Prayer before Holy Communion
Priest: Let us be attentive! The holy Things for the holy!
People: One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
God has made us holy so that we can partake of His Body and Blood without being destroyed. The people sing the Sunday Communion verse
People: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the highest. Alleluia (3 times).
We then respond by acknowledging that all holiness comes from God.
Priest: Broken and distributed is the Lamb of God – broken and not divided, always eaten and never consumed – but sanctifying those who partake.
As the priest places the 1st piece (IC) into the chalice, he says:
Priest: Fullness of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The priest blesses the teplota(warm water):
Blessed be the warming of Your holy Gifts + always now and for ever and ever. Amen.
Deacon: Warmth of faith full of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
People: I believe, O Lord, and confess that You are truly Christ, the Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first.
Accept me this day, O Son of God, as a partaker of Your Mystical Supper. I will not tell the mystery to Your enemies, nor will I give You a kiss as did Judas, but like the thief, I confess to You:
+ Remember me, O Lord, when You come into Your kingdom.
+ Remember me, O Master, when You come into Your kingdom.
+ Remember me, O Holy One, when You come into Your kingdom.
May the partaking of Your Holy Mysteries, O Lord, be unto me not for judgment or condemnation but for the healing of soul and body.
+ God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
+ God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
+ I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.
Though God forgives our sins, we acknowledge that we are sinners in the prayer before communion echoing the good thief who repented upon the cross next to the crucified Christ.
We prayerfully ask God to help us so that we do not receive Holy Communion unto condemnation (as mentioned earlier) but rather for our healing. Another way we can receive the Eucharist unto condemnation would be to lightheartedly take God’s love and forgiveness. Lest we forget, God is not only loving and merciful, He is also Just!
We also echo the prayer seeking mercy and forgiveness as said by the Publican. Whereas he beat his breast in repentance, we cross ourselves (a symbol not available to him) to underline that through Christ, God is merciful to us, through the cross, we are cleansed of our sins; and because of God, all our sins can be forgiven.
All Catholics are invited to partake of the Holy Eucharist as long as they have appropriately prepared themselves with prayer and fasting, truly believe that the Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and are not guilty of grievous sin.
Priest: Approach with the fear of God and with faith.
People: Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord, God the Lord has appeared to us.
To receive come up to the ambo in a quiet, orderly and pious manner, kiss the icon on the tetrapod, approach the priest, make the sign of the cross, state your first name. (We receive all sacraments personally, and unfortunately the priest can not always remember all the names.)
Please then tilt your head back, open your mouth wide, and the priest will gently place the Holy Eucharist into your mouth, please do not stick out your tongue nor close your mouth upon the spoon. Do not say Amen.
After receiving communion, you should make a sign of the cross and a simple bow in the direction of the Chalice and quietly return to your place.
In distributing Communion, the priest says: The servant of God, (name), partakes of the precious, most holy and most pure Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of his/her sins and life everlasting. Amen.
http://stjosephukr.com/resources/liturgies/divine-liturgy/fulltext/
