Prayer Before Mass

Q: What is a good short prayer before Mass?

A short prayer is enough: ask the Lord to quiet you, to open your ears to His word and your heart to His Body and Blood, and to send you home a better man to your family. Pray it in the pew before the entrance hymn. The longer traditional prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Ambrose say the same thing at greater length.

Q: What should I do in the pew before Mass starts?

Arrive early enough to sit down before the procession. Put the phone away. Kneel, name what you are carrying in — the fight at work, the argument at home, the thing you are afraid of — and hand each one over. Then pray a short prayer of preparation and be quiet until Mass begins.

A short prayer for the pew, the traditional prayers of preparation, and how a man gets ready before the Sacrifice begins.

You have five minutes in the pew before the procession. That is enough. Pray this, then be quiet.

Lord Jesus Christ, I am about to stand at Your altar. Quiet me. Take the week off my shoulders. Open my ears to Your word and my heart to Your Body and Blood. Whatever I carried in here, let me lay it down. Make me worthy to receive You, and send me home a better man to my family. Amen.

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The traditional prayers before Mass

Two prayers of preparation are traditionally prayed before Communion — one attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, one to St. Ambrose. Both say the same thing: I am coming sick to the doctor, and I have nothing to offer but need.

The prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas before Mass

Almighty and everlasting God, behold I come to the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: I come as one infirm to the physician of life, as one unclean to the fountain of mercy, as one blind to the light of everlasting brightness, as one poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore I implore the abundance of Thy measureless bounty that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to heal my infirmity, wash my uncleanness, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty and clothe my nakedness, that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, with such reverence and humility, with such sorrow and devotion, with such purity and faith, with such purpose and intention as may be profitable to my soul's salvation. Grant unto me, I pray, the grace of receiving not only the Sacrament of our Lord's Body and Blood, but also the grace and power of the Sacrament. O most gracious God, grant me so to receive the Body of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which He took from the Virgin Mary, as to merit to be incorporated into His mystical Body, and to be numbered amongst His members. O most loving Father, give me grace to behold forever Thy beloved Son with His face at last unveiled, whom I now purpose to receive under the sacramental veil here below. Amen.

Traditional English text as printed at Liturgies.net, Prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas. A modern English translation of the same prayer is printed by EWTN.

The prayer of St. Ambrose before Mass

The prayer attributed to St. Ambrose opens with a sentence that is hard to improve on: “Lord, Jesus Christ, I approach your banquet table in fear and trembling, for I am a sinner, and dare not rely on my own worth but only on your goodness and mercy.” It goes on to show the Lord its wounds and to ask that His Body and Blood be a defence against the enemy. We link the full text rather than reprint it: the full prayer of St. Ambrose before Mass at EWTN.

How to prepare for Mass

Keep the one-hour fast

The Church's law is short. Canon 919 §1 of the Code of Canon Law: a person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist “is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.” Two things men get wrong: the hour runs to Communion, not to the start of Mass, and water never breaks it. Canon 919 §3 adds that “the elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them” may receive even if they have eaten something within the preceding hour. Canon 919 §2 permits a priest who celebrates two or three times on the same day to take something before the second or third celebration even if there is less than one hour between them.

Confess first if you need to

Canon 916 of the same Code: a person who is conscious of grave sin “is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.” If that is where you are, go to confession before Communion — many parishes hear confessions before Sunday Mass. If you have been away a long time, start here: confession after years away.

Arrive early enough to stop moving

A man who slides into the pew as the priest reaches the altar has not prepared; he has arrived. Aim to be seated ten minutes early. Kneel. Put the phone in your pocket and leave it there. Name what you carried in — the fight at work, the argument in the car, the thing you are afraid of — and hand each one over. Then go quiet. Silence before Mass is not wasted time; it is the only preparation that cannot be delegated.

Know what is coming

Preparation also means knowing the rite you are about to pray. If the parts of the Mass still run together for you, read the Mass explained step by step; for a Traditional Latin Mass, learn the Latin responses so you can answer instead of watching. If you want this more than once a week, here is how to start going to daily Mass without wrecking your schedule.

A prayer for a father bringing his family

Pray this in the parking lot, before the doors open and the morning falls apart.

Lord, I am bringing them in. I did not get them here calm and I did not get here holy, but we are here. Hold my temper for the next hour. Let them see me kneel and mean it. Whatever they remember of this morning, let it be that their father worships You. Amen.

Questions men ask

What is a good short prayer before Mass?

A short one is enough. Ask the Lord to quiet you, to open your ears to His word and your heart to His Body and Blood, and to send you home a better man to your family — the prayer at the top of this page is that, in seven lines. The traditional prayers of Aquinas and Ambrose say the same thing at greater length.

How long before Mass do I have to stop eating?

One hour before Communion from all food and drink except water and medicine (Canon 919 §1); the elderly, the infirm, and those who care for them are excepted (§3).

What is the prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas before Mass?

A prayer of preparation for Holy Communion attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas. In its traditional English it begins, “Almighty and everlasting God, behold I come to the Sacrament of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: I come as one infirm to the physician of life, as one unclean to the fountain of mercy.” The full text is above.

What should I do in the pew before Mass starts?

Sit down before the procession, put the phone away, kneel, hand over what you carried in, pray a short prayer of preparation, and then be quiet until Mass begins.