Fr. Stephano Manelli, OFM Conv, in his excellent book entitled Jesus Our Eucharistic Love, speaks about the importance of spending time in thanksgiving after receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion. But some Catholics wonder, "How much time should I spend? How much time is enough?" Citing the example of the Saints, Fr. Manelli writes the following:
The Saints chose, when it was possible, to set no time limit for thanksgiving after Communion, which would last at least a half-hour. St. Teresa of Jesus told her daughters, “Let us detain ourselves lovingly with Jesus and not waste the hour that follows Communion. It is an excellent time to deal with God and put before Him the matters that concern our soul. [...] As we know that good Jesus remains within us until our natural warmth has dissolved the bread-like qualities, we should take great care not to lose such a beautiful opportunity to treat with Him and lay our needs before Him.”
St. Francis of Assisi, St. Juliana Falconieri, St. Catharine, St. Paschal, St. Veronica, St. Joseph Cupertino, St. Gemma, and many others, used to almost always go into a loving ecstasy immediately after Holy Communion. As for the duration, only the Angels measured the time. Also St. Teresa of Avila nearly always went into ecstasy right after receiving Holy Communion, and sometimes it was necessary to carry her away bodily from the Communion grille.
St. John of Avila, St. Ignatius Loyola, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga used to make their thanksgiving on their knees for two hours. St. Mary Magdalene di Pazzi wanted it to continue without interruption. It was necessary to constrain her so that she might take a little nourishment. “The minutes that follow Communion,” the Saint said, “are the most precious we have in our lives. They are the minutes best suited on our part for treating with God, and on His part for communicating His love to us.”
St. Louis Grignon de Montfort used to remain for Thanksgiving after Holy Mass at least a half-hour, and he would not let there be any worry or engagement that could make him omit it. He said, “I would not give up this hour of Thanksgiving even for an hour of Paradise.”
Let us also then make the following resolutions: That we will so organize our time and our lives that we will remain in Thanksgiving after Holy Communion for at least fifteen minutes; And further resolve to allow nothing to stop us from taking this time for Thanksgiving. These minutes in which Jesus is physically present to our souls and within our bodies are heavenly minutes that we should by no means waste.
The attitude of those who simply want to "eat and run" is an attitude that is incompatible with the reality of what Communion really is. It betrays, among other things, a very utilitarian view of the Blessed Sacrament and of Holy Mass in general: I come to Mass primarily in order to receive the food of the Eucharist, and once I have done so, I am free to leave.
Imagine if you were invited to dine at the house of a most illustrious and important person: the Pope, the King, or anyone else of great influence in society. Would you leave his house immediately after dessert was served and you had partaken thereof? Would you "eat and run," as though the only reason for accepting the invitation was to partake of the sumptuous meal that was to be served? How would anyone witnessing such a thing think otherwise than, "He came only for the free food"?
In Holy Communion, we are invited to not just any banquet but to the Eternal Heavenly Banquet of the Angels and of the Saints. How could we simply "eat and run"? Are we there for Christ, or for what Christ gives us? Do we have more respect for the gift than for its giver? Of course, in the case of Holy Communion, Gift and Giver are one and the same. But leaving immediately after receiving the Blessèd Host is still akin to being there for what "I can get out of it" rather than being there for God Himself.
After receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion, we must spend time with Him. We must use the next half-hour (or the next 15 minutes at the very least) to converse with Him, to delight in Him, to unite our heart to His. All of the Saints, without exception, did just that. And it was in those intimate moments of uniting themselves to Christ sacramentally present in them through His Real Presence that the Saints grew in holiness in the quickest way possible.
If you want to become a Saint, spend time with Jesus after every Holy Communion you receive. These are truly like moments of Heaven given to us in this world.
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