5 Prayers to the Saints to Say Before the Blessed Sacrament

Being in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament is, above all, being with Jesus. Many words are not always necessary: sometimes it is enough to remain in silence, to look at Him, and to let Him look into our hearts. But it can also help us to pray with the words of those who have learned to walk closely with Christ.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, St. John Paul II, and St. Ambrose offer us various prayers to accompany this encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist. We can pray them slowly, pausing on the words that speak to us most deeply and presenting our joys, concerns, desires, and needs to the Lord.

Prayer of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux «To Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Love of Loves»

Altar Tabernacle, the nest of Your most tender and gracious love. You ask me for love, my God, and You give me love; Your love is heavenly love, and mine is a love mingled with earth and heaven; Yours is infinite and most pure; mine is imperfect and limited. May I, my Jesus, from this day forward, be everything for You, just as You are everything for me. May I love You always, as the Apostles loved You; and may my lips kiss Your blessed feet, as the converted Magdalene kissed them. Look upon and listen to the straying of my repentant heart, just as You listened to Zacchaeus and the Samaritan woman. Let me rest my head on Your sacred breast, as Your beloved disciple Saint John did. I long to live with You, for You are life and love.

For the sake of Your love alone, Jesus, my Beloved, I have placed my life, my glory, and my future in You. And since to the world I am a withered flower, I have no greater desire than to die while loving You.

Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas to the Blessed Sacrament

O Most Holy Jesus, who are truly God hidden here; grant that I may ardently desire, prudently seek, truly know, and perfectly fulfill, for the praise and glory of Your name, all that pleases You.

O my God, set my life in order; grant that I may know what You desire of me and that I may fulfill it as is necessary and fitting for my soul.

Grant me, O Lord my God, that I may not lose heart in times of prosperity or adversity, so that I may neither be lifted up in the former nor brought low in the latter. May I find joy or sorrow in nothing except what draws me closer to You or leads me away from You. May I desire to please no one and fear displeasing no one except You. May all transitory things be vile to me, Lord, and all eternal things precious. May I, Lord, find all joy without You distasteful, and may I desire nothing outside of You. May every labor for You be a delight to me, Lord, and may rest without You be a burden. Grant me, O my God, to lift up my heart to You frequently and fervently, to do everything with love, to regard as dead whatever does not belong to Your service, and to perform my works not out of routine, but by referring them to You with devotion.

Make me, O Jesus, my love and my life, obedient without resistance, poor without humiliation, chaste without corruption, patient without distraction, mature without gloom, diligent without fickleness, fearful of You without despair, truthful without deceit; make me do good without presumption, correct my neighbor without pride, and edify him with words and deeds without pretense.

Grant me, O Lord my God, a watchful heart that will not stray from You because of any idle thought; grant me a noble heart that will not be led astray by any sinister intention; grant me a steadfast heart that will not be broken by any tribulation; grant me a free heart that will not be dominated by any violent passion.

Grant me, O Lord my God, the understanding to know You, the diligence to seek You, the wisdom to find You, the conduct that pleases You, the perseverance to wait for You with confidence, and the hope that will ultimately embrace You.

Grant that I may grieve over your sorrows here as an act of penance, that I may draw upon your blessings by grace throughout my life, and that I may enjoy your joys in glory in the heavenly homeland. O Lord, who lives and reigns, God for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

My Lord Jesus Christ, who out of love for humanity remain night and day in this sacrament, full of mercy and love, waiting for, calling, and receiving all who come to visit you: I believe that you are present in the sacrament of the altar. I adore You from the depths of my nothingness and I thank You for all the graces You have bestowed upon me, and especially for having given Yourself to me in this sacrament, for having granted me Your most loving Mother as my advocate, and for having called me to visit You in this church.

I now adore your Most Sacred Heart, and I wish to adore it for three reasons: first, in thanksgiving for this extraordinary blessing; second, to make reparation for all the insults You receive from Your enemies in this Sacrament; and finally, desiring to adore You through this visit in all the places on earth where You are present in the Sacrament but receive little worship and are neglected.

Eucharistic Adoration of St. John Paul II

Lord Jesus:

We come before you, knowing that you call us and that you love us just as we are.

«You have the words of eternal life, and we have come to believe and know that you are the Son of God» (John 6:69).

Your presence in the Eucharist began with the sacrifice of the Last Supper and continues as communion and the gift of all that you are.
Increase our FAITH.

Through you and in the Holy Spirit whom you give us, we wish to come before the Father to say our “YES” together with yours.

With you, we can now say, “Our Father.”.

Following you, «the way, the truth, and the life,» we wish to penetrate the apparent «silence» and «absence» of God, parting the cloud on Mount Tabor to hear the voice of the Father saying to us: «This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him» (Mt 17:5).

With this FAITH, born of contemplative listening, we will be able to shed light on our personal situations, as well as on the various aspects of family and social life.

You are our HOPE, our peace, our mediator, brother, and friend.

Our hearts are filled with joy and hope knowing that you are «always interceding for us» (Heb. 7:25).

Our hope translates into trust, the joy of Easter, and a hastening journey with you toward the Father.

We want to feel the way you do and value things the way you do. Because you are the center, the beginning, and the end of everything.

Drawing strength from this HOPE, we wish to instill in the world this scale of Gospel values, in which God and His saving gifts occupy the foremost place in our hearts and in our attitudes toward everyday life.

We want to LOVE LIKE YOU, who gives life and communicates with your whole being.

We would like to say, as St. Paul did: «My life is Christ» (Phil. 1:21).

Our life has no meaning without you.

We want to learn to «be with the one we know loves us,» because «with such a good friend by our side, we can endure anything.» In you, we will learn to unite ourselves to the Father’s will, because in prayer, «it is love that speaks» (St. Teresa).

As we delve into the depths of your inner life, we want to adopt basic principles and attitudes, make lasting decisions, and choose fundamental paths in accordance with our own Christian vocation.

BELIEVING, HOPING, AND LOVING, WE WORSHIP YOU with a humble attitude of presence, silence, and waiting—an attitude that is also meant to be an act of reparation—in response to your words: «Stay here and keep watch with me» (Mt 26:38).

You transcend the poverty of our thoughts, feelings, and words; that is why we want to learn to worship by marveling at the mystery, loving it just as it is, and remaining silent with the silence of a friend and the presence of self-giving.

The Holy Spirit whom you have poured into our hearts helps us to utter those «indescribable groans» (Rom. 8:26) that find expression in a simple, grateful attitude and in the filial gesture of one who is already content with your presence, your love, and your word alone.

In our times of physical and emotional distress, if you are present, and love us, and speak to us, that is enough for us—even though we may not always feel your comfort.

By learning this beyond WORSHIP, we will be in your intimacy or «mystery.».

Then our prayer will become a expression of respect for the «mystery» of each brother and every event, enabling us to integrate ourselves into our family and social environment and to build history through this active and fruitful silence that springs from contemplation.

Thanks to you, our capacity for silence and worship will become a capacity to LOVE and to SERVE.

You have given us your Mother as our own so that she may teach us to meditate and worship in our hearts. By receiving the Word and putting it into practice, she became the most perfect Mother.

Help us to be your missionary Church, one that knows how to meditate on, worship, and love your Word, so that we may transform it into life and share it with all our brothers and sisters.
Amen.

Prayer of Saint Ambrose Before the Blessed Sacrament 

My Lord Jesus Christ, I approach your altar filled with fear because of my sins, but also filled with confidence because I am certain of your mercy.

I am aware that my sins are many and that I have failed to control my heart and my tongue. Therefore, O Lord of goodness and power, I come to You with my weaknesses and fears. Source of mercy and forgiveness, I come to take refuge in You, who gave Your life to save me, before You come as my judge to call me to account.

Lord, I am not ashamed to reveal my wounds to You. I am afraid of my sins, whose number and magnitude only You know, but I trust in Your infinite mercy.

My Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King, true God and true man, look upon me with love, for You chose to become man to die for us. Hear me, for I place my hope in You. Have mercy on my sins and miseries, You who are an inexhaustible source of love.

I adore You, Lord, because You gave Your life on the cross and offered Yourself there as the Redeemer for all people, and especially for me.

I adore You, Lord, for the precious blood that flowed from Your wounds and has cleansed the world of its sins. Look, Lord, upon this poor sinner, created and redeemed by You. I repent of my sins and resolve to make amends for their consequences.

Purify me of all my sins so that I may receive Your Holy Communion with greater worthiness. May your body and blood help me, Lord, to obtain from you forgiveness for my sins and satisfaction for my faults; may they free me from my evil thoughts, renew holy feelings within me, impel me to do your will, and protect me from every danger to my soul and body.

Amen.