The time has now come for us to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. This should be a moment of great longing and great joy. We are receiving our Lord and Savior, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
Before going up to Communion, we should pray for Jesus to come to us and enter our bodies, hearts, and souls. We can ask our Lady to help us prepare to receive her Son. We should also repent of our sins by praying an Act of Contrition and expressing our sorrow for having offended God. If we are conscious of any mortal sins, we must refrain from receiving the Eucharist until we go to Confession.
When we go up to Communion, we should do so deliberately, with concentration and devotion. When the priest, deacon, or extraordinary minister holds up the Host before us and says, “The Body of Christ,” we should recognize Jesus in our hearts and respond with a firm “Amen.” The same holds true with the chalice of Jesus’ Precious Blood.
After we receive, we should thank Jesus for coming to us. We might express our love for Him, offering Him everything we have and everything we are. We can ask Him to burn away our venial sins in the fire of His love (for that is what the Eucharist does) and to cleanse our hearts and minds and souls. We could bring Him our special intentions at this point as well, or we might also simply close our eyes and bask in the warm presence of Jesus’ love within us.
Some churches sing during Communion and/or afterward. We can participate, but we can also continue to pray silently, enjoying our intimate fellowship with Jesus. This is a special time that we should not miss through distraction or carelessness. It is a time to be with Jesus, Who is personally within us, radiating His love into us and filling us with His grace.
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