Happy Birthday, Mary!  Sept. 8 is the day when the Catholic Church celebrates Mary’s Nativity, nine months after Dec. 8, when we celebrate Mary being Immaculately Conceived.

Recently I was asked about what prayers I pray after communion (you may have noticed that sometimes Fr. Kevin prays for a bit after communion).  I do have two specific prayers that I pray after communion, and I thought I would share this with you here.

The first prayer I pray after communion is a prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola, sometimes called the “Suscipe” prayer.  Here is the prayer:

Take and receive, O Lord, my entire liberty, memory, understanding, and my whole will.  All that I am and all that I possess are from you.  I surrender all to your love and grace.  With these I am rich enough.  I desire nothing more.

 The second prayer is a prayer I learned from St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  The prayer was actually written by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, but Mother Teresa popularized it.  She would have her own Missionary of Charity Sisters prayer this prayer after communion.  Even still today if you ever are so blessed to attend a Mass with the Missionaries of Charity, they would probably pray this prayer out loud.

Dear Jesus, help me spread your fragrance wherever I go.  Flood my soul with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that my life may be only a radiance of yours.  Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with will feel Your presence in my soul.  Let them look up and see no longer me but only You.  Then I will begin to shine as you shine, so as to shine as to be a light to the world.

 Perhaps if you’re looking for some prayers to help you meditate after receiving Holy Communion, these are prayers you might consider (though there are also a number of other prayers for after receiving communion).  I simply share these prayers with you, as they have been very meaningful prayers to me and have helped me to meditate on the profound and sacred reality of having received the Most Blessed Sacrament, and an awareness of the Divine Presence of God now dwelling in me, and how that shapes every aspect of who I am and how I am to live.

Peace,

-Fr. Kevin

PS: A reminder for HAMPTON that we have our big special Mass next weekend at 3:00pm with a parish celebration to follow.  So in Hampton there will be NO 10:30am Mass, NOR 5:30pm Spanish Mass, only the Mass at 3:00pm, just for that day.

PS: A reminder for ACKLEY, that some members of the Ackley community will be doing the “Prayer Canvas” today, where members of the community will go house to house and simply ask if people would like a prayer for something.