For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord. — Psalm 89:2

Mass Readings: 1 Peter 5:5b-14/Mark 16:15-20 

A Prayer After Mass 

Half a century and a few years ago, when I was an altar server, it was the custom for the congregation to recite several prayers in English after Mass. As I recall, they included three Hail Marys, the “Hail, Holy Queen,” and a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. They weren’t part of the liturgy proper, and they went away, along with the Latin Mass, in the ’60s. 

If “prayers after Mass” were reinstated today, though, I would nominate for inclusion today’s first reading from St. Peter: “Humble yourselves under God” and “in your dealings with one another”; “Cast all your worries upon Him”; “Be sober and vigilant.” As I walk out of church to live in the world, there’s no better advice I can take with me. 

Prayer: All I am and all I do today, I entrust to You, my God.