In my sermon in the parish today for Corpus Christi (NO) or second Sunday of Pentecost with the commemoration of the Octave (TLM - my attempt to capture the "spirit" of the recent clarification regarding Holydays) I spoke particularly about the required dispositions for receiving Holy Communion. Here is the text I put in the newsletter and on my parish website:At this time of the feast of Corpus Christi, we should remember that to receive Holy Communion, the following are required by the Church:I also noted that a person who is unable to receive Holy Communion may still receive many graces by participating devoutly at Mass and making a “spiritual communion” at the time that others go up to receive Holy Communion. The following is one prayer that you could use when making a spiritual communion. Here is the text of a prayer that can be used:Nowadays, some Catholics only come to Mass every few weeks. In such a case, it would be necessary to go to confession and form a firm resolution to attend Mass every week before receiving Holy Communion again.
- To be a Catholic in communion with the Church and to believe in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
- To be living in accord with the teaching of the Church and, if married, to be married according to the law of the Church.
- To be in a state of grace, free from any deliberate grave sin that has not been forgiven through the sacrament of Confession.
- To have fasted for at least one hour before Communion.
- To have prepared prayerfully to receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
Spiritual Communion
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present
in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there
and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
8 comments:
And a great blessing it was to hear such a "wake-up call" for those of us who occasionally receive Communion too routinely and without thinking. The Real Presence needs to be proclaimed far more often... So, thank you, Father!!
Father, could you put something more up about the Communion fast? This is something I don't know very much about.
I know many friends who are unable to receive communion as they are divorced and have remarried, but faithfully go to Mass at every opportunity. I think in their cases a spiritual communion must be a blessing.
Lord, I am not worthy....nor is my disposition as it should be...Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.
The Bishops of Australasia have given an instruction that everyone coming to receive Holy Communion must make some sign physically of the person's belief in The Blessed Sacrament. We have been told that each should make a very definate bow, at least, as well as answering "Amen" to the words "The Body of Christ". My experience is that most have taken this to heart and now give a proper bow before reception of Holy Communion. Some still genuflect and yet again, one or two still kneel down.
JARay
Very nicely put, I shall use it in next week's newsletter.
‘I know many friends who are unable to receive communion as they are divorced and have remarried, but faithfully go to Mass at every opportunity. I think in their cases a spiritual communion must be a blessing.’
Fr.
Is this really the purpose of a Spiritual Communion? A person who is divorced and remarried without an annulment would have turned away from God by committing adultery, a mortal sin and from my understanding although they would be free to attend Mass would be regarded as excommunicated.
They effectively could not make a confession because they are married outside the church and intend to remain so (which would fall under adultery) and therefore could not confess to it given they have no intention to end their married, consequently living there life in mortal sin and unable to receive to communion.
If a person was to remarry but regret their action enough to leave their second partner they could then express regret and repent and hence would be able to make a confession and go on to receive communion.
If I understand correctly to remain in a state of grace the only option for a person who is divorced but not granted an annulment would be a single life of celibacy as in the eyes of the church they would still be married and any relationship they were to have with any other person would be sinful.
Just a thought would the following be possible…
Could a divorced person who has chosen to remarry outside the church express regret on their death bed (probably because of fear of death and judgment) confess their sins (with the full intention of leaving their second partner if they were to live) then go on to receive Holy Communion before they die.
Or by choosing to live their life in mortal sin, have they effectively condemned themselves to hell and only be able to seek salvation in the infinite mercy of Christ.
Perhaps it would be best not to post this comment but to contact me via e mail (which is available on my profile) as I do not wish to offend anyone but rather wish to seek confirmation that my understanding of the matter is correct.
Catherine - thank you for your comment which raises an important point. Many people who are divorced and remarried are in that situation because of a lack of formation in the faith and therefore their conscience is not well informed. Coming back to the practice of the faith may be a gradual process and a spiritual communion would be a good way of obtaining the grace of repentance and conversion. We need to remember also that if a couple have children, separation may not be the best thing but living a celibate life together. (This is not as far-fetched as often presented.)
A person repenting on their deathbed could indeed receive the sacraments. A person will only go to hell for an unrepented mortal sin and God in his mercy allows for our often rather imperfect repentance.
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