Saint Ambrose
Saint Ambrose was the son of Ambrose, a prefect of Gaul, and was born at Treves in the year 340. He studied successfully at Rome, and was later appointed prefect of Aemilia and Liguria, taking up his residence at Milan. The bishopric of that city becoming vacant shortly after, Ambrose was elected, in a remarkable and almost miraculous manner, to fill that important office. With a noble courage, he rebuked the emperor Theodosius for the massacre of the Thessalonians, and would not allow him to enter the church until he had done penance for his sin. This, the last great emperor of Rome consented to do, and humbly knelt in sackcloth and ashes at the door of the cathedral of Milan. Saint Ambrose was an instrument of God in the conversion of the renowned Augustine. He baptized the latter in Milan, and, on that occasion composed, with his new disciple, the Te Deum, so famous as a hymn of praise in the Church of God. Saint Ambrose died April 4, a.d. 397.
1207 St Ambrose 
Prayer of St. Ambrose (Before Mass)
Lord Jesus Christ,
I approach your banquet table in fear and trembling,
for I am a sinner,
and dare not rely on my own worth,
but only on your goodness and mercy.
I am defiled by many sins in body and soul,
and by my unguarded thoughts and words.
Gracious God of majesty and awe,
I seek your protection,
I look for you’re healing.
Poor troubled sinner that I am,
I appeal to you, the fountain of all mercy.
I cannot bear your judgment,
but I trust in your salvation.
Lord, I show my wounds to you and uncover my shame before you.
I know my sins are many and great,
and they fill me with fear,
but I hope in your mercies,
for they cannot be numbered.
Lord Jesus Christ, eternal king, God and man,
crucified for mankind,
look upon me with mercy and hear my prayer,
for I trust in you.
Have mercy on me,
full of sorrow and sin,
for the depth of your compassion never ends.
Praise to you, saving sacrifice,
offered on the wood of the cross for me and for all mankind.
Praise to the noble and precious blood,
flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ and washing away the sins of the whole world.
Remember, Lord your creature,
whom you have redeemed with your blood;
I repent my sins,
and I long to put right what I have done. Merciful Father, take away all my offenses and sins;
purify me in body and soul,
and make me worthy to taste the holy of holies.
May your body and blood,
which I intend to receive, although I am unworthy,
be for me the remission of my sins,
the washing away of my guilt,
the end of my evil thoughts,
and the rebirth of my better instincts.
May it incite me to do the works pleasing to you and profitable to my health in body and soul,
and be a firm defense against the wiles of my enemies.
Amen.
St. Ambrose Novena
Blessed servant of God, St. Ambrose, we pray today for Learning. Intercede for us! God blessed you with faith, understanding and the great ability to preach the sweet words of the Gospel. Please pray for the education and wisdom of:
(Mention your intentions)
Holy St. Ambrose, you are called the Honey Tongued Doctor because of your ability to help others learn the Truth of Christianity. We invoke your powerful intercession, confident in the hope that you will hear our prayers and obtain for us the special grace of knowledge and wisdom.
Lord God, you made St. Ambrose an outstanding teacher of the faith. We are in awe of his faith and so we ask that you pray for us…
Pray for us, that we will always seek truth.
Help us, St. Ambrose, to live our lives seeking truth and wisdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
St. Ambrose Novena
Lord, you made Saint Ambrose an outstanding teacher of the Catholic faith and gave him the courage of an apostle. Raise up in your Church more leaders after your own heart, to guide us with courage and wisdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Saint Ambrose, pray for us.
(Mention your request here…)
Say 1: Our Father… Say 1: Hail Mary… Say 1: Glory Be…
Prayer by Saint Ambrose of Milan
O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of your Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore You, a heart to delight in You, to follow and enjoy You, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Ambrose Before Communion
I beg of you, O Lord, by this most holy mystery of Your Body and Blood, with which You daily nourish us in Your Church, that we may be cleansed and sanctified and made sharers in Your divinity. Grant to me Your holy virtues, which will enable me to approach Your altar with a clean conscience, so that this heavenly Sacrament may be a means of salvation and life to me, for You Yourself have said: “I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If anyone eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Most Sweet Bread, heal my heart, that I may taste the sweetness of Your love. Heal it from all weakness, that I may enjoy no sweetness but You. Most pure Bread, containing every delight which ever refreshes us, may my heart consume You and may my soul be filled with Your sweetness. Holy Bread, living Bread, perfect Bread, that has come down from heaven to give life to the world, come into my heart and cleanse me from every stain of body and soul. Enter into my soul; heal and cleanse me completely. Be the constant safeguard and salvation of my soul and body. Guard me from the enemies who lie in wait. May they flee from the protecting presence of Your power, so that, armed in soul and body by You, I may safely reach Your Kingdom.
There we shall see You, not as now as in mysteries, but face to face, when You will deliver the Kingdom to God the Father, and will reign as God over all. Then You, who with the same God the Father and the Holy Spirit, live and reign forever, will satisfy the hunger of my soul perfectly with Yourself, so that I shall neither hunger nor thirst again.
Amen.
Prayer of St. Ambrose
O loving Lord Jesus Christ,
I, a sinner, not presuming on my own merits,
but trusting in Your mercy and goodness,
with fear and awe approach the table of Your most sacred banquet.
For I have stained both my heart and body with many sins,
and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and tongue.
Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful majesty, I, a wretched creature,
entangled in difficulties, have recourse to You, the fount of mercy;
to You I fly for healing and take refuge under Your protection,
and I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior whom I am unable to face as my Judge.
To You, Lord, I show my wounds, to You I lay bare my shame.
I know that my sins are many and great and on their account I am filled with fear.
But I trust in Your mercy, which is endless.
Look down on me, therefore, with the eyes of mercy, Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King,
God and Man, crucified for men. Hear me, for my hope is in You;
have mercy on me, for I am full of sin and wretchedness,
You who never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy.
Hail Victim of Salvation, offered for me and for all mankind on the tree of the cross.
Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ
washing away the sins of the whole world.
Remember, Lord, Your creature, whom You have redeemed with Your Blood.
I am grieved because I have sinned. I desire to make amends for what I have done.
Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and my sins,
that, being purified both in soul and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies;
and grant that this holy oblation of Your Body and Blood, of which though unworthy I purpose to partake,
may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of all my offenses,
the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires,
the accomplishment of works pleasing to You,
as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies.
Amen.
