At a recent Family of Faith gathering, some of our families shared some reflections on how their families pray together.  One family had mentioned how the children asked the parents about why they did not pray the Thanksgiving after Meals Prayer, as they had observed with their grandparents.  The parents humbly received the challenge from their children and have added it to the end of their meals.

I think this example highlights something many of us experience.  We can be pretty good about praying before our meals, but how often do we conclude our meal with a prayer of thanksgiving?  Perhaps some of us are not even aware that there is a standard prayer for after meals!  For reference, here is one I usually use:

We give you thanks, Almighty God, for these and all of thy benefits, which we have received from your bounty, through Christ, our Lord.  May the divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Now, this also applies to the meal of the Eucharist.  Many of us take time to show up a little early to pray as we prepare for Mass.  But it is not so common to see people remain after the final blessing to spend some time in thanksgiving for the gifts received in the Eucharist.  There are a variety of ways to offer thanksgiving, typically usually your own words, thanking God for the gift of His life shared in the Eucharist, praying that the graces received will bear fruit in your life,  guarding you from all of the threats that can throw you off from following Him.

There are some very beautiful prayers that have been composed over the years that can be used as well.  There is a Prayer after Communion written by St. Thomas Aquinas that can be found on the back of the white Pray Together booklets in our pews.  One of my favorite prayers is called the Universal Prayer, which has been attributed to Pope Clement XI.  It is rather long, but beautiful, and I share it here in case you would like to give it a shot.  Whatever prayer you offer, I encourage you to do something, as it will only strengthen your love for this sublime gift of His Body and Blood that He offers to us at each Mass:

Lord, I believe in You: increase my faith. I trust in You: strengthen my trust. I love You: let me love You more and more. I am sorry for my sins: deepen my sorrow. I worship You as my first beginning, I long for You as my last end, I praise You as my constant helper, and call on You as my loving protector. Guide me by Your wisdom, correct me with Your justice, comfort me with Your mercy,

protect me with Your power. I offer You, Lord, my thoughts; to be fixed on You;

my words: to have You for their theme; my actions: to reflect my love for You;

my sufferings: to be endured for Your greater glory. I want to do what You ask of me: in the way You ask, because You ask. Lord, enlighten my understanding,

strengthen my will, purify my heart, and make me holy. Let me love You, my Lord and my God, and see myself as I really am: a pilgrim in this world, a Christian called to respect and love all whose lives I touch, those in authority over me or those under my authority, my friends and my enemies. Help me to repent of my past sins and to resist temptation in the future. Help me to rise above my human weakness and to grow stronger as a Christian. Help me to conquer anger with gentleness, greed by generosity, apathy by fervor. Help me to forget myself and reach out toward others. Make me prudent in planning,

courageous in taking risks. Make me patient in suffering, unassuming in prosperity.  Keep me, Lord, attentive at prayer, temperate in food and drink,

diligent in my work, firm in my good intentions. Let my conscience be clear,

my conduct without fault, my speech blameless, my life well-ordered. Put me on guard against my human weaknesses.  Let me cherish Your love for me, keep Your law, and come at last to Your salvation. Teach me to realize that this world is passing, that my true future is happiness of heaven, that life on earth is short,

and the life to come eternal. Help me to prepare for death with a proper fear of judgment, but a greater trust in Your goodness. Lead me safely through death to the endless joy of heaven.  Grant this though Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Feast Day: May 14^th | Apostle and Martyr| Imagery: Bearded and Robed as an Apostle, Holding Scroll or Book of the Gospels, and/or an Ax, the instrument of his martyrdom.

On the feast of St. Matthias each year the church offers for our reflection in the Office of Readings, a homily by St. John Chrysostom on the call of St. Matthias. I place it before you today, (having no better words to say myself about this great addition to the Apostles) and wanting to focus our attention on what happens whenever the Church chooses, ordains, a man as a priest (or bishop, a full member of the apostles)! Chrysostom is reflecting on the scene given to us in Acts 1:12-27, right after the Ascension, when St. Peter calls upon the early Church to replace Judas who had lost hope in Christ and hung himself, and his emphasis cannot be underestimated: this is God’s choice, and made by the Church! All of us are called by God, within the Church, to some way of faithfully following the Lord, some way of witnessing to what we have seen of Christ’s power. Have you and I let the Church call that out from us?! Here is how the great golden-tongued-preacher told the story:

“In those days, Peter, stood up in the midst of the disciples and said…” As the fiery spirit to whom the flock was entrusted by Christ and as the leader in the band of the apostles, Peter always took the initiative in speaking: “My brothers, we must choose from among our number.” He left the decision to the whole body, at once augmenting the honor of those elected and avoiding any suspicion of partiality. For such great occasions can easily lead to trouble.

Did not Peter then have the right to make the choice himself? Certainly he had the right, but he did not want to give the appearance of showing special favor to anyone. Besides he was not yet endowed with the Spirit. And they nominated two, we read, “Joseph, who was called Barsabbas and surnamed Justus, and Matthias.” He himself did not nominate them; all present did. But it was he who brought the issue forward, pointing out that it was not his own idea but had been suggested to him by a scriptural prophecy. So he was speaking not as a teacher but as an interpreter.

So, he goes on, “we must choose from those men who lived in our company.” Notice how insistent he is that they should be eyewitnesses. Even though the Spirit would come to ratify the choice, Peter regards this prior qualification as most important. Those who lived in our company, he continued, “all through the time when the Lord Jesus came and went among us.” He refers to those who had dwelt with Jesus, not just those who had been his disciples. For of course from the very beginning many had followed him. Notice how it is written that Peter himself was one of the two who had listened to John, and followed Jesus.

“All through the time when the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning with the baptism of John” – rightly so, because no one knew what had happened before that time, although they were to know of it later through the Spirit. “Up to the day”, Peter added, “on which he was taken up from us – one of these must be made a witness along with us of his resurrection.” He did not say “a witness of the rest of his actions” but only a witness of the resurrection. That witness would be more believable who could declare that he who ate and drank and was crucified also rose from the dead. He needed to be a witness not of the times before or after that event, and not of the signs and wonders, but only of the resurrection itself. For the rest happened by general admission, openly; but the resurrection took place secretly, and was known to these men only.

“And they all prayed together, saying: You, Lord, know the hearts of men; make your choice known to us.” “You”, not “we”. Appropriately they said that He knew the hearts of men, because the choice was to be made by Him, not by others. They spoke with such confidence, because someone had to be appointed. They did not say “choose” but make known to us the chosen one; the one you choose, they said, fully aware that everything was pre-ordained by God. They then drew lots. For they did not think themselves worthy to make the choice of their own accord, and therefore they wanted some sign for their instruction. [From a homily on the Acts of the Apostles by Saint John Chrysostom (Hom 3, 1.2.3: PG 60, 33-36, 38).]

– Fr. Dominic sometimes considers what he would be pictured with if he were ever canonized a saint. Would it be a book or scroll, for carrying the Gospel to all places? Would it be the instrument of my death, or my death to self? It gives me pause to consider the things I often carry around, and how they seem to not bear much importance in light of eternal life…