Prayer after Communion 3rd Sunday of Advent

This week we Lectio the Liturgy with the Prayer After Communion for the Third Sunday of Advent.

We implore your mercy, Lord, that this divine sustenance may cleanse us of our faults and prepare us for the coming feasts. Through Christ our Lord.

In this prayer, we are in a very humble position before God. To implore means to beg with tears. We are asking for some pretty important favors, though, and both of them come from the divine sustenance.

We know that divine means heavenly, or godlike, but the definition of sustenance amused me. In the Latin form of the prayer, for the word sustenance, we find the word subsidia. Subsidia was a military term that meant reinforcements or acting support to front line.

I was amused at this definition because as I prayed into this prayer, I got a sense of soldiers not only guarding the perimeter of a castle but also a line of soldiers guarding the inside of the gate as well. We are taught that the Eucharist is our spiritual food, but this prayer teaches us that it is our reinforcement as well.

We have two petitions in the prayer. First, we ask God that the divine substance would cleanse us of our faults. How does it do that?

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read, “Through the Eucharist those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. ‘It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins.’” CCC1436

When we receive Holy Communion, Jesus does not become like us. Instead, we become more like Him.

Second, we ask that this divine sustenance may prepare us for the coming feasts.

Living a Christian life does not mean that God does all the work. We need to respond and put some effort into it.

In Bible times, Jewish people prepared for a feast by cleaning their homes. To prepare for Passover, they also removed all leavened breads from their homes and gathered the herbs, unleavened bread and wine needed for the feast.

Preparing for the Feast of Christmas is the same for us as well. Advent is a time to not only prepare our homes, but to prepare our hearts for Jesus.

Sometimes the weight of our faults or the busyness of the season can distract us from all that God has for us. However, He is the God of more. He gives us divine sustenance, or heavenly reinforcements, that gives us the strength to do all things.

Thanks for praying with me,
Julie