Faith and Love fueled by the Holy Communion

We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift; and we beseech You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

The post communion collect above is a masterpiece of praise that prepares us to go out into the world and back to our mundane lives fueled by the grace given in the Sacrament of the Altar. The almighty God, whom we thank, has, in the context of the Divine Service, just refreshed us through the healthy infusion of His Body and Blood. He has cleansed us and forgiven our sins and we are about to head back out into the world. Thus we pray, according to the mercy promised in the Sacrament that He would strengthen us through that salutary gift, that is that He would strengthen us through the Holy Communion in faith and love. Faith fulfills the first table of the Law. Love for neighbor fulfills the second. Both are lived out in the world by what God promises and delivers in the Sacrament.