June 6, 2010
Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Dominican theologian, Doctor of the Church
Prayers
“The bread of angels becomes food for pilgrims, true bread of God’s children”
Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your
only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I come sick to the Doctor of Life, unclean to the Fountain of Mercy,
blind to the radiance of Eternal Light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.
Lord, in your great generosity, heal my infirmity, wash away my defilement,
enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I
receive the bread of angels*, the King of kings and Lord of lords**,
with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the
repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me
to salvation. May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s
Body and Blood, and its reality and power.
Kind God, may I so receive the Body of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
which was born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, that I be received into
his mystical Body and numbered among his members.
Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now
receive your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament,
may I one day see him Face to face in glory,
who lives and reigns with you for ever. Amen.
*(Ps 78:25)
**(1Tm 6:15)
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O Dear God, how can prayer be a task for me, when it gives the very meaning to my unworthy life? How can I live each day in this miserable, base world without being able to talk to You? Without You, my Lord, this world, this life has no meaning. My every action, every word, every thought, every laughter, and every tear would be meaningless without You, O Merciful King! I now understand, O my Jesus, the ecstatic exclamation of Your beloved Saints, and what You, Yourself, have said; You are Life, my God. Life- even the smallest hint of it, is You! Without You, my God, I cannot live- without You, I am nothing. I have no meaning, no life, no purpose. This is why, I cannot understand, O Unspeakable Sweetness, why people are willing to live without You- without Life, without Meaning, without Truth. O Jesus, Eternal Truth, Thou art the Truth that never changes- in You, there can never be any stain nor transiency- all who approach Your Divine Rays, no matter how blackened, become as Pure as You and are consumed in the Fire of Your Divine Love for all eternity! Ah Jesus, terrible longing of my heart, how I long for Thee!