Why did Jesus institute the Blessed Eucharist? St. Josemaría told us: “It's like a man saying goodbye when duty calls him away from home; he has to go, and yet he wants to stay with the people he loves. He leaves them a photograph of himself, writing on it words of such burning love that they practically set fire to the paper. That is the most he can do, because for us human beings, where there's a will there isn't always a way. But what we can't do, God can. He goes away and yet he stays with us: so that we can eat him, and make ourselves one thing with him. Almighty God, you have made me understand the madness of love of the sacred Host."
Under the consecrated species the whole Christ is hidden, God and Man, the living bread which, because it is living, has the power to give life to those who receive it. Christ's Real Presence gives the Eucharist infinite supernatural effectiveness because it contains what is absolutely sacred, namely, Christ himself.
We must get rid of the obstacles that stand in the way of our Lord's presence in our souls. Our Lord waits for us to sanctify us so that we can be identified with Himself. This union marks our soul with the seal of Christ, making us progressively more like him, and leading us, through total identification with his Passion, to the summit of holiness.
There are real obstacles that make our union with our Lord less than complete, and prevent the Sacrament from having its full effect.
We must discover and root out the obstacles to grace. If we do, our Communions will have still more effect, bringing us more rapidly to perfect union with Jesus.
To receive Jesus Christ worthily we need certain habitual dispositions of both body and soul, which will prepare us for the moment of union we desire.
Preparation of our soul in the first place; it implies living in God's presence all day long; struggling to fulfill our daily duties as well as we can; and, when we commit some fault, feeling the need to ask our Lord's forgiveness and even to go to sacramental Confession if necessary. We prepare by filling our day with acts of thanksgiving and spiritual communions, so that “our life may be one of thanksgiving for having received him, and preparation to receive him again."
If our soul is in love, we will find that, in our work, our family life, and everything else, our heart is set on our Lord. The nearer we come to the moment of Communion, the more our desire to receive Christ should increase.
As well as preparing our soul, we also prepare physically, with the fast prescribed by the Church as a sign of respect and reverence, and by taking care of our appearance to come worthily to the greatest wonder in the world.
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