The Chaplet of the Blessed Sacrament is a devotion of thirty-three short prayers, or aspirations, one for each year of Our Lord’s life on earth, addressed to Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist: ten acts of faith, hope and love, ten acts of adoration, ten acts of thanksgiving, and three final prayers for the Church, for those in authority and for sinners. After each aspiration an Our Father is said, and a Glory Be at the end of each decade. It is especially suited to a visit to the Blessed Sacrament or a holy hour of Eucharistic adoration. Below are how to pray it and the complete text, as printed in a Catholic prayer book of 1852.
A short prayer before the chaplet, written for this page:
Lord Jesus, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, I believe in you, I adore you, and I thank you.
Receive these thirty-three prayers in honor of the years you lived on earth for love of me. Amen.
How to pray the Chaplet of the Blessed Sacrament
- Begin with the Sign of the Cross and the traditional opening, “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me,” followed by a Glory Be.
- Pray the First Decade (faith, hope and charity): after each aspiration, an Our Father (“Pater”); after the tenth, a Glory Be (“Gloria Patri”).
- Pray the Second Decade (adoration) in the same way.
- Pray the Third Decade (thanksgiving) in the same way.
- Pray the three final aspirations, each followed by an Our Father.
The chaplet can be prayed on a special Eucharistic chaplet of thirty-three beads, on a rosary (using three decades and three extra beads), or simply by counting on your fingers. It takes about twenty minutes.
First decade: acts of faith, hope and charity
I. I believe, O my Jesus, thy divine word, that under this appearance of bread thou thyself art here present as thou art in heaven. Pater noster.
II. I believe that thou art the divine Son, eternally equal to the Father, that by the operation of the Holy Ghost thou didst take human flesh of the Blessed Virgin. Pater.
III. I believe that thou art the same Jesus who wast born of Mary ever Virgin, adored an infant by thy angels, by the shepherds and the magi. Pater.
IV. I believe, O my Redeemer, here present in Sacrament, that thou art the same Jesus of Nazareth who didst heal the sick and didst raise the dead, who for us didst suffer and die upon the Cross. Pater.
V. I believe, finally, that thou thyself, now sitting glorious at the right hand of thy Father in heaven, and there interceding for me, yet art verily present in this Sacrament, my nourishment on earth. Pater.
VI. O most loving Jesus, who in this Sacrament hast left me a pledge of future glory, I hope, through the merits of thy death and passion, to behold thee face to face in heaven. Pater.
VII. O Jesus, cause of our glorious resurrection, I hope, through the virtue of this divine food, wherewith thou nourishest me, to rise to life eternal. Pater.
VIII. I love thee, O Jesus, who art perfect charity, who art true God and true man, in whom are contained the treasures of the divinity, and all the fulness of grace which descends to us upon this earth. Pater.
IX. I love thee, dear Jesus, who, for love of me, hast made thyself like unto me; kindle within me the flame of sacred love which thou didst bring from heaven, that, loving thee, I may grow into thy likeness. Pater.
X. I love thee, O divine Jesus, my Lord and Master, because thou hast redeemed and freed me, poor slave of sin, with thy all-precious blood. Oh, of thy sweet mercy, grant that I may enjoy the full fruit of thy redemption. Gloria Patri.
Second decade: acts of adoration
I. I adore thee, O living bread, descended from heaven for my spiritual food; give me grace worthily to receive thee in life and in death. Pater.
II. I adore thee, divine food of the strong; strengthen my weakness, that I may ever be constant and faithful to thy love. Pater.
III. I adore thee, O my Jesus, hidden beneath the sacramental veil; let my life be hidden, through thee, in God. Pater.
IV. I adore thee, great God, who art the only way; make me ever to walk in the path of thy precepts, and after thy shining example, that so I may arrive at eternal salvation. Pater.
V. I adore thee, O Jesus, true and spiritual life of all who love thee, give me grace to die to myself, and to live to thee alone, who didst die for the love of me. Pater.
VI. I adore thee, my dear Redeemer, truth ineffable; enliven, I beseech thee, and increase my faith, that it may be fruitful in good works. Pater.
VII. I adore thee, O Jesus, divine light of the world; illuminate my mind, that, knowing, I may love thee, and may come to enjoy thee eternally in heaven. Pater.
VIII. I adore thee, O loving Shepherd; draw to thyself this wounded sheep, that it may never more leave thy fold, to fall into the hands of the infernal wolf. Pater.
IX. I adore thee, divine Lamb, who, for the sins of the world, didst give thyself to be slain; grant that I may bear all my sufferings patiently for thy sake, in satisfaction for my sins. Pater.
X. I adore thee, O Jesus, King of glory, Judge of the living and the dead; make me on earth so to fear thy justice, that in heaven I may eternally sing thy mercy. Gloria Patri.
Third decade: acts of thanksgiving
I. I thank thee, O divine Redeemer, that, not content with having for our sakes come upon the earth, thou hast instituted this adorable Sacrament, that therein thou mightst remain with us unto the consummation of the world. Pater.
II. I thank thee, O glorious Jesus, that thou dost veil, beneath the eucharistic species, thy infinite majesty and beauty, which thy angels delight to behold, that so I might have courage to approach the throne of thy mercy. Pater.
III. I thank thee, O Jesus most loving, that, having made thyself my food, thou descendest upon this tongue, which so often has offended thee, and dost enter within this body, which, alas, has too often deserved to be visited with thy anger. Pater.
IV. I thank thee, my dear Saviour, that in this ineffable Sacrament thou unitest me to thee with so much love, that I therein live in thee, and thou in me. Pater.
V. I thank thee, O my Jesus, that, giving thyself to me in this blessed Sacrament, thou hast so enriched it with the treasures of thy love: that thou hast not, thou canst not, thou knowest not, what greater gift to give me. Pater.
VI. I thank thee, O my good Jesus, that not only thou art become my food, but also in this blessed Sacrament offerest thyself a continual sacrifice for my salvation, to thy eternal Father. Pater.
VII. I thank thee, divine Priest, for that every day thou dost sacrifice thyself upon our altars, in adoration and homage to the most Blessed Trinity, and dost supply for our poor and miserable adorations. Pater.
VIII. I thank thee, O my Saviour, because, renewing in this daily sacrifice the very sacrifice of the cross offered on Calvary, thou dost satisfy the divine justice for us miserable sinners. Pater.
IX. I thank thee, dear Jesus, that thou hast become the priceless Victim, to merit for me the fulness of celestial favours. Awaken in me such trust that their abundance may ever more and more descend upon my soul. Pater.
X. I thank thee, my loving Saviour, that thou art immolated in thanksgiving to God for all his benefits, spiritual and temporal, which he has bestowed upon me, and which I yet hope to receive. Gloria Patri.
Three final aspirations
Each is followed by an Our Father. In the first, “N.” stands for the name of the Pope and of your own bishop.
I. Jesus, invisible and divine Head of thy spouse the Church, who, with thy blood, hast purified her from all stain, have mercy upon her visible head, N., upon all bishops and pastors (especially N. our own Bishop), and shed upon them thy holy Spirit, wherewith thy apostles and disciples were filled, that they may maintain thy holy faith pure and untouched, and may spread over the whole world the light of thy Gospel and of thy Catholic truth.
II. O Jesus, King of kings, Lord of governors, by whom monarchs do reign, and from whom all earthly power comes, mercifully behold our princes, and those in authority: infuse into them the spirit of thy divine wisdom, clemency, and justice, so that they may be great with thee rather than on earth, and may enter with thee into thy heavenly kingdom.
III. O Jesus, all merciful, who didst not will the death of a sinner, but that he should be converted, and rise to a spiritual life; triumph, I beseech thee, over all those who obstinately offend thee, so that, acquiring thy grace in this world, they may become worthy of the glory of thy heavenly Paradise for all eternity.
Why thirty-three?
Many Catholic devotions honor the thirty-three years that, according to tradition, Jesus lived on earth before his death and resurrection. In this chaplet each year becomes an act of faith, adoration or gratitude for the gift of himself that he left us in the Eucharist, where he remains with us “unto the consummation of the world,” as the first aspiration of thanksgiving says.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Chaplet of the Blessed Sacrament?
A devotion of thirty-three aspirations to Jesus in the Eucharist, arranged in three decades of faith, adoration and thanksgiving, with three final prayers.
When should I pray it?
During Eucharistic adoration, a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, a holy hour, or after Holy Communion.
Do I need special beads?
No. A Eucharistic chaplet with thirty-three beads is traditional, but you can use a rosary or count on your fingers.
More Eucharistic prayers
- Eucharistic adoration prayers
- Litany of the Blessed Sacrament
- Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
- Spiritual communion prayer
- Chaplets
- Chaplet of the Precious Blood
Texts and sources
- “The Chaplet of the Blessed Sacrament,” in A Prayer-Book for the Young, after First Communion (London, 1852), public domain (archive.org); one reading checked against Devotions for the Quarant’ Ore (London: Burns and Lambert, 1852).