By KAITLIN KLEIN
WONDERFUL ADVENTURE
As Advent begins, we enter into a time of silence to prepare for the birth of our Lord. The Church encourages a time of contemplation and longing as we wait for our Savior to break through the darkness. The silence of this liturgical season can be a focus for us as we continue to increase our reverence at Mass and awe of the Eucharist this year.
A beautiful practice that I find is often forgotten is silence before and after Mass. These times are of utmost importance as we prepare for and offer thanks for the greatest event on earth, the changing of bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Of course, prayer before Mass requires getting to church early, which I find personally difficult with young children! We do our best and are sometimes able to have some minutes of silence to offer intentions and ask for graces and to simply open our hearts and adore. There are also beautiful prayers of preparation before Mass in our tradition. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a good source for these (including prayers for after Mass), except in the Latin Mass missal, and many are in the Confraternity of Christian Mothers prayer book “Mother Love;” please let us know if you know of another source! However, a search online should prove helpful.
In addition to before and after Mass, there are a wealth of amazing prayers to say before and after Communion. I think many of these could be said before and after Mass as well. In “Mother Love,” before the "Prayers after Holy Communion" section, it reads, "Having received your Savior, remain for some time in silence before Him. Without forming any special thought or uttering any word, taste interiorly the sweetness of His presence. Then, slowly and with reflection, produce the following acts…." I benefit from reading this after each Communion to remind myself to be silent after receiving.
I find the prayers for after Mass an incredible treasure of the Church. St. Thomas Aquinas has moving prayers for before and after Communion or Mass; I highly suggest praying these. St. Augustine, St. Gertrude and St. Bonaventure have also written prayers that are valuable to pray. The Adore te Devote and the Anima Christi are both beautiful, and can be recited slowly and meditatively. Most of all, a resounding hymn of gratitude from the heart is most appropriate for after Holy Communion and Mass.
I have been to parishes where most people leave before the last hymn is over. I've also been to parishes where there is no sound after the recessional, and each person in the church kneels for a period of silence after Mass. The difference is striking, and a collective reverence for the intimacy of the Eucharist in each individual is profound. I challenge you to take the silence of Advent, and the beginning of a new church year, to increase your devotion to the Eucharist by beginning and ending the Sacrament of the Mass in adoring silence. What a gift – both for yourself and our Lord!