Grátias tibi ago, Dómine, sancte Pater, omnípotens ætérne Deus, qui me peccatórem, indígnum fámulum tuum, nullis meis méritis, sed sola dignatióne misericórdiæ tuæ satiáre dignátus es pretióso Córpore et Sánguine Fílii tui, Dómini nostri Iesu Christi.
Et precor, ut hæc sancta commúnio non sit mihi reátus ad pœnam, sed intercéssio salutáris ad véniam. Sit mihi armatúra fídei, et scutum bonæ voluntátis. Sit vitiórum meórum evacuátio, concupiscéntiæ et libídinis exterminátio, caritátis et patiéntiæ, humilitátis et obediéntiæ, omniúmque virtútum augmentátio.
Contra insídias inimicórum ómnium, tam visibílium quam invisibílium, firma defénsio; mótuum meórum, tam carnálium quam spirituálium, perfécta quietátio; in te uno ac vero Deo firma adhǽsio, atque finis mei felix consummátio.
Et precor te, ut ad illud ineffábile convívium me perdúcere dignéris, ubi tu, cum Fílio tuo et Spíritu Sancto, Sanctis tuis es lux vera, satíetas plena, gáudium sempitérnum, iucúnditas consummáta et felícitas perfécta. Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
I give thee thanks, O Lord, most holy Father, almighty and eternal God, who hast vouchsafed, not for any merit of mine, but out of the condescension of thy goodness, to satisfy me a sinner, thine unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I pray that this Holy Communion may not be to me a condemnation unto punishment, but a saving plea unto forgiveness. May it be to me the armor of faith and the shield of good will. May it be the emptying out of my vices, the extinction of all concupiscence and lust, the increase of charity and patience, of humility and obedience, and of all virtues.
May it be a firm defense against the snares of all my enemies, visible and invisible; the perfect quieting of all my impulses, of the flesh and of the spirit; a firm cleaving unto thee, the one true God; and the happy consummation of my life.
And I pray thee that thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet, where thou, with thy Son and the Holy Spirit, art to thy saints true light, fullness of content, eternal joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
This is the great Thanksgiving after Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas — the prayer Grátias tibi ago, said by priests and faithful alike in the sacred minutes after receiving Holy Communion. It is the companion to his Prayer Before Communion (Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, ecce accédo): the one prepares the soul to receive, the other pours out the soul's gratitude once the Lord has come.
The prayer begins where all thanksgiving must — in the acknowledgment that Communion is pure gift. St. Thomas confesses himself "a sinner, thine unworthy servant," fed "by no merits of my own, but only by the condescension of thy mercy." From there it becomes a series of petitions that the Sacrament just received might bear its full fruit: that it be not judgment but pardon, an "armor of faith and shield of good will," the emptying-out of vice and the increase of every virtue.
As it rises the prayer widens to the whole spiritual combat and the whole of life — "a firm defense against the snares of all my enemies, visible and invisible… a firm cleaving unto thee, the one true God, and the happy consummation of my life." It ends by lifting the eyes from this Communion to the Communion of heaven: the ineffábile convívium, the ineffable banquet, where God himself is to his saints "true light, fullness of content, eternal joy." The Eucharist received on earth is the pledge and foretaste of that unending feast.
I give thee thanks, O Lord, most holy Father, almighty and eternal God, who hast vouchsafed, not for any merit of mine, but out of the condescension of thy goodness, to satisfy me a sinner, thine unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I pray that this Holy Communion may not be to me a condemnation unto punishment, but a saving plea unto forgiveness. May it be to me the armor of faith and the shield of good will. May it be the emptying out of my vices, the extinction of all concupiscence and lust, the increase of charity and patience, of humility and obedience, and of all virtues.
May it be a firm defense against the snares of all my enemies, visible and invisible; the perfect quieting of all my impulses, of the flesh and of the spirit; a firm cleaving unto thee, the one true God; and the happy consummation of my life.
And I pray thee that thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet, where thou, with thy Son and the Holy Spirit, art to thy saints true light, fullness of content, eternal joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Grátias tibi ago, Dómine, sancte Pater, omnípotens ætérne Deus, qui me peccatórem, indígnum fámulum tuum, nullis meis méritis, sed sola dignatióne misericórdiæ tuæ satiáre dignátus es pretióso Córpore et Sánguine Fílii tui, Dómini nostri Iesu Christi.
Et precor, ut hæc sancta commúnio non sit mihi reátus ad pœnam, sed intercéssio salutáris ad véniam. Sit mihi armatúra fídei, et scutum bonæ voluntátis. Sit vitiórum meórum evacuátio, concupiscéntiæ et libídinis exterminátio, caritátis et patiéntiæ, humilitátis et obediéntiæ, omniúmque virtútum augmentátio.
Contra insídias inimicórum ómnium, tam visibílium quam invisibílium, firma defénsio; mótuum meórum, tam carnálium quam spirituálium, perfécta quietátio; in te uno ac vero Deo firma adhǽsio, atque finis mei felix consummátio.
Et precor te, ut ad illud ineffábile convívium me perdúcere dignéris, ubi tu, cum Fílio tuo et Spíritu Sancto, Sanctis tuis es lux vera, satíetas plena, gáudium sempitérnum, iucúnditas consummáta et felícitas perfécta. Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
I give thee thanks, O Lord, most holy Father, almighty and eternal God, who hast vouchsafed, not for any merit of mine, but out of the condescension of thy goodness, to satisfy me a sinner, thine unworthy servant, with the precious Body and Blood of thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I pray that this Holy Communion may not be to me a condemnation unto punishment, but a saving plea unto forgiveness. May it be to me the armor of faith and the shield of good will. May it be the emptying out of my vices, the extinction of all concupiscence and lust, the increase of charity and patience, of humility and obedience, and of all virtues.
May it be a firm defense against the snares of all my enemies, visible and invisible; the perfect quieting of all my impulses, of the flesh and of the spirit; a firm cleaving unto thee, the one true God; and the happy consummation of my life.
And I pray thee that thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring me, a sinner, to that ineffable banquet, where thou, with thy Son and the Holy Spirit, art to thy saints true light, fullness of content, eternal joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.