introduction

“When our Lord instituted the Eucharist during the Last Supper, night had already fallen. This indicated, according to St. John Chrysostom, that ‘the times had run their course.’ The world had fallen into darkness, for the old rites, the old signs of God’s infinite mercy to mankind, were going to be brought to fulfillment. The way was opening to a new dawn–the new pasch. The Eucharist was instituted during that night, preparing in advance for the morning of the resurrection.

“We too have to prepare for this new dawn. Everything harmful, worn out or useless has to be thrown away—discouragement, suspicion, sadness, cowardice. The Holy Eucharist gives the sons of God a divine newness and we must respond in ‘the newness of your mind,’ renewing all our feelings and actions. We have been given a new principle of energy, strong new roots grafted onto our Lord. We must not return to the old leaven, for now we have the bread which lasts forever.

“Think of the human experience of two people who love each other, and yet are forced to part. They would like to stay together forever, but duty—in one form or another—forces them to separate. They are unable to fulfill their desire of remaining close to each other, so man’s love—which, great as it may be, is limited–seeks a symbolic gesture. People who make their farewells exchange gifts or perhaps a photograph with a dedication so ardent that it seems almost enough to burn that piece of paper. They can do no more, because a creature’s power is not as great as its desire.

“What we cannot do, our Lord is able to do. Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man, leaves us not a symbol, but a reality. He himself stays with us. He will go to the Father, but he will also remain among men. He will leave us not simply a gift that will make us remember him, not an image that becomes blurred with time, like a photograph that soon fades and yellows, and has no meaning except for those who were contemporaries. Under the appearances of bread and wine, he is really present, with his body and blood, with his soul and divinity.”¹

“Anyone who desires to receive Christ in communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.”²

“Sometimes, indeed quite frequently, everybody participating in the Eucharistic assembly goes to Communion; and on some such occasions, as experienced pastors confirm, there has not been due care to approach the sacrament of Penance so as to purify one’s conscience. This can of course mean that those approaching the Lord’s table find nothing on their conscience, according to the objective law of God, to keep them from this sublime and joyful act of being sacramentally united with Christ. But there can also be, at least at times, another idea behind this: the idea of the Mass as only a banquet in which one shares by receiving the body of Christ in order to manifest, above all else, fraternal communion. It is not hard to add to these reasons a certain human respect and mere conformity.

“This phenomenon demands from us watchful attention and a theological and pastoral analysis guided by a sense of great responsibility. We cannot allow the life of our communities to lose the good quality of sensitiveness of Christian conscience, guided solely by respect for Christ, who, when He is received in the Eucharist, should find in the heart of each of us a worthy abode. This question is closely linked not only with the practice of the sacrament of Penance but also with a correct sense of responsibility for the whole deposit of moral teaching and for the precise distinction between good and evil, a distinction which then becomes for each person sharing in the Eucharist the basis for a correct judgment of self to be made in the depths of the personal conscience. St. Paul’s words, ‘Let a man examine himself,’ are well known; this judgment is an indispensable condition for a personal decision whether to approach Eucharistic Communion or to abstain.”³

Sacramental communion increases the communicant’s union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion each time they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.⁴

Our Lord told us: “I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you.”

We must fast one hour before Communion. Water and medicines do not break the fast. The elderly and those who are sick, as well as those caring for them, may receive Holy Communion even if they have consumed something within the preceding hour.⁵

One should receive Holy Communion with utmost reverence and devotion, bearing in mind that he is receiving Christ Himself and not just an ordinary piece of bread. In some countries where the Holy See has confirmed the consultation of the Bishops’ Conference, Holy Communion may be taken in the hand, however, every Christian has always the right to receive Holy Communion in the mouth.