Of all of the actions that we can carry out on this side of the veil, the most important is to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. Nothing can exceed its significance. Therefore, let us strive with every fiber of our being to receive Him frequently—if possible, on a daily basis—and to receive Him with a better disposition every time we approach the Eucharistic Banquet. If accomplished, our whole life will be an upward ascent in love for Jesus, the Bread of Life and the Son of the living God.
The Extreme Necessity of the Eucharist
Jesus taught with utmost clarity that, if we want to attain eternal life, then we need to “eat [His] body and drink [His] blood.” This we must read, meditate on, understand, live out, and preach to the whole world:
“I am the bread of life . . . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (Jn. 6:35, 53-54)
Repeatedly, Jesus insists on being the Bread of Life. We must truly believe in this essential reality. Furthermore, we must nourish ourselves on Jesus the Bread of Life. Our eternal salvation depends on knowing Jesus, believing in Jesus, obeying Jesus. This includes, as spelled out clearly by Christ Himself, consuming Jesus, receiving the Bread of Life into our souls in Holy Communion. This is so serious that it is a matter of eternal salvation or eternal loss.
Sorry But True Statistics
Archbishop Perez of Philadelphia recently stated that he wanted to launch an initiative to seek out the many lost and wandering sheep of his Diocese. He stated that only 18% of his flock—the Catholics of Philadelphia—were practicing. Among the Catholics of Germany, only 3% presently practice their faith by attending Mass on Sundays.
This vast plummeting of Mass attendance is due in large part to the widespread ignorance of what Holy Communion really is—a modern “Catholic identity crisis.” Sad to say, many Catholics, due to a lack of adequate catechetical formation, have only a vague understanding of the Mass and Eucharist. Many Catholics hold a Protestant interpretation; this so to say, they believe in a symbolic reality rather than in the True Presence.
This being the case, we would like to offer various suggestions on how to foster and enhance our belief in and fervor for our reception of Jesus, the Bread of Life, in Holy Communion. Our salvation and the salvation of many others depends on living out this fundamental Truth of our Catholic Faith.
1. Belief
Lord, I believe but strengthen my belief.
First and foremost, we must reaffirm our belief in the True Presence. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, at the moment of the consecration, the bread and wine are radically transformed into Christ. It is no longer bread and wine but truly and substantially the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, the Son of the living God.
Theologians, thanks to St. Thomas Aquinas, use the term transubstantiation, meaning that after consecration the appearances, or accidents, look like bread and wine, but the essence and substance is truly Jesus in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Many fail to come to Mass and receive Holy Communion because they are ignorant of this essential truth.
2. Sunday Obligation
At the very center, heart, summit, and pinnacle of every week, let us make a firm decision to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and never be absent, except for sickness or grave necessity. Our salvation depends on it! Moms and dads, resolve to bring the whole family to the Eucharistic Lord.
3. Arrive Early
For sports events, academic graduations, and work obligations, we are more than punctual. Even more so should the case be for Mass. Let us not shortchange the Lord, or give Him the crumbs from the table; let us give the Lord the best of ourselves, especially in our religious obligations. Let us not be like Cain, giving begrudgingly to God his sacrifice; rather, let us be like Abel, giving to the Lord our best (Gen. 4).
4. Full Participation
In sports there are the benchwarmers, the 2nd- or 3rd-string players who participate only to a limited degree. There are many Catholics in that same category. They may be present at Holy Mass physically, but they aren’t there mentally and spiritually—distracted, using their phone, thinking about lunch, wandering eyes. The Second Vatican Council, in Sacrosanctum Concilium, states that in Mass “all should participate fully, actively and consciously” in this greatest and most sublime of liturgical prayers.
5. Dress Appropriately
We are created in the image and likeness of God; through Baptism we have been transformed into sons and daughters of God. St. Paul reminds us that we are “ambassadors of Christ”—we represent the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Therefore, let us always recognize both our dignity and our eternal destiny. We want to reflect the beauty of God in our outward attire and recognize that our destiny is the eternal glory and beauty of our heavenly reward. Unfortunately, many dress carelessly or immodestly, and consequently many others are distracted or even tempted by uncomely apparel. May Jesus, Mary, and Joseph be our models.
6. Purification: Confession and Holy Communion
For us to receive worthily, we must be in the state of grace. This means that we must be free from mortal sin. The two sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion work together in support of each other. The more pure, clean, and transparent the soul, the more abundant the graces upon the reception of Holy Communion.
This analogy may be helpful: The windows in our home can easily become dirtied from the elements. They need Windex. Once we spray the dirty window, clean, and dry it, the window is transformed. The sun can now inundate the whole room. In a parallel sense, in the Sacrament of Confession, the Precious Blood of the Lamb cleanses our consciences, minds, hearts, and souls, so that Jesus, the Son of God, can enter into our beings and transform us with His brilliant light, peace, joy, and abundant love.
Therefore, confess often so as to enhance the efficacy of your Holy Communions!
7. Hunger and Thirst for Holy Communion
The angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, stated that one of the most important conditions for receiving Holy Communion is that we have an ardent hunger and thirst for Jesus. A verse from the Psalms further illustrates this point of hunger: “As the deer yearns for the running streams, so my soul thirsts for you, my God.” A person dying of hunger and thirst longs to be satiated by food and drink; so should it be for our soul, longing for union with the living God in Holy Communion.
8. Reverence
When we have arrived at the sublime moment of receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, we should approach Him with the utmost modesty, dignity, reverence, love, devotion and confidence—both in our exterior comportment as well as our interior disposition of the soul. Our hands should be folded, eyes fixed on Jesus, a reverential bow, and an “Amen” before receiving the Lord of Lords, the Kings of Kings, the Creator of the universe. No greater, more sublime, more exalted action exists in the life of the human person than this: receiving Jesus, the Bread of Life, in Holy Communion.
9. Beg Mary for Her Immaculate Heart
One of the secrets of the sanctity of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was her manner of receiving Holy Communion. This great modern saint would beg Mary for her Immaculate Heart so that she could receive Jesus worthily in Holy Communion. Never was there a person that ever received Jesus with greater devotion, attention, fervor, and love than His Mother. May she come to our aid and assist us in improving our reception of her Son in Holy Communion.
10. Thanksgiving
Upon receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, immediately we should open our hearts, minds, and souls with the greatest love possible and render to Him thanksgiving. Praise Him, thank Him, worship Him, implore Him, pour your hearts out to Him, beg pardon and reparation, and cast all your cares upon Him. It is only proper.
Bringing Christ to the World
Finally, in imitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who received Jesus into her Immaculate Heart at the Annunciation and went in haste to bring Jesus to others, let us bring Jesus to others and bring others to Jesus.
Dear friends in Jesus and Mary, let us strive on a daily basis to receive Jesus, the Bread of Life with greater love, fervor, and devotion. Our salvation and the salvation of countless souls depends on this most sublime truth and practice.
Our Lady of the Eucharist, pray for us!
Photo by Thays Orrico on Unsplash
