Prayers After Holy Communion: A Hymn of Thanksgiving: I give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, everlasting God. In your great mercy, and not because of my own merits, you have fed me, a sinner and your unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that this Holy Communion may not serve as my judgment and condemnation, but as my forgiveness and salvation. May it be my armor of faith and the shield of good purpose. May it root out in me all vice and evil desires and increase my love and patience, humility and obedience, and every virtue.
Make it a firm defense against the wiles of all my enemies, seen and unseen, while restraining all evil impulses of flesh and spirit. May it help me cleave to you, the one true God, and bring me a blessed death when you call. I beseech you to bring me, a sinner, to that glorious feast where, with your Son and Holy Spirit, you are the true light of your holy ones, their flawless blessedness, everlasting joy, and perfect happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Thomas Aquinas.
Prayer Before a Crucifix: Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus, I cast myself on my knees in your sight, and with the most fervent desire of my soul, I pray and beseech you that you would impress upon my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, with a true repentance for my sins and a firm desire of amendment, while with deep affection and grief of soul I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate your five most precious wounds, having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy of you, O good Jesus: “They pierced my hands and my feet; they have numbered all my bones.”
Anima Christi: Soul of Christ, sanctify me. The Body of Christ, save me. The Blood of Christ, fill me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from you. From the malicious enemy defend me. In the hour of my death call me. And bid me come unto you. That with your saints I may praise you. For ever and ever. Early Fourteenth-Century, Prayer- For Reverence: Lord Jesus, who in this wonderful sacrament has left us a memorial of your passion: grant us, we beseech you, so to reverence the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood that we may always feel in our souls the fruit of your redemption. Who lives and reigns, God, world without end.
For Closer Union: Lord Jesus Christ, pierce my soul with your love, so that I may always long for you alone, who are the Bread of Angels and the fulfillment of the soul’s deepest desires. May my heart always hunger and feed upon you, so that my soul may be filled with the sweetness of your presence. May my soul thirst for you, who are the source of life, wisdom, knowledge, light, and all the riches of God our Father. May I always seek and find you, think upon you, speak to you, and do all things for the honor and glory of your holy name. Be always my only hope, my peace, my refuge, and my help in whom my heart is rooted so that I may never be separated from you. – St. Bonaventure.
For the Fruits of the Passion: Most sweet Jesus Christ, grant that your passion may be to me a power by which I am strengthened, protected, and defended. May your wounds are to me food and drink by which I am nourished and sustained. May the sprinkling of your blood be to me an ablution for all my sins. May your death prove to me life everlasting. And may your cross be to me an eternal glory. May your resurrection be my sure hope of future glory. In these be my refreshment, my joy, my preservation and sweetness of heart. For Mary’s Assistance: Most Holy Mary, with confidence in your intercession, I ask your prayers that I may always have a great devotion to your Son in the Blessed Sacrament and that, as he has given himself to me, so may I dedicate my life to his love and service.
For Frequent Reception of Holy Communion: Loving Lord Jesus, who came into the world to bring the life of grace to those who believe in you, we humbly ask you to pour upon us all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. May those who have neglected you turn to you and long to receive you in Holy Communion, and may we who today received your Body and Blood learn to approach your sacred banquet daily with devotion. There we will receive the remedy for all our faults and be so nourished with the life of your grace that we may come at last to the happiness of life with you at your eternal banquet.
