# Preces Gertrudianae/For the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

PART II.
ON THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
Our Lord said to St. Mechtilde: Receive it as a most certain truth, that if any one hears Mass devoutly and fervently, I will send him, for his consolation and defence in the hour of his death, as many of the glorious spirits who stand around my throne as he shall have heard Masses with devotion. And on another occasion he said: However guilty a man may be, however inveterate the enmity of his heart against me, I will patiently bear with him whenever He is present at Mass, and will readily grant him the pardon of his sins, if he sincerely ask it.
Be ever ready, then, to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and strive to penetrate your soul with the spirit of the prayers which follow; they contain the true method of hearing Mass, and are most availing with God.
PRAYER BEFORE MASS.
O ALMIGHTY, everlasting God, seeing that it is the true faith of thy Church that the holy sacrifice of the Mass instituted by thy Son is infinitely pleasing to thy divine Majesty, and renders thee an infinite worship and ​praise, and since by it alone thou canst be worthily and adequately worshiped and praised; impelled by an ardent desire of thy honour and glory, I purpose to assist at this present sacrifice with the utmost devotion of which I am capable, and to offer this most Holy Oblation to thee in union with thy priest. I offer thee not only this sacrifice, but all those which shall be this day offered from every part of the world; and I protest before thee that if it depended on me whether they should be offered or omitted, I would put forth all my powers to procure and further their being offered. And were I able now to raise up to thee, of the stones which are scattered over the earth, most devoted priests, who should day by day and with glowing fervour offer to thee this sacrifice of praise, I would most gladly do it. But, being what I am, I implore thee, O most holy Father, through Jesus Christ thy Son, to pour into the hearts of all thy priests, and especially those who might perchance otherwise offer thee this acceptable sacrifice coldly and without due recollectedness, the spirit of grace and of fervour, that they may be enabled to celebrate thy tremendous Mystery with becoming awe and devotion. Grant to me, and to all those who are here present with me, that we may join in this ​most sacred action with reverence and devotion, so that we may have our portion in its fruit and effect. I confess to thee, O almighty God, and to the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, and to all the Saints, my own sins and those of all the world; and I lay them on thy sacred Altar, that they may be entirely blotted out by the virtue of this sacrifice. Do thou deign to grant us this grace, by that love which held back thy hand from smiting when thy most beloved Son, thy only Son, was immolated by the hands of ungodly men. Amen.
As the Mass varies day by day from the Introit to the Offertory, you may vary your prayers according to your devotion.
AT THE OFFERTORY.
O Most merciful Father, in union with that unimaginable love wherewith thy only Son offered to thee the whole influx of the Godhead into his Humanity, and thus with ineffable gratitude referred it back to its immeasurable, unfathomable source, I offer thee whatever gifts and graces thou hast ever bestowed on me of thy sovereign and unutterable goodness; and I lay them on thine altar, together with the merits and graces of the same thy Son, as a sacrifice of everlasting praise, and a pledge and expression of my boundless gratitude to thee. More especially, I offer thee my heart, all too defiled ​and loathsome as it is; and I plunge it into this Chalice, to the end and with the desire that all the prayers and benedictions which shall be spoken over this Chalice may be spoken also over my heart, and that by the virtue of the ineffable consecration whereby thou changest this wine into the Blood of thy Son, it may he wholly turned to the perfect and constraining love of thee.
And that I may obtain these my petitions, I unite myself to all the love and the gratitude with which thy Son endured all his sorrows; and I offer to thee whatever sorrow or affliction thy fatherly love has ever laid on me or any son of man in order to our salvation, beseeching thee that they may come up before thee in union with this sacrifice as a sweet-smelling odour, and may avail for our salvation.
Finally, in union with the resignation of thy only Son I offer and resign myself to thy most holy will, beseeching thee with my whole heart that thy adorable good pleasure may always in all things be done in me and by me and in all that concerns me. To this end I lay at thy feet, O thou King of kings and my Lord, all my substance and being, my body and my soul, to serve thee henceforth and evermore to the glory of thy most worshipful Majesty. Amen.
When St. Gertrude ​had thus offered herself to our Lord on one occasion, he said to her: This offering of thy good will is as it were a royal sceptre in my hand, and a rejoicing and a glory to me in presence of all my angels and saints. And whenever thou renewest this intention before me, it is as though that sceptre budded and put forth most fragrant flowers.
At Orate Fratres, say with the server: Suscipiat, &c.
AT THE SECRETA.
LOOK down, O tender Father, from the throne of thy Majesty and from the lofty dwelling-place of thy heavens, upon this oblation which our holy Mother the Church, thy Bride, offers to thee by the hands of thy priest; and through its force and merit be appeased for our manifold transgressions. Accept, I beseech thee, the sacrifice which I, thy most worthless servant, offer to thee my living and true God in my own name and in that of all the whole world; in union with all the merits of thy most beloved Son, with all the treasure of thy holy Church, for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, and for all the faithful, living and departed, that to them and to me it may avail for salvation unto eternal life. Amen.
AT THE PREFACE.
While St. Mechtilde was praying for a certain person, our Lord said to her: Behold, pardon all her sins; in satisfaction for them, while the priest is recit​ing these words of the Preface, Per quem Majestatem, &c, let her praise me in union with all my angels and saints, and offer a Pater noster to God through me; thus shall all her negligences be forgiven and effaced. And all who shall do this may confidently expect the like blessing at my hands.
O Most compassionate Jesus, I adore thee, I praise and magnify thee in union with that transcendent praise which the most Holy and Worshipful Trinity renders unceasingly to himself; which flows down thence upon the most Blessed Virgin Mary and upon all Saints and Angels, who adore thy glorious Majesty with unceasing and unutterable canticles, and show forth thy praise in rapturous accord. With whose voices we beseech thee to permit ours to blend, saying in lowly acknowledgment: Holy, holy, holy, &c.
Here say as follows a Pater to supply all your negligences and defects.
O Most holy Father, I offer thee this prayer in union with the praises with which heaven and earth and all thy creatures worship and magnify thee. Deign to hear and accept it through Jesus Christ thy Son, for all that is offered to thee through him comes up before thee well-pleasing and most acceptable. I beseech thee, through the same thy Son, to forgive me all my sins and to supply all my ​defects and negligences. Amen.
AT THE CANON.
O INEFFABLE God, we are now drawing near to those tremendous Mysteries which neither Cherubim nor Seraphim nor all the virtues of heaven suffice to comprehend, for thou alone knowest with what energy of love thou dost daily offer thyself to God the Father upon the altar as a victim of praise and propitiation. And therefore all choirs and orders of Angels adore this thy most sacred and impenetrable secret with lowliest prostration, and behold with awe their King and their Lord, who once came down from heaven in unutterable love to redeem man, now again mysteriously present upon the altar, hidden beneath the mean and lowly species of bread and wine for the salvation of men.
O good Jesus, this work which thou art now about to work is so transcendently adorable that I dare not even look up to thee from the depth of my nothingness. Wherefore I bury myself in the lowest, deepest valley of humiliation I can find, and there await the portion of thy substance that falleth to me for salvation goeth forth from thee upon all thine elect. Would, O loving Jesus, that my weak arm might aid thee in thy divine work, and obtain for this most holy oblation its full effect according to its ineffable dignity and worth; ​to effect this the most weary and painful toil would be sweet and light to me. Wherefore I pray thee, grant to this thy priest that he may with due reverence handle thee and offer thee, so that this oblation may have its fullest force and efficacy on all the living and departed. Amen.
AT THE ELEVATION OF THE HOST.
HAIL, sweetest Jesus, prostrate in lowliest humility, I worship and adore thee.
Here strike your breast three times, and say:
O JESUS, have mercy on me!
O good Jesus, spare me!
O most compassionate Jesus, be merciful to me a sinner!
PRAYER TO GOD THE FATHER.
O Most loving Father, in union with that love wherewith thy Son offered himself once upon the cross, and now offers himself to thee upon the altar, I offer him to thee for the welfare and salvation of all thy whole Church. Look upon his virgin Flesh, so cruelly torn by the scourges, bruised with blows and buffetings, denied with spittings, besmeared with Blood, pierced with the thorns, swollen and livid with stripes, torn by the nails, rent with the lance. May that pity which drew him down from heaven and sweetly constrained him to immolate himself on the cross, and constrains him now to offer himself daily ​to thee upon the altar; may that same pity move thee now, O Father, to have mercy on us. Amen.
AT THE ELEVATION OF THE CHALICE.
HAIL, most precious Blood of my Lord, prostrate before thee in lowliest devotion, I worship and adore thee.
Here strike your breast three times, and say:
O SACRED Blood, wash me!
O roseate Blood, cleanse me!
O most precious Blood, cry for me unto God the Father, that he may have mercy on us!
PRAYER AFTER THE ELEVATION,OF GREAT EFFICACY.
Thy only-begotten Son, here truly present upon the altar, has deigned to become a sacrifice and propitiation for our sins, I offer thee his most holy Body and Blood, his Humanity and his Divinity, his virtues and his perfections, his Passion and Death, in union with that love with which he once offered himself to thee upon the cross, and now offers himself to thee on the altar. And in union with these I offer thee the virtues, merits, and graces of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, together with all the good works of all men, and all the whole treasure of thy holy Church. And I desire especially to add to these whatever of good I and ​those who are dear to me have ever done, and whatever afflictions we have suffered for thy glory. And in union with this sacrifice, and with all those which are offered to thee all over the world, I offer to thee this oblation, O Eternal Father, through thy beloved Son, in the power of the Holy Ghost, to thy supreme praise and glory, in acknowledgment of thy supreme Majesty and dominion, and in thanksgiving for all the benefits and graces thou hast ever bestowed on any creature, and in full reparation of every injury or insult ever offered to thee by any whom thy hands have made.
I offer it to thee for the increase of the joy and glory of the sacred Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in worship and veneration of all the mysteries of his life and death, for the increase of the glory and blessedness of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, especially my holy Patrons, and those whose memory we this day celebrate.
Lastly, I offer it to thee on behalf of myself, a most miserable sinner, and for all my friends, whether in the order of nature or of grace [especially N.], and for all Christians living and departed [especially N.]; beseeching thee that thou wouldest deign to accept it as an adequate and sufficient thanksgiving for all the benefits and graces which thou hast ever bestowed on our bo​dies and souls, to impart to us all the grace needful for us, to turn away from us all evil of body and of soul which might hinder our salvation, and to grant us perfect and entire remission of all our sins and negligences. For all these ends, I offer thee all the love with which Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord has ever loved thee, and all the satisfaction he has made to thee for our sins. Through him and with him and in him be all honour and glory unto thee, O God, Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
Here say Pater noster with the priest, and add the following prayer for the sins of the whole church. It was revealed to the Saint that this devotion is most pleasing to God.
O Most tender Jesus, I offer to thee this prayer in union with the most perfect intention with which thou didst sanctify it in thy sacred Heart and enjoin it for our salvation; for the forgiveness of all our sins and the supply of all the defects caused by our frailty, our ignorance, or our fault, in opposition to thine irresistible almightiness, thine unsearchable wisdom, and thy free and superabounding goodness. Amen.
AT THE AGNUS DEI.
Beseech our Lord to offer himself to God the Father as he does in every Mass, according to the revelation made to St Gertrude.
​O LAMB of God, have mercy on us, and offer thyself to God the Father with all thy humility and all thy patience, in satisfaction for our sins.
O Lamb of God, have mercy on us, and offer thyself to God the Father with all the bitterness of thy Passion, for our reconciliation to God.
O Lamb of God, have mercy on us, and offer thyself to God the Father with all the love of thy divine Heart, for the supply of all our necessities. Amen.
Here you may say part of the prayer which follows the Mass, p. 32.
AT THE DOMINE, NON SUM DIGNUS.
O Lord, I am not worthy that the earth should bear me; but for thine own sake pardon me all my sins.
O Lord, I am not worthy to be called thy creature; but by the bitterness of my passion forgive me all my debts.
O Lord, I am not worthy to utter thy Holy Name; but by the virtue of this holy sacrifice bestow on me thy grace. Amen.
Here make an, act of spiritual communion, saying with St Gertrude and with St. Mechtilde:
O Thou Stream from the Life-giving Fountain, thou fragrance and sweetness of divine delight, I prostrate myself in my indigence and my misery in presence of thine overflowing fulness. I set before thee ​my sorrow and my tears, that, by reason of my exceeding unworthiness, my soul must go away fasting from thine uncloying banquet. And now, O thou who hast formed my substance and reformed it when fallen and decayed, I beseech thee so to prepare me by thine all-powerful wisdom, and by the tender compassionate love of thy Heart, that I may worthily receive thee into my soul, and that thou mayest work and perfect in me without impediment all that thou hast from eternity decreed concerning me, according to the good pleasure of thy divine will. Amen.
To this end say, if you have time, a Pater noster, as our Lord taught St. Mechtilde.
AT THE COMMUNION.
O Almighty love, I praise thee; O most ravish in thy sweet Love, I glorify thee; O most gentle and tender Love, I magnify thee in and for all the good which thy most glorious Godhead and thy most blessed Humanity have ever wrought in us, or shall hereafter work in us, through that most august and adorable instrument, thy divine Heart. Amen.
AT THE POST-COMMUNION.
BEHOLD, O Heavenly Father, our holy Mother the Church has sent up before thee from thine altar that Victim of transcendent worth whom thou didst send to be immolated for ​us. Vouchsafe, therefore, to accept it with that ineffable love with which thou didst receive thy Son when he came back from this our far country into thy kingdom, and set forth before thee all the fruit of his sacred Humanity and the glorious wounds of his Flesh. O most compassionate Father, let not his scars depart from before thine eyes for ever, that thou mayest be perpetually reminded what great and super-abounding satisfaction he hath made thee for our sins. Wherefore I beseech thee, in the virtue and efficacy of this unbloody oblation, have mercy on me, and on all sinners, and on all the faithful living and departed; grant unto them grace and mercy, remission of sins and everlasting life. Amen.
AT THE BLESSING.
O Good Jesus, may thine omnipotence bless me, may thy wisdom teach me, may thy sweetness fill and pervade me, may thy goodness draw me and unite me to thee for ever. Amen.
At the words,
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
bow your head in devout gratitude, and say:
I THANK and bless thee, O good Jesus, that for love of me thou didst deign to be made man.
If any one does this, said our Lord, I will graciously incline my Head towards him in return, and will offer to God the Father all the ​fruit of my Incarnation, with all the love of my Heart, for the increase of that man's blessedness and glory.
ACT OF ADORATION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT.
HAIL, most glorious Body and most precious Blood of my Lord Jesus Christ, here truly present beneath these sacramental species; I adore thee with all that devotion and awe wherewith the nine choirs of angels worship and adore thee. I prostrate myself before thee in the spirit of humility, believing and professing that thou, my Lord and my God, are herein most truly contained.
Hail, most glorious Body of Jesus Christ my Saviour, true Victim immolated upon the cross, I adore thee in union with that adoration with which thy Humanity adored thy Godhead, and I give thee thanks with all the love of all thy creatures, that thou dost deign to remain hidden in this tabernacle for our salvation.
Hail,compassionate Jesus, Word of the Father, Brightness of his glory, Ocean of pity, Salvation of the world, most august and sacred Victim. Hail, Jesus Christ, Splendour of the Father, Prince of Peace, Gate of Heaven, True Bread, Son of the Virgin, Shrine of the Godhead.
I most firmly believe that thou, my God, art here present, and that thou art looking out upon me from behind the veil of the ​sacrament, and dost behold all the most secret recesses of my heart. I believe that under this species of bread are contained not only thy Flesh and thy Blood, but also thy Divinity and thy Humanity. And although this mystery surpasses my understanding, I nevertheless believe it so firmly that I am ready to give my life and my blood in defence of its truth.
I fall down before thee with most profound reverence, O most Holy Sacrament, and with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominations, with Cherubim and Seraphim, and with all the glorious array of the heavenly host, I sing to thy glory, saying: Blessed a thousand, yea, ten thousand fold, be the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar!
O thou most intimate and tender Love of the Father's Heart, I give thee thanks, in union with the ineffable mutual thanksgiving and gratitude of the three adorable Persons of the glorious and most worshipful Trinity, that thou hast condescended to institute this priceless Sacrament, by which heaven and earth are made one, and both are unceasingly filled with the infinite treasures of thy grace.
I glorify and magnify thy wise and tender almightiness; I praise and adore thy almighty and gentle wisdom; I bless and praise thine almighty and most wise and gentle love, O Christ Jesus, for that thou ​hast condescended to devise and hast been strong to institute this ineffably magnificent Sacrament to be the strength and the succour of our salvation.
O Christ Jesus, thou faithful and only Trust of my soul, I praise thee, I love thee, I worship and adore thee; and I humbly implore thee, that as thou didst offer thyself once upon the cross for the sin of the whole world, so thou wouldest now deign to offer thyself to God the Father for my exceeding sins.
O Christ Jesus, my sweetest and only Love, look with the eyes of thy compassionate mercy on me, a most miserable singer, here prostrate before thee and imploring with my whole heart the forgiveness of my sins.
O thou princely Flower from the Root of Jesse, by the unutterable love of thy most sweet heart have mercy on me, and receive me into thy favour, for the glory of thy Name.
O most loving Father, I offer to thee this thy beloved Son as a holocaust of unceasing praise, and as a perpetual sacrifice of propitiation for all our sins. Look, I beseech thee, on the face of thy Christ, and remember that most abundant satisfaction which he made to thee for our sins on the cross, and have mercy on us. Amen.