HWP: St. Thomas Aquinas' Prayer of Thanksgiving

Having begun the celebration of the birth of Our Savior, I now intend to turn to the next section in the 'Half-Way Prayers': Prayers of Thanksgiving after Mass. The first one is a beautiful prayer by St. Thomas Aquinas, complimentary to the one prayed prior to Mass. Enjoy!

I give you thanks, Lord, Holy Father,

Almighty and Eternal God,

who have been pleased to nourish me,
a sinner and your unworthy servant,
with the precious Body and Blood
of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ:
this through no merits of mine,
but due solely to the graciousness of your mercy.

And I pray that this Holy Communion
may not be for me an offense to be punished,
but a saving plea for forgiveness.
May it be for me the armor of faith,
and the shield of good will.
May it cancel my faults,
destroy concupiscence and carnal passion,
increase charity and patience, humility and obedience
and all the virtues,
may it be a firm defense against the snares of all my enemies,

both visible and invisible,
the complete calming of my impulses,
both of the flesh and of the spirit,
a firm adherence to you, the one true God,
and the joyful completion of my life’s course.

And I beseech you to lead me, a sinner,
to that banquet beyond all telling,
where with your Son and the Holy Spirit

you are the true light of your saints,

fullness of satisfied desire, eternal gladness,

consummate delight and perfect happiness.

Through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.