Thanksgiving After Communion
(St. Thomas Aquinas)
I give Thee thanks,
O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God,
that Thou hast vouchsafed, for no merit of my own,
but of the mere condescension of Thy mercy,
to satisfy me,
a sinner and Thine unworthy servant,
with the Precious Blood of Thy Son
our Lord Jesus Christ.
I implore Thee,
let not this Holy Communion be to me an increase of guilt unto my punishment, but an availing plea unto pardon and forgiveness.
Let it be to me the armor of faith
and the shield of good will.
Grant that it may work the extinction of my vices,
the rooting out of concupiscence and lust,
and the increase within me of charity and patience,
of humility and obedience.
Let it be my strong defense against the snares of all my enemies,
visible and invisible;
the stilling and the calm of all my impulses,
carnal and spiritual;
my indissoluble union with Thee
the one and true God,
and a blessed consummation at my last end.
And I beseech thee that Thou wouldst
vouchsafe to bring me,
sinner as I am,
to that ineffable banquet where Thou,
with the Son and the Holy Ghost,
art to Thy saints true and unfailing light,
fullness and content, joy for evermore,
gladness without alloy,
consummate and everlasting bliss.
Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
