Daily Prayers
Prayer Before a Crucifix (En Ego, O Bone et Dulcissime Iesu)
Behold, O good and sweetest Jesus,
I cast myself upon my knees in Thy sight,
and with the most fervent desire of my soul
I pray and beseech Thee
that Thou wouldst impress upon my heart
lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity,
with true repentance for my sins
and a most firm desire of amendment;
whilst with deep affection and grief of soul
I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate
Thy five most precious Wounds,
having before mine eyes that which David spoke in prophecy of Thee,
O good Jesus: 'They have pierced my hands and my feet;
they have numbered all my bones.' Amen.
Enchiridion Indulgentiarum / Raccolta
About the prayer
Known by its Latin opening En ego, O bone et dulcissime Iesu, this prayer appears in fifteenth-century devotional books and became universally used when Pope Pius IX attached a plenary indulgence to it in 1858 when prayed before a crucifix after Communion. Its heart is the meditation on the five wounds and the verse from Psalm 22 that the Church reads as a prophecy of the Passion. It remains one of the standard prayers of Lent and Good Friday devotion.
Related prayers
- The Twenty-Four Prayers of St. John ChrysostomTraditional Prayers
- Prayer of St. Ephrem the SyrianTraditional Prayers
- Prayer Before ConfessionPrayers of Forgiveness
- Stabat Mater DolorosaSeasonal & Liturgical Prayers
- Prayer for Ash WednesdaySeasonal & Liturgical Prayers
- Prayer Before the Cross (Good Friday)Seasonal & Liturgical Prayers
Read 1 times
Provided by findmyprayer.com
Find My Prayer