Prayer:Prayer Before Communion
Stored: Prayer Before Communion
| Prayer Before Communion | |
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| Author | Unknown |
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| Language | English |
| Approval | None |
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| Added on | 2026-08-13 |
The Prayer Before Communion is one of the most celebrated Eucharistic prayers in the history of the Catholic Church, composed by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the great Dominican theologian and Doctor of the Church. Written in the thirteenth century, it has endured for over seven hundred years as a model of humble, theologically rich preparation for the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist.
Reflecting the profound Eucharistic theology that defines Aquinas's life and writings, this prayer is saturated with scriptural imagery and scholastic precision. Thomas, who authored celebrated hymns such as the Pange Lingua and the Tantum Ergo, composed this prayer as a personal act of devotion, yet its universality of sentiment quickly commended it to the wider Church.
The prayer is formally recognized in the Roman Rite and appears in the Roman Missal among the optional preparatory prayers recommended for priests before the celebration of Mass. It is likewise beloved by the faithful as a personal preparation for receiving Holy Communion at any Mass.
The Prayer
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, 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 and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
History and Background
Saint Thomas Aquinas composed this prayer during the height of the scholastic era, a period in which the Church was developing with great precision its understanding of the sacraments, and in particular the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Aquinas himself was the principal architect of the Church's systematic Eucharistic theology, culminating in the famous Corpus Christi liturgy he composed at the request of Pope Urban IV in 1264.
The prayer demonstrates Thomas's characteristic method of uniting rigorous theological thought with deep personal piety. Each petition corresponds to a scriptural metaphor: Christ as physician (cf. Matthew 9:12), fountain of mercy (cf. Psalm 36:9), light of the world (cf. John 8:12), and Lord of heaven and earth (cf. Matthew 11:25). The phrase "bread of angels" (panis angelorum) echoes Psalm 78:25 and appears also in the Lauda Sion, the Eucharistic sequence Thomas composed for the feast of Corpus Christi.
The prayer was preserved within Dominican devotional traditions following Thomas's death in 1274, and gradually entered the broader treasury of Catholic Eucharistic piety. The Roman Missal reformed after the Second Vatican Council included it among the prayers of preparation for Mass, ensuring its continued liturgical presence alongside ancient prayers such as those of Saint Ambrose.
Biographers of Aquinas recount that he possessed an extraordinary devotion to the Eucharist, often weeping at Mass. Pope Pius XI, in his 1923 encyclical Studiorum Ducem, praised Thomas as the model of Eucharistic devotion, noting that his theological and personal engagement with the sacrament were inseparable.
How to Pray / Devotional Use
This prayer is traditionally prayed immediately before receiving Holy Communion, either privately in the pew or as a formal act of preparation before approaching the altar. It is especially fitting as a preparation during the time of silent prayer after the Agnus Dei and before the reception of the sacrament.
Suggested practice:
- Pray this prayer slowly and reflectively in the moments before Communion, attending carefully to each image of need and divine generosity.
- It may be prayed kneeling as an act of humble adoration, recalling the posture of the soul before the majesty of God made present in the Eucharist.
- Those who practice Eucharistic adoration may also use this prayer as an introduction to a period of silent contemplation before the Blessed Sacrament exposed.
- Priests and deacons may pray it as part of their private preparation before Mass, as suggested in the appendix of the Roman Missal.
- It is especially recommended during Forty Hours Devotion, Corpus Christi celebrations, and First Communion preparation, as well as during the Octave of Corpus Christi.
The prayer may be paired profitably with Saint Thomas Aquinas's companion prayer, the Prayer After Communion, also composed by the Angelic Doctor, which offers a corresponding act of thanksgiving following reception of the sacrament.