The Prayer before the Crucifix is a Roman Catholic prayer to Jesus which is said while kneeling before a crucifix

Crucifix

A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....

. It is often said by Roman Catholics after Communion

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

 or after Mass

Mass

Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...

.

The faithful receive a partial indulgence

Indulgence

In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...

 if they recite the prayer after Communion before a crucifix. On the Fridays of Lent

Lent

In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...

, the indulgence is a plenary indulgence.

Words of the prayer

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus,

while before Your face I humbly kneel and,

with burning soul,

pray and beseech You

to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments

of faith, hope and charity;

true contrition for my sins,

and a firm purpose of amendment.

While I contemplate,

with great love and tender pity,

Your five most precious wounds,

pondering over them within me

and calling to mind the words which David,

Your prophet, said of You, my Jesus:

"They have pierced My hands and My feet

They have pierced my hands and my feet

They have pierced my hands and my feet is a phrase that occurs in English translations of Psalm 22:16.-Text of Psalm 22:16:This verse, which is Psalm 22:17 in the Hebrew verse numbering, reads כארי ידי ורגלי in the Masoretic Text...

,

they have numbered all My bones."

Amen.

Alternative version

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

to 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 consider within myself

and mentally contemplate

Thy five most precious wounds,

having before mine eyes that which David,

the prophet, long ago spoke concerning Thee,

“They have pierced My hands and My feet,

they have numbered all My bones.”