Free daily prayer guide
Catholic Prayers Before and After Communion
Prepare your heart for Holy Communion and give thanks to Our Lord afterward. This selection includes the Our Father, two prayers for personal thanksgiving, and an Act of Spiritual Communion for times when you cannot receive sacramentally.
When to use it: For personal prayer before Mass, thanksgiving after Communion, or spiritual Communion when sacramental reception is not possible.
A short beginning
For thanksgiving after Communion, begin with the Anima Christi and allow time for quiet prayer. If you cannot receive sacramentally, go to the Act of Spiritual Communion below.
The suggested arrangement and explanations are by Novena Regina. The historical prayer texts are kept separate and have their sources shown below. No account or payment is needed.
Before Mass: turn your attention to God
You may begin your personal preparation with the Our Father. Ask that God’s will be done and that He forgive and guide you. These devotional suggestions do not replace the prayers of the Mass or your priest’s guidance about receiving Communion.
The Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Source: With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections (1911), Francis Xavier Lasance, page 153.
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After Communion: give thanks to Our Lord
The Anima Christi asks for union with Jesus and strength through His Passion. The prayer to Jesus Crucified asks for faith, hope, charity, contrition, and amendment of life while contemplating His wounds. You may choose either prayer or pray both attentively. The forms here follow With God (1911); the related library pages use slightly different English wording.
Anima Christi
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. Never permit me to be separated from thee. From the malignant enemy, defend me. In the hour of my death, call me, and bid me come to Thee, that with the saints I may praise Thee through eternity. Amen.
Source: With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections (1911), Francis Xavier Lasance, page 323.
Prayer After Holy Communion to Jesus Crucified
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity, true contrition for my sins and a firm purpose of amendment; and while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Thy five wounds, pondering over them within me, and calling to mind the words which David, Thy prophet, said of Thee, my good Jesus: “They have pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones” (Ps. xxi. 17, 18).
Source: With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections (1911), Francis Xavier Lasance, page 371.
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When you cannot receive: spiritual Communion
The Act of Spiritual Communion expresses love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and asks Him to come spiritually into the heart. This is an alternative for the circumstances described in the prayer, not an extra step required after sacramental Communion.
Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that Thou art in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I long for Thee in my soul.
Since I can not receive Thee now sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee as already there and unite myself wholly to Thee; never permit me to be separated from Thee.
Source: With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections (1911), Francis Xavier Lasance, page 322.
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Questions about this guide
Must I use these exact prayers?
No. They are traditional texts for personal devotion, not a required formula for preparing or giving thanks. Their petitions can help you pray attentively in your own circumstances.
Is spiritual Communion the same as receiving sacramentally?
No. The prayer itself distinguishes the two. It expresses faith, love, and a desire for union with Jesus when sacramental Communion is not possible.
Does this page explain whether I may receive Communion?
This page gathers devotional prayers, not a decision about your eligibility to receive. Speak with your priest about personal preparation, Confession, and questions concerning reception.
Sources and prayer texts
These prayers come from the sources named beside each text. The guide’s arrangement is an editorial selection, not a claim that the whole sequence appears as one service in the original book.
- With God: A Book of Prayers and Reflections (1911), Francis Xavier Lasance.