Consideration XXXIV — Holy Communion

"Accipite, et comedite: hoc est Corpus meum" (Matt. 26:26).

Point I

Let us see: 1. the great gift that the Most Holy Sacrament is; 2. the great love Jesus showed us in this gift; 3. the great desire Jesus has that we receive this gift of His. Let us consider in the first place the great gift Jesus Christ has given us in giving us His entire self as food in Holy Communion. St. Augustine says that since Jesus is an omnipotent God, He has nothing more to give us: "Cum esset omnipotens plus dare non potuit." And what greater treasure, adds St. Bernardine of Siena, can a soul receive or desire than the most holy Body of Jesus Christ? "Quis melior thesaurus in corde hominis esse potest, quam Corpus Christi?" The prophet Isaiah cried out: "Notas facite adinventiones eius" (Isa. 12). Proclaim, O men, the loving inventions of our good God. And who, if our Redeemer had not given us this gift — who (I say) among us could have dared to ask for it? Who would ever have had the audacity to say to Him: Lord, if You wish to show us Your love, place Yourself under the species of bread and allow us to feed upon You? It would have been considered madness even to think of it. "Nonne insania videtur," says St. Augustine, "dicere, manducate meam carnem, bibite meum sanguinem?" When Jesus Christ revealed to His disciples this gift of the Most Holy Sacrament that He wished to leave us, they could not bring themselves to believe it, and departed from Him, saying: "Quomodo potest hic carnes suas dare ad manducandum? Durus est hic sermo, et quis potest eum audire?" (John 6:61). But what men could never have imagined, the great love of Jesus Christ thought of and accomplished.

St. Bernardine says that the Lord left us this Sacrament as a memorial of the love He showed us in His passion: "Hoc Sacramentum est memoriale suae dilectionis." And this accords with what Jesus Himself told us through St. Luke: "Hoc facite in meam commemorationem" (Luke 22:19). The love of our Savior was not satisfied, adds St. Bernardine, with sacrificing His life for us; before dying, He was compelled by this very love of His to give us the greatest gift of all He had ever given us — giving us Himself as food: "In illo fervoris excessu, quando paratus erat pro nobis mori, ab excessu amoris maius opus agere coactus est, quam unquam operatus fuerat, dare nobis Corpus in cibum." Abbot Guerric says that Jesus in this Sacrament made the ultimate effort of love: "Omnem vim amoris effudit amicis." And the Council of Trent expressed it even better, saying that Jesus in the Eucharist poured forth all the riches of His love toward mankind: "Divitias sui erga homines amoris velut effudit."

What a refinement of love, says St. Francis de Sales, would it be considered if a prince, sitting at table, were to send a poor man a portion from his plate? And what if he sent him his entire dinner? And what, finally, if he sent him a piece of his own arm to feed upon? Jesus in Holy Communion gives us as food not merely a part of His dinner, not merely a part of His Body, but His entire Body: "Accipite, et comedite; hoc est Corpus meum." And together with His Body, He gives us also His Soul and His Divinity. In short (says St. John Chrysostom), by giving you Himself in Holy Communion, Jesus Christ gives you everything He has and keeps nothing for Himself: "Totum tibi dedit, nihil sibi reliquit." And another author writes: "Deus in Eucharistia totum quod est et habet, dedit nobis." Behold (marvels St. Bonaventure), He whom the world cannot contain has become our prisoner in the Most Holy Sacrament: "Ecce quem mundus capere non potest, captivus noster est." And if the Lord in the Eucharist gives us His entire self, how can we fear that He would then deny us any grace we ask of Him? "Quomodo non etiam cum illo omnia nobis donavit?" (Rom. 8:32).

Affections and Prayers

O my Jesus, and who has ever induced You to give us Yourself as food? And what more remains for You to give us after this gift, to oblige us to love You? Ah, Lord, give us light and make us know what an excess it has been to reduce Yourself to food in order to unite Yourself with us poor sinners. But if You give Yourself entirely to us, it is right that we also give ourselves entirely to You. O my Redeemer, how could I have offended You, who have loved me so much, and who have done everything possible to win my love? You made Yourself man for me, You died for me, You made Yourself my food — tell me, what more was left for You to do? I love You, infinite Goodness; I love You, infinite Love. Lord, come often to my soul, inflame me entirely with Your holy love, and grant that I forget everything, so as to think of and love nothing but You.

Most Holy Mary, pray for me, and by your intercession make me worthy of receiving your sacramental Son often.

Point II

Let us consider in the second place the great love Jesus Christ showed us in this gift. The Most Holy Sacrament is a gift made solely by love. It was already necessary for our salvation, according to the divine decree, that the Redeemer should die and by the sacrifice of His life satisfy divine justice for our sins; but what necessity was there that Jesus Christ, after having died, should leave Himself to us as food? But so love willed. For no other reason, says St. Lawrence Justinian, did He institute the Eucharist than "ob suae eximiae caritatis indicium" — to make us understand the immense love He bears us. And this is precisely what St. John wrote: "Sciens Iesus, quia venit hora eius, ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, cum dilexisset suos, in finem dilexit eos" (John 13:1). Knowing that the time had come for Him to depart from this earth, Jesus wished to leave us the greatest sign of His love, which was this gift of the Most Holy Sacrament. This is precisely what those words mean — "in finem dilexit eos" — that is, "extremo amore, summe dilexit eos," as Theophylact explains with Chrysostom.

And note what the Apostle noted: that the time when Jesus Christ wished to leave us this gift was the time of His death. "In qua nocte tradebatur, accepit panem, et gratias agens fregit, et dixit: Accipite et manducate, hoc est Corpus meum" (1 Cor. 11). At the very moment when men were preparing scourges, thorns, and a cross to put Him to death, then the loving Savior wished to leave us this last sign of His love. And why did He institute this Sacrament at death and not before? St. Bernardine says He did this because signs of love shown by friends at death more easily remain in the memory and are kept more dearly: "Quae in fine in signum amicitiae celebrantur, firmius memoriae imprimuntur, et cariora tenentur." Jesus Christ, says the saint, had already given Himself to us in many ways before: He had given Himself as companion, as teacher, as father, as light, as example, and as victim. There remained the last degree of love, which was to give Himself to us as food, to unite Himself entirely with us, as food unites with the one who takes it; and this He did by giving Himself to us in the Most Holy Sacrament: "Ultimus gradus amoris est, cum se dedit nobis in cibum, quia dedit se nobis ad omnimodam unionem, sicut cibus et cibans invicem uniuntur." Thus our Redeemer was not satisfied with uniting Himself only to our human nature; He wished, by this Sacrament, to find a way to unite Himself also to each one of us in particular.

St. Francis de Sales said: "In no other action can the Savior be considered more tender or more loving than in this one, in which He annihilates Himself, so to speak, and reduces Himself to food, in order to penetrate our souls and unite Himself to the hearts of His faithful." Thus, says St. John Chrysostom, to that Lord upon whom the angels dare not fix their eyes, "Huic nos unimur, et facti sumus unum corpus, et una caro." What shepherd, the saint adds, ever feeds his sheep with his own blood? Even mothers give their children to nurses to feed them; but Jesus in the Sacrament feeds us with His own blood and unites us to Himself: "Quis pastor oves proprio pascit cruore? Et quid dico pastor? Matres multae sunt, quae filios aliis tradunt nutricibus; hoc autem ipse non est passus, sed ipse nos proprio sanguine pascit." And why did He make Himself our food? Because (says the saint) He ardently loved us, and so He wished to unite Himself entirely and become one thing with us: "Semetipsum nobis immiscuit, ut unum quid simus; ardenter enim amantium hoc est." Therefore Jesus Christ wished to perform the greatest of all miracles: "Memoriam fecit mirabilium suorum, escam dedit timentibus se" (Ps. 110), in order to satisfy the desire He had to be with us and to unite our heart with His most Sacred Heart. "O mirabilis dilectio tua, Domine Iesu," exclaims St. Lawrence Justinian, "qui tuo corpori taliter nos incorporari voluisti, ut tecum unum cor, et animam unam haberemus inseparabiliter colligatam!"

That great servant of God, Fr. de la Colombière, said: If anything could shake my faith in the mystery of the Eucharist, I would not doubt the power, but rather the love that God shows us in this Sacrament. How bread becomes the Body of Jesus, how Jesus is found in many places — I say that God can do all things. But if you ask me how God loves man to such a degree as to make Himself his food, I can only answer that I do not understand it, and that the love of Jesus cannot be comprehended. But, Lord, such an excess of love — reducing Yourself to food — seems unfitting for Your majesty. But St. Bernard answers that love makes the lover forgetful of his own dignity: "Amor dignitatis nescius." Chrysostom likewise answers that love does not seek reasons of propriety when it is a question of making itself known to the beloved; it does not go where it should, but where its desire leads it: "Amor ratione caret, et vadit quo ducitur, non quo debeat." The Angelic St. Thomas had good reason, then, to call this Sacrament the Sacrament of love and the pledge of love: "Sacramentum caritatis, caritatis pignus." And St. Bernard to call it "Amor amorum." And St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi to call Holy Thursday, the day on which this Sacrament was instituted, "the day of love."

Affections and Prayers

O infinite love of Jesus, worthy of infinite love! Ah, when, my Jesus, shall I love You as You have loved me? You have done all You could to make me love You; and I have had the heart to leave You, infinite Good, to turn to vile and wretched goods! Ah, enlighten me, O my God; reveal to me ever more the greatness of Your goodness, so that I may fall entirely in love with You and labor to please You. I love You, my Jesus, my love, my all, and I wish often to unite myself with You in this Sacrament, in order to detach myself from everything and love You alone, my life. Help me, O my Redeemer, through the merits of Your passion.

Help me also, O Mother of Jesus and my mother; pray to Him to inflame me entirely with His holy love.

Point III

Let us consider in the third place the great desire Jesus Christ has that we receive Him in Holy Communion. "Sciens Iesus quia venit hora eius" (John 13:1). But how could Jesus call "His hour" that night in which His bitter passion was to begin? Yes, He calls it "His hour" because on that night He was to leave us this divine Sacrament, to unite Himself entirely with His beloved souls. And this desire made Him say then: "Desiderio desideravi hoc Pascha manducare vobiscum" (Luke 22:15). Words by which the Redeemer wished to make us understand the longing He had to join Himself with each one of us in this Sacrament. "Desiderio desideravi" — so the immense love He bears us makes Him speak, says St. Lawrence Justinian: "Flagrantissimae caritatis est vox haec." And He wished to leave Himself under the species of bread, so that everyone might receive Him; if He had placed Himself under the species of some precious food, the poor would not have had the means to take Him; and if under the species of some other food, even one not precious, at least this other food might not be found in every place on earth. Jesus wished to leave Himself under the species of bread, because bread costs little and is found everywhere, so that all in every place can find Him and receive Him.

Because of this great desire the Redeemer has to be received by us, He not only urges us to receive Him with many invitations — "Venite, comedite panem meum, et bibite vinum quod miscui vobis" (Prov. 9:5); "Comedite amici, et bibite, et inebriamini carissimi" (Song of Songs 5:1) — but He commands it by precept: "Accipite, et comedite, hoc est Corpus meum" (Matt. 26). Moreover, so that we may go to receive Him, He entices us with the promise of eternal life: "Qui manducat meam carnem, habet vitam aeternam" (John 6:54). "Qui manducat hunc panem, vivet in aeternum" (ibid. 58). And if not, He threatens us with exclusion from paradise: "Nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, non habebitis vitam in vobis" (ibid. 53). These invitations, promises, and threats all spring from the desire Jesus Christ has to unite Himself with us in this Sacrament. And this desire springs from the great love He bears us; for (as St. Francis de Sales says) the end of love is nothing other than to unite itself with the beloved object; and because in this Sacrament Jesus unites Himself entirely with the soul — "Qui manducat meam carnem, et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in illo" (John 6:56) — therefore He so greatly desires that we receive Him. No bee, the Lord said one day to St. Mechtilde, throws itself upon flowers to draw out honey with as much eagerness of love as I come to those souls who desire Me.

Oh, if the faithful understood the great good that Communion brings to the soul! Jesus is the Lord of all riches, since the Father has made Him master of everything. "Sciens Iesus, quia omnia dedit ei Pater in manus" (John 13:3). Hence when Jesus Christ comes into a soul in Holy Communion, He brings with Him immense treasures of graces. "Venerunt autem mihi omnia bona pariter cum illa," says Solomon, speaking of the eternal Wisdom (Wis. 7:11).

St. Dionysius said that the Most Holy Sacrament has the supreme power of sanctifying the soul: "Eucharistia maximam vim habet perficiendae sanctitatis." And St. Vincent Ferrer left written that the soul profits more from one Communion than from a week of fasting on bread and water. Communion, as the Council of Trent teaches, is that great remedy that frees us from venial sins and preserves us from mortal ones: "Antidotum quo a culpis quotidianis liberemur, et a mortalibus praeservemur." Hence St. Ignatius the Martyr called the Most Holy Sacrament "Pharmacum immortalitatis." Innocent III said that Jesus Christ by His passion freed us from the penalty of sin, but by the Eucharist He frees us from the power of sinning: "Per Crucis mysterium liberavit nos a potestate peccati, per Eucharistiae sacramentum liberat nos a potestate peccandi."

Moreover, this Sacrament kindles divine love. "Introduxit me Rex in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me caritatem. Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis, quia amore langueo" (Song of Songs 2). St. Gregory of Nyssa says that Communion is precisely this wine cellar, where the soul is so inebriated by divine love that it forgets the earth and all creation; and this is properly the languishing of holy charity. The Venerable Fr. Francesco Olimpio, a Theatine, also used to say that nothing avails so much to inflame us with love toward God as Holy Communion.

God is love, and He is a fire of love. "Deus caritas est" (1 John 4:8). "Ignis consumens est" (Deut. 4:24). And this fire of love the Eternal Word came to kindle on earth: "Ignem veni mittere in terram et quid volo nisi ut accendatur?" (Luke 12:49). And oh, what beautiful flames of holy love Jesus kindles in souls that receive Him with desire in this Sacrament! St. Catherine of Siena one day saw Jesus in the Sacrament in the hands of a priest as a furnace of love, and the saint then marveled that from such a fire all the hearts of men were not burned and reduced to ashes. St. Rose of Lima said that in receiving Communion it seemed to her she was receiving the sun, so that such rays came from her face that they dazzled the sight, and such heat came from her mouth that whoever gave her something to drink after Communion felt his hand burning, as if he had placed it near a furnace. St. Wenceslaus the king, merely by going to visit the Most Holy Sacrament, was inflamed even outwardly with such ardor that his servant who accompanied him, walking in the snow, placed his feet in the saint's footprints and so did not feel the cold. "Carbo est Eucharistia," said Chrysostom, "quae nos inflammat, ut tanquam leones ignem spirantes ab illa mensa recedamus facti diabolo terribiles." The saint said that the Most Holy Sacrament is a fire that inflames, so that we should leave the altar breathing such flames of love that the devil would no longer have the courage to tempt us.

But someone will say: I do not receive Communion often precisely because I see myself cold in divine love. But this person, says Gerson, would be doing the same as someone who does not wish to approach the fire because he feels cold. When we feel the coldest, then, all the more must we approach the Most Holy Sacrament frequently, provided we have the desire to love God. "If they ask you," writes St. Francis de Sales in his Philothea, "why you receive Communion so often, tell them that two kinds of persons ought to receive Communion often: the perfect, to preserve themselves in perfection, and the imperfect, to arrive at perfection." And St. Bonaventure likewise says: "Licet tepide, tamen confidens de misericordia Dei accedas. Tanto magis eget medico, quanto quis senserit se aegrotum." And Jesus Christ said to St. Mechtilde: "When you are about to receive Communion, desire all the love that any heart has ever had toward Me, and I will receive it as you would wish such a love to be."

Affections and Prayers

O Lover of souls, my Jesus, nothing remains for You to give us greater proofs of love, to show us that You love us. And what more remains for You to invent to make us love You? Ah, grant, O infinite Goodness, that from this day forward I may love You with all my strength and with all my tenderness. And whom should my heart love with greater tenderness than You, my Redeemer, who after giving Your life for me, give me Your entire self in this Sacrament? Ah, my Lord, would that I always remembered Your love, so as to forget everything and love You alone, without interruption, without reserve! I love You, my Jesus, above all things, and You alone I wish to love. Drive from my heart, I beg You, all affections that are not for You. I thank You that You give me time to love You and to weep for the displeasures I have given You. My Jesus, I desire that You be the sole object of all my affections. Help me and save me; and let my salvation be to love You with all my heart, always, in this life and in the next.

My Mother, teach me to love Jesus; pray to Him for me.