It remains for us to speak of the very act by which the gentle Jesus gives Himself to us: Holy Communion. To receive Communion well, several dispositions are necessary. One must be properly dressed, with clean and modest attire, reflecting the respect due to the divine presence.
Above all, one must have a right intention and understand the act being performed – that is, know the principal truths of the Christian faith, especially those concerning the sacrament of the Eucharist. One must also be in a state of grace, with a conscience purified of all mortal sin, for holy things are, in a sense, for the holy – or for those who wish to become so.
Anyone who would dare to approach the Holy Table with mortal sin on the soul would commit a grave sacrilege, like a new Judas. The Lord says: “I seek a pure heart, and there is My resting place. If you wish Me to come into you and remain there, cleanse the house of your soul, for every loving heart prepares for the one it loves the best and most beautiful dwelling.”
The effects of Holy Communion in us are admirable. First of all, it unites us to Jesus Christ, the source of all good. He gives Himself to us as intimately as He gives Himself to the blessed in Heaven, so that each person, after receiving Communion, may say with Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Jesus Christ who lives in me.”
As the spiritual nourishment of our soul, the Holy Eucharist increases within us the life of grace, just as bodily food sustains and strengthens physical life. By making us stronger and more united with God, it preserves us from sin and enables us to overcome temptation. It is the Eucharist that has formed the Saints, the heroes, and the martyrs.
“When one has God in one’s heart,” said a Christian general, “one never surrenders.”
Christian soul who loves Jesus, strive to adorn your heart with every virtue, with every flower: the violets of humility, the roses of love, the lilies of purity. Once you have received Jesus, you will long for frequent Communion, that habitual union with the Divine Child.
Admitted often to the sacred banquet, you will become filled with Jesus, who will strengthen you in innocence and piety. And, while awaiting the joys of Heaven, you will already taste here below how good the Lord is to those who love Him.
One day, Saint Alphonsus Liguori met in the streets of Naples a little girl, only five years old, who burned with the desire to receive the Bread of Heaven. The child followed every priest she saw, begging them with folded hands:
“Give me Jesus.”
The saintly doctor, intrigued, asked her a few questions, discerned the purity of her heart, and allowed her to receive Holy Communion.
“Oh!” he later said to one of his religious, “it is better to give Communion to a child of that age than to so many Christians whose hearts are filled with iniquity!”