Assimilating Holy Communion
One
In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul offers the Eucharistic prayer said by Jesus in the upper room when he wasn’t even there. So important did the Lord value the Mass that He taught it to St Paul through the Apostles, who in turn passed it on to his leaders in Corinth and beyond to ensure proper Eucharistic celebration. “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, brook it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:23-24). These cherished words, the same we hear today at Holy Mass, makes clear an obvious but difficult truth: Jesus wants to dwell in us, so desperately in fact, that He is willing to miraculously change the bread and wine into Himself: Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, so that we eat Him and receive Him…and become Him! However, He offers this invitation to those whom He has invited to His banquet, and we must prepare ourselves beforehand with conversion of heart (cf. Mt 22:11-14) and with faith to discern His Real presence (cf. 1 Cor 11: 27-32).
Two
The CCC teaches in #1374, “In the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really and substantially contained.” This is what we receive with each and every Holy Communion. Jesus Christ, the God-Man, the Savior, Redeemer, and One Mediator between God and Man, comes to me…to me! To assimilate me into Divine Life. He does this to receive and Consume us, not to obliterate us, but to position us into the very heart of the Divine Godhead as children. As St. John Eudes says, “In Holy Communion and beyond, a Christian has a union with Jesus Christ more noble, more intimate, and more perfect than the members of a human body have with their head.”
Three
If we are receiving the very source and power of holiness and Divine Life every time we receive Holy Communion, then why are we not transformed as saints instantly? Why is it that after receiving Him, I go into the parking lot and insult the people who aren’t letting me out quickly enough? What a short memory I have, and how easily I compartmentalize the reality of Holy Mass and my life outside of Mass. How often I think of this life as the real world, losing sight of who is real and who is not!
When St. John received his mystical vision in the book of Revelation in chapter 3, He witnessed Jesus say, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Rev 3: 19-20).
Four
I am going to offer four steps that we can begin to take immediately that, when practiced, will begin to open our souls so that the Lord may enter there with greater power and depth at each and every subsequent Holy communion. First, pay close attention to the readings during the Liturgy of the Word. If possible, meditate on these readings before going to Mass. Let the sacred word seep deep in your soul. Second, practice Daily meditation, whether through our rosary or some other form, or both. Listen to God’s word, reflect on it, which is what we do during the vocal prayer of the Our Father and Hail Mary’s, and follow it up with a concrete resolution. Third, stay after Mass after having received Holy Communion and pray for five minutes, thanking Jesus for having chosen you and this moment to enter into you. Ponder His goodness and His love for you and ask Him to help you live a life of gratitude and service to your neighbor. Finally, find some time during the week to adore Him in the Blessed Sacrament. When we do these things, I promise, if we patiently persevere through the temptations to get off track, we will find the power of heaven at our disposal.
Five
Let us close with this prayer from a priest friend of mine, who offers this prayer from the altar after Holy Communion: Eucharistic Jesus, I praise you; I thank you; I love you; I firmly believe that you are truly Present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist; I firmly believe that you are truly Present in every Particle of the Eucharist; I thank you for making me a living tabernacle of your Real Presence in these minutes after Holy Communion; grant me the same disposition, understanding, reverence, and love of your Holy Mother each time she Received you, whether in Her womb or in Holy Communion; grant me the grace of Transforming Union in becoming a great saint. Amen."
-Based on the Prayer of the English Martyrs. Adapted by Father Edward Ahn