Dec 29 Mon
How can I prepare myself better for Holy Communion?
All Christians share the mission of attracting others to sanctity, encouraging them to get close to him, to feel united to the Church, and to extend the kingdom of God to all hearts. Jesus wants to see us dedicated, faithful, and responsive. He desires that we should be holy, very much his own ...
These great horizons of our Christian vocation, this unity of life built on the presence of God our Father, and action, can and ought to be a daily reality.
Jesus comes to us daily in the Eucharist. Our Lord comes very close to us. He wants to live more fully in our hearts. "Come, Lord," we tell him, "our hearts are waiting for you." We long to prepare ourselves to receive him worthily. Through our love, shown in deeds, we want to erase the record of past infidelities. Your holy impatience to serve God pleases him. But it will be fruitless if it is not accompanied by a real improvement in your daily conduct."
In the Book of Isaiah, we hear of a promise of the messianic banquet, which God is preparing for mankind. “The Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, of wine on the lees well refined. … He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces... Lo, this is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
This divine feast becomes a reality each day at Holy Communion. Just as Mary and Joseph awaited him in the stable at Bethlehem, so we should look forward to our daily meeting with Jesus in the Eucharist. We should try to fill our night period with desires to receive our Lord more lovingly when He comes into our souls.
“Have you ever thought about how you would prepare to receive our Lord if you could go to communion only once in your life?
We must be thankful to God that He makes it so easy for us to come to him, but we should show our gratitude by preparing ourselves to receive him very well."
If we want to apply St. Josemaría's words more effectively to our lives, now is the right moment for us to make the resolution to intensify our spirit of recollection, especially during the hours leading up to Holy Mass and Communion. A contemplative soul relishes the silence of the night; it becomes something indispensable. We should fill these hours with frequent spiritual communions, to express our daily eagerness to receive our Lord, in union with Mary: I wish, Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility, and devotion with which your most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervor of the saints.
“Ask our Lady, along with me, St. Josemaría says, to make it come true. Try to imagine how she spent these months, waiting for her Son to be born. And our Lady, Holy Mary, will make of you alter Christus, ipse Christus: another Christ, Christ himself!"