Dan Guernsey - Adoration: Eucharistic Texts and Prayers throughout Church History

ADORATION

E UCHARISTIC
T EXTS AND P RAYERS
T HROUGHOUT
C HURCH H ISTORY

Compiled by
Daniel P. Guernsey

IGNATIUS PRESS SAN FRANCISCO

Cover photograph by Charlene Dorman
Corpus Christi Monastery
of the Nuns of the Order of Preachers
Menlo Park, California

Cover design by Roxanne Mei Lum

1999 Ignatius Press, San Francisco
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-0-89870-670-3
Library of Congress catalogue number 97-76850
Printed in the United States of America

Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae

These eucharistic texts and prayers from throughout the history of the Church are presented in an effort to aid and promote the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This compilation is not even remotely exhaustive of the inspirational and beautiful eucharistic texts the Church possesses. They are simply a few representative texts that may aid the worshipper in increasing devotion to this most Blessed of Sacraments.

The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge the following for their kind permission to reprint selections from their copyrighted works:

Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, for The Early Christian Fathers , ed. by Henry Bettenson, 1956; The Later Christian Fathers , ed. by Henry Bettenson, 1970; Saint Thomas Aquinas: Theological Texts , ed. by Thomas Gilby, 1955.

Alba House, Staten Island, N. Y., for The Mass: Ancient Liturgies and Patristic Texts , ed. by Adalbert Hamman, O. F. M., 1969.

Montfort Publications, Bay Shore, N. Y., for True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin , by Saint Louis de Montfort, 1991.

Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, Mich., for Mother Teresa: Total Surrender , ed. by Brother Angelo Devananda, 1985; One Heart Full of Love , by Mother Teresa, 1984.

Costello Publishing Company, Northport, N. Y., for Vatican Council II, The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents , ed. by Austin Flannery, O.P., 1984, Costello Publishing Company, Northport, N. Y. Excerpts are used by permission of the publisher, all rights reserved. No part of these excerpts may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording or otherwise, without express permission of Costello Publishing Company.

Apostolate for Perpetual Adoration, West Covina, Calif., for Loving Jesus with the Heart of Mary (Fifteen Eucharistic Meditations on the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary ), by Martin Lucia, SS.CC, 1985.

Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, Ill., for A Prayer-book of Favorite Litanies , ed. by Albert Herbert, 1985.

Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, for Treasury of Novenas , cd. by Lawrence Lovasik, S. V. D., 1986.

Source Books, Trabuco Canyon, Calif, for Eucharistic Meditations , by Saint John Vianney, ed. by Abbe H. Convert, trans, by Sr. Mary Benvenuta O. P., 1993.

Redemptorist Fathers, Brooklyn, N. Y., for The Holy Eucharist , by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, 1934.

Emmanuel Publications, Cleveland, Ohio, for Eucharistic Handbook , by Saint Peter Julian Eymard, 1948.

Scepter Publishers, Princeton, N. J., for The Way , by Blessed Josemara Escriv, 1982.

Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Brooklyn, N. Y., for My Daily Bread , by A.J. Paone, 1954.

The United States Catholic Conference, Washington, D. C., for Catechism of the Catholic Church , 1994.

The Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, Mass., for Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska , by Sr. Faustina Kowalska. Reprinted by permission of the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception. All world rights reserved. 1987.

The Canon Law Society, Washington, D. C., for The Code of Canon Law , 1983.

Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, and 1957; Catholic Edition copyright 1965, 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the passover for us, that we may eat it. They said to him, Where will you have us prepare it? He said to them, Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house which he enters, and tell the householder, The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I am to eat the passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room furnished; there make ready And they went, and found it as he had told them; and they prepared the passover.

And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise the cup after supper, saying, This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, Take; this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

When they [the crowd after the multiplication of the loaves] found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, Rabbi, when did you come here? Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal. Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world. They said to him, Lord, give us this bread always.

Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.