Prayer Before Holy Communion
O Lord, I believe and profess that You are truly Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first.
Accept me today as a partaker of Your mystical Supper, O Son of God, for I will not reveal Your mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief, I profess You.
Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom.
Remember me, O Master, when You come into Your Kingdom.
Remember me, O Holy One, when You come into Your Kingdom.
May the partaking of Your holy mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment or condemnation but for the healing of soul and body.
O Lord, I also believe and profess that this, which I am about to receive, is truly Your Most Precious Body and Your Life-Giving Blood, which, I pray, make me worthy to receive for the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. Amen.
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
O God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy of me.
Lord, forgive me for I have sinned without number.
My husband and I attended our first Byzantine Mass Saturday night, the celebration of the “Dormition of Our Lady,” which parallels our feast of the Assumption. The celebrant, Fr. Daniel Nash, said we look at the same mystery from a different angle. This was a truly unique, multicultural Mass, as it was Eastern Rite, part in English, part in Spanish, and attended by different segments of the Catholic community of Long Island. It took place at St. Patrick Church in Glen Cove, New York.
I must admit, I was confused through the Mass and cannot explain very much about it. My ability to see was limited since I was all the way in the back. Still, I found it greatly enriching. I am now interested in the Byzantine Mass and would like to go again, to a more standard one, and really get my brain around it.
We can see similarities with the Latin Rite prayers, with some interesting differences. I don’t think anyone can say the above “Prayer Before Holy Communion,” and receive Our Blessed Lord unworthily. This prayer effectively accomplishes 3 things:
1) A profession of faith. This takes away any doubt about the Real Presence.
2) Acknowledgment of one’s unworthiness and contrition for sins. This should hopefully prevent any sacrilege and prepare us to receive with proper humility.
3) An appeal to God’s mercy and acceptance prior to the consummation of Holy Communion. This extends from the spirit of humility. We are asking for His agreement before entering into this most sacred union.
You can see in the first picture a similarity with the Tridentine Rite, in the facing away from the people. Also, much of the Mass is sung. There are several customs which are different, which you can see in the two other photos. The overall feel of the Mass was that something extraordinary and other-worldly was happening. There was a sense that our Creator, the Divine Majesty, was being interacted with…that this was not just a worship service, not just a social event, not something that could take place anywhere out in the world…but something reserved for the Elect, the spiritual royalty of the Body of Christ. There was little room for misinterpretation.
Whichever Mass we attend, Holy Church reminds us that there are two worlds and we must choose only one. As the two worlds continue to divide further apart, the choice becomes more and more obvious, and also more difficult.