7 Dispositions for Receiving Holy Communion Fruitfully

Holy Communion is the most sublime act we can aspire to on this earth. In the Eucharist, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ—the Son of God descends from Heaven to dwell in our souls! St. Peter Julian Eymard once said:

“The Eucharist is the supreme proof of Jesus’ love. After this, there is left but Heaven itself.”

The Lord urgently invites us to receive Him, because He longs to give us true life—eternal life—where we will be with Him forever:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (John 6:53).

Jesus desires that we receive Him as often as possible. Each Communion brings us an abundance of graces. Yet, the fullness of those graces depends on the dispositions with which we approach Holy Communion.

If you are wondering how to receive Communion well, keep in mind that preparation must be integral—both interior and exterior. The Church asks us to fulfill certain essential conditions so that we may receive the Eucharist worthily and fruitfully.

Ways to Receive Communion

1. Being baptized

The first and indispensable condition for receiving Communion is being baptized in the Catholic Church. Baptism is the gateway to sacramental life: it incorporates us into Christ and makes us members of His Church. Only through this sacrament can we receive the others.

The Eucharist is the sacrament that crowns Christian initiation. Therefore, only those who have already been baptized can receive Communion: because before uniting intimately with Christ at the Eucharistic table, it is necessary to have been born into the new life of grace through Baptism.

In simple words: without Baptism there is no Communion, because that belonging to Christ, which makes receiving Him sacramentally possible, does not yet exist.

Being in the State of Grace

Above all, it is essential to be in the state of grace. To receive Communion in mortal sin is to commit an even graver sin: sacrilege. St. Paul warned:

For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. (1 Cor 11:29)

Anyone who is aware of having committed a grave sin must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before approaching Communion. If someone is living in sin, he or she must regularize the situation: completely abandoning sin, repenting, and firmly resolving not to return to that life. Only then, with absolution, may one receive Communion. A priest cannot absolve someone unwilling to abandon a sinful life, since this shows there is no true repentance, a necessary condition for forgiveness.

If we receive Communion with our souls cleansed of mortal sin, grace increases. This is possible because we receive Christ Himself, the author of grace.

Venial sins are not an obstacle to receiving the Eucharist. Still, it is advisable to become aware of them, repent, and make a firm purpose to fight against our vices and bad inclinations. If it is Christ whom we are going to receive, we must have the delicacy of being as clean as possible, of preparing our hearts to host Him. Who among us would receive a king who comes to visit with a dirty house? Why can’t we behave in the same way with the Lord, who wants us to be His living tabernacles?

3. Knowing Whom we receive

Lgrace can bear fruit if we are fully aware of whom we are going to receive. Many people receive Communion without believing that Jesus Christ is really present in the Blessed Sacrament. How can the Lord work in their souls if they have no faith? It is essential that we educate ourselves, meditate in prayer on this mystery, that we realize that we are receiving Christ Himself, that we ask for a firm faith.

Just as Jesus asked for faith to heal the sick, cast out demons, or raise the dead, in the same way He needs our faith, that we open our hearts to work in it, so that His graces may multiply in abundant fruits in our souls. Jesus does not force us to believe, but He needs our consent to sanctify us.

In moments when we doubt His real presence or doubt His power to work in our lives and help us grow in virtue and holiness, we can pray this same ejaculation, which the father of a possessed child prayed, who asked Him to heal his son:

I do believe, help my unbelief! (Mc 9, 24)

As we grow in knowledge of the mercy that the Lord has shown us in the Eucharist, we will grow in awe of His works and in love. Saint Thomas Aquinas taught:

“The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love: it signifies Love, it produces Love”.

• You may be interested in: 4 Proofs of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

4. Receive Communion with devotion and right intention

Thirdly, we must receive Communion with the right intention. This means receiving it because we long to be united with Christ—out of love for Him, and to glorify and please God the Father.

Let us beware of receiving Communion out of routine, vanity, or social pressure. Many souls who get used to receiving Jesus this way eventually lose faith in the Eucharist and stop receiving Him. If we notice our hearts growing cold, let us make an act of love and correct our intention. Do not stop receiving Communion; rather, redirect the heart.

Saint Teresa of Jesus recalled:

“It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that Jesus comes down from Heaven every day, but to find another heaven, namely, our souls, in which He can delight.”

5. Prepare the body

The preparation for Communion is also physical, since we are a unity of body and soul. The Church asks the faithful to keep a fast of at least one hour before receiving Communion. This means not ingesting any type of food or drink in that period, with the exception of water and medications.

This sign reminds us that the Eucharist is a food different from all others, the Bread of Life, and that receiving it requires an attitude of waiting and spiritual hunger.

On the other hand, if we attend the wedding banquet of the Lamb (which is our wedding, because we unite with Him through Communion) we must dress according to the occasion. The Church invites us to dress with respect and decorum, as an external sign of the dignity of the sacrament we celebrate.

It is not about wearing expensive or elegant clothes, but about choosing an outfit that is simple, clean and modest, which reflects reverence and recollection. Just as we dress up to receive an important person, so too does our way of dressing manifest that we are entering the house of God and that we are going to receive Christ in Communion.

In short: external respect prepares and educates the heart for interior adoration.

Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer taught:

Have you ever thought how you would prepare to receive the Lord if you could receive Communion only once in your life? Let us thank God for the ease with which we can approach Him, but… we must show our gratitude by preparing ourselves very well to receive Him.

• You may be interested in: The 7 Fruits of Communion in Spiritual Life

6. Thinking frequently about the Eucharist during the day

Organizing our daily routine to give the Eucharist the priority it deserves greatly helps in our preparation for Communion.

Here are some practical tips:

• Pause during the day and remember that you will be receiving Jesus. Ask the Blessed Virgin to prepare your heart and beg your guardian angel to help you enter into God’s presence and remain there. Guard your heart from the noise of the modern world that distracts you.

• Prioritize Mass: Make Mass your daily priority. Saint Joseph Cottolengo replied to those who objected that they did not have time:

“Poor Management! Poor use of time!”

• Arrive Early: It is essential to arrive at the church a few minutes early to finish preparing your heart. Saint Augustine said:

“All the steps one takes to go and hear a Holy Mass are counted by an angel”.

• Meditate on the Readings: Searching for and meditating on the readings of the day in advance helps the Word of God speak directly to your heart and allows you to live the Eucharistic celebration more deeply.

7. Praying before Communion

The final essential step of the dispositions for communion is immediate prayer. Take your time to pray before approaching the altar or while moving forward in the Communion line. Saint Peter Julian Eymard taught a very practical method for praying at this moment:

1. Praise God the Father for having sent his Son back into the world in the Eucharist.
2. Thanks Jesus for making Himself present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
3. Ask Him for forgiveness for the times you have received Him with a poor disposition.
4. Beg Him for the grace to receive Him with holy love, fervor, and devotion.

This way of praying will enkindle your heart with desires for Jesus and will greatly please the Lord.

Prayers of Preparation for Communion

If you do not know how to pray before communion, we share two prayers written by great saints.

1. Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas

Almighty and Eternal God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sick I come to the Physician of life; unclean, to the Fountain of mercy; blind, to the Light of eternal splendor; poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.

Therefore, I beg of You, through Your infinite mercy and generosity, heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I thus receive the Bread of Angels, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility, contrition and devotion, purity and faith, purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul’s salvation.

Grant, I beg of You, that I may receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, but also its full grace and power. Give me the grace, most merciful God, to receive the Body of your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, in such a manner that I may deserve to be intimately united with His mystical Body and to be numbered among His members.

Most loving Father, grant that I may behold for all eternity face to face Your beloved Son, whom now, on my pilgrimage, I am about to receive under the sacramental veil, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen. Amen.

2. Prayer of Saint Ambrose of Milan

O loving Lord Jesus Christ,
I, a sinner, not presuming on my own merits,
but trusting in Your mercy and goodness,
with fear and awe approach the table of Your most sacred banquet.

For I have stained both my heart and body with many sins,
and have not kept a strict guard over my mind and tongue.
Wherefore, O gracious God, O awful majesty, I, a wretched creature,
entangled in difficulties, have recourse to You, the fount of mercy;
to You I fly for healing and take refuge under Your protection,
and I ardently desire to have Him as my Savior whom I am unable to face as my Judge.

To You, Lord, I show my wounds, to You I lay bare my shame.
I know that my sins are many and great and on their account I am filled with fear.
But I trust in Your mercy, which is endless.

Look down on me, therefore, with the eyes of mercy, Lord Jesus Christ, eternal King,
God and Man, crucified for men. Hear me, for my hope is in You;
have mercy on me, for I am full of sin and wretchedness,
You who never cease to let flow the fountain of mercy.
Hail Victim of Salvation, offered for me and for all mankind on the tree of the cross.
Hail, noble and precious Blood, flowing from the wounds of my crucified Lord Jesus Christ
washing away the sins of the whole world.
Remember, Lord, Your creature, whom You have redeemed with Your Blood.
I am grieved because I have sinned. I desire to make amends for what I have done.
Take away from me, therefore, O most merciful Father, all my iniquities and my sins,
that, being purified both in soul and body, I may worthily partake of the Holy of Holies;
and grant that this holy oblation of Your Body and Blood, of which though unworthy I purpose to partake,
may be to me the remission of my sins, the perfect cleansing of all my offenses,
the means of driving away all evil thoughts and of renewing all holy desires,
the accomplishment of works pleasing to You,
as well as the strongest defense for soul and body against the snares of my enemies.
Amen.

Amen.

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Temples of God

Remember, each time you receive Communion, you become a living tabernacle. You carry Jesus in your heart and can take Him wherever you go. Therefore, prepare your soul to be a beautiful dwelling for the Son of the Most High, who suffered so much for your salvation.

Follow the advice of St. Josemaría, and your preparation for Communion will transform the way you receive Him:

We must receive the Lord in the Eucharist as we would the great ones of the earth—better! With ornaments, lights, new garments… And if you ask me what kind of cleanliness, ornaments, and lights you must have, I will answer: cleanliness in each of your senses, adornment in each of your faculties, light throughout your soul.