Holy Communion

Holy Communion is a Sacrament given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ and is available to us in a physical form when we attend Mass. Our part in this Sacrament is to receive fully the Living Christ in our hearts, to be changed and become more Christ like in our thoughts words and deeds. A full partaking of this Sacrament will occur, as our hearts are open, and faith is as much as it can be. Ultimately it is God who is giving, not the priest nor the form of liturgy. 

It is God who sees our true self and loves us unconditionally.

God exists as three persons united in love, one in existence with each other. The church on earth is the community of God and we must share in that community. We remember on that night when Christ first took bread and wine, he broke the bread and said this is my body similarly with the wine he gave it and said this is my blood, do this in remembrance of me. This offering of himself (fully God and fully man) was the foretelling of the sacrifice he would offer that very next day. These words were spoken to his Apostles, a community gathered round a table.

Jesus, before he ascended to Heaven imparted to us the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Blessed Trinity – to be our encourager, teacher and healer. That through the Holy Spirit working in us, others may be drawn to Christ. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn 13:35). “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (Jn 13:34). that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn 17-21)

The Eucharist is thanksgiving for God's love for us that we may share with others. It is right and proper that we attend mass the place where community comes together in a special way; to say sorry, to profess our faith, to offer worship and receive Holy Communion. God of course is not bound by our liturgy or physical boundaries. Through the Holy Spirit we can receive forgiveness, love and grace at any time. Our part is to be open to receive, believe in God's presence in our lives and allow ourselves to be changed, for without change we are not growing in God's love and become just a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).

We talk about spiritual Communion. I believe this is a moment, which could be part of a service. A time we set aside, to listen with our heart and soul, to invite God into our very being, to dwell within us, to heal us and enable us to love as he loved, to be one with him as only we can.

This can only be termed as a mystical moment, there is no need for set liturgical words (though it may help within the context of a service). I find it hard to be at Mass and not participate in the physical receiving of Jesus my lord, under the form of bread and wine. I find it hard to watch a Mass online, TV or radio - knowing the ultimate climax is missing. I spend time drawing close to God and receiving him spiritually, looking then for the changes I know he wants to make in me.

Other sources regarding Spiritual Communion

Spiritual Communion is a traditional practice of expressing to the Lord our longing for him and our desire for him to enter our hearts. St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) said:

“When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you.”

St. Jean-Marie Vianney (1786-1859), the famous country priest from Ars, France, once said “when we feel the love of God growing cold, let us instantly make a spiritual Communion. When we cannot go to the church, let us turn towards the tabernacle; no wall can shut us out from the good God.”

How might we go about making a spiritual Communion? St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868), the French “apostle of the Eucharist,” suggested the following format:

“If you do not receive (holy Communion) sacramentally, receive spiritually by making the following acts: conceive a real desire to be united to Jesus Christ by acknowledging the need you have to love His life; arouse yourself to perfect contrition for all your sins, past and present, by considering the infinite goodness and sanctity of God; receive Jesus Christ in spirit in your inmost soul, entreating Him to give you the grace to live entirely for Him, since you can live only by him; imitate Zacheus in his good resolutions and thank our Lord that you have been able to hear Holy Mass, and make a spiritual Communion; offer in thanksgiving a special act of homage, a sacrifice, an act of virtue, and beg the blessing of Jesus Christ upon yourself and all your relatives and friends.”

While there is no formula prescribed by the Church to make an act of spiritual communion, prayers composed by various saints are part of the Church’s rich treasury of devotions. One of the more popular acts of spiritual communion comes from St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787):

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament.

I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.

Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,

come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace You as if You were already there

and unite myself wholly to You.

Never permit me to be separated from You.

Amen