Praying after mass?

[karoleck]

In addition to the prayers in the hand missals and red book, it can be wonderful to just sit quietly and read one or two of the traditonal hymns. The lyrics to How Great Thou Art, for example make a wonderful prayer.

That was my dad’s favorite Hymn,a great prayer of praise! Here are two after communion prayers that I sometimes like to recite—

St.Padre Pio’s Prayer after Communion.

Stay with me,Lord, for it is necessary to have you present so that I do not forget You.You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me,Lord, because I am so weak and I need Your strength,so that I may not fail so often.
Stay with me,Lord,for You are my life and without You,I am without fervour.
Stay with me ,Lord,for You are my light,and without You,I am in darkness.
Stay with me,Lord,so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me,Lord,for I desire to love You very much,and always be in your company.
Stay with me,Lord,if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me,Lord,for as poor as my soul is,I want it to be a place of consolation for You,a nest of love. Amen.​

**A Communion Prayer said by Sr.Mary Of The Holy Trinity(A Poor Clare Colettines of Jerusalem)**My Lord Jesus,here is my tongue that You may watch over it;that it may not utter more than pleases You;and that my silence may speak to You.
Here are my ears that they may listen only to the voice of duty,and to Your Voice,O Jesus!
Here are my eyes that they may not cease to behold You in every face and in every work.
Here are my hands and my feet that You may make them agile,that You may rivet them to Your service alone,to the execution of Your desires.'Here are my thoughts that Your Light may possess them.
Here is my heart that Your Love,O Jesus,may reign and rest in it! Amen.​

I was thinking that as I was typing these prayers; that both have a high degree of petition in them----I guess the saints well knew that Jesus likes us to focus on asking for our spiritual needs,even above those of our temporal (earthly) needs which are necessary.

In the end of the day,since Jesus is still in our souls,between 10-15min after we have received Him into our souls;it seems only right and just that we communicate with Him.Jesus likes OUR thoughts and OUR words(even the unexpressed sighs of our poor hearts),the prayers as above and those suggested by other posters, are only powerful to the measure that we make them our own.I mean “Lord have mercy on me a sinner” or " Lord,remember me when you come into Your kingdom" was enough to save a soul.

 

[Brooklyn]

Hi Charles,

It takes me almost an hour to pray a full Rosary of 5 decades.

That’s pretty amazing. I always try to be very meditative when I pray the Rosary, but I honestly don’t know how I could stretch 5 decades out to an hour without being severely distracted. Do you pause and meditate for long periods of time between prayers? I admit that I am bothered by people who rush through the rosary, saying 5 decades in about 5 or 10 minutes. To say the Rosary correctly, it absolutely must involve meditation and contemplation. But an hour to say 5 decades? Wow. And especially when you’re out walking or doing other things. How do you keep from being distracted?

 

[Langiappe1]

From Wikipedia… The Prayer to St Michael (traditionally)
The Prayer to Saint Michael is a prayer, used mainly by Catholics, which is addressed to Michael the archangel.

Pope Leo XIII added it in 1886[1] to the Leonine Prayers, which he had directed to be said after Low Mass two years earlier.[2] The practice of reciting these prayers after Mass was suppressed in 1964. However, Pope John Paul II referred to the St Michael prayer in his Regina Coeli address of 24 April 1994 as follows:

“May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle that the Letter to the Ephesians speaks of: ‘Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might’ (Ephesians 6:10). The Book of Revelation refers to this same battle, recalling before our eyes the image of St Michael the Archangel (cf. Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had this picture in mind when, at the end of the last century, he brought in, throughout the Church, a special prayer to St Michael: ‘Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil…’ Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against the forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world.”[3]

 

[Langiappe1]

Concluding prayers

A Saint Michael rosary.
O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, thou who dost shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to thee with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

Pray for us, O glorious St. Michael, Prince of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be made worthy of His promises.

Almighty and Everlasting God, Who, by a prodigy of goodness and a merciful desire for the salvation of all men, has appointed the most glorious Archangel St. Michael Prince of Thy Church, make us worthy, we beseech Thee, to be delivered from all our enemies, that none of them may harass us at the hour of death, but that we may be conducted by him into the August Presence of Thy Divine Majesty. This we beg through the merits of Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

 

[Marian_Man]

Christ is Sacramentally present within us for around fifteen minutes after receiving Communion. We should spend as much of that fifteen minutes as possible in prayer. Adoration, thanksgiving, etc.

 

[Etamin]

This is a good habit to develop. Any prayers and time spent in thanksgiving after Mass, will store for yourselves treasure in heaven.

He is always waiting for us, in the tabernacle. Why are we so quick to get away…

 

[Padraig1972]

I often would like to stay for longer, but in my parish the parish closes after eve mass on days. In the weekends there are always classes, baptisms, weddings and on sundays there are masses in polish, tamil and english after the mass i attend…so…well.

But i am fortunate enough to be able to go to church at daytime and can spend quiet hours alone with God.

I always pray after the mass and say thanks, over and over again. Can you thank God enough and pray too much? No.

 

[CallMeCatholic]

I typically just pray a prayer of thanksgiving for such a blessed opportunity, and for a continuation of holiness upon my departure from the Church.

 

[Steady_Eddy]

That’s pretty amazing. I always try to be very meditative when I pray the Rosary, but I honestly don’t know how I could stretch 5 decades out to an hour without being severely distracted. Do you pause and meditate for long periods of time between prayers? I admit that I am bothered by people who rush through the rosary, saying 5 decades in about 5 or 10 minutes. To say the Rosary correctly, it absolutely must involve meditation and contemplation. But an hour to say 5 decades? Wow. And especially when you’re out walking or doing other things. How do you keep from being distracted?

Praying the Rosary whilst out walking would I suppose be somewhat different time wise, watching traffic etc. I leave the house at about 7-25am, and arrive at the Church at about 7-35. I usually have just 3 decades complete when Mass begins at 8am. The remaining two I pray after Mass. I always begin my Rosary with an Act of Contrition, Apostles Creed etc. I then set and visualize the scene i.e. the Agony in the Garden etc for a period before reciting the prayers slowly, silently, and reflectively still meditating upon the scene, and, or, the beautiful words of the Hail Mary. And yes, I often pause between or even during prayers (little moments of affection) especially when at home or in a quiet Church. This is something that happens to me quite naturally, and I even fear talking too much about it. Some things I feel should be kept between oneself and God.

Anyway, it’s impossible to explain here what the Rosary actually means to me. I’m praying it privately like this since my very early twenties. I wrote a poem (Our Lady Speaks) about my meditation practice many years ago. Some have read it at CAF already. And then (having been asked) I wrote The Story Behind the Poem explaining how the poem came about. I’ll try to post both here, but if they are too long I will send them privately to you and all the other participants in this thread.

2 Cor 13:13
Eddy Barry

 

[jeannetherese]

Thank you for sharing the Padre Pio prayer-it fits so well with Lent when you want to just curl up around the foot of the cross and hang on to it for dear life.

 

[Diana_Catherine]

Sometimes I see people kneel immediately after mass, and was for a while attending mass where the majority of the people did so. They would kneel, then pray for about a minute or two.

So my question is, is there any particular prayer/prayers one should pray immediately after mass? Or is it just extra prayer time after receiving communion?

On Sundays I do my best to pray after Mass but I live in small town, but a very Catholic town and Mass is packed and every one knows everyone and it takes a very long time for every one to stop visiting and leave. Don’t get me wrong I am glad of this church and town being so Catholic but it is very hard for me to concentrate on prayers with people talking, (I try but I just can’t concentrate) so I usually try to say my thanksgiving prayers right after I receive the Eucharist. I try to sit toward the front so I have longer time.

During the week there is still talking afterward but it is much less and then I have more of a chance to pray after mass and I pray the prayers usually prayed after the Low Mass. I, also stay and say some novenas to particular saints represented at the church. I have noticed a couple of other people do that, also.

 

[Steady_Eddy]

**Story Behind the Poem
**
Our Lady Speaks is the only such work I’ve ever really completed. I wrote it on scraps of paper initially under very unusual conditions. I was actually squatting in a Council house (old family dwelling) which had been vacated by my parents for another of their choice. The whole house was empty of course, in a bad state of repair, and I had no electrics (not even lights) because the supply board said I wasn’t the legal tenant. My parents of course had given up the key in exchange for the key to the new house. Following that the Council sent me a legal letter suggesting I leave the house or else. I stubbornly chose the or else and stayed put. I am still living in that same house today now legally of course.

Since my early twenties I have studied and tried many forms of meditation but none compares even remotely with the Rosary because it’s so incredibly warm and personal. One evening whilst squatting in the house I lit some candles in the sitting room as it was getting dark outside and that’s when it all began. Having been seated for quite a while in the silence, and thinking about my early morning habit I began to write. I was amazed how quickly the words came, I just couldn’t keep pace with my thoughts and I didn’t have the proper writing materials to hand either. At one stage I stood up near the fireplace breathed a very deep sigh and leaned back against a lighted candle on the mantelpiece burning my shirt. When I realized what was happening I simply patted the flame out with my hand, returned to my seat, and continued writing. In the early hours of the morning I fell asleep fully clothed for a little while. When I awoke I checked my shirt which had a whole burned through it and the vest underneath was scorched also but my skin was okay. For the next few days I continued writing and rewriting, changing the odd word here and there, and enjoying every moment. I sent and showed the finished work to several people but apart from my niece who said she liked it I got no response at all.

In spite of the above I’m still crazy about the poem myself. I don’t feel it was written by me but rather through me. Looking back over it afterwards I could see it was plainly influenced not only by my meditation practice but also by the books I’ve read, my devotion to the Passion, the Eucharist, Our Lady, and my prayer life in general which focuses mostly on the welfare of others. I’m sure a poet or a more educated person than myself would have written the poem differently but then it might lose some of its childlike simplicity which I like very much.

Since the beginning I’ve never prayed the Rosary quickly nor audibly. It takes me almost an hour for a full Rosary of five decades. Of course others may differ but I find a nice slow even pace is best. Only then can we experience those delightful little pauses and affections, sometimes perhaps even losing the prayer altogether and basking in the silence. Perhaps that’s why Our Lady in Her wisdom gave us the Rosary beads along with the prayers so we could pause at will in the silence without losing our place on the chain, and then easily pick things up again later. I love the following words taken from a book I read many years ago.

“If you agree that the soul’s time of exaltation is a time of silence, try to receive the thought that therefore the time of silence is most likely to produce the soul’s exaltation”

The Rosary I believe can be the perfect gateway to that silence. With it Our Lady teaches us not only how to pray but how to listen attentively also to the sweet music of our souls.

Prayers for all
Eddy Barry

 

[Steady_Eddy]

**Story Behind the Poem
**
Our Lady Speaks is the only such work I’ve ever really completed. I wrote it on scraps of paper initially under very unusual conditions. I was actually squatting in a Council house (old family dwelling) which had been vacated by my parents for another of their choice. The whole house was empty of course, in a bad state of repair, and I had no electrics (not even lights) because the supply board said I wasn’t the legal tenant. My parents of course had given up the key in exchange for the key to the new house. Following that the Council sent me a legal letter suggesting I leave the house or else. I stubbornly chose the or else and stayed put. I am still living in that same house today now legally of course.

Since my early twenties I have studied and tried many forms of meditation but none compares even remotely with the Rosary because it’s so incredibly warm and personal. One evening whilst squatting in the house I lit some candles in the sitting room as it was getting dark outside and that’s when it all began. Having been seated for quite a while in the silence, and thinking about my early morning habit I began to write. I was amazed how quickly the words came, I just couldn’t keep pace with my thoughts and I didn’t have the proper writing materials to hand either. At one stage I stood up near the fireplace breathed a very deep sigh and leaned back against a lighted candle on the mantelpiece burning my shirt. When I realized what was happening I simply patted the flame out with my hand, returned to my seat, and continued writing. In the early hours of the morning I fell asleep fully clothed for a little while. When I awoke I checked my shirt which had a whole burned through it and the vest underneath was scorched also but my skin was okay. For the next few days I continued writing and rewriting, changing the odd word here and there, and enjoying every moment. I sent and showed the finished work to several people but apart from my niece who said she liked it I got no response at all.

In spite of the above I’m still crazy about the poem myself. I don’t feel it was written by me but rather through me. Looking back over it afterwards I could see it was plainly influenced not only by my meditation practice but also by the books I’ve read, my devotion to the Passion, the Eucharist, Our Lady, and my prayer life in general which focuses mostly on the welfare of others. I’m sure a poet or a more educated person than myself would have written the poem differently but then it might lose some of its childlike simplicity which I like very much.

Since the beginning I’ve never prayed the Rosary quickly nor audibly. It takes me almost an hour for a full Rosary of five decades. Of course others may differ but I find a nice slow even pace is best. Only then can we experience those delightful little pauses and affections, sometimes perhaps even losing the prayer altogether and basking in the silence. Perhaps that’s why Our Lady in Her wisdom gave us the Rosary beads along with the prayers so we could pause at will in the silence without losing our place on the chain, and then easily pick things up again later. I love the following words taken from a book I read many years ago.

“If you agree that the soul’s time of exaltation is a time of silence, try to receive the thought that therefore the time of silence is most likely to produce the soul’s exaltation”

The Rosary I believe can be the perfect gateway to that silence. With it Our Lady teaches us not only how to pray but how to listen attentively also to the sweet music of our souls.

Prayers for all
Eddy Barry

 

[domandcarols]

**Story Behind the Poem
**
Our Lady Speaks is the only such work I’ve ever really completed. I wrote it on scraps of paper initially under very unusual conditions. I was actually squatting in a Council house (old family dwelling) which had been vacated by my parents for another of their choice. The whole house was empty of course, in a bad state of repair, and I had no electrics (not even lights) because the supply board said I wasn’t the legal tenant. My parents of course had given up the key in exchange for the key to the new house. Following that the Council sent me a legal letter suggesting I leave the house or else. I stubbornly chose the or else and stayed put. I am still living in that same house today now legally of course.

Since my early twenties I have studied and tried many forms of meditation but none compares even remotely with the Rosary because it’s so incredibly warm and personal. One evening whilst squatting in the house I lit some candles in the sitting room as it was getting dark outside and that’s when it all began. Having been seated for quite a while in the silence, and thinking about my early morning habit I began to write. I was amazed how quickly the words came, I just couldn’t keep pace with my thoughts and I didn’t have the proper writing materials to hand either. At one stage I stood up near the fireplace breathed a very deep sigh and leaned back against a lighted candle on the mantelpiece burning my shirt. When I realized what was happening I simply patted the flame out with my hand, returned to my seat, and continued writing. In the early hours of the morning I fell asleep fully clothed for a little while. When I awoke I checked my shirt which had a whole burned through it and the vest underneath was scorched also but my skin was okay. For the next few days I continued writing and rewriting, changing the odd word here and there, and enjoying every moment. I sent and showed the finished work to several people but apart from my niece who said she liked it I got no response at all.

In spite of the above I’m still crazy about the poem myself. I don’t feel it was written by me but rather through me. Looking back over it afterwards I could see it was plainly influenced not only by my meditation practice but also by the books I’ve read, my devotion to the Passion, the Eucharist, Our Lady, and my prayer life in general which focuses mostly on the welfare of others. I’m sure a poet or a more educated person than myself would have written the poem differently but then it might lose some of its childlike simplicity which I like very much.

Since the beginning I’ve never prayed the Rosary quickly nor audibly. It takes me almost an hour for a full Rosary of five decades. Of course others may differ but I find a nice slow even pace is best. Only then can we experience those delightful little pauses and affections, sometimes perhaps even losing the prayer altogether and basking in the silence. Perhaps that’s why Our Lady in Her wisdom gave us the Rosary beads along with the prayers so we could pause at will in the silence without losing our place on the chain, and then easily pick things up again later. I love the following words taken from a book I read many years ago.

“If you agree that the soul’s time of exaltation is a time of silence, try to receive the thought that therefore the time of silence is most likely to produce the soul’s exaltation”

The Rosary I believe can be the perfect gateway to that silence. With it Our Lady teaches us not only how to pray but how to listen attentively also to the sweet music of our souls.

Prayers for all
Eddy Barry

That is so beautiful, God bless you, Eddy. I will be praying for you :’)

 

[roveau]

Christ is Sacramentally present within us for around fifteen minutes after receiving Communion. We should spend as much of that fifteen minutes as possible in prayer. Adoration, thanksgiving, etc.

I think it is way longer than that for food to totally break down in the stomach and then the intestines. The wine also takes a while to break down, rarely but sometimes the wine ‘repeats’ on me long after I have taken communion. St Teresa of Avila suggests we should spend at least an hour ‘with Him’ in prayer or thought after communion. That’s difficult I think as I have other times of the day dedicated to prayer or reading.

When the Mass is finished and the priest has disappeared into the sacristy. I recite a Credo,
Our Father,
Hail Mary,
Glory Be and a Fatima Prayer.

These are for the Intentions of the Pope. As this is often a requirement for an indulgence on special days of the year, I figure that it is a pretty powerful combination. Plus I think we often forget that our Holy Father in Rome needs our prayers. I sometimes say these before the Mass as well.