Prayer to The Most Blessed Sacrament
My Lord Jesus Christ, who, for the love you bear to mankind, do remain night and day in this Sacrament, full of pity and love, awaiting, calling, and receiving all who come to visit you; I believe that you are present in the Sacrament of the Altar; I adore you from the depths of my own nothingness; I thank you for the many graces you have given me, and especially for having given me yourself in this Sacrament; for having given me Mary your Mother as my advocate, and for having called me to visit you in this church.
I now salute
Your most loving Heart: and this for three ends:
1. In thanksgiving for this great gift;
2. To make amends to You for all the outrages which You receive in this Sacrament from all Your enemies;
3. I intend by this visit to adore You in all the places on earth in which You are the least revered and the most abandoned.
My Jesus, I love You with all my heart. I grieve for having so many times offended Your infinite goodness. I promise with Your grace never more to offend You in the future.
Now, miserable and unworthy though I be, I consecrate myself to You without reserve;
I give You my entire will, my affections, my desires, and all that I possess. From now on dispose of me and of all that I have as You please.
All that I ask of You and desire is Your holy love, final perseverance, and the perfect accomplishment of Your will. I recommend to You the souls in purgatory; but especially those who had the greatest devotion to the most Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin Mary. I also recommend to You all poor sinners.
My dear Saviour, I unite all my affections with the affections of Your most loving Heart; and I offer them, thus united, to Your eternal Father, and beseech Him in Your name to vouchsafe, for Your love, to accept them.
Amen.
by St. Alphonsus Liguori
St. Alphonsus Liguori was known as a tireless champion of our faith, both as a preacher and a prolific author of over 100 theological works that have since been translated into over 60 languages! His poignant prayers for the Stations of the Cross are still used in services, especially during Lent.
This prayer, which truly reflects this great saint’s devotion to our Lord, comes from his first book, published in 1745, entitled Visits to the Blessed Sacrament. It is still in print today, along with his other classics like The Glories of Mary, a stirring and highly informative series of essays and meditations devoted to our Blessed Mother.
In St. Alphonsus Liguori’s prayer before the Blessed Sacrament we are making reparation not only for the sins of others, but for our own as well. St. Alphonsus also inspires us here to strive to carry out God’s will “perfectly.” (As we say in the Lord’s Prayer,“Thy will be done!”) He once wrote that “he who unites his will to God’s experiences a full and lasting joy.” This ties in nicely with the popular saying “let go and let God.”
Do you have days when you feel like you’re carrying the whole world on your shoulders? Let Jesus help you! When you visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament, pray for His guidance as you turn your problems over to Him.
Our Lord can give you the grace to cope with stress as He helps you carry your cross on the road to Eternal Life! May this prayer help you draw closer to Christ in a spirit of true contrition, humility, and joy from His presence and His peace.
