Devout Method of Hearing Mass Part ii

Today we will be covering a devout method of hearing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (Part ii) taken from:

The Ursuline Manual, or a Collection of Prayers, Spiritual Exercises Etc. Interspersed With The Various Instructions Necessary for Forming Youth to the Practice of Solid Piety Originally Arranged for the Young Ladies Educated at the Ursuline Convent, Cork. 

At the Preface

Permit not, Lord ! that my mind should wander from the consideration of the adorable mysteries now celebrating on this altar. Enlighten my understanding, inflame and animate every affection of my heart, that I may be attentive to these miracles of mercy and love. give me to understand the breadth, and length, and height, and depth (Ephes. in. 18) of that love which will soon veil thy glories under the humiliating forms of bread and wine ! that my heart were penetrated with ardent love, that I might be enabled to acknowledge less unworthily thy infinite greatness and boundless mercies. Prostrate in spirit before that throne of glory where the cherubim and seraphim, with all the heavenly host, adore thy awful Majesty, I implore thee to receive my homage, in union with the transports of admiration and love with which they incessantly proclaim that thou art Holy, Holy, Holy, and that the Lamb  which was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction, forever and ever. Amen. — Apoc. v. 12. 

From the Canon to the Elevation

Ah ! my God, why do I not sigh for thy coming on this altar, with as much ardour as did the ancient patriarchs and prophets ; with as much pure desire as thy blessed Mother, the first and most perfect adorer of thy sacred humanity. I offer thee my heart, soul, mind, strength, desires, and affections, in union with the admirable dispositions of thy saints; but particularly in union with the love and devotion of that incomparable Virgin, in whose pure soul, prepared by thy divine spirit, and adorned with the treasures of thy grace, thou didst delight to dwell. I offer thee, to atone for my coldness and tepidity, her sacred heart, with all the love with which it ever was, and for all eternity will be, animated. I offer thee her heavenly contemplations, her purity, profound humility, and sufferings at the foot of the cross ; beseeching thee, through her intercession, to pardon the iniquities of her unworthy servant. And thou, O most sacred Virgin ! obtain for me a share in the holy dispositions that adorned thy soul from the moment of thy immaculate conception ; since I am also destined for the residence and sanctuary of  God. assured refuge of sinners ! I address thee with the most lively confidence, beseeching thee to obtain that I may be worthily replenished with him who was born of thee — with him who is the desire and expectation of all nations. 

At The Consecration

O Jesus! brightness of eternal light, unspotted mirror of God’s Majesty! My sovereign Life, and only Good ! thou art He whom I have so long, so ardently desired ! He whom I acknowledge for my Lord and my God, and who alone art worthy of the homage and adoration of men and angels. Monarch of heaven and earth! mighty in word and work! (Luke, xxiv. 19.) Verily thou art a hidden God, the God of Israel, the Saviour, (Isaiah, xlv. 15 ;) but the shades which conceal thy majesty, are those of the tenderest love. Divine Jesus ! thou art now glorified by the homages of numberless angels who invisibly assist at these sacred mysteries. how should their adorations and love confound and humble me, since it is not for them, but for me, that thou art hidden and degraded on the altar ! holy Angels ! blessed spirits ! love and adore the Almighty for me, and redouble your ardours to supply for my insufficiency. 

From the Elevation to the Pater Noster

Adorable Jesus ! the happy moment is fast approaching, when that sacred body which was immolated on the cross will abide in my heart, and that precious blood which was shed with so much anguish for my ransom, will be really and truly applied as a sovereign remedy to my soul. My God ! is it possible that thou, whom the heavens cannot contain, will confine thy greatness within the narrow limits of my heart; that thou, before whom the angels themselves are not pure, will unite thyself to a soul like mine, disfigured and defiled with innumerable crimes ! Lord, with the most sincere conviction of my wretchedness, I protest with the centurion, that I am not worthy thou shouldst enter under my roof. — St. Matt. viii. 8. Shall I then say with St. Peter : Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful creature? — St. Luke, v. 8. Shall I depart from this sanctuary, which I am unworthy to enter, and relinquish that happiness, for which my soul sighs, but which I shall never merit ? Ah ! no, my divine Saviour ! I will not leave thee, for to whom should I go but to thee? Hast thou not invited all that labour and are heavy laden (St. Matt. ix. 28) to approach thee! Therefore, not- withstanding the miseries of my soul, I come, perfectly convinced that if thou wilt thou canst make me clean. — St. Matt. viii. 2. I am weak, but thou wilt be my sovereign strength ; I am poor, but thou wilt adorn my soul with the riches of thy grace ; thou wilt destroy my pride, by the force of thy profound humiliations in the centre of my soul ; thou wilt warm my tepidity, by the fire which thou camest on earth to enkindle, (St. Luke, xii. 49 ;) thou wilt communicate to me thy divinity itself, that I may not live, but that thou mayest live in me. Come, then, my God ! the desire of the everlasting hills, (Gen. ix. 26,) the friend of sinners, the comfort of the afflicted, the hope of all the ends of the earth, (Ps. lxiv. 6.) come into my house, and let salvation enter with thee, (St. Luke, xix. 9 ;) come, that my soul, united with thee, may magnify its Lord, and my spirit rejoice in God, my Saviour. — Ibid. i. 46, 47. 

From the Pater Noster to the Agnus Dei

Father of my soul, who residest in the highest heavens, and yet attendest to the wants of thy children on earth, behold thy prodigal but repentant child, who returns to thee, penetrated with regret for ever having sought to shake off that yoke which thou thyself hast pronounced to be sweet and light — St. Matt. xi. 30. Pardon me, my divine Benefactor ! for thou knowest the clay of which I am formed ; thou rememberest that I am but dust.^ — Ps. c. 11, 14. Forget my criminal abuse of thy mercies, for the sake of Him in whose name I dare to address thee, as my Father, my Friend, and only happiness. Give me thy divine spirit, that spirit of love and adoption, which will cause me to have recourse to thee in all my necessities. Give a docile, obedient, and submissive heart, that thy supremely just and adorable will may be the rule of all my actions. But, above all, O divine Lord! give me the bread of life, the food of immortality ; give me thy divine Son ! give me him in whom thou wert always well pleased, (St. Matt. iii. 17,) that being instructed by thy wisdom and thy word, I may never deviate from the respect and love due from a child to the best and most indulgent of fathers. 

From the Agnus Dei to Communion

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world ! let me not be excluded from a share in thy universal mercies. Cleanse and purify my soul; adorn it, I entreat thee, with those virtues which will render me less unworthy of participating in the food of angels. Adorable Jesus ! I am, it is true, wretched and unworthy; but hast thou not denominated thyself the Father of the poor ; and shall not that endearing title encourage me to recur to thee, as to my Father, and the best of friends? Yes, my God, I will go to thee, for thou well knowest that had I the heavens and the earth at my disposal, I wonld sacrifice all, rather than forego the happiness I am now going to enjoy. What have I in heaven, and besides thee what do I desire upon earth ? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever. — Ps. lxxii. 25, 26.  Amiable Virgin ! thou who art styled by excellence Blessed among women, show thyself now my tender mother and powerful advocate ; obtain for me the grace to receive with faith, purity, fervour, and humility, the divine object of thy ardent love. Blessed spirits ! you who unceasingly attend, love, and adore the Almighty Being I am about to receive, intercede for me at this awful moment, and supply by your ardent charity for the tender devotion with which I would wish to receive my Redeemer under my roof. 

At the Confiteor

O divine Redeemer of my soul ! into thy sacred heart I cast all my offences ; they arc not more numerous than thy mercies, nor can they equal the tenderness of that love which invites me to receive thee. Jesus ! veiled as thou art, I acknowledge thee for my Lord and my God; I adore thee with all the powers of my soul and I fervently love thee with my whole heart. 

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Valete (Goodbye)