Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. St. Lawrence is probably best known popularly for being martyred alive on a gridiron and for his remark about being “well-done on this side, turn me over!” The jocularity tends to obscure just how barbaric a death Lawrence died during Valerian’s persecution.

I want to piggyback that remark, however, to talk about the period after Communion.

In the Novus Ordo Missae, the period after distribution of Holy Communion is relatively terse. The priest reposes whatever remains of the sacrament in the tabernacle and cleanses the vessels used to celebrate Mass. There should then follow a period of thanksgiving. That period of thanksgiving has two dimensions. There is supposed to be a period of individual thanksgiving. Having finished his work at the altar, the priest usually goes to the celebrant’s chair and sits down. This should be a period for silent thanksgiving.

This silent, individual thanksgiving is then summed up in the collective Post-Communion prayer, the “Prayer after Communion.” Here, the entire Church voices its thanks for what we have received. (It is not unlike the “Collect” at the beginning of Mass where “Let us pray” is actually an invitation for those present to do just that: bring their individual intentions that are then “collected” in common prayer.)

Please note that these are two wings of the same bird: individual thanksgiving and communal thanksgiving. I point this out because the individual thanksgiving element tends to get short shrift. Obviously, I cannot comment on whether “nine of the ten” who were healed returned to give thanks. But I can comment on the objective conditions during which that thanksgiving should take place, conditions often inimical to that focus.

This should be a period of silence. Silence is often a casualty in the Novus Ordo, especially at this point. Silence exists to foster recollection, to concentrate attention. So, to priests and parish liturgy authorities, I ask:

-please do not treat us to another musical performance, be it the soprano’s weekly solo, the organist’s display of keyboard prowess, or the equivalent of ecclesiastical elevator muzak. Silence is silent.

-please do not, dear Father, provide your meditations. This is your flock’s time to express thanks. Keep your thanks silent, i.e., to God and yourself.

-please do not pass the basket. Offerings should be made during the presentation of the gifts. This is not the time for people to be fumbling for envelopes or money.

-please do not read the bulletin. Most pastors have literate congregations and you’ve printed the bulletin anyway. (If you feel compelled to make some special announcements, they go after the Post-Communion Prayer, when thanksgiving has been expressed, not before.)

Speaking of printed stuff, if your parish does not have them, you might consider laminated cards in pews of classical “Prayers after Communion” like an Act of Thanksgiving or Anima Christi. An anthology is here.

And, finally, remember that thanksgiving takes a little bit of time. It should be somewhat extended. So, my St. Lawrence Day allusion: celebrants, please remain in the celebrant’s chair just a little longer to allow people to focus their individual thanksgiving. Concrete test: are you in place long enough to say a non-breathless Pater or Ave? Even a “Thanksgiving” prayer? Be more like St. Lawrence and stay in place for a bit. Please don’t return to the celebrant’s chair and sit on it as if it were St. Lawrence’s gridiron!

Why not try this weekend?