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HOLY COMMUNION Preparation
I am the Bread of Life.
He that eateth Me, the same also shall live by
Me.
EVERY conceivable motive, urges us to make the most
of our Lord's visits to us in Holy Communion — the
dignity and the goodness of Him Who comes; the
unworthiness and the need of those to whom He comes; the
liberality with which He rewards all who prepare fittingly
for His coming. "His Majesty is not wont to pay poorly for
His lodging, if He be well received," says St. Teresa. And
He Himself says, I will glorify the place of my feet.
We feel our Lord deserves the best welcome we can give
Him—a better welcome each time He comes. We desire to
give it Him. Yet, in spite of our desires, rather because
of them, we feel the need of guarding against the deadening
influence of routine by continually arousing our faith, that
so the frequency of His visits and the familiarity He allows
us, far from lessening our reverence and our love, may be
ever increasing in both.
Some find it helpful to consider in each Communion one of
the relations in which our Lord stands to us, and to color
their preparation and thanksgiving with the thoughts which
that relation suggests. One thought that has had time lo
sink into the mind and soak there is worth a hundred that
have touched the surface and run off. Such a thought will
bear fruit in strong affections of the heart and in firm resolves of the will, the result to which all preparation and
thanksgiving should tend.
To those who follow this method in their preparation and
thanksgiving, the following suggestions are offered, not a set form
to be adhered to, but as mere samples of what each of us may with
profit do for ourselves. As in the preparation for Confession, it is never supposed that
the
whole matter for one day will be used. A choice is offered
to suit different tastes and moods. St. Teresa says that these quarters of an hour after Holy
Communion are the most precious of our lives, and theologians teach that, as long as the sacramental species remain
within us, we receive grace proportioned to the fervor of
the acts we make.
Surely, then, if there are in our lives days of salvation
and an acceptable time, they are our Communion days, with
their time of thanksgiving. Defraud not thyself of the good
day is the counsel of the Holy Spirit.
1. You must humble yourself profoundly before God.
2. You must renounce your corrupt heart and disposition, however
good your self-love may make them look.
3. You must renew your consecration, and say: I am
Thine, and all I have is Thine.
4. You must beseech your good Mother to get you the
grace to receive her Son with the dispositions she had on
earth.
JUST BEFORE RECEIVING
1. When about to receive Jesus, after the Pater Noster, you
will say three times. Lord, I am not worthy.
The first time to the Eternal Father, telling Him that you
are not worthy, by reason of your evil thoughts and your
ingratitude towards so good a Father, to receive His only
Son; but that you have Mary with you. His handmaid, who
takes your place, as it were, and who gives you a singular
confidence and hope in the presence of His Majesty.
2. You will say to Jesus, the Son of God, Lord, I am not
worthy, telling Him that you are not worthy to receive Him,
by reason of your idle and evil words, as well as your faithlessness in His service, but that nevertheless you pray Him
to come to you, to have pity on you, and that you will not
let Him go, unless He will come to lodge with you. You will pray Him to rise and to come into the place of
His repose, and into the ark of His sanctification; and then
you will tell Him that you place no confidence at all in your
own merits, your own strength, or your own preparations,
but that you trust only in Mary your dear Mother, as little
Jacob did in the cares of Rebecca. Tell Him, too, that, sinner
as you are, you dare to approach His sanctity, because you
are supported by His holy Mother.
3. You will say to the Holy Ghost: Lord I am not worthy,
telling Him that you are not worthy to receive the masterpiece of His charity, because of the lukewarmness
and wickedness of your actions, and because of your resistance to
His inspirations; but that all your confidence is in Mary, His
faithful Spouse. Then say with St. Bernard: She is my trust,
she is all the reason of my hope.
OFFERING OF HOLY COMMUNION
I offer Thee, 0 my God, this Holy Mass and
Communion to the honour and glory of Thy most
holy Name, in commemoration of Thy ' sacred
Passion, in thanksgiving for all Thy benefits, in
satisfaction for all my sins, and as a means of
obtaining all the graces I stand in need of, in
order to serve Thy Divine Majesty in the most
perfect manner possible to me.
I offer this Holy Communion to Thee, 0
Eternal Father, in union with the offering my
dear Redeemer made of Himself on the Cross; in
thanksgiving for my creation, redemption, and
preservation; in union with all the intentions mv
Divine Saviour had in the institution of this most
holy Sacrament, with all the worthy Communions that were ever made to obtain eternal salvation, and the graces I stand in need of that I
may become more meek and humble, and particularly more charitable, obedient, patient and mortified; and that I may always do Thy Will with
exactness, fervor, and perseverance; the graces
necessary for the perfect spirit of my state and
the three theological virtues, the seven gifts of
the Holy Ghost, the grace of a happy death; Thy
love, Thy Cross, and Thy fear; the perfect spirit
of recollection and prayer, and increasing attention to Thy holy Presence, and in all my actions
to aim at perfection. I beg the same for all those
persons, for whom I ought to pray, particularly
(name them).
I offer it in atonement to the adorable Heart of
my most loving Jesus, for all the outrages it has
received, from myself and all mankind.
I also offer it for . . . for the conversion
of sinners, the perseverance of the just, and the
relief of the souls in Purgatory, particularly
. . . uniting my intentions with those of the
Church to obtain any Indulgence I may be
made partaker of, and for all the Church's intentions, that we may edify each other and sanctify
our souls, humbly imploring, in recommendation
of these my attentions, the intercession of the
glorious Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Vincent,
and all Thy Saints, particularly my Angel
Guardian and Patron Saint. Amen.
Who comes?
He, Who is King of kings, and Lord of lords,
the King of glory, a powerful King and greatly to
be feared, Who sitteth upon His throne and is the
God of dominion. He of Whom it is written:
On His head were many diadems. Thousands of
thousands ministered to Him, and ten thousand
times a hundred thousand stood before Hint.
And the armies that are in Heaven followed Him.
And the four-and-twenty ancients fell down before
Him and adored Him—and cast their crowns before the throne.
Afterwards He was seen upon earth, and conversed with men.
Art Thou a King then? . . . I am King.
For this was I born and for this came I into the
world. I am appointed King over Sion.
Yet how little He parades His royalty. Among
the things that are so sweet in the character of
our King, is the absence of condescension about
Him. He says so little about Himself. He comes
so silently into our midst. He drops so quietly
into our ways that we have to be continually
reminding ourselves Who He is. Kings never
succeed in putting those around them quite at
their ease. They betray themselves unconsciously
by the attentions they exact. Do you forget, said
one, that I am your king? With the King of
kings it is not so. He does not show us that He is
stooping to come among us, that He feels our
companionship trying, after what He has been
used to, that our ways and our rudeness jar on
His infinite refinement. No, He leaves St. Paul
to speak about the annihilation of His Incarnation : Taking the form of a servant, being made
in
the likeness of men, and in habit found as a mm.
PREPARATION FOR COMMUNION
He Himself seems to be, if we might venture to
say so, proud of what He gained by His coming.
He loves to call Himself the Son of man. And
once among us, He tries to be like us as far as He
can. What we have to do and bear, He will do
and bear, and as we take our daily privations and
troubles as a matter of course, so will He. He
speaks so seldom of Who He is, that some have
said. He has never told us plainly that He is God.
If He works miracles all day long during the three
years of the public ministry, it is for our sakes,
and He only speaks of them when our good requires that He should speak. Of His frightful
suffering He scarcely makes any mention - two or
three times, that is all - rand so calmly, quite as a
thing to be looked for. When they were over, He
said they were only what we ought to have
expected our Messiah to do for us. Ought not
Christ to have suffered these things? These
things, as if the mocking, and the scourging, and
the crucifixion, which had completely staggered
the faith of His disciples, were nothing so very
wonderful after all.
0 dearest King, who will give me a single
reason in the wide world why I should not love
You, why I should not dedicate to You every fibre
of my being, why I should not strive with all my
heart and soul and mind and strength to return
You love for love?
FAITH
It is a great glory to follow the Lord.
I know it, 0 Lord, I know it. And I know
how utterly unworthy I am to be ranked among
Your followers. Your personal attendants, Your
friends. I cannot understand in the very least
how You can have chosen me. But I make my
act of faith without understanding, and so come
to Your feet, that by union with You I may
become a little less unworthy.
LOVE
Thou also was with Jesus of Nazareth.
My King and My leader, put into my heart so
strong a love for You, that I may be eager to
follow you everywhere, even to pain and shame.
Let the reproach which was flung at Peter be my
glory. Let my highest ambition here, let my
happiness hereafter be, Thou also was with Jesus
of Nazareth.
To whom does He come?
I see the King standing on a grassy plain near
Jerusalem, surrounded by those who believe in
Him and love Him. He is fair and beautiful, and
the hearts of His servants go out to Him as He
stands there in their midst, on the green grass
with the wild flowers at His feet. I see Him
calling a certain number, a few to be His personal
followers, His intimate companions, His friends.
He chooses them here and there; He calls them
by their names one by one. Shall I say to my infinite surprise—shall
I say to my extreme confusion—shall I say to my intense joy, I hear my
own name called!
I see these so called stepping forth from the
ranks and forming a little inner circle round Him,
His personal companions, His friends. I will not
now call you servants, but friends. Such a call
is His free gift. He is Master of His gifts and
He dispenses them as He chooses. He binds all
men by the law of His commandments: He invites
a few to the following of His counsels—I am of
that few. Some souls He designs for great gifts,
others for greater, others again for greatest— am
elected to the greatest.
Well may I cast down my eyes; well may I
thank Him that He does not go by goodness or by
fitness, but by His own glorious freedom of choice.
0 GIFT OF GIFTS!
0 Gift of gifts, 0 gracious call,
My God, how can it be,
That Thou Who hast discerning love
Shouldst give that gift to me! How many hearts Thou mightst have had
More innocent than mine,
How many souls more worthy far
Of that sweet touch of Thine! Ah, grace! into unlikeliest hearts
It is Thy boast to come;
The glory of Thy light, to find
In darkest spots a home. Thy choice, 0 God of goodness! then
I lovingly adore;
0 give me grace to keep Thy grace
And grace to merit more. What shall I return? What shall I give Him?
Surely that for which He is looking—the correspondence befitting such a vocation. By
my profession I am called to the special praise, reverence,
and service of God. I must see that He gets this
from me. Like a courtier living in the palace,
always in the immediate presence of royalty, there
must be in my praise, reverence, and service, a
delicacy, an assiduity, an exactness, a generosity
not called for from those outside. Mine is a
service more nearly observed and to be more
gloriously requited.
God looks to Religious as to those with whom
He may solace Himself. Repelled by the generality of men. He turns to them—to open Himself
to them. Therefore no minimizing for me, no
paring down of a service, which when I have done
my best, He must use all His condescension to
accept.
But there are degrees of devotedness even in
the select corps. There are those who are content
to fulfill their engagements, to do their own work,
to keep in view the movements of their own
division. But as to the whole army, the general
interests, the following of the King closely—this
has no attraction for them—they are not eminent.
And there are those whose one desire is to
follow their King as closely as possible. Where
the battle is thickest, where the blows are hardest, where the marches are longest, and the burdens
heaviest, there they will be because He is there. Mortifications that are not necessary, pain, and
injuries, and ignominy are their choice because
they were His.
Always to do my very best for Him—All that I
can possibly do I will do for Him. This is the cry
of their hearts. It shall be my cry. He is a King
to live for—a King to die for—a King to Whom
it should be a joy to sacrifice personal interest,
convenience, comfort, health, strength, time, talents, life itself. Loyalty is a Catholic instinct.
In the great Rebellion the persecuted English
Catholics brought to the royal cause all the
resources that the penal laws had left them. Their
plate was melted down, their houses were turned
into strongholds for the king. So let it be with
all that is mine. Let me gather it all together
and lay it at the feet of my King. All is little
enough for such a one as He.
Let me do all that lies in me, to make my
Institution a stronghold in His cause. This it will
be if His principles reign supreme, if His service
is the thought paramount in every heart—not
those around me, certainly not I, for the first and
foremost consideration, but everywhere and
always the King—His interests. His glory, His
greater service.
For oh, what is the single end
Of this life's mortal span,
Except to glorify the God
Who for our sakes was man ?
Thy Kingdom come!—in my own heart first
and then in every heart that I can influence, in
those near and dear to me, in those entrusted to
me more than all.
My own heart first. Yes, for all strong, lasting
influence for good must spring from the interior
spirit. It must come of personal devotion to You
of close union with Your Sacred Heart. That
Heart must win me to detachment from comforts
and convenience, to detachment from honor and
reputation, to detachment from self in all its
forms, if I am to follow my Lord closely, and win
souls for Him.
I see Him holding out His hands and saying to
me: Will you come? He is asking for help,
asking for personal service, personal devotedness,
personal sacrifice—such as He has given to me.
Will you come? Will you be content with My
food, with My cup, with My clothing, content
to share My labors and privations, content this
coming year with My food—the Will of My
Father; with My cup—suffering; with My livery
— humiliations and reproaches? Will you come?
Can I hesitate?
0 Sovereign and true Leader, I fall on my
knees before You. I am not worthy, I am most
unworthy of Your call. But take me as I am. I
give myself up into Your hands. I will follow thee whithersoever Thou goest. In what place
soever Thou shalt be, my Lord King, either in
death or in life, there will Thy servant be. .
HUMILITY
How St. Francis Borgia prized his vocation!
perhaps the humility and gratitude of that humble
heart may find its way into mine, if I use his
words and ask to feel as he felt:
0 my Lord, in Whom alone I put my trust,
what is there in me that Thou shouldst look upon
me? What hast Thou found in me, that Thou
shouldst call me to form one of the Company of
Thy chosen servants! For they ought to be
valiant, and I am a coward; they ought to be
despisers of the world, and I am a slave to its
opinion; they ought to be haters of themselves,
and I am full of self-love. What then, didst Thou
find in me? Perhaps Thou didst perceive me to
be bolder than others in disobeying Thy commands, more indifferent to Thy glory, more
wedded to my own interests. Surely, if Thou
didst seek these things. Thou didst find them in
me!
Thy choice, 0 Lord of Goodness! then,
I lovingly adore,
Oh, give me grace to keep Thy grace, And grace to merit more!
CONTRITION
In return for all Your favors, My God, You do
not ask much, but You do ask for faithfulness
And I have been so unfaithful. There has been
so little alacrity in Your service, so much self-seeking, so many shortcomings every way.
Yet I know You will not have me to be discouraged. I know You are ready to take me up
at any time. Forgive me all there is to forgive—You know, my God, what that means. Could I
ask it of any other than You? Why does He come? He comes to fire my heart with the loyal love
of Him, with the devotion to His Person on which
the fervor of my service depends. He comes
to be near me, to put Himself within my reach,
to unite Himself intimately to me, that so I may
be able to appreciate His character, to learn His
ways, to know Him. Not to know Him is darkness and death. To know Him is light and life
eternal. This is eternal life, to know Thee, the
only true God and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast
sent. He is the Model on the Mount upon which
all the elect are to be formed. The knowledge of
Him is the condition in the order of God's
Providence for carrying out His mission in the
world.
What God required in the Apostles was not that
they should be learned men or able men, but that
they should know His Son. St. Peter, too, required it when he proposed another to fill the
place of Judas. Of these men who have companied with us, all the time that the Lord Jesus
came in and went out amongst us, . . . one of these must be made a witness with us. The
same personal knowledge was given to St. Paul,
revealed to him by Our Lord Himself. The same
is required in all those who by their vocation are
chosen to carry on the work of Jesus Christ. It
is the condition necessary to success. It is the
training the soldiers must go through before they
can be let loose upon the enemy. An instrument
to be efficient, must be united to the main agent;
we must be united to our Lord, we must study
Him, we must be like Him in His character, in
His ways, in His likings and dislikes, in His
methods, in His principles, if we are to influence
others as He did. He drew all to Him, that He
might draw all to God. We must draw all to God
by giving them to Jesus Christ.
Personal devotion to Him, familiarity with
Him, is then an obligation for us. It must be the
fruit of study and of prayer. We say of those
whom we love, and with whom we are familiarly
acquainted, "He would say this, he would act in
this way, this reminds me of him, this is like
him." So must we come to know Christ our Lord,
that we may conform ourselves to Him and bring
out His characteristics, some in one way, some in another. This is the secret of finding an easy way
into the hearts of all. Those who have this
strong, personal devotion to our Lord, have a
tact, an address, a facility of approach denied to
others. For those who know Him best, love Him
most, and are most blessed by Him. They are
most near Him and like Him here, to be most
near Him and like Him by-and-by.
This personal devotion to our Lord is the one
thing needed by many souls to make them all that
God wants, and all that they require to be most
useful in His service.
If this be true, 0 Lord, and I know that it is
true, then it is plain why You are coming to me.
I shall have much to talk to You about, much to
ask, and much to obtain from Your Heart.
HOPE AND DESIRE
Who comes?
The Word made Flesh for me,
The Lord Who died for me,.
The Love made Food for me,
He comes! To whom does He come?
To one redeemed by Him,
To one allied with Him,
To one who long's for Him,
He comes! Why does He come?
To reign upon His Throne,
To reign supreme alone,
To make me all His own,
He comes! PRAYER FOR HELP
0 my God, help me to make a good Communion. Mary, my dearest Mother, pray to Jesus for me. My dear Angel Guardian, lead me to the altar of
God. ACT OF FAITH
0 my God, because Thou hast said it, I believe
that I shall receive in Holy Communion the
sacred Body of Jesus Christ, and His most
precious Blood. I believe this with all my heart.
ACT OF HOPE
0 my God, relying on Thy infinite power and
goodness, and on Thy promises, I hope to obtain,
through Jesus Christ, the salvation of my soul.
ACT OF HUMILITY
My God, I confess that I am a poor sinner;
I am not worthy to receive the Body and Blood
of Jesus on account of my sins. Lord, I am not
worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof;
say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.
ACT OF SORROW
My God, I detest all the sins of my life. I am
sorry for them, because they have offended Thee,
my God, Who art so good. I am resolved never
more to commit sin. My good God, have mercy
on me, forgive me. Amen.
ACT OF ADORATION
0 Jesus, great God, present on the altar, I bow
down before Thee, I adore Thee!
ACT OF LOVE AND DESIRE
Sweet Jesus, I love Thee!
I desire with all my
heart to receive Thee.
Come to me and let me
never again be separated from Thee.
JESUS, MASTER, TEACH ME
Teach me, teach me, dearest Jesus,
In Thine own sweet loving way,
All the lessons of perfection
I must practice day by day.
Teach me Meekness, dearest Jesus
Of Thine own the counterpart;
Not in words and actions only,
But in meekness of the heart.
Teach Humility, sweet Jesus,
To this poor, proud heart of mine,
Which yet wishes, 0 my Jesus,
To be modeled after Thine. Teach me Fervor, dearest Jesus,
To comply with every grace,
So as never to look backwards,
Never slacken in the race.
Teach me Poverty, sweet Jesus,
That my heart may never cling
To whate'er its love might sever
From my Saviour, Spouse, and King.
Teach me Chastity, sweet Jesus,
That my every day may see
Something added to the likeness
That my soul should bear to Thee.
Teach Obedience, dearest Jesus,
Such as was Thy daily food
In Thy toilsome earthly journey
From the cradle to the rood.
Teach Thy Heart, to me, dear Jesus,
Is my fervent, final prayer.
For all beauties and perfections
Are in full perfection there.
Would that I could love Thee like St. Teresa,
who to receive Thee in Holy Communion, braved
dangers and tempests, exposing herself to relapse
into a dangerous illness, and saying to those who
desired her to be more careful of her health,
Permit me, permit me to go to Holy Communion!
I cannot live without my Jesus!
Would that I could love Thee like St. Francis
Borgia, who, in the presence of Jesus in the Holy
Eucharist, found himself so filled with the ardour
of Divine love, that he could distinguish by the
beating of his heart the tabernacles wherein
Jesus was enclosed.
Would that I could love Thee like that pious child who,
overflowing with joy on the eve of Communion, replied to those who
seemed surprised at her delight, Tomorrow, tomorrow I
communicate!
Would, in fine, that I could love Thee like that
other who spent all her time in preparing her
heart for Holy Communion, saying: This act of
self-denial is to adorn the dwelling of Jesus; this
duty, well performed, is to spread therein a sweet
perfume; this hour of silence, sacredly kept, is to
decorate it with flowers. Happy child, who lived
but for Jesus! and who now reaps the reward of
her fervor!
OFTEN 'TIS TRUE
Often, 'tis true, on my day's horizon
I see, as I wake, the clouds arise,
But within my heart I carry a whisper
That brings a light o'er the darkest skies.
A Memory bright as the golden sunset,
A hope as sweet as the fields in May,
"I am going to Holy Communion tomorrow,
I went to Holy Communion to-day."
All day long like a ballad-burden,
Rings in my heart that musical chime;
All my minutes swing backwards and forwards
Between the bliss of two points of time.
And I know that the grateful Heart on the Altar
Is touched to think that my own is gay
"Just because He is coming to-morrow
Just because He has been to-day." |
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