7 Ways to Receive Communion Fruitfully

Communion is the most sublime act to which we can aspire 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! Saint Peter Eymard stated:

“The Eucharist is the supreme proof of Jesus’ love. After this, there is nothing more, except Heaven itself.”

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

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).

Jesus wants us to receive Him as often as possible. For each Communion we can receive abundant graces. However, the fullness of graces depends on the dispositions with which we approach to receive Communion.

If you wonder how to receive Communion well, you should know that this preparation for Communion must be comprehensive. The Church asks us to fulfill certain essential conditions for receiving Communion.

Ways to Receive Communion

1. Be baptized

The first and indispensable condition for receiving Communion is to be baptized in the Catholic Church. Baptism is the gateway to sacramental life, which 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 to the new life of grace through Baptism.

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

2. Be in God’s grace

First, it is essential to be in God’s grace. If one receives Communion in mortal sin, one commits a much more serious sin, which is sacrilege. Saint 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 conscious of serious sin must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation before approaching to receive Communion. In the event that one finds oneself living in sin, one must regularize their situation, completely abandoning the sin, repenting, and making the firm purpose not to return to that life. Then, confess and, with the absolution received, receive Communion. The priest cannot absolve someone who is not willing to abandon their life of sin because that indicates that there is no repentance, a necessary condition for receiving forgiveness.

If we receive Communion with a soul cleansed of mortal sin, grace is increased. All this is possible because Christ Himself is received, who is the author of grace.

Venial sins are not an impediment to receiving the Eucharist. However, 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. Know Whom we are receiving

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:

O Lord! I believe; help my unbelief, strengthen my trust. (Mt 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 be careful with communions out of routine, vanity, commitment. Many souls who get used to receiving Jesus in this way end up losing faith in the Eucharist and stop receiving Communion. If we notice that our heart is cooling, let us make an act of love and rectify our intention. Let us not stop receiving Communion, on the contrary, let us correct the course of the heart.

Saint Teresa of Jesus recalled:

“It is not in order to occupy a golden ciborium that Jesus comes every day from Heaven, but it is to find another heaven, that is, 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 about how you would prepare to receive the Lord if you could only take communion once in your life? »—Let us thank God for the ease with which we can approach Him, but… we must thank Him by preparing ourselves very well to receive Him.

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

6. Think 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:

• Stop at moments during the day and remember that you are going to receive Jesus. Ask the Blessed Virgin to prepare your heart and beg your guardian angel to help you enter into the presence of God and remain in it. 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:

“Bad Management! Bad time management!”

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

“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 better experience the entire Eucharistic celebration.

7. Pray before Communion

The last 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. Give thanks to Jesus for making Himself present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
3. Ask Him for forgiveness for the times you have received Him with a bad disposition.
4. Beseech Him for the grace to receive Him with holy love, fervor, and devotion.

This way of praying will ignite 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

Here I come, almighty and eternal God, to the sacrament of your only begotten Son, my Lord Jesus Christ, as the sick to the physician of life, as the stained to the fountain of mercies, as the blind to the light of eternal clarity, as the poor and destitute to the Lord of heaven and earth.

I beseech, then, your infinite goodness and mercy, that you may be pleased to heal my sickness, cleanse my filth, illuminate my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness, so that I may receive the Bread of Angels, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility, with such contrition and devotion, with such faith and such purity, and with such purpose and intention, as befits the health of my soul.

Grant me, Lord, that I may receive not only the sacrament of the Most Sacred Body and Blood, but also the virtue and grace of the sacrament! O most benign God!, grant me that I may harbor in my heart in such a way the Body of your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the adorable Body that He took from the Virgin Mary, that I may deserve to be incorporated into His mystical Body, and be counted as one of its members.

O most pious Father!, grant that this only begotten Son of yours, whom I now desire to receive hidden and under the veil in this life, I may deserve to see Him forever, uncovered and without a veil, in the other. Who with You lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

2. Prayer of Saint Ambrose of Milan

My Lord Jesus Christ, I, a sinner unworthy, trusting in your mercy and
goodness, come to partake in this Most Holy Banquet of the Altar.

I acknowledge that both my heart and my mind are stained with many
sins; and that my body and my tongue have not been carefully guarded.
Therefore, adorable God, I, a miserable sinner, in the midst of so many anguishes
and dangers, turn to You who are the source of mercy, since it is impossible for me
to excuse myself before your gaze of an irritated Judge. I fervently desire to obtain your forgiveness,
since you are my Redeemer and Savior.

To You, Lord, I present my weaknesses and sins so that you may forgive me.
I acknowledge that I have offended You frequently. Therefore, I humble myself and
repent and hope in your infinite mercy.

Forget my faults and do not punish me as my sins deserve. Forgive me,
You who are goodness itself.

Amen.

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Temples of God

Remember, every time you take communion, you become a walking tabernacle. You have Jesus in your heart and you can take Him wherever you want. Therefore, prepare your soul to be a beautiful dwelling place for the Son of the Most High God, who suffered so much for your salvation.

Follow the advice of Saint Josemaría and your preparation for communion will transform your way of taking communion:

We must receive the Lord, in the Eucharist, as the great ones of the earth, better!: with adornments, lights, new clothes… And if you ask me what cleanliness, what adornments and what lights you must have, I will answer you: cleanliness in your senses, one by one; adornment in your powers, one by one; light in your whole soul.