Prayers and Hymns before Holy Communion
Originally at this point Holy Communion was distributed, the people were
dismissed and the Divine Liturgy ended. But over the course of the
centuries, new hymns and prayers were added between the end of the Eucharistic
Prayer and the distribution of HolyCommunion. These rites developed
as further preparation for receiving Holy Communion. Theologians call
these liturgical elements "Pre-Communion Rites."
The first pre-communion rite is a deacons' litany for Holy Communion: "By
the holy, divine and immortal sacrifice offered on this holy altar …
that the Lord our God, who has accepted it at his holy, heavenly and intelligible
altar, may in return send down upon us the grace and the gifts of the
Holy Spirit, let us beseech the Lord" [39-40].
This litany leads into a prayer in which the celebrant gives thanks to God
for giving us the grace to call him "Our Father" In the Lord's
Prayer, and to open our hearts to him as we would a loving father [40].
The Lord's Prayer is then sung by all [41].
>> Two Hymns of Praise
