The minutes after Holy Communion are the most intimate of the Christian's week: the Lord is present within, body, blood, soul and divinity, under the sacramental species. The Church builds a sacred silence into the Mass after Communion precisely so that these minutes are not lost, and Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis urged that thanksgiving after Communion be recovered as a real time of prayer. The saints spent a quarter of an hour on it. This guide gives a shape for the silence in the pew, and for a few minutes after Mass if you can stay.

What you need

• The few minutes of silence after Communion at Mass, and if possible five more after the dismissal
• One or two prayers by heart: the Anima Christi, the Prayer Before a Crucifix, the Adoro Te Devote
• A pew, a kneeler and a closed missalette

When to pray it

At every Mass, from the moment you return to your place until the Prayer after Communion, and after the final blessing for as long as you can stay; it is a good reason to be in no hurry to leave.

Steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Return to your place and kneel or sit

   After receiving, walk back without hurry, and kneel, or sit if you cannot kneel. Close your eyes or fix them on the crucifix or the tabernacle. Put the hymnal down. The Church asks for a sacred silence at this point of the Mass; give yourself to it.

2. 2

   Step 2: Adore in silence

   For a full minute say nothing at all. Become aware of what has just happened: the Lord of heaven and earth has come to you, not as a symbol but in reality, as he promised. Let that fact fill the silence. If words come, keep them to the fewest: 'My Lord and my God.' 'You are here.'

3. 3

   Step 3: Give thanks

   Thank him. Thank him for coming, for the Cross that made this possible, for the priest who consecrated, for the faith that lets you believe. Thank him for one specific thing from the week. The whole Mass is called 'thanksgiving'; this is the moment to mean it personally.

4. 4

   Step 4: Offer yourself

   He has given himself to you; give yourself to him. In your own words or with the Prayer Before a Crucifix▾ ('Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus...'), offer him the day, your work, your family, your body and its weaknesses, your plans and the disruption of your plans. The Morning Offering▾ may be renewed here. Ask him to make of you what he made of the bread.

5. 5

   Step 5: Ask for what you need

   Now ask. Communion is the moment when he is nearest; bring him the grace you most need to live the week as a Christian, the person you are worried about, the sin you keep committing, the decision you cannot make. Ask for the fruits of Communion the Church promises: closer union with him, protection from mortal sin, deeper charity, and unity with the whole Church.

6. 6

   Step 6: Pray a traditional prayer of thanksgiving

   Close the silence with one prayer said slowly. The Anima Christi▾ is the classic: 'Soul of Christ▾, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. O good Jesus, hear me. Within thy wounds hide me. Suffer me not to be separated from thee...' Or pray the Adoro Te Devote▾, or an Act of Love▾: 'O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love.'

7. 7

   Step 7: Carry it into the day

   After the blessing and dismissal, stay a few minutes if you can and finish your thanksgiving. Then take one concrete resolution with you: an act of charity to do today, a person to forgive, a temptation to refuse. The sacramental presence lasts only minutes; the grace lasts as long as you cooperate with it. Leave as one who has been sent.

Tips

• Kneel or sit, close your eyes, and let the singing carry on without you if you need silence; the communion hymn is not obligatory for every person.
• Do not spend the time watching others go up. Look inward.
• One prayer said slowly is better than five said fast. Choose your prayer beforehand so you do not hunt for it.
• If you have received Communion unworthily, or fear you have, that is a matter for confession, not for anxiety during thanksgiving.

Related practices

• Mental Prayer (Meditation)

Related saints

• Saint Thomas Aquinas
• Saint Philip Neri