p. 52Spiritual Communion—Visit to the Blessed Sacrament

I. St. Alphonsus on Spiritual Communion (“Spouse of Christ,” Chap. XVIII., Sec. III.)

Spiritual Communion, as St. Thomas says, consists in an ardent desire to receive Jesus Christ in the holy Sacrament. The holy Council of Trent extols the advantages of spiritual Communion, and exhorts the faithful to practise it. And God Himself has several times given devout souls to understand how pleasing it is to Him to receive Him spiritually. Jesus Christ appeared one day to Sister Paula Maresca and showed her two precious vessels, one of gold and another of silver, saying to her, that in the former He preserved her sacramental Communions, and her spiritual Communions in the latter. On a certain occasion He said to the Venerable Jane of the Cross, that, as often as she communicated spiritually, she received a grace similar to that which she derived from her sacramental Communions.

Father Peter Faber, S.J., was wont to say that spiritual Communions are a very powerful help to receive the Holy Eucharist with the proper dispositions. Blessed Angela of the Cross used to make a hundred spiritual Communions every day and a hundred more every night. But how could she make so many? St. Augustine answers, “Give me one that loves, and he understands what I say.” Give me a soul that loves nothing but Jesus Christ, and she will not wonder at it. Nothing is easier than to make several spiritual Communions every day, for it is not necessary to be fasting, to have a priest, or to spend much time. Hence we may make a spiritual Communion as often as we please in the day. Be careful, then, to make frequent spiritual Communions in your meditations, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and take particular care, whenever you hear Mass, to make a spiritual Communion during the Communion of the priest. The spiritual Communion may be made thus:—

Spiritual Communion. My Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly and really present in the holy Sacrament. I love Thee with my whole heart, and because I love Thee, I am sorry for having offended Thee. Since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee, as if Thou hadst really come, and I give myself entirely to Thee; do p. 53not permit me to be ever separated from Thee.

II. St. Alphonsus on Visits to the Blessed Sacrament (Ibid.)

The souls that love Jesus Christ derive great help from frequent visits to Him in the Sacrament of His love. The holy Church instituted and celebrates the festival of the adorable Sacrament with so much solemnity in honor not only of holy Communion, but also of the loving dwelling of Jesus Christ night and day in our churches. When our dear Saviour left this world, He did not wish to leave us alone, and therefore He devised a means of remaining with us in the Holy Eucharist to the end of time, that even here below we may enjoy His sweet company. He gives audience to all whenever they wish. “In order to animate us to approach Him with greater confidence,” says St. Teresa, “He has clothed Himself with the species of bread in this Sacrament, and thus has veiled His majesty, that we may not be terrified at the sight of it.”

But how many insults must Jesus Christ have suffered from infidels, from heretics, and from sinners in this Sacrament, in order to remain with us. He foresaw all these injuries; but He, nevertheless, resolved to remain with us on the altar, that we might not be deprived of His amiable presence. The saints experienced no greater delight on earth than that which they enjoyed in the presence of the most holy Sacrament. St. Teresa said one day from heaven to one of her religious: “We who rejoice in heaven, and you who suffer on earth, should be alike in purity and love. And what we do in heaven before the divine Essence, you should do on earth before the most holy Sacrament.” And what greater paradise can a religious that loves Jesus Christ find on this earth than to remain at His feet, to manifest the love he bears Him, to offer himself to Him, to make known his desires, in order the more ardently to love Him?

But this paradise religious can enjoy in a special manner. It is true that Jesus remains in the holy Sacrament for all; but He remains particularly for religious, who enjoy His society day and night within their own house. Religious, then, do not need to leave their dwelling in order to enjoy His society. They should visit Him as often as possible, and their hearts should remain with Him to burn continually, and with greater splendor than the lights and lamps decorating the altar. Our Lord thus complained of the ingratitude of men and of religious to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque, when He showed her His divine Heart burning with flames of love for men, saying: “Behold the Heart that has loved men so p. 54tenderly and has consumed itself in order to show its love for them. But in return I receive in this Sacrament nothing but ingratitude and contempt from the greater number of men. But what displeases Me most is, that some of these ungrateful hearts are hearts consecrated to Me.”

If you have hitherto been negligent in visiting Jesus in the tabernacle, I entreat you henceforth to avail yourself of the great treasure you have in the most holy Sacrament. Sister Anne of the Cross, being asked how she was employed during the many hours she was wont to spend daily before the Blessed Sacrament, replied, “I thank Him, I love Him, and I ask for His graces.” Behold an excellent means of drawing great fruit from your visits to the Blessed Sacrament. First, thank Jesus Christ for His great goodness in coming to remain on the altar for the love of you. Secondly, love Him, for in that prison of love He is burning with love for you; hence make repeated acts of love, offering yourself to Him in a special manner.

Thirdly, ask for His graces. Beg of Him to give you strength to resist temptations, to correct the faults into which you habitually relapse, to rescue you from the passion that hinders you from giving yourself entirely to God. Beseech Him to help you to increase in your heart His divine love and particularly to enable you to live always united with His holy will. When you feel disturbed after having committed a fault, go at once to the holy Sacrament to ask pardon, and then calm your mind. When you have been offended or when you meet with a heavy cross, go and offer it all to Jesus, and beg Him for strength to embrace it with resignation. Oh! if all religious were to do this, they would all become saints.