Hands Over Face after receiving the Blessed Sacrament

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Hiromu

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After receiving the Blessed Sacrament, I pray with my hands over my face. I have always done that since my youth. Someone asked me where that came from. I did not know. Anyone know the tradition behind that?
 
we were taught years ago that time after communion was for silent person private meditation. now it is announcement, glad-handing, stop to visit those you know in the pews on the way back time. I put my hands over my face in the vain hope people will respect me as I am praying, but it seldom works, somebody will slap my back until I look up as if greeting them is more important then a few moments with my Savior, and is if they had not just received our Lord themselves.
 
I do it to concentrate. I have also seen people cross their arms over their chests & close their eyes, much like the paintings of adoring angels.
 
I do the same thing. I don’t put my hands flat on my face. I look down and put my fingers on my forehead with my thunbs kind of on the side of my face. It keeps me from having distractions.

Since a few of us do the same thing (as evidenced by in this thread), it is probably just a natural response that some people do, and not something that was taught in a book or anything.
 
Done this since I was a child. My chin is supported by my thumbs and my fingers are pointed in prayer alongside my nose. My eyes are closed since I am in prayer. Thankfully, my parish maintains the traditional silence (except for the choir’s choral meditation) until Our Lord is returned to the tabernacle. None of us sit down, btw, until this is done.
 
I’m presuming you do this after you return to your pew? You do need to see where you’re going or attend to your kids. Personally I don’t do it even at my pew but it’s ok if someone else wants to do it.

I don’t swallow the Host until I return to my pew, and then after a few moments of reflection of the immenseness, power, and glory I have in my mouth. Those that chew the Host on their way back apparently don’t feel a need to do this. .
 
BobP123 said:
I don’t swallow the Host until I return to my pew, and then after a few moments of reflection of the immenseness, power, and glory I have in my mouth. Those that chew the Host on their way back apparently don’t feel a need to do this. .
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same here. i want to be fully “in the zone” when i actually swallow Him. i think i also want the blood to “soak in” around the mouth or something, like with wine.

as for recollection, my eyes are usually closed throughout most of the Mass, especially after communion when in prayer mode. unfortunately the time is often abruptly cut short around here. i try to continue as soon as the last song is sung, but it isn’t quite the same.

with my eyes closed, i feel i am more focused while listening to the readings and less distracted when i don’t have to worry about seeing things around me or worried if someone is looking at me.
 
I was taught to 1) make the sign of the cross immediately after receiving the host; 2) swallow as quickly as possible; 3) kneel as soon as I return to my pew and cover my face and close my eyes in order to meditate upon the great gift that I have just received.
Just a thought that there may a delicacy issue involved as the recipient tries to get the host off the roof of the mouth with his/her tongue. That is not something anybody wants to watch or that most of us want anybody watching. Perhaps, the practice came out of courtesy.
 
No body is shaking hands or chatting after communion at our church thankfully. I do often put my hands over my face when praying, but also will look up to the crucifx hanging over the altar.
 
A lot of Protestants pray with the hands covering the face to facilitate concentration on the Lord and shutting out the world. Since Protestants usually don’t kneel (although this isn’t always true!), they use this as one method of showing reverence to God.

My husband and I often cover our faces when we return to the pews after Communion. I think for us, it’s a carry-over from Protestant days. It is still strange to us to pray with eyes open looking front.
 
I was really glad to see this question posted. I have done this for decades, without actually having been taught to do so. When I started wearing glasses some years ago, they had to come off so I could continue the gesture, but that didn’t slow me down. I find the hands-over-face posture so much more conducive to Thanksgiving than awareness of all the milling around associated with the remaining communion lines. Helps to block out some of the more “questionable” Communion “hymn” lyrics, too. The only thing that’s changed for me after Communion is that the “good nuns” taught us to say the “Prayer Before a Crucifix” as part of Thanksgiving. As an adult, I changed that into multiple repetitions of the “Jesus Prayer.”
 
Thank you for all the responses. I attend two very different churches - one in which songs (yes, multiple because of the size) are being played during communion. The other church, it is quiet
and, if any music get played, it is a soft instrumental.
.
If they only brought back the communion rails…
 
I tend to do it to. Never was taught to…just sort of happens. I did grow up seeing my father in that position quite often at mass.

The Anima Christi is my favorite prayer for after Holy Communion BTW:
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.
Separated from Thee let me never be.
From the malignant enemy, defend me.
At the hour of death, call me.
To come to Thee, bid me,
That I may praise Thee in the company
Of Thy Saints, for all eternity.
Amen.​

(Latin version)

ANIMA Christi, sanctifica me.
Corpus Christi, salva me.
Sanguis Christi, inebria me.
Aqua lateris Christi, lava me.
Passio Christi, conforta me.
O bone Iesu, exaudi me.
Intra tua vulnera absconde me.
Ne permittas me separari a te.
Ab hoste maligno defende me.
In hora mortis meae voca me.
Et iube me venire ad te,
Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te
in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.
 
Thanks, to Dustin’sDad -
For that “Anima Christi”. I remember it so well - and hadn’t heard it so long…I’ve made a note of it to keep it and pray it often.

God bless you for it.

Conservative
 
This is my practice also, with the addition of my thumbs over my ears to lower the volume of the “ditty” being sung. 😃 Just plain organ music would help the meditation! I second the motion - still say the Anima Christi and the Prayer Before the Crucifix going back to the days with the wonderful nuns who taught us.
 
DustinsDad said:
I tend to do it to. Never was taught to…just sort of happens. I did grow up seeing my father in that position quite often at mass.

The Anima Christi is my favorite prayer for after Holy Communion BTW: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.

Separated from Thee let me never be.

From the malignant enemy, defend me.

At the hour of death, call me.

To come to Thee, bid me,

That I may praise Thee in the company

Of Thy Saints, for all eternity.

Amen.
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I always say this (in my head, that is) after receiving Communion - I haven’t yet memorized it, but I’m trying. 😊
I don’t put my hands over my face after receiving, but I do make the sign of the cross and walk back to the pew with my hands folded and head down. It’s just such a solemn and personal experience - the most beautiful there is!
 
The Communion antiphon for the day (sung by the choir) works pretty well at the Extraordinary Form.
 
I do this too. But I don’t remember being taught it…

Maybe I was copying what my dad did?? Not sure…
 
Sometimes you never know how much you’ve lost! Opening up my new Missal, I began to read the prayers in the back. They were a long lost treasure. I forgot so many of them. I would hope that those people who print the NO Missalettes would incorporate these prayers into their books. 👍
 
Seeing the Anima Christi here makes me long for my previous parish. As a congregation we would pray the Anima Christi after all had received the Blessed Sacrament. Then after the recessional everyone waited in the pew and together we would pray “O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine…” Sigh. I still do it myself, but it’s just not the same…

I frequently have my eyes closed at Mass, and I usually kneel with my hands over my face during the consecration so that I can stay focused. I know that may seem backwards, but if I don’t do it I find myself completely distracted.
 
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