Grant me, O Lord my God,
a mind to know you,
a heart to seek you,
wisdom to find you,
conduct pleasing to you,
faithful perseverance in waiting for you,
and a hope of finally embracing you.
Amen.

O Lord my God, help me to be
obedient without reserve,
poor without servility,
chaste without compromise,
humble without pretense,
joyful without depravity,
serious without affectation,
active without frivolty,
submissive without bitterness,
truthful without duplicity,
fruitful in good works without presumption,
quick to revive my neighbor without haughtiness,
and quick to edify others by word and example without simulation.

Grant me, O Lord,
an ever-watchful heart that no alien thought can lure away from You;
a noble heart that no base love can sully;
an upright heart that no perverse intention can lead astray;
an invincible heart that no distress can overcome;
an unfettered heart that no impetuous desires can enchain.

O Lord my God, also bestow upon me
understanding to know You,
zeal to seek You,
wisdom to find You,
a life that is pleasing to You,
unshakable perseverance,
and a hope that will one day take hold of You.

May I do penance here below and patiently bear your chastisements.
May I also receive the benefits of your grace, in order to taste your heavenly joys and contemplate your glory.  Amen.

Prayer for Guidance

O creator past all telling,
you have appointed from the treasures of your wisdom the hierarchies of angels,
disposing them in wondrous order above the bright heavens,
and have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe.

You we call the true fount of wisdom and the noble origin of all things.
Be pleased to shed on the darkness of mind in which I was born,
The twofold beam of your light and warmth to dispel my ignorance and sin.

You make eloquent the tongues of children.
Then instruct my speech and touch my lips with graciousness.
Make me keen to understand, quick to learn, able to remember;
make me delicate to interpret and ready to speak.

Guide my going in and going forward, lead home my going forth.
You are true God and true man, and live for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer before Communion

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 sickness, 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 receive the Body of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so 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.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, Father all-powerful and ever-living God, I thank You, for even though I am a sinner, your unprofitable servant, not because of my worth but in the kindness of your mercy, You have fed me with the precious Body and Blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this Holy Communion may not bring me condemnation and punishment but forgiveness and salvation.
May It be a helmet of faith and a shield of good will.  May It purify me from evil ways and put an end to my evil passions.
May It bring me charity and patience, humility and obedience, and growth in the power to do good.
May It be my strong defense against all my enemies, visible and invisible, and the perfect calming of all my evil impulses, bodily and spiritual.
May It unite me more closely to You, the one true God, and lead me safely through death to everlasting happiness with You.
And I pray that You will lead me, a sinner, to the banquet where You, with your Son and Holy Spirit, are true and perfect light, total fulfillment,
everlasting joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness to your saints.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Virgin full of goodness, Mother of mercy, I entrust to you my body and my soul, my thoughts and my actions, my life and my death.
O my Queen, come to my aid and deliver me from the snares of the devil.
Obtain for me the grace of loving my Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, with a true and perfect love, and after Him, O Mary, of loving you with all my heart and above all things.
Amen.
 

"O most blessed and sweet Virgin Mary, Mother of God, filled with all tenderness, Daughter of the most high King, Lady of the Angels, Mother of all the faithful,
On this day and all the days of my life, I entrust to your merciful heart my body and my soul, all my acts, thoughts, choices, desires, words, deeds,
my entire life and death,
So that, with your assistance, all may be ordered to the good according to the will of your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. ...
From your beloved Son request for me the grace to resist firmly the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil.
My most holy Lady, I also beseech you to obtain for me true obedience and true humility of heart
So that I may recognize myself truly as a sinner--wretched and weak-- and powerless, without the grace and help of my Creator and without your holy prayers.
Obtain for me as well, O most sweet Lady, true charity with which from the depths of my heart I may love your most holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
and, after Him, love you above all other things. ..
Grant, O Queen of Heaven, that ever in my heart I may have fear and love alike for your most sweet Son. ..

I pray also that, at the end of my life, you, Mother without compare, Gate of Heaven and Advocate of sinners, will protect me with your great piety and mercy and obtain for me, through the blessed and glorious Passion of your Son and through your own intercession, received in hope, the forgiveness of all my sins. When I die in your love and His love, may you direct me into the way of salvation and blessedness.
Amen.