Two Prayers Before Mass

1. Invocation of the Holy and Undivided Trinity

Highest and incomprehensible nature, blessed power and life, inaccessible light, true, singular and one wisdom, unchangeable truth, holy, incomparable and eternal love, timeless founder of temporal things, invisible and eternal maker of things visible and invisible, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, one and true Lord God in Trinity: Father, having none from whom you are, yet having wisdom, that is, the Son, than whom you are neither greater nor prior: Son, having the Father from whom you are, yet having none than whom you are lesser or posterior: Holy Spirit, having the Father and the Son from whom you are, yet having none than whom you are unequal or unlike; for in this your divinity, to which time never happens, all is eternal and coeternal, equal and coequal, in which the Father is one, the Son another, the Holy Spirit another: yet the Father is in the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son in the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit in the Father and the Son; for just as your nature, our God, admits of persons, so it in no way admits of parts: to which neither above nor below, before nor behind applies, since it does not admit the outlines of bodies.

Whence you are held whole in all places without place, and yet are not wholly comprehended; for you are held whole everywhere, since indeed no part is found in you at all: yet you are not wholly comprehended, because, while you are made wholly present to each thing among creatures, you are found whole even beyond creatures. Wherefore when you fill heaven and earth, you are whole; when you fill one man, you are whole; nor are you divided through the several things in each of which you are whole; nor do you pass from place to place, as though, leaving one, you sought another, you who move yourself without place and time.

Hence you are rightly to be worshipped, hence to be adored, hence you are acknowledged as unchangeable, hence as uncircumscribed: hence the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, according to the essence of divinity, was wholly with men on earth, and was wholly with the Father in heaven, when he said: No one has ascended into heaven, except he who descended from heaven, the Son of man, who is in heaven. Who indeed, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

2. Pride, the Root of the Seven Vices

Through this habit of humanity, blessed Trinity, through the humility of this subjection, through this most sacred obedience, through this most blessed death, I beseech and implore you, first of all, that I may love you, the Lord my God, that I may thirst for you, that I may seek you with my whole heart: and then, that according to my strength and measure I may regard my neighbor as always dear and beloved in this same love of yours. But this love, Lord, you will grant to none, save to him to whom you first give to hate his vices. I beseech you, therefore, loving and true mercy, my sole and steadfast hope, that you take away the kingdom of pride from my soul.

Dreadful, Lord, and fearsome is this so very great evil, which cast the angels down from heaven, which drove men out of paradise, and which is the beginning of all sin, and to which belongs whatsoever there is of vice and iniquity, from whose poisonous root, as its firstborn offspring, are brought forth the seven principal vices, namely, vainglory, envy, wrath, sorrow, avarice, gluttony of the belly, and luxury. But also a numerous crowd of offshoots is generated from each of these.

3. Vainglory Overcome by Humility

Therefore when vainglory has fully taken hold of the mind, it soon begets in it a sevenfold wickedness, namely disobedience, boastfulness, hypocrisy, contentiousness, obstinacy, discord, and presumption of novelties. But if true humility be set against this, all its wickedness is emptied out. Therefore I beseech thee, master of humility, that thou implant this in my heart, and having implanted it, guard it; which, while it accounts itself inferior to all, forthwith begets submission, extinguishes boastfulness, excludes hypocrisy, flees contentiousness, softens obstinacy, guards against discord, abhors the presumption of novelties. Thou hadst foreseen that the disease of pride was to be healed by this remedy of blessed humility, when, through the man assumed, the author of our salvation, thou didst say to those coming to thee: Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. And again: Unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4. Envy, Hatred, and the Example of Cain

From envy also hatred, whispering, detraction, exultation in the adversities of one's neighbor, and affliction in his prosperity are propagated. O evil offspring, which, if once admitted into the soul, begins to rule, extinguishes every offspring of holiness! Thus he who envies or hates kills himself before another; he who whispers and detracts uproots his own roots before those of others; he who exults in the adversities of his neighbor, and is afflicted at his prosperity, first strikes at himself with another's sword. This second shoot of pride first sprang forth when he of whom it is written, By the envy of the devil death entered into the world, persuaded Cain to shed his brother's blood through hatred of envy. But surely that same envious Cain destroyed his own soul before his brother's flesh, for it is written: He who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Hence, Lord, it is apparent whose murderer he first is, who hates another, in whom there is no life. Against this Moses, the meekest of all, admonishes, saying: Thou shalt not hate thy neighbor in thy heart. And because he who envies and hates consequently whispers and detracts, Holy Scripture proclaims that this evil is to be guarded against: Thou shalt not be, it says, a whisperer among the people; and: Detract not one from another, brethren. But he who detracts a brother detracts the law; for he who whispers and detracts, it follows that he exults in the adversities of his neighbor, and contracts sadness of mind at his prosperity. But the blessed Apostle meets this, and says: To rejoice with them that rejoice, to weep with them that weep. And behold, one envies for the sake of earthly things and earthly honors, another for the sake of successes in virtue; envies anyone, hates anyone, whispers against anyone, detracts from anyone, exults over anyone's adversities, saddens his mind at anyone's prosperity.

5. Charity as the Remedy for Envy

But that this manifold evil may be overcome in all respects, let there meet it, Lord, I beg, that manifold good, which, resisting with powerful strength, gives no place to envy, namely charity, which is the foundation of all virtues and goods: which envies not, but rejoices with; hates not, but loves; whispers not, but reproves; detracts not, but corrects; rejoices not over a neighbor's adversities, but grieves; contracts no affliction at his prosperity, but receives consolation. Rightly indeed has it received such a name, since nothing dearer than it can be found: for whoever has it, has thee assuredly. God, it says, is charity; and he who abides in charity, abides in God, and God in him. That one may overcome the aforesaid evil of envy, the guarding of heart and mouth alike must be joined: of the heart, namely, lest it envy, lest it exult over a neighbor's adversities, lest it contract sadness at his prosperity; of the mouth, lest it whisper, lest it detract.

For it is written: Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it come the issues of life. And again it is written: Death and life are in the hands of the tongue. More quickly indeed is the evil which lies hidden within extinguished, if the tongue be bridled without from wicked speech. Set, Lord, a watch before my mouth, and a door of restraint round about my lips; that my heart may not incline to evil words. Deliver my soul from wicked lips, and from a deceitful tongue.

6. The Bitterness and Effects of Anger

Anger follows envy, than which nothing more harsh, nothing more bitter is found among the other vices; which, when it has boiled over beyond measure, cruelly ulcerates the mind, dulls the sense, alters the tongue, darkens the eyes, and disturbs the whole body. From this immediately quarrels, insults, clamor, indignation, swelling of mind, and blasphemies are stirred up. Concerning this indeed Holy Scripture testifies, saying: Anger rests in the bosom of a fool, and: The anger of man works not the justice of God.

7. Patience as the Remedy for Anger

But set, Lord, against so bitter an evil as anger, the most sweet good of patience, in which the salvation of our souls is especially placed, since it is said to us through the Gospel: In your patience you shall possess your souls. This indeed, once it has taken the citadel and rule of the mind, at once restrains all disturbances: turns quarrels and insults into exhortation, presses down confused clamor under ordered silence, conquers indignation and swelling of mind with gentleness, repels blasphemies with the giving of thanks. But if perchance anger, kindled beyond measure, should for an hour overcome patience, will there be no remedy, Lord? There will be, certainly.

For although the Gospel proclaims the condemnation of this evil, saying: Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire, it immediately adds the means of recovery, when it says: If thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift. And this: When you stand to pray, forgive, if you have anything against any one in your hearts. Grant me, Lord God, this second victory, if, blinded by fury, I should lose the first, when not by thy zeal, but by my own fault, I offend the mind of anyone.

8. Sadness and the Joy of Blessedness to Come

Sadness also follows anger, which, when it penetrates the secret places of the heart, at once generates in its chamber malice, rancor, faintheartedness, despair, sluggishness regarding the commandments, and wandering of mind toward things unlawful. How detestable this is among the other vices, blessed Paul shows: The sorrow of the world, he says, works death. But I beseech thee, my God and Lord, set against worldly sorrow the joy of future blessedness, which may conquer with benevolence the malice contracted from grief, drive out with sincerity the rancor bred of tedium, strengthen faintheartedness with fortitude, raise up despair with confidence of hope, drive away sluggishness regarding the commandments by spiritual exercise, and restrain with unshaken steadfastness the wandering of mind toward things unlawful. But if, spiritual joy being withdrawn for a moment, the evil of sadness should prevail, I will do, I ask, what blessed James advises: Is any among you sad? Let him pray with an even mind, and sing psalms.

9. Avarice and the Contempt of the World

Avarice follows sadness, which is marked with equal execration in both Testaments. For in the Old it is said: nothing is more wicked than the avaricious man; in the New, however: and covetousness, which is the service of idols. From this indeed seven wickednesses are engendered, namely, betrayal, fraud, deceit, perjury, restlessness, violence, and hardening against mercy. And behold, Lord God, one who is a lover of the world, and not of thee, on account of precious metals, glittering and shining stones, menservants and maidservants, estates and lands, betrays his neighbor unto death, incurs fraud, spreads deceit, commits perjury: and one is restless and violent for a farm, another for a hen: one hardens himself against mercy lest he give back gold, another lest he hold out a drink.

But I ask, my God, chaste and true lover, that I, to whom no possession on earth is owed apart from thee, may covet nothing on earth which thou art not; that I may always remember that sentence which says: Naked I came out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return thither. And that other: We brought nothing into this world, and certainly we can carry nothing out. These things, indeed, when piously considered, seem to bring about contempt of the world, which is contrary to avarice.

10. Gluttony of the Belly and Its Dangers

After these things remains gluttony of the belly, which indeed begins from necessity, but exceeding the measure of necessity, passes over into pleasure; and while it goes from things lawful to things unlawful, it soon brings forth silly mirth, buffoonery, uncleanness, much talking, and dullness of sense regarding understanding: whose deadly poison is then somehow emptied out, when not the quality but the appetite in foods is guarded against. For the first woman brought death upon the world not by the delight of exquisite feasts, but by that of a single apple; and the ancient enemy tempted our king not with flesh, but with bread; and Sodom perished by fire and brimstone for this reason, that among its other evils it ate bread to the full.

11. A Prayer for Temperance in Eating

Wherefore I implore thy clemency, O God, that I may approach the taking of food as a sick man approaches medicine; seeking in it by no means pleasure, but supplying necessity. Take away from me, for the sake of thy great mercy, every harmful desire of foods, and graciously grant to thy servant a fitting abstinence in eating; that between the necessary measure I may temper my own appetite, and, all gluttony and drunkenness being removed far from me, I may know how to abound in thy strength, may know also how to suffer want, and may know in what things I can be sufficient unto myself. So, Lord, so, good Father, when the harmful humors of gluttony are dried up, foolish mirth or buffoonery will not spring forth, which chiefly leads to madness those in whom gluttony and drunkenness take dominion: For the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Against these comes that sentence which says: Woe to you rich, who have your consolation!

And woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep! Whereas those who have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences hear: The world will rejoice, but you shall be made sorrowful; but your sorrow shall be turned into joy, and your joy no man shall take from you. And again: Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Uncleanness also, which according to the Apostle shuts to certain ones the entrance to the heavenly kingdom, will never defile with its filth him who is watchful, but only more slowly him who sleeps. Much talking, pressed down by fasting, will fall silent; dullness of sense regarding understanding will yield to the wit of spiritual acumen, which holy frugality will foster in the mind; for the belly restrained by abstinence lifts up human senses on high.

12. Lust and the Plea for Purity of Mind

Lust follows gluttony, which, when it exceeds the bounds of licence, soon begets of itself blindness of mind, thoughtlessness, inconstancy, precipitancy, love of self, hatred of God, affection for the present age, and horror or despair, however, of the age to come. But I ask, Lord, that I, whom thou hast willed from the very time of puberty to be estranged from the embrace of carnal union, may not be touched by consent to its delight. For what does it profit, Lord God, to be a virgin in body, if it happen that one be corrupted in mind? For whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. For him indeed who has not yet professed chastity, according to the Apostle it is better to marry than to burn: but I beseech thee, Lord, that he to whom it is not lawful to marry, may not happen to burn either.

13. Intercession for Priests, Rulers, and the Faithful

Behold, while, solicitous for myself, I ask such things, I ought to remember charity; that I may also pray for others. I beseech thee, therefore, O God, lover of thy Church, for its priests; that both by word and by merit of life they may invite the people entrusted to them to the heavenly homeland. For kings, leaders, and those placed in high position; that they may show themselves fathers of orphans and judges of widows, may sympathize with the miseries of the needy and the groans of the poor, may seek in judgment nothing but what is just; and so administer present things, that they may not lose future goods. For virgins, the continent, and those who renounce the world; that they may despise present things, seek future things, and not entangle themselves in worldly business; that, warring for thee, they may please him to whom they have proved themselves. For the married, that they may thus pay to one another the debt of the flesh, lest they stray from desire for the heavenly homeland.

14. Examples of God's Mercy to Sinners

But what am I doing, Lord? As if forgetful of my own sins, I presume to pray for others. O in how many things have I offended and do I still offend! But nevertheless despair does not creep in, when I behold the publican justified in the temple, when I look upon the thief confessing on the cross, and passing from the cross to Paradise, when I contemplate Mary, after so many stains of crimes, washed in the fountain of mercy, when I behold Peter, after his denial, recovering the grace of apostleship. But I ask, ineffable mercy, that to me, to whom you have granted to presume from such examples, you would grant the groans of the publican, the confession of the thief, the tears of the harlot, and the weeping of the denying apostle.

For if you shall have provided that my sins are to be avenged by temporal scourging, weeping I implore that, while in anger you rage fiercely against these things, you would always in your anger remember mercy: for whom you love, you chasten; and you scourge every son whom you receive. By which words, indeed, although the rod of the striker threatens, yet a father’s affection of love is shown. Grant, therefore, Lord, patience amid scourges, lest I incur the mark of murmuring like a wicked servant: but rather, like a good son, may I render acts of thanksgiving.

15. Remembrance of Death and the Last Judgment

This too I earnestly ask, that I may always remember the day of death, the day of the last judgment, the damnation of eternal punishment, and the blessedness of the kingdom to come: which no one can do unceasingly, except him who is preordained to eternal life. Unceasingly, Lord, must that day be recalled, in which light fights with darkness, mercy toils against cruelty, in which our adversary, most violent accuser, will unfold the evils we have done, spoken, or thought, and will demand your justice to punish them. Where then, Lord, unless you, who judge justly, also mercifully defend me? Remember, I beseech you, that you yourself, who judge, are also my advocate. But if even in that age still to come you reserve something in me to be avenged, I ask that you not hand me over to the power of demons, while you cleanse my crime by purgatorial punishment.

16. The Day of Wrath and Separation of the Just

Never, Lord, is that day to be given over to oblivion, of which the prophet said: A day, he says, of wrath, that day, a day of tribulation and anguish, a day of calamity and misery, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and whirlwind, a day of trumpet and clamor: in which, with heavens and earth burning, the angels will go forth, and will separate the wicked from the midst of the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire: in which the reapers will bind the gathered tares into bundles for burning. In which the wicked, placed on the left, will hear: Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. In which, the doors of life now shut and the lamps extinguished, the foolish virgins, excluded from the bridal chamber, will weep, and groaning at their exclusion will cry out: Lord, Lord, open to us; and then you will say to them: I know you not.

In which also those who shone with miracles will likewise lament, being repelled, and will say: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and done many mighty works in your name? And then you will confess even to these that you never knew them, adding: Depart from me, all you who work iniquity. Who, Lord God, terrible in counsels, wonderful in majesty, and doing wonders: who, I say, would not tremble at these things, and quake from the depth of his heart; when he hears that even those are condemned who happened in this life to shine with miracles? To which indeed applies that saying, where it is said: Man does not know whether he is worthy of love or hatred, but all things uncertain are reserved for the future. In which, if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the sinner and the impious appear?

17. The Torments of Eternal Damnation

Also, Lord God, the punishment of eternal damnation must be unceasingly meditated upon, in which whatever of punishments can now be conceived, and whatever cannot be, is always present. Whose worm is undying, whose fire is unquenchable, whose stench is unbearable: whose land is dark, and covered with the gloom of death, a land of misery and darkness: whose torrents are turned into pitch, and its soil into sulphur, and it will burn forever; whose lake is mingled with blood and fire, and whomever it receives, it both submerges and burns at once. O how horrible! O how astonishing are these things!

18. The Blessedness of the Saints in Heaven

But greater will be, Lord, the torment: the loss of your brightness. For it suffices for full misery not to enjoy your blessedness, in which the just, having received back their bodies, and made equal to the loftiness of the holy angels, gazing upon the eternal light, will shine forth like the sun. Nor without reason will they have no need of sun and moon; because they will have you as their perpetual light. They will not hunger nor thirst, they will not labor nor grow weak, they will not mourn nor grieve; because whatever of satiety, whatever of rest, whatever of joy there is, your visitation will supply it, which will be all in all. Nor will time approach them any longer, because eternity will possess the whole: nor will they fear to die any more, who have merited to be clothed with blessed immortality. But what more can I, wretched man, say of this blessedness?

For whatever I shall say of it, I am restrained by that saying, which I understand to have been spoken through the prophet and the Apostle: What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him. Surely these good things which I have mentioned will be in that blessed life, but in an ineffable manner, still incomprehensible to us. In desire of this, Lord God, my former and reformer, in love of this I will accomplish whatever in this life you command me to do: nor let there be any longer fear in love, but let perfect love cast out fear.

19. Invoking the Intercession of Mary and the Saints

And that this my prayer may be effective, I ask the aid of the blessed Virgin Mary, whom you made of such great merit, that she alone among women should offer a new gift, and none besides her should receive one so new: she alone, indeed, first offered a new gift, in that she remained a virgin mother; none besides her received one so new, in that as a virgin she bore God, and after childbirth remained a virgin. I implore the intercession of the apostles, who, following in the footsteps of the most blessed poverty of the Mediator, and of his sufferings, arrived at so great a height of loftiness, that whatever they should bind upon earth would be bound also in heaven, and whatever they should loose upon earth would be loosed also in heaven: and that at the end they should sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

I beg the prayers of the martyrs, who did not hesitate to shed their blood for the truth, nor loved their souls even unto death, that they might overcome the author of death. I entreat the prayers of the confessors, who, while they lived piously in catholic peace, endured the wars of the tempting enemy, or even the conflict of heretics through prolonged struggle, and, to speak truly, received the palms of a longer and hidden martyrdom. Never, my God, despise the prayers of such as these, if you yourself, who live and reign in perpetual eternity through all ages, and in all ages, amen, shall have inspired them to pray for me.