Making our thanksgiving after Communion

 By Rebecca Duncan

Communion by Legros (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

"The minutes that follow Communion are the most precious we have in our lives."  ~ St. Mary Magdalena de Pazzi


I've come to realize recently how important it is to make a good thanksgiving after communion.  I have always tried to spend at least a couple of minutes after Mass but it is so hard at any parish I ever go to.  Everyone is talking after Mass and sometimes even shouting, so praying can be difficult.  A lot of the time I end up just leaving as soon as Mass is over.  I've thought so many times about staying longer but it seems like the minutes are used up waiting for people to leave so I can have some peace and quiet to try to recollect myself.  But, the Saints stress that we should spend time in thanksgiving after we receive.  I've seen recommendations from half an hour to an hour from different saints but if that is too long then at least fifteen minutes would be a start.

I think we're missing a lot of graces if we neglect to give a proper thanksgiving after Mass.  Jesus told St. Faustina: "My great delight is to unite myself with souls...When I come to a human heart in communion, my hands are filled with graces which I want to give to souls. But souls do not pay attention to me: they leave me to myself and busy themselves with other things. They do not recognize love. They treat me as a dead object."


Continue reading at Rebecca's blog Otaku Catholic.