What a great summer it has been! Because the schedule is lighter, I have more time for home visits and blessings. I really enjoy these opportunities to get to know you better
I recently had a couple of people ask me the same questions so I thought it would be helpful to answer here:
1 - When I kneel down by the Altar as the Lamb of God is being sung what am I praying? Do I have a rote prayer or do I pray from the heart? That moment is one of my favorite parts of the Mass because it is a time of personal prayer. I don’t have a rote prayer – it just depends on the day what I am praying about. At that moment Jesus is on the Altar in the Eucharist and it is a time of adoration for me. I always kneel down and lean my forehead against the altar. I think of this moment of prayer captured by an artist who saw a returning veteran from WWI who stopped in the Church to pray. He kneels there by the by cross and leans into it. I can only imagine what he pouring out to the Lord. That is what that time of prayer is like for me. Sometimes it is simply thanksgiving for Jesus being there and coming to me, for a blessing I have experienced or someone in our parish has experienced. Other times I am placing my sorrows before Him. Other times asking for wisdom and strength. Other times I don’t really say anything, I am just being with Him.
2 - After communion when I look at Jesus on the cross what am I thinking or praying about? This is a bit particular to St. Mary on the Lake because from my chair I can look at Jesus
on the cross. At Sacred Heart I can’t look at the crucifix so I often look at the stained- glass windows if I get that moment of prayer. But after communion it is a time of
thanksgiving. My favorite prayer at this point is the Anima Christi and I pray it at every Mass in the silence of my heart:
Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, embolden me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
O good Jesus, hear me.
Within your wounds hide me.
Never permit me to be parted from you.
From the evil Enemy defend me.
At the hour of my death call me
and bid me come to you,
that with your Saints I may praise you
for age upon age.
Amen.
What are your favorite moments of Mass, those times of silent prayer for you where you experience Jesus close to you?
God Bless,
Fr. Todd
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