Prayer After Holy Communion

“Shine through me, and be so in me, that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul.” — St. John Henry Newman

Public Domain: The Crucifixion via Getty Museum.

The Prayer

Dear Jesus, help us to spread Your fragrance everywhere we go. Flood our souls with Your Spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly, that our lives may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come in contact with may feel Your presence in our soul. Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus! Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. The light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be ours. It will be You shining on others through us. Let us thus praise You in the way You love best, by shining on those around us. Let us preach You without preaching, not by words but by our example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what we do, the evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to You. Amen.

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About This Prayer

This Prayer After Holy Communion by Saint John Henry Newman is a beloved thanksgiving prayer prayed after receiving the Eucharist. It is often called “Radiating Christ” because of its imagery of allowing Jesus to shine through us into the lives of others. Newman beautifully captures the Catholic belief that Holy Communion is not just for personal sanctification but also for mission: that Christ, truly present in us, radiates outward to the world. The prayer is a call to become a living witness of Christ’s love, humility, and light.

When To Pray

This prayer is most fitting immediately after receiving Holy Communion at Mass, but it can also be prayed at the end of Eucharistic adoration or before beginning daily work as a way to “carry Christ” into the world. Many Catholics pray it during retreats, missions, or ministry gatherings to remind themselves that they are meant to be reflections of Christ’s presence.