Prayer After Communion

Q: How long should you pray after Communion?

There is no stopwatch. Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Sacramentum Caritatis (2007), n. 50, that "the precious time of thanksgiving after communion should not be neglected: besides the singing of an appropriate hymn, it can also be most helpful to remain recollected in silence." In practice: stay kneeling until the closing hymn, and if you can, stay a few minutes after Mass ends.

Q: What is the Anima Christi?

Anima Christi is Latin for "Soul of Christ" — the opening words of a prayer traditionally said after Holy Communion, addressing in turn the soul, body, blood, and passion of Christ — asking to be sanctified, saved, and hidden in His wounds. Its most quoted line is "Within Thy wounds hide me."

What to pray in the minutes after you receive — the short version, and four prayers Catholics traditionally use here.

You are back in the pew. This is the part most men waste. Kneel and pray something — even this:

Lord Jesus Christ, You have come to me. Thank You. Stay. Do not let today undo what You have just done. Make me quiet enough to notice You, and strong enough to go home and act like it. Amen.

All prayers →

Four traditional prayers after Communion

1. The Anima Christi

A classic thanksgiving after Communion. It begins “Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me,” and its centre of gravity is the line “Within Thy wounds hide me.” Full text in English and Latin, with its history: the Anima Christi.

2. The thanksgiving attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas

I give thanks to Thee, O Lord, most holy, Father almighty, eternal God, that Thou hast vouchsafed, for no merit of mine own, but out of Thy pure mercy, to appease the hunger of my soul with the precious body and blood of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Humbly I implore Thee, let not this holy communion be to me an increase of guilt unto my punishment, but an availing plea unto pardon and salvation. Let it be to me the armour of faith and the shield of good will. May it root out from my heart all vice; may it utterly subdue my evil passions and all my unruly desires. May it perfect me in charity and patience; in humility and obedience; and in all other virtues. May it be my sure defence against the snares laid for me by my enemies, visible and invisible. May it restrain and quiet all my evil impulses, and make me ever cleave to Thee Who art the one true God. May I owe to it a happy ending of my life. And do Thou, O heavenly Father, vouchsafe one day to call me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet, where Thou, together with Thy Son and the Holy Ghost, art to Thy saints true and unfailing light, fullness of content, joy for evermore, gladness without alloy, consummate and everlasting happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Traditional English text as printed at Liturgies.net, Prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas. A modern translation is printed at OurCatholicPrayers.

3. The Prayer before a Crucifix

Known from its Latin opening, En ego, O bone et dulcissime Iesu. It is prayed kneeling before a crucifix, and its natural moment is the thanksgiving after Communion.

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel and, with burning soul, pray and beseech Thee 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, Thy five most precious wounds, pondering over them within me and calling to mind the words which David, Thy prophet, said of Thee, my Jesus: "They have pierced My hands and My feet, they have numbered all My bones." Amen.

Traditional English text as printed at fssp.com, which also gives the Latin. The words the prayer puts in David's mouth are Psalm 21:17–18 in the Douay-Rheims, which renders them “They have dug my hands and feet. They have numbered all my bones” (drbo.org, Psalm 21).

4. The Suscipe of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Attributed to St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), the Suscipe is a prayer of total surrender. It begins, “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will …” Because the page that prints it carries a copyright notice, we link the full text rather than reprint it: the Suscipe at Loyola Press.

How long should you stay?

There is no stopwatch, and nobody is grading you. But the Church recommends that you not walk straight out. Pope Benedict XVI, in the 2007 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis, n. 50: “the precious time of thanksgiving after communion should not be neglected: besides the singing of an appropriate hymn, it can also be most helpful to remain recollected in silence.” That is a recommendation, not a law — but it is the Church's own counsel, and it costs you four minutes.

A working plan: kneel from the moment you return to the pew until the priest sits. Pray one of the prayers above. Then stay three to five minutes after the final blessing, before the parking lot takes your attention back. If you have children with you and three minutes is all you get, take the three minutes.

What men actually pray for here

The thanksgiving is not the place for a shopping list, but it is the place to be specific. Four things worth naming every week, in this order:

Thanks — for the sacrament itself, before anything else.
Your wife — by name, for one thing she is carrying.
Your children — by name, one each.
The one thing you keep failing at — named plainly, with a resolution for the coming week.

Then be quiet. That is the whole method.

If you could not receive

If you were not able to receive Communion — you could not get to Mass, or you are not in a state to receive and confession has not happened yet — make an act of spiritual communion: a prayer of desire for the Eucharist. If grave sin is what is standing in the way, the next step is confession, not a workaround; if it has been years, start with confession after years away.

Questions men ask

What prayer do you say after Communion?

Any prayer of thanks will do, and the shortest is often the best: thank Him, ask Him to stay, ask that nothing in the day undo what He has just done. Four of the traditional texts are above.

How long should you pray after Communion?

There is no fixed time. Sacramentum Caritatis n. 50 calls the time of thanksgiving after communion precious and says it should not be neglected, and recommends remaining recollected in silence. Kneel until the closing hymn, and stay a few minutes after Mass if you can.

What is the Anima Christi?

Latin for “Soul of Christ” — the opening words of a prayer traditionally said after Holy Communion, addressing in turn the soul, body, blood, and passion of Christ — asking to be sanctified, saved, and hidden in His wounds. Full text here.

What do you pray if you could not receive Communion?

Make an act of spiritual communion — a prayer of desire for the Eucharist when you cannot receive it sacramentally.