces suggere quas ipse audire propitius et exaudire delecteris.

Rogamus etiam te, Pater sancte, et pro animabus fidelium defunctorum ut sis illis salus, sanitas, gaudium et refrigerium, hoc magnum pietatis sacramentum. Deus meus, sit illis hodie magnum et plenum convivium de te pane vivo, qui de coelo descendisti et das vitam mundo, de tua carne sancta et benedicta, Agni videlicet immaculati qui tollit peccata mundi, quae de sancto et glorioso beatae virginis Mariae utero est assumpta, et de Spiritu sancto concepta, de illo, inquam, pietatis fonte, per lanceam militis ex tuo sacratissimo latere manavit, ut ex inde refecti et satiati, refrigerati et consolati, exsultent in laude et gloria tua. Peto clementiam tuam, Deus, ut descendat super illud plenitudo tuae benedictionis, et sanctificatio tuae divinitatis. Descendat etiam, Domine, illa sancti Spiritus tui invisibilis incomprehensibilisque majestas, sicut quondam in patrum hostias descendebat, qui et oblationes nostras corpus et sanguinem tuum efficiat, et me indignum sacerdotem doceat tantum tractare mysterium cum cordis puritate et lacrymarum devotione, cum reverentia et tremore, ita ut placide et benigne suscipias sacrificium de manibus meis ad salutem omnium tam vivorum quam defunctorum.

Rogo te, Domine, per ipsum sacrosanctum mysterium corporis et sanguinis tui, quo quotidie in Ecclesia tua pascimur et potamur, abluimur et sanctificamur, atque unius summaeque divinitatis participes efficimur, da mihi virtutes tuas sanctas, quibus repletus bona conscientia ad altare tuum accedam, ita ut haec coelestia sacramenta efficiantur mihi salus et vita. Tu enim dixisti ore tuo sancto et benedicto: Panis quem ego dabo, caro mea est pro mundi vita. Si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane, vivet in aeternum. Panis dulcissime, sana palatum cordis mei, ut sentiam suavitatem amoris tui. Sana illud ab omni languore, ut nullam praeter te sentiat dulcedinem, nullum praeter te quaerat amorem, nullam praeter te amet pulchritudinem. Panis candidissime, habens omne delectamentum et omnem suavitatis saporem, qui nos semper reficis, et nunquam in te deficis, comedat te cor meum, et dulcedine saporis tui repleantur viscera animae meae. Manducat te angelus ore pleno, manducet te peregrinus homo pro modulo suo, ne deficere possit in via tali recreatus viatico. Panis sancte, panis vive, panis pulcher, panis munde qui descendisti de coelo et das vitam mundo, veni in cor meum, et munda me ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, intra in animam meam, et sanctifica me interius et exterius.

Esto tutamen et continua salus animae meae et corporis mei. Repelle a me insidiantes mihi hostes; recedant procul a praesentia potentiae tuae ut foris et intus per te munitus recto tramite ad tuum regnum perveniam, ubi non in mysteriis, sicut in hoc tempore agitur, sed facie ad faciem te videbimus, cum tradideris regnum Deo et Patri, et erit Deus omnia in omnibus. Tunc enim me de te satiabis satietate mirifica, ita ut nec esuriam, nec sitiam in aeternum.

Scripture echoes

  1. Luke.22.19;1Cor.11.24-1Cor.11.25And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 1Cor.11.24 — and having given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' 1Cor.11.25 — In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
  2. Ps.6.10The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will receive my prayer.
  3. Ps.35.8Let ruin come upon him unawares, and let the net he has hidden catch him; let him fall into that very ruin.
  4. Acts.20.28Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he obtained through the blood of his own.
  5. Ps.144.9I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play for you.
  6. Ps.102.13But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your remembrance endures to all generations.
  7. Dan.9.18Incline your ear, O my God, and hear; open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For it is not because of our righteous deeds that we pour out our pleas before you, but because of your great mercies.
  8. Ezek.36.26And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.
  9. John.6.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  10. John.1.29The next day he sees Jesus coming toward him and says, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
  11. John.6.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  12. John.6.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  13. John.6.51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.
  14. 1Cor.13.12For now we see in a mirror, dimly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
  15. 1Cor.15.28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.
  16. Rev.7.16They will hunger no more, neither will thirst anymore; neither shall the sun strike them, nor any scorching heat.

Notes

  1. 1Tenor is rendered 'tenor' (a sustained course/continuance) to capture the Latin sense of an abiding, unbroken state of chastity, rather than a more abstract noun like 'steadfastness'.
  2. 2Mortifica in membris meis carnis stimulos echoes the mortification language of Rom 8:13 and Col 3:5; the petition treats it as interior members of the flesh rather than literal bodily members.
  3. 3The repeated ubi clauses describe the Eucharistic mystery; 'ima summis conjunguntur' (the lowest joined to the highest) is rendered to preserve the sacramental and Christological sense without specifying whether it refers to human nature joined to divine, earth joined to heaven, or both.
  4. 4Sacrificium is rendered 'sacrifice' rather than 'Sacrament' here because the context emphasizes the offering of praise (sacrificium laudis) and the priestly action, not the reception of Communion.
  5. 5conceptum semine rendered as 'conceived in uncleanness' to capture the sense of human generation stained by sin; the phrase is compressed and the Latin is syntactically dense.
  6. 6excubias rendered as 'watch' (vigil/guardianship of the saints); could also suggest 'guard' or 'keeping watch.' The sense is of saintly guardianship around the one who prays.
  7. 7enim rendered as 'then' to capture its explanatory force, grounding the approach to the altar in the preceding meditation on Christ's Passion.
  8. 8passio rendered as 'Passion' (capitalized) in its theological sense of Christ's suffering and death.
  9. 9ergo rendered as 'then,' carrying the inferential force from the priest's act of offering to the petition for God's acceptance.
  10. 10acquisisti rendered as 'purchased' (not 'acquired') to preserve the redemptive sense of buying back through blood.
  11. 11Et at the opening is continuative, linking this petition to the preceding prayer.
  12. 12quoniam introduces the causal basis for the plea: God's own will in appointing the priest as mediator.
  13. 13nec links two negative petitions: 'do not refuse... nor let... perish.'
  14. 14percat (uncertain lemma, confidence 0.7) rendered as 'let... perish' — the sense is that the price of salvation should not be lost through the priest's unworthiness.
  15. 15victima salutaris ('saving Victim') and redemptio ('redemption') preserve the sacrificial and soteriological weight of the Latin.
  16. 16ergo rendered as 'then,' drawing the inference from the priest's mediatorial role to the act of presenting these sufferings.
  17. 17plebium rendered as 'the faithful' (literally 'of the peoples/congregations') to capture the ecclesial sense in context.
  18. 18peregrinorum rendered as 'travelers' rather than 'pilgrims' to keep the sense broad and natural in modern English, though 'pilgrims' is also defensible.
  19. 19viscerum tuorum (literally 'your bowels/entrails') is a biblical idiom for tender mercy or compassion; rendered here as 'your mercy' to preserve the emotional force without anatomical distraction.
  20. 20The 'heart of stone' / 'heart of flesh' pairing echoes Ezekiel 36:26. The six verbs that follow (fear, love, esteem, delight, follow, enjoy) form a progressive interior movement of the whole person toward God.
  21. 21tu nobis preces suggere — 'suggest prayers to us' is striking: the priest asks God to shape the very prayers God will then answer. This reflects the Augustinian and monastic conviction that even our asking is itself a gift of grace.
  22. 22Sacramentum here refers to the Eucharistic offering as a whole act of piety/devotion on behalf of the dead, not to one of the seven sacraments in the later scholastic sense.
  23. 23Panis vivo, qui de coelo descendisti — echoes John 6:51 (Ego sum panis vivus qui de caelo descendi). Candidate allusion; final resolution deferred.
  24. 24Agni … qui tollit peccata mundi — echoes John 1:29 / Agnus Dei. Candidate allusion; final resolution deferred.
  25. 25Convivium (feast/banquet) is applied here to the souls of the departed, expressing the hope of their refreshment through the Eucharistic mystery.
  26. 26The epiclesis-like invocation asks the Holy Spirit to descend upon the offerings and effect the transformation into Christ's Body and Blood, while also forming the priest interiorly.
  27. 27Corpus et sanguinem tuum efficiat — rendered 'make your Body and Blood' to preserve the sacramental realism; paraphrases like 'transform into' were considered but rejected as interpretive gloss.
  28. 28facie ad faciem and omnia in omnibus echo 1 Cor 13:12 and 1 Cor 15:28; final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses stage.
  29. 29nec esuriam nec sitiam in aeternum echoes Rev 7:16; final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses stage.

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