Prayer After Examination of Conscience

O My God, I cry to Thee with the prodigal son: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before Thee; I am no longer worthy to be called Thy son." Thou Whose property is always to have mercy and to spare the penitent, O meet me in pity, embrace me in love and forgive me all my sins. I confess my sins unto Thee, O Christ, Healer of our souls, Lord of Life. Heal me of my spiritual sickness, Thou Who art long-suffering and of tender mercy; heal me, O Lord Christ. Thou, O God, seest me in all the foulness of my sins! Blesses Jesus, speak for me, plead for me, come between my soul and my offended God, that I perish not. Amen

Thanksgiving After Confessing Sins and Performing Penance

Eternal Father! I thank Thee for Thy goodness and mercy. Thou hast had compassion on me, although in my folly I had wandered far away from Thee and offended Thee most grievously. With fatherly love Thou has received me anew after so many relapses into sin and forgiven me my offenses through the holy sacrament of Penance. Blessed be Thy infinite mercy! Never again will I offend Thee. All that I am, and all that I have, shall be consecrated to Thy service and Thy glory. Amen

Subject for Daily Meditation

Remember, O Christian soul, that thou hast this day, and every day of thy life: God to glorify--Jesus to imitate--The Angels and Saints to invoke--A soul to save--A body to mortify--Sins to expiate_-Virtues to acquire--Hell to avoid--Heaven to gain--Eternity to prepare for--Time to profit--Neighbors to edify--The world to despise--Devils to combat--Passions to subdue--Death perhaps to suffer--Judgment to undergo.

Prayer to St. Joseph

Of Faithful Guardian and Father of virgins, Blessed Joseph, to whom was confided the care of Jesus, and of Mary the Queen of Virgins, I most humbly supplicate thee, by the love thou didst bear Jesus and Mary, to obtain for me that, being preserved from every stain during my whole life, I may be ever able to serve them with unspotted purity of mind and body. Amen.

Private Prayers in Preparation for Holy Communion (May be said before Mass or immediately before Communion.)

Prayer of ST. Thomas Aquinas

Almighty and eternal God, behold, I approach the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I approach as one who is sick to the physician of life, as one unclean to the fountain of mercy, as one blind to the light of eternal brightness, as one poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore I beseech Thee, of Thine infinite goodness, to heal my sickness, to wash way my filth, to enlighten my blindness, to enrich my poverty, and to clothe my nakedness, that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords with such reverence and humility, with such contrition and devotion, with such purity and faith, with such purpose and intention, as may conduce to the salvation of my soul.

Grant, I beseech Thee, that I may receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, but also the fruit and virtue of this Sacrament. O most indulgent God, grant me so to receive the body of Thine Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which He too of the Virgin Mary, that I may be found worthy to be incorporated with His mystical body and numbered among His members.

O most loving Father, grant that I may one day contemplate forever, face to face, Thy beloved Son, Whom now on my pilgrimage I am about to receive under the sacramental veils; Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen

Prayer of St. Ambrose

O Loving Lord Jesus Christ, I a sinner, presuming not on my own merits, but trusting in Thy mercy and goodness, with fear and trembling approach the table of Thy most sacred banquet. For I have defile both my heart and body with many sins, and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and my tongue. Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful Majesty, I, a wretched creature, entangled in difficulties, have recourse to Thee, the font of mercy; to Thee do I fly that I may be healed, and take refuge under Thy protection. And I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior, Whom I am unable to withstand as my Judge.

To Thee, O Lord, I show my wounds, to Thee I lay bare my shame. I know that my sins are many and great, on account of which I am filled with fear. But I trust in Thy mercy, of which there is no end. Look down upon me, therefore, with the eyes of Thy mercy on me, who am full of misery and sin, Thou Who wilt never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy.

Hail, Victim of salvation, offered for me and all mankind of the tree of the Cross. Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world. Remember, O Lord, Thy creature, whom Thou has redeemed with Thy Blood. I am grieved because I have sinned, I desire to make amends for what I have done.

Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and sins, that being purified both in soul, and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies. And grant that this holy oblation of Thy Body and Blood, of which, though unworthy, I purpose to partake, may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of my offenses, the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires, the accomplishment of works pleasing to Thee, as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies. Amen

-- jalapeno (jalapeno52000@hotmail.com), January 28, 2005

Answers

worth the read

-- bumper (bump@hotmail.com), January 28, 2005.

Thanks for the beautiful prayers, young Lady.

God bless you, and yours.

-- - (David@excite.com), January 28, 2005.

You are most welcome. I hope they move many as they still move me.

As for calling me young lady..you put a big smile on my face. My dad use to call me that and now one of my brothers will start his conversations with young lady instead of my name. :o)

God Bless you and yours too.

-- jalapeno (jalapeno52000@hotmail.com), January 29, 2005.