What prayer do Catholics pray after eating Holy Communion?
Before we consider that, the Roman Catholic Church (and many other mainline denominations) go through a “religious service” called the LITURGY. The definition of the word “liturgy” is “a formal public religious service for worship.” The Roman Catholic refers to the “Holy Communion” as the “Eucharist” (or “Mass”) and thus the liturgy for that service is called the “Eucharist Service.” As you may know, it is conducted by a man that they call their “priest” and throughout the service he goes through a long and detailed service. The “priest” will offer many readings (from a book which contains the whole order of the service) and the people (the “laity”) will respond at times with the same words offered during every Eucharist Service. He may also recite the Nicene Creed and the people will bow down at some point. And he will also offer many long prayers followed by more citations and further responses by the people. The last prayer recited (by the priest and the people) before partaking of the bread and wine is the well-known “Lord’s Prayer.” When the bread and wine are received, they are supposedly changed (supernaturally by the priest) into the body and blood of Christ. The priest will then perform the “Concluding Rites” by reciting various prayers (St. Michael’s prayer, the Rosary, etc.) followed by his “final blessing to the people.”
You may ask, “Why have you gone into some detail?” I have gone into detail to show you how “FOREIGN to Scripture” this so-called Holy Communion is. It is unscriptural on many levels. I will address 3 of the most egregious errors.
1) The Lord’s Supper is a simple yet solemn Memorial where we “remember the Lord Jesus in His death for us on the cross.” In Luke 22:19 we see the Lord instituting the Lord’s Supper: “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” Here we have, in a few words, the focus of the Lord’s Supper. The BREAD is simply a SYMBOL OF HIS BODY which He willingly laid down in death at the cross. As we look back to Calvary by faith, we remember that He “bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24) and was judged by God while our sins were laid upon Him (Isaiah 53:5-6, 10; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Then He cried out, “It is finished” and bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:31). He had paid the price that our sins deserved (Romans 6:23a). The CUP is the SYMBOL OF HIS BLOOD that was then shed to prove He had truly died (John 19:34). The Bible says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.” His blood has “washed us from our sins” and “redeemed us to God” (1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:5; 5:8-9). This blessed Memorial is just that, a REMEMBRANCE of what it cost our blessed Lord and Savior to forgive our sins and redeem us to God. The bread and wine are NOT “means of grace” but “symbols of grace.”
2) Prayers can be said, hymns can be sung, and Scripture can be read, but they will all focus on the Person of Christ and His atoning work on the cross. The prayers will NOT be long prayers read from a man-made book, nor will they be memorized prayers. The Lord condemns such prayers in Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not use VAIN REPETITIONS as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard for their MANY WORDS.” Our Lord said very few words when He instituted the Lord’s Supper and His example should be followed.
3) Last, but not least, the Lord’s Supper is not “conducted by one man” who may call himself a priest, pastor, or clergyman. The fact is “EVERY BELIEVER IS A PRIEST!” We see this in 1 Peter 2:5, “You also, as living stones, are…a HOLY PRIESTHOOD, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Perhaps during the observance of the Lord’s Supper one brother may offer a hymn (that is sung by all), another brother may then stand up to pray, followed by another brother reading and commenting on a passage of Scripture, and at some point, a brother will stand up to give thanks for the bread (which every believer in fellowship will eat) and then give thanks for the cup (which every believer will drink). It may or may not end with prayer or the singing of another hymn. All is led by the Holy Spirit who loves to guide the saints as they remember the Lord Jesus in His death for us (see Philippians 3:15b and John 16:14). Again, it is a simple Memorial Supper, not a formulistic service with vain and repetitious readings, creeds and prayers that supposedly results in the forgiveness of sins by partaking of the body and blood of Christ. (DO) (624.5)