1st Communion and Spiritual Communion

This will be a very special year for Dominic because he is preparing to receive Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist in the Spring.  I am so thrilled that he has a fun and faith-filled teacher for his 1st Communion class on Wednesday nights.  His teacher is one of my best friends named Beth.  Beth is a convert to Catholicism and her soul is simply aflame with love for Jesus and His Church.  One of the benefits of having my friend Beth as Dominic's teacher is that I get to come help in the classroom occasionally.  I found some great 1st Communion craft ideas at the blog:  www.catholicicing.com, and I asked Beth if I could help the class make a monstrance craft to remind the kids that Jesus is really present in the bread that they will receive for the 1st Communion.  The craft was simple, yet stunningly beautiful, and Dominic was so proud to have his mommy be the helper!  :o)

I hope Dominic and all the 1st Communicants will remember what a precious gift we have as Catholics---the gift of receiving God Himself into our bodies at every Mass, and the opportunity to be physically near Jesus every time we visit a tabernacle or a monstrance at a Catholic Church!  To paraphrase what Mother Teresa once said, "Time spent adoring Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament is the best time you will ever spend on earth!"

Another enormous blessing we have as Catholics is that we can make a spiritual Communion with Jesus any time we want to!  I recently learned about this profound privilege in the book, "Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love," by Fr. Steffano Manelli.  I had heard about spiritual Communion before, but never fully appreciated its merit until reading this book.    Here is a little excerpt:

"Spiritual Communion is always available for lovers of the Eucharistic Jesus.  By means of spiritual Communion, the loving desires of the soul that wants to be united with Jesus, its dear Bridegroom, are satisfied.  Spiritual Communion is a union of love between the soul and Jesus in the Host.  This union is spiritual but nonetheless real, more real than the union between the soul and the body, because the soul lies more where it loves than where it lives, says St. John of the Cross.

As is evident, spiritual Communion assumes that we have faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle.  It implies that we would like sacramental Communion, and it demands a gratitude for Jesus' gift of this Sacrament.  All this is expressed simply and briefly in the prayer of St. Alphonsus:

• My Jesus, I believe that You are really present in the most Holy Sacrament.  I love You above all things, and I desire to possess You within my soul.  Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.  I embrace You as being already there and unite myself wholly to You.  Never, never permit me to be separated from You.  Amen.

Jesus once said to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the saint so assiduous in directing her burning desires to Him within the tabernacle:  So dear to Me is a soul's desire to receive Me, that I hasten to it each time it summons Me by its yearnings.  

Many of the saints adopted the practice of making countless spiritual Communions every day, and even woke themselves up in the middle of the night to make more spiritual Communions!  Let us learn from the saints.  They would like to pass on to us some spark of the love burning in their hearts.  Let us undertake to make many spiritual Communions...  Then soon the fire of love will enkindle us.  As St. Leeonard once said:  If you practice the holy exercise of spiritual Communion several times each day, within a month you will see your heart completely changed.

Let us all embrace this holy practice of making many spiritual Communions each day!  May our hearts be changed...transformed into hearts burning with love for Jesus and love for all souls (especially souls who do not love Jesus yet)!  This change of heart could change our families, our communities, our world!  I love being Catholic...I love Jesus in the Eucharist!!!  I hope you are growing more in  love with Him this Advent season, too!  :o)