You have come to my heart, dearest Jesus, I am holding You close to my breast I'm telling You over and over, You are welcome, Little White Guest. It has helped me remember to cultivate this habit of immediately entering into conversation with Jesus upon receiving Him every single week. Learning this prayer has taught me how to talk and listen to Jesus during those most intimate moments when He is not only with me but within me. It was a concept that helped me then, and still helps me now. It allowed me to realize that I was not just eating a small wafer of bread, but I was receiving and welcoming a Little White Guest into my body and my heart. The little prayer card I received on my First Communion day with the prayer “Little White Guest” printed on it truly helped me to visualize this union with Jesus in the Eucharist. I’m not going to lie-it definitely sounded scary and confusing. I remember trying to wrap my small head around the concept of transubstantiation in second grade, attempting to understand what it really meant to consume His true Body and true Blood in the Eucharist. The following three prayers give me pause for reflection and prompt me to enter into true conversation with Him before the end of Mass. 3 Prayers to Pray After Receiving Communion It is a time to-quite literally-be with Him for a few minutes and to reflect upon all He has given me and all that He is. It is an opportunity for me to truly enter into communion with my Lord and to thank Him for allowing me to receive this precious gift-the gift of Himself. To this day, the interval of time immediately proceeding the receiving of Holy Communion and before the final blessing is my favorite time of the Mass. While most of my other “holy cards” found their forever home in one of my two large albums designated for them (yes, they were my most prized collection), this particular card I carried around with me for years until the words on the backside spewed out from memory every time I received the Body of Christ upon my tongue. It was a prayer card featuring an image of the Child Jesus on one side and a prayer called “Little White Guest” on the other side, given to me by my godmother. Of all of the gifts I received on that special day, however, the most meaningful gift ended up being the smallest one, and something that I still use every single week two decades later. The priest gave me the Rosary that I still use to this day, and my parents gave me a near-identical porcelain doll donning a white gown and veil and the same straight-across brown bangs as myself. I had a private Mass said just for me, and my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all came to witness me receiving Jesus in the Eucharist for the very first time.
My First Holy Communion day was one of the most memorable days of my childhood.
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