Chapter XXVIII. Of Sacramental Communion

IN order to receive a great increase of grace by Communicating, you must have very holy dispositions; and as we cannot of ourselves have holy dispositions, the following prayer should be said with great devotion;—"Cleanse, O Lord, we beseech Thee, our consciences, by Thy visitation, that Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at His Coming with all His Saints, may find in us a mansion fitted for His Presence, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth, One God, world without end. Amen."

But that we may not be wanting on our part to co-operate with the Divine help, your preparation should consist in considering first for what purpose Christ instituted the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Then, finding that it was for the sake of reminding us of the love which He displayed for us in the Mysteries of the Cross, consider next, why it is He wishes us to remember it. The end being that we should love and obey Him, our best preparation will be a desire and burning wish to obey and love Him, grieving for the past, when we have not loved but offended Him. And with this desire and inflamed wish to love Him, we must prepare ourselves until the time of Communion.

When the time for communicating has arrived, rekindle your faith in the Presence of the Lamb of God beneath the elements of bread and wine; make an act of profound adoration, beseech Him to remove from your heart all hidden sin, and every stain, and receive Him with the hope that He will give you His Love.

When you have received and brought Him into your heart, ask Him again and again for His Love, and for every other gift you need in order to please Him. After that, offer Him to your Heavenly Father, as a sacrifice of praise for the boundless love which He has shown to us in this and in all other blessings of Redemption, and that you may gain His Love, and in behalf of the living and the dead.