Part Three

THE CHAPTERS OF BOOK FOUR

Here begins a devout encouragement to receive Holy Communion

The Voice of Christ

‘Come to Me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,’¹ says the Lord.

‘The bread that I will give for the life of the world is My Flesh.’²

Take and eat; ‘This is My Body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.’³

‘Those who eat My Flesh and drink My Blood abide in Me, and I in them.’⁴

‘The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.’⁵

ONE

On how Christ should be received with great reverence

DISCIPLE: O Christ, the everlasting Truth, these are Your own words even though they were not spoken at one time or one place. And as they are Your true words, I must accept them with gratitude and trust. These are Your words and You have spoken them; they are mine, because You have given them to me for my salvation. I received them willingly from Your lips, so that they may be more deeply imprinted on my heart. Your words so tender, so full of sweetness and love, give me courage; but I am appalled by my own sins and my sinful conscience holds me back from these great mysteries.

You command me to approach You in faith, if I wish to share with You and receive the everlasting food in order to gain eternal life and glory. ‘Come to Me,’ You say, ‘all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’¹ O Lord my God, how sweet and loving are these words in the ears of a sinner, with which You invite the poor and needy to the Communion of Your most holy Body! But who am I, O Lord, that I should presume to approach You? The heaven of heavens cannot contain You² and yet You say, ‘All of you come to Me.’

What is the meaning of this loving invitation? How can I dare to come when I am unaware of any good in me on which I may presume? How can I, who have so often done evil in Your sight,³ invite You into my house? Angels and Archangels reverence You. The Saints and the Justified stand in awe of You. Yet You say, ‘All of you come to Me.’ No one would believe it to be true unless You said it. And, unless You gave the command, no one would dare to approach.

Noah, who was a good man,⁴ is said to have worked for a hundred years to build the ark, so that he and a few others could be saved.⁵ So how can I prepare myself in a brief hour to receive with great devotion the Creator of the world? Your great servant and chosen friend Moses constructed an Ark of indestructible wood⁶ and overlaid it with the purest gold in order to contain the Tablets of the Law. So how can I, a miserable creature, so lightly dare to receive You, the giver of life and the author of the law? Solomon, the wisest king of Israel,⁷ spent seven years building a magnificent temple in praise of Your name. For eight days he celebrated the feast of its dedication and provided a thousand peace offerings. To the sound of trumpets, he solemnly and joyfully carried the Ark of the Covenant to its appointed place. Then how can I, the most unworthy and poorest of people, welcome You into my house⁸ when I can hardly spend half an hour in devotion? If only I could spend half an hour as I should!

O my God, how earnestly all these people sought to please You! And alas how little I can do! What a short time I spend preparing myself for Communion! I am rarely completely recollected and very seldom free from distractions. No improper thoughts should enter my mind in Your divine saving presence, for it is not an Angel but the Lord of Angels who comes to be my guest.

What a difference there is between the Ark of the Covenant and its artefacts,⁹ and Your sacred Body with its inexpressible virtues; between the sacrifices of the old law which foreshadowed the sacrifice to come, and the true victim of Your Body, which completes the old sacrifices.

Then why am I not more ablaze at Your adorable presence? Why do I not prepare myself more fully to receive Your holy gift, when the holy Patriarchs, Kings and Princes of old, with all their people, showed great devotion in Your holy worship?

The holy King David danced before the Ark with all his might,¹⁰ recalling all the blessings to his ancestors. He made many musical instruments and devised psalms and taught his people to sing with joy. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he often sang and played the harp; he taught the people of Israel wholeheartedly to praise God and to bless Him every day. If all these people performed such acts of worship and devotion before the Ark of the Covenant, how much greater devotion and reverence should I, and all Christian people, have in the presence of this Sacrament and in receiving the most wonderful Body of Christ.

Many people go on pilgrimages to different places to visit the relics of the Saints, amazed at the story of their lives and the splendour of their shrines.¹¹ They venerate and gaze at their bones, covered with silks and gold. But You are here on the altar, my God the Holy of Holies, Creator of humanity and Lord of the Angels. When people visit such places, they are often moved by curiosity and novelties and rarely do we hear that there is any amendment of life as a result, especially as their conversation is trivial and lacks real contrition. But here, in the Sacrament of the Altar, You are fully present, my God, the Man Jesus Christ. Here we freely partake of the fruit of eternal salvation, where we receive You reverently and devoutly. We are not attracted by levity, curiosity or sentimentality, but by firm faith, devout hope and sincere love.

O God, invisible Creator of the world, how wonderful are Your dealings with us! How sweetly and graciously You welcome the chosen to whom You give Yourself in this Sacrament! It passes all understanding. It kindles our love and draws the hearts of the faithful to Yourself. For in this most solemn Sacrament, Your faithful people, who strive to amend their whole lives, receive the grace of devotion and the love of virtue.

O the wonderful and hidden grace of this Sacrament! It is well known to Christ’s faithful people, but it is hidden from unbelievers and servants of sin. In this Sacrament spiritual grace is conferred and lost virtue is restored to the soul, and sin-ravaged beauty is renewed. Such is the grace of this Sacrament that, through complete devotion, not only the mind but even the feeble body may receive greater strength.

We can only regret and deplore our negligence and lukewarmness, which prevents us from receiving Christ with greater love. For in Him lies all our virtue and hope of salvation. In Him is our holiness and liberation.¹² He is comfort to pilgrims, and the everlasting joy of the Saints. It is very sad that so many have little regard for this saving mystery, which delights heaven and sustains the whole world. Alas, we are so blind and our hearts so hard that we cannot fully appreciate this wonderful gift. By its frequent use, we can so easily respect it less.

If this most Holy Sacrament was only celebrated in one place and offered only by one priest in the whole world, we would all rush to that place and to that priest of God to share in the divine mysteries. But Christ is now offered in many places and there are many priests so that the grace and love of God may be widely known. Thus the Holy Communion is spread more extensively throughout the whole world.

We thank You, O good Jesus, eternal Shepherd, that You refresh us poor exiles with Your precious Body and Blood and invite us to receive these mysteries, saying, ‘Come to Me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’

TWO

On the great goodness and love of God revealed to us in the Sacrament

DISCIPLE: Lord, utterly trusting in Your goodness and great mercy, I come hungry to my Saviour, thirsty to the fountain of life¹ and needy to the King of Heaven, a creature to its Creator, desolate to my loving Consoler. Yet who am I that You should deign to come to me?² What am I that You should give Yourself to me? How dare a sinner stand before You in person? You know Your servant and see that there is nothing good to be worthy of this blessing. So I confess my lack of worth; I acknowledge Your excellence; I praise Your kindness and I offer my thankfulness for Your great love.³ You do this of Your own will; not because of any virtues of mine, but solely that Your goodness will be very clear to me. Your love is more richly given to me, so that You may more perfectly commend humility to me. So, since it is Your desire and You have commanded it, I respect Your will; may it not be obstructed by any wickedness in me.

O most sweet and loving Jesus, You are owed deep reverence, thankfulness and everlasting praise when we receive Your sacred Body. No one on earth can properly explain its majesty. As I approach my Lord in Communion, what should my thoughts be? I cannot pay Him the honour that is due to Him, and yet I desire to receive Him devoutly. What better or more worthwhile desire can I have than to humble myself totally before You and to praise Your infinite goodness to me? So, my God, I praise You and will glorify You for ever, while, in the depths of my worthlessness, I despise and subordinate myself in Your presence.

Lord, You are the Holy of Holies; I am the worst of sinners. Yet, Lord, You bow before me, who am not worthy even to lift my eyes towards You, O Lord. You come to me and desire to be with me. You invite me to Your table.⁴ You wish to feed me with the heavenly food, the bread of Angels.⁵ This food is none other than You, the living Bread, which came down from heaven to give life to the world.⁶

See, from whom this love proceeds! See the source from which this glory shines! How deep a gratitude, how high praise are Your due for all these blessings! How greatly to our benefit and salvation was Your wisdom when You instituted this Sacrament! How sweet and delightful the feasts in which You give Yourself to be our food! How wonderful are Your ways, O Lord; how mighty Your power, how unerring Your truth! You spoke the Word, and all things were made.⁷ You commanded and it was done.

It is wonderful, worthy of faith and transcending our minds, to consider how You, my Lord and God, true God and true man,⁸ are completely present under the simple forms of bread and wine and are eaten without being destroyed by whoever receives You. O Lord of all, You stand in need of no one and yet, by means of this Sacrament, You are pleased to live in us.⁹ Keep my heart and body untainted, so that with a glad and pure conscience I may be able to celebrate Your Holy Mysteries and to receive for my eternal salvation all those things that You have hallowed and instituted to Your own special honour and for Your perpetual memorial.

Be glad, my soul, and thank God for the noblest of all His gifts, for this special solace, bestowed on you in this vale of tears. For as often as you recall this mystery and receive the Body of Christ, you progress in the work of your redemption and share in the benefits of Christ. So commit yourself continually to the renewal of your mind,¹⁰ and reflect deeply on the great mystery of redemption. When you celebrate or hear the Mass,¹¹ it should be as great, as new and joyful to you as if on the very day that Christ first came down into the Virgin’s womb and was made man,¹² or, hanging on the Cross, suffered and died for our salvation.

THREE

On the value of frequent Communion¹

DISCIPLE: My Lord, I come to You to receive the blessings of Your gift and to enjoy the feast that You have generously prepared for the poor. I find all that I can or should desire in You. You are my Saviour and my Redeemer, my hope and my strength,² my honour and my glory. So, Lord, gladden the soul of Your servant today, for to You I lift up my soul.³ I desire to receive You with reverence and devotion. I long to invite You into my house so that, like Zacchaeus, I may gain Your blessing and be counted among Your chosen.⁴ My soul longs to receive Your Body; my heart yearns to be united with You.⁵

It is enough if You give Yourself to me. Only You can provide satisfaction. I cannot exist without You. I cannot live unless You come to me. Therefore, I must approach You frequently and receive You as the remedy for salvation. For, if I am deprived of this heavenly food, I may faint on the way. For, O most merciful Jesus, it was You who, when You had been preaching to the crowds and healing their many diseases, said, ‘I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.’⁶ So now treat me in the same way. It was for the comfort of the faithful that You remained in this Sacrament. You are the sweet refreshment of the soul. Whoever receives You worthily will be a partaker and inheritor of eternal glory. I am so prone to frequent lapses and very quickly grow lukewarm and careless, that it is essential that I renew, cleanse and activate myself by frequent prayer and confession, and by the reception of Your Body. If I neglect it for any length of time, I may well fall away from my holy intention.

From youth onwards our senses are prone to evil.⁷ Without the help of this divine medicine⁸ we soon lapse into greater wickedness. Holy Communion keeps us from evil and builds up goodness in us. For, if I am frequently careless and casual when I celebrate or communicate, what would happen to me if I were to neglect this remedy or fail to seek this most powerful assistance? And although I am neither fit nor in a proper state of mind to celebrate daily, yet I will try at proper times to receive Your Holy Mysteries and to present myself to receive this great gift. For as long as the faithful soul lives far from You in a mortal body, it is the greatest comfort that she can remember her God devoutly, and frequently receive her Beloved.

O Lord God, Creator and giver of life to all souls, Your kindness and mercy to us is wonderful. You stoop to visit the poor and humble soul and satisfy her hunger⁹ with Your whole divinity and humanity. The soul that deserves to receive You with devotion is happy in mind, blessed in spirit and, in receiving You, is filled with spiritual joy! How great a Lord the soul receives! How beloved the Guest she welcomes! How delightful the Company she invites to enter! How faithful the Friend she makes! How gracious and noble the Spouse she embraces – one who is to be loved and desired above all others!

O dear and most beloved Lord, let heaven and earth, in all their beauty, keep silence before You.¹⁰ Whatever praise and beauty they possess comes from Your generous goodness. They cannot approach the beauty of Your name and Your wisdom is infinite.¹¹

FOUR

On the many blessings granted to the devout communicant

DISCIPLE: My Lord God, lead Your servant with the blessings of Your goodness¹ so that I may approach Your glorious Sacrament devoutly and worthily. Stir up my heart to seek You and wake me from sleep. Visit me with Your salvation² so that my spirit may taste Your sweetness,³ which is rightly concealed within this Sacrament like a fountain. Give light to my eyes to contemplate this great mystery. Give me strength to believe with unwavering faith. This is Your work and is not within the power of humans. It is through Your sacred institution and not a human invention. None of us are capable of grasping and understanding these things. They are beyond even the great knowledge of the Angels. How can I, an unworthy sinner (just dust and ashes), receive and understand so deep and sacred a mystery?

Lord, I approach You at Your command, in simplicity of heart,⁴ in firm good faith and with hope and reverence. I firmly believe that You (both God and Man) are truly present in this Sacrament. It is Your desire that I should receive and be united to You in Your love. So I entreat You and beg You to give me special grace that I may fully melt and overflow in love for You and, thereafter, I may seek no comfort except in You. For this Most High and respected Sacrament is the medicine for all spiritual illness and health for soul and body. Through it our vices are cured, our passions restrained, our temptations are reduced, grace is given more totally and virtue, once established, is encouraged; faith is strengthened, hope is reinforced and love is inflamed and enlarged.

O my God, You have given, and still give, many blessings in this Sacrament to Your servants who make a devout Communion. You are the guardian of my soul, the restorer of our weaknesses, and the giver of inner peace. The great comfort You give to us in our troubles lifts us up from the depths of despair to the hope of Your support. You restore and enlighten us with new blessings so that those who before they received Communion were desperate and lacking piety, find themselves renewed after the refreshment of this heavenly food and drink. You deliberately do this for Your loved ones so that they may truly know and endure their own weakness, and what blessings of grace they receive from You. For, in ourselves, we are cold, dry and indifferent, but through You we become eager, fervent and faithful. Will not all those who approach the fountain of sweetness with humility take away some of its sweetness with them? Or will not those who stand by a great fire benefit from some of its heat? You, Lord, are the always full and overflowing fountain. You are the ever-burning fire that can never be extinguished.

So, if I cannot draw from the fullness of the fountain⁵ nor fully quench my thirst, I will still put my mouth to this heavenly spring and accept some drops to satisfy my thirst. Even if I may not become fully divine or fervent like the Cherubim and Seraphim,⁶ I will still give myself to prayer and prepare my heart so that I may at least gain a portion of the holy fire by humbly receiving this life-giving Sacrament. O good Jesus, most holy Saviour, I ask You in Your mercy and grace to give me what is lacking in me. For You graciously call us to Yourself saying, ‘Come to Me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’

I labour in the sweat of my brow.⁷ I am tortured by grief of heart. I am burdened by my sins.⁸ I am troubled by temptations and trapped by many evil passions. No one can help; no one can liberate and save, except You, O Lord God, my Saviour. So I commit myself, and all that I have, to You, so that You may guard and guide me to eternal life. Accept me for the praise and glory of Your name, for You have given Your Body and Blood to be my food and drink. O Lord God, my Saviour, through the reception of Your Mysteries, grant me an increase in committed devotion.

FIVE

On the value of the Sacrament and the priestly office

CHRIST: If you had the purity of the Angels and the holiness of St John the Baptist you would still be unworthy to receive or touch this Sacrament. For it is not because of any personal merit that someone is allowed to consecrate or handle the Sacrament of Christ and to receive the bread of Angels.¹ The office of a priest is high and of great dignity, for the priest is granted what is not even offered to Angels. For only a properly ordained priest of the Church has the power to celebrate and consecrate the Body of Christ. The priest is the minister of God, and uses the words of God at His own command and appointment; but God Himself is the chief agent and the invisible operator to whose will all things are subject² and whose commands all creatures obey.

In all that relates to this most excellent Sacrament, you should have regard to God’s Word, rather than your own perceptions or any visible sign. So when you approach the altar do so with awe and reverence. Consider from whom this ministry proceeds. It has been delivered to you through the imposition of hands by the bishop.³ You have been made a priest and ordained to celebrate the Sacrament. So ensure that you offer this sacrifice to God faithfully, regularly and devoutly with a life that is above reproach.⁴ Your obligations are now greater, you exercise tighter bonds of discipline and need to aim for a higher degree of holiness. A priest should be adorned with all virtues and demonstrate a holy life to others.⁵ A priest’s life should not be like that of worldly people but like that of the Angels,⁶ or those without fault on earth.

A priest robed in sacred vestments takes the place of Christ in order humbly to intercede with God for priests and for all people.⁷ The priest wears the sign of the Cross, both in front and behind, in order to be perpetually reminded of our Lord’s Passion. In front the chasuble⁸ bears the Cross, so that the priest may carefully follow in Christ’s footsteps and ardently follow them.⁹ The priest’s shoulders are marked with the Cross in order, in mercy and love, to carry every personal injury done by others. The priest wears the Cross in front to express penitence for sins, and behind in order to be compassionate and lament the sins of others. Remembering always that the priest is appointed as a mediator between God and the sinner, the priest will never cease from prayer and the holy sacrifice to try and deserve grace and mercy. By celebrating [this Sacrament], the priest honours God and gives joy to the Angels. The priest builds up the Church, helps the living, gains rest for the departed and so participates in all good things.

SIX

How should we prepare for Communion?

DISCIPLE: When I consider Your majesty and my own wretchedness, I am full of fear and confusion. For if I do not accept You, I refuse life; and if I participate unworthily I will incur Your displeasure. What then shall I do, my God, my helper, my counsellor in need? Show me the right way¹and provide me with some short devotion suitable for Holy Communion. I need to prepare my heart for You, devoutly and reverently, both for the receiving of Your Sacrament and for the proper offering of such a great and holy sacrifice.

SEVEN

By self-examination and resolving to do better

CHRIST: It is important above all else that, when celebrating, a priest has humility of heart and deep reverence when handling or receiving the Sacrament and does so with firmness of faith and with the real intention of giving glory to God. So examine your conscience carefully. You can, by true contrition and humble confession, to the best of your ability cleanse and purify it. So you will not hold back any grave matter that may prevent you from approaching the Sacrament. Disapprove of all your general sins and your troubling sins in particular. And, if time allows, confess to God the secrets of your heart and the misery of your passions.¹

Grieve that you are so carnal and worldly

So undisciplined in your enthusiasms

So full of bodily lusts

So unguarded in your outward perceptions

So often engrossed in trivial fantasies

So absorbed in mundane matters

So unconcerned about spiritual matters

So easily moved to laughter and frivolity

So negligent of sorrow and penitence

So keen for comfort and self-indulgence

So averse to commitment and self-discipline

So anxious for news and sight-seeing

So reluctant to appreciate humble and simple things

So greedy for many possessions

So reluctant to give generously

So persistent in possessing

So unguarded in speaking

So reluctant to remain silent

So disruptive in manners

So impetuous in action

So greedy for food

So deaf to the Word of God

So quick to rest

So slow to work

So alert to gossip

So drowsy at holy vigils

So hurried in your prayers

So rambling in concentration

So careless at keeping the hours of prayer²

So apathetic at the Eucharist

So lacking in devotion at Communion

So easily distracted

So rarely fully attentive

So suddenly stirred to anger

So quick to take offence

So ready to judge others

So severe in reprimanding

So cheerful when all is well

So weak when things go wrong

So often promising good deeds, and so rarely doing them.

Thus, when you have confessed and regretted all these and other faults, with deep sorrow, penitence at your weakness, make a strong resolution to amend your life and go forward into holiness. Surrender yourself and your will entirely to Me and offer yourself on the altar of your heart, as a perpetual sacrifice to the honour of My name. In faith commit yourself, body and soul, to Me, so that you may worthily approach and offer the sacrifice to God, and receive the Sacrament of My Body for your soul’s health.

There is no better offering, or greater satisfaction for the washing away of sins, than to offer ourselves totally and purely to God, together with the offering of the Body of Christ at the Mass and in Communion.³ When someone is truly penitent and makes an effort to come to Me for pardon and grace, I will put away all sins and forgive them all.⁴ ‘I live,’ says the Lord, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live.’⁵

EIGHT

Christ’s offering on the Cross

CHRIST: I hung naked on the Cross with My arms outstretched, giving Myself freely to God the Father for your sins.¹ My whole being was a sacrifice of holy propitiation.² In the same way you must willingly offer yourself daily to Me in the Eucharist with all your power and tenderness as a pure and holy offering. I require nothing less of you than that you should surrender yourself totally to Me.³ I regard as nothing anything you offer apart from yourself. I do not seek a token gift, but yourself.⁴

If you owned everything in the world, apart from Me nothing would satisfy you; so nothing you give to Me is acceptable, apart from yourself. Offer yourself to Me and give yourself totally to God and this will make your sacrifice acceptable.⁵ I gave Myself totally to the Father for you. I have given My actual Body and Blood to be your food, so that I may be all yours and that you may be Mine for ever. But if you put your trust in yourself and do not give yourself freely to My will, your offering is incomplete; nor can our union be perfect. If you wish to find freedom and grace, the free gift of yourself into the hands of God must precede everything else. The reason why so few gained inward illumination and freedom is because they were unable completely to deny themselves. My words are unalterable: ‘If you are not prepared to leave all your possessions behind you cannot be my disciples.’⁶ So if you wish to be My disciple, offer yourself to Me with all your heart.

NINE

We should offer ourselves totally to God and pray for everyone

DISCIPLE: Lord, everything in heaven and on earth is Yours.¹ I wish to give myself to You as a free offering and to belong to You for ever. With simplicity of heart, O Lord, I offer myself to You today to be Your servant for ever.² I do this as an act of obedience and as an act of perpetual praise. Accept me, together with the holy offering of Your precious Body, which I plead before You this day in the unseen presence of adoring Angels, for my salvation and that of all Your people.

Lord, I offer on Your altar of reconciliation all the sins and offences which I have ever committed before You and Your Holy Angels, from the first day of my sin until now. Burn and consume them all in the fire of Your love. Blot out the stains of my sins³ and give me a clean conscience.⁴Restore the grace lost by my sin. Grant me total forgiveness of all offences, and of Your mercy receive me with a kiss of peace.⁵

What can I do to have my sins taken away but to humbly confess them and incessantly call on Your forgiveness? Hear me, O my God, I beg, in Your mercy, as I stand before You. All my sins are utterly hateful to me, and I resolve never to commit them again. I repent of them and will grieve for them as long as I live. I am ready to do penance⁶ and to make any amends that I can. Forgive me, O God, forgive me for Your holy name’s sake⁷ and save this soul whom You have redeemed through Your precious Blood.⁸ I commit myself totally to Your mercy, and place myself completely in Your hands. Treat me according to Your goodness, and not as my wickedness deserves.⁹

Also, I offer to You whatever is good in me, even if it is small and imperfect, so that You may strengthen and bless my being to make it precious and acceptable to You and to raise it continually towards perfection. So, Lord, bring me, lazy and useless as I am, to a worthy and blessed end.

I offer You also all the desires of devout people, the needs of my parents, friends, brothers, sisters and all who are close to me, and the needs of all who have desired and asked me to pray and offer the Mass for them. I pray that they may all, both living and departed, enjoy the help of Your grace, the aid of Your comfort, protection from dangers and deliverance from the suffering to come. So that, freed from all evils, they may offer great praise and thanks to You.

Also, I offer You my prayers especially for those who have, in any way, injured, grieved or reviled me, or who have done me harm or pain. Similarly for any whom I have hurt, troubled, injured or offended by word or action, consciously or unconsciously. So that You may in mercy forgive all our sins and offences against one another. O Lord, remove from our hearts all suspicion, ill feeling, anger and contention and whatever may upset love or mutual affection. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on all who ask for Your forgiveness.¹⁰ Give grace to those who badly need it; and help us all to live that we may profitably enjoy Your love, and finally come to everlasting life.

TEN

That Holy Communion should not be lightly abandoned

CHRIST: Come frequently to the fountain of grace and divine mercy, the fountain of goodness and total purity, so that you may be healed from all your passions and vices and be made more vigilant and strong to resist all the temptations and deceits of the Devil. For the Enemy knows very well the abundant fruit and the great remedies that are provided in Holy Communion. He tries every means in his power to impede and prevent the faithful and devout people from receiving it.

Satan’s most violent assaults come upon some people when they prepare for Holy Communion. As it is written in the Book of Job,¹ the evil spirit comes among the children of God to disturb them with his accustomed malice, or to make them frightened and perplexed. In this way he seeks to reduce their love for God or to destroy their faith, so that, if possible, they may completely abandon Communion, or come to it with little fervour. But pay no attention to his traps and cunning illusions, however vile and horrible. Throw back these fantasies onto his own head. Treat him with the contempt and mockery he deserves. Never abandon Holy Communion because of his insults and distractions.

Some people are held back by their sense of piety, or anxieties about confession. When this happens seek the advice of a wise teacher, and put aside all misgivings, for this is an obstacle to devotion. Do not delay in receiving Communion because of small doubts or anxieties, but go at once to confession and willingly forgive those who have offended you. If you have offended anyone, humbly ask pardon and God will readily forgive you.

What use is it to put off confession or receiving Communion? Purify yourself at once. Spew out the poison quickly, and receive the medicine without delay. Swift action will help more than procrastination. If you delay, for any reason, today, something worse may happen to you tomorrow. So you will be kept from Communion for a long time and become even more unfit. Shake off your sloth and dullness as quickly as possible. It is no advantage to remain upset and in distress for a long time, nor to stay away from the sacred mysteries because of mundane problems. Far from it; it is hurtful to delay Communion over a long period, for this often leads to sloth and spiritual dryness.

Sadly, some half-hearted and careless people grab any excuse to postpone their confession and desire, for that reason, to put off Holy Communion because they are unwilling to be committed to a more vigilant life. Those who so lightly put off Holy Communion are lacking in love and are weak in devotion. Happy and dear to God are those who keep their hearts and their lives pure. They are eager and well prepared to communicate every day, if it were possible, and might do so without seeming to be unusual. However, those who sometimes abstain out of humility, or are genuinely prevented, can be commended for their reverence. But if sloth takes over, we must resist it with all our energy, and God will strengthen our desire by reason of our good intentions, which God specially favours.

When someone is unavoidably absent, then as long as the desire and the good will for Communion remains, there is no loss of the fruits of the Sacrament. For anyone who sincerely desires it can, on any day or at any time, make unhindered an act of spiritual Communion² with Christ for the soul’s benefit. However, special feasts and certain seasons should be observed for receiving the Body of our Saviour sacramentally with love and reverence, to give honour and praise to God, more than for our own satisfaction. When anyone receives mystic communion and invisible food, they devoutly recall the mystery of the Incarnation and Passion of Christ, and are stirred to fresh love of Him. But those who only prepare before a festival, or when religious custom requires it, will often be unprepared.

Blessed are those who, whenever they celebrate or communicate, offer themselves as a living sacrifice. And, when celebrating, be neither too slow nor too hurried, but observe the common practice of those with whom you are living.³ Try not to cause irritation or weariness to others, but to observe the customs appointed by the Fathers. Consider the needs of others before your own personal devotional preferences.

ELEVEN

How the Body of Christ and the Holy Scriptures are necessary for the faithful soul

DISCIPLE: O sweet Lord Jesus, how great is the joy of the faithful soul who feasts at Your banquet, where the food set before us is none other than Your real self. This is most beloved, and all that the heart desires. How deeply I want to pour out my fervent tears in Your presence and, like the devout Magdalene, wash Your feet with my tears.¹ But where is my devotion? And where is this flood of holy tears?² Surely Your presence and that of Your Holy Angels should make my heart burn and cry for joy! For in Your Holy Sacrament, You are actually present with me, albeit concealed under a different form.

I could not bear to gaze on You in the total glory of Your divinity, nor could the whole world cope with the brightness and glory of Your majesty. So You tolerate my frailty and hide Yourself in this Holy Sacrament. Here I actually possess and adore Him to whom the Angels do homage in heaven.³ I do so by faith alone, but they do it by unconcealed sight.⁴ I must be content with the light of true faith, and stay like that until the day of endless glory comes and the shadows are dispersed.⁵ When the wholeness comes,⁶ the use of Sacraments will come to an end. The blessed in glory need no sacramental healing. They rejoice in the presence of God for ever, and view His unveiled glory.⁷ Transformed from glory⁸ into the glory of His own unsearchable divinity, they taste the Word of God made man, as He was⁹ from the beginning and as He remains for ever.¹⁰

Aware of these wonders, even spiritual consolation seems tedious. For as long as I cannot see my Lord in His unseen glory, all that I can see or hear in this world I find worthless. My God, You are my witness¹¹ that nothing can comfort me, nor can I be content with any created thing except in You alone, my God, whom I desire to contemplate for eternity. But, in this mortal life, this is not possible for me, so I have to use great patience and surrender all my desires to You. During their lives, Your Holy Saints, who now share Your joy in the Kingdom of Heaven, waited for the coming of Your glory with patience and faith.¹² What they believed, I believe. What they hoped to enjoy, I hope to enjoy. Where they arrived by Your grace, I hope to arrive. Meanwhile I will walk by faith, encouraged by the example of the Saints.¹³ The Holy Scriptures will be my comfort and my stimulation, and, above all else, Your sacred Body will be my special remedy and refuge.

I now realize that there are two things of the greatest importance to me, without which this miserable life would be unbearable. While imprisoned in this human body, I realize the need for two things – food and light. So, in my weakness, You have provided Your sacred Body to refresh my soul and body, and put Your Word as a lamp to my feet.¹⁴ I cannot rightly live without these two. For the Word of God is the light to the soul and Your Sacrament is the bread of life.¹⁵ You might call them the two tables set on either side of the treasure house of the Holy Church. One is the table of the holy altar, having on it the holy bread,¹⁶ the precious Body of Christ. The other is the divine law containing holy doctrine, teaching true faith and the steadfast way, even into the veil that guards the Holy of Holies.¹⁷

O good Jesus, Light eternal, I thank You for the teaching concerning Your holy table, which You have given us through Your servants the Prophets, Apostles and other teachers.¹⁸ I thank You, Creator and Redeemer of all, that You have revealed to the whole world the depths of Your love. You have prepared a great supper¹⁹ at which You provide us, not with the Lamb of the old law, but Your most holy Body and Blood to be our food. You give joy to all the faithful, enabling them to drink deeply from the cup of salvation.²⁰ This contains all the joys of heaven, where the Angels share the feast with us, but with even greater sweetness.

How great and worthy is the office of a priest to whom is given the authority to consecrate, with the holy words of the Lord of Majesty, to bless Him with their lips, to hold Him in their hands, to accept Him in their mouths and to minister Him to others!

How clean should be the hands, how pure the lips, how holy the body, how spotless the heart of the priest, to whom the author of all purity is entrusted! Nothing should come from the mouth of a priest, who so often receives the Sacrament of Christ, than what is holy, true and edifying. May the priest’s eyes, which so often look on the Body of Christ, be simple and modest. May the priest’s hands, which handle the Creator of heaven and earth, be pure and lifted up to heaven.²¹ For the words of the law – ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’²² – are addressed especially to priests.

Almighty God, may Your grace assist us so that we, who have undertaken the office of priesthood, are enabled to serve You worthily and devoutly, with integrity and a good conscience. While it is not possible to remain in complete innocence of life, as we ought, grant us to repent of our sins honestly, and thereafter to serve You with deeper devotion in the spirit of humility and determined goodwill.

TWELVE

On the great care needed to receive Christ in Communion

CHRIST: I am the lover of purity and the giver of all holiness. I look for a pure heart to be My resting place.¹ Prepare and make ready for Me a large upper room, and there I will eat the Passover with you.² If you want Me to come and live with you, dispose of the old leaven,³ and clean out the habitation of your heart.⁴ Shut out the whole world and its vicious uproar; and stay there alone, like a solitary sparrow on a rooftop.⁵ Acknowledge the digressions of your soul⁶ in bitterness. Every loving person reveals their affection by preparing the best and finest room for a close friend.

But you know that even your best preparations cannot be worthy of Me, even if you were to prepare for a whole year and do absolutely nothing else. Only by My mercy and grace are you permitted to approach My table. It is like a beggar who, being invited to a rich person’s table, is unable to offer anything in return except humble gratitude.⁷ Do whatever you can and do it diligently, not out of habit or necessity, but with awe and reverent love to receive the Body of your Lord and God, who kindly comes to you. It is My invitation and My command. I will supply whatever is lacking in you. So come and receive Me.⁸

When I grant you the grace of devotion, offer thanks to God, not because you deserve to enjoy it, but because I have had mercy on you. If you feel no devotion and suffer from a dry soul, persevere in prayer. Groan, knock⁹ and persist until you may be worthy to receive some crumb or drop of saving grace. You have need of Me; I have no need of you.¹⁰ You do not come to sanctify Me, but I come to sanctify you and lift you up. You come to be blessed and united to Me, so that you may receive new grace from God and be inspired afresh to amend your life. Do not neglect this grace.¹¹ Always prepare yourself with great care, and invite the Beloved into your heart.

Not only must you prepare devoutly before Communion, but also continue your prayer after receiving the Sacrament. As much care is needed after Communion as the devout preparation before it. Great watchfulness is the best preparation for receiving richer graces. Those who return to outward pleasures will not be willing to do this. Beware of a lot of talk.¹² Stay in a quiet place and enjoy the presence of God; for you hold Him, whom the whole world cannot remove from you. I am He to whom you need to offer your whole being so that, free from care, you may no longer live in yourself but in Me.¹³

THIRTEEN

How the heart and soul should seek union with Christ in His Sacrament

DISCIPLE: Lord, if only I might seek You alone, so that I can open my heart to You and rejoice in You, as my soul desires. Then no one would ever despise me, nor any creature disturb or notice me, so that You alone might speak to me and I to You, as lovers speak to each other, face to face, or like a conversation between friends.¹ It is my prayer and desire to be totally united to You and to remove my heart from all created things and increasingly delight in heavenly and eternal things, through Holy Communion and frequent celebration of the Mass. O my Lord and God,² when shall I be wholly united to and absorbed into You and unaware of my self? You in me and I in You, may we abide in one for ever.³

You are indeed my Beloved, a paragon among ten thousand,⁴ in whom my soul rejoices to dwell all the days of my life.⁵ You are indeed the giver of peace, in whom is perfect peace and true rest, without which there is nothing but labour, sadness and endless misery. You are indeed the one true and hidden God,⁶ whose dealings are not with the wicked but with the simple and humble.⁷ Lord, how sweet it is for Your Spirit to reveal Your graciousness to Your children, refreshing them with the most sweet bread, which comes down from heaven.⁸ ‘No nation, however great, has a god so close at hand, but the Lord our God is close to us.’⁹ You comfort the faithful daily and raise their hearts to heaven by giving Yourself to be their food and delight.

What other race is so favoured as Christian people? What creature under heaven is so blessed as the devout soul into whom God enters, thus sustaining them with His glorious Body? O unutterable grace, O admirable worthiness, O boundless love dispensed only to humanity. ‘What shall I return to the Lord for all His bounty to me?’¹⁰ Nothing that I can give will be more acceptable to Him than my whole heart becoming inwardly united to Him in total surrender. When my soul is fully united to God, my whole being will be filled with joy. Then He will say to Me, ‘If you abide in Me, I will abide in you’,¹¹ and I shall answer Him, ‘Lord, live with me I pray, for I will gladly stay with You. My only desire is that my heart be united to You.’

FOURTEEN

On the zealous desire for the Body of Christ

DISCIPLE: Lord, what treasures of loving kindness do You preserve for those who fear You.¹ When I reflect on those devout Christians who attend Your Sacrament with the deepest devotion and love, I feel ashamed and astonished that I approach Your altar and the table for Holy Communion with such a cold and lukewarm heart. I remain so miserly and lacking in love. So my heart does not burn within me in Your presence and I am neither strongly drawn, nor lovingly disposed, as many devout people have been. For, out of their zealous desire for Communion and deep love for You, they cannot hold back their tears but out of the depth of their souls yearn, both with the heart and body, for You, O God, the source of living water.² There was no other way in which they could gratify or satisfy their hunger except by receiving Your Body, with great joy and eagerness of spirit.

How true was their enthusiastic faith, which was in itself a clear expression of Your divine presence. For they really know their Lord in the breaking of bread, whose hearts burn within them so fully when Jesus walks with them.³ I rarely feel such devout affection and unconditional love. O good and kind Jesus have mercy on me and grant to me, Your miserable beggar, to feel at least sometimes a bit of that deepest desire for Your love in Holy Communion. Thus my faith may be strengthened; my hope in Your goodness may be encouraged; and love, once fully ignited, having tasted the bread of heaven, may never die out. Your generosity is strong enough to give me even this grace which I desire. So grant me, I pray, when it shall please You of Your grace and kindness, the spirit of enthusiasm. For, though I do not burn with such zealous desire as those who are totally devoted to You, I long to have that great and burning desire. I plead and pray that, through Your grace, I may have a part with all Your true lovers and be numbered in their holy company.

FIFTEEN

How true devotion is gained through humility and self-denial

CHRIST: You must seek the grace of holiness with commitment. Ask for it with real desire, wait for it with patience and trust, receive it with gratitude, sustain it with humility, use it carefully, and leave to God the time and nature of His heavenly gift. Above all, when you feel little or no inner passion, humble yourself, and do not be too depressed or discouraged. God will often grant you, in a brief moment, what He has withheld for a long time. Also sometimes He grants at the right moment what He delayed to give when you first asked.

If grace were always granted immediately and were available for the asking, our weakness could barely sustain it. Therefore the grace of holiness must be anticipated with firm hope and humble patience. When it is not granted or is withdrawn, realize that this is due to you and your own sinfulness. Grace may be hindered or concealed by some very trivial matter (if anything can be called trivial, and not serious, which obstructs such a great good). But when you have removed the obstacle, whether small or great, and have fully overcome it, then you will have your desire.

As soon as you surrender yourself to God with all your being and seek nothing for your own will and pleasure, but put yourself totally at His disposal, you will find yourself united to Him and at peace. Nothing will offer you more joy and satisfaction than accomplishing God’s will. So those who would aspire to seek God with a pure heart¹ and who disengage themselves from all excessive love or hatred of any created thing, will be best fitted to receive grace and be worthy of the gifts of sanctity. For our Lord gives His blessings where He finds empty vessels ready to receive them.² The more fully we renounce worldly things and the more fully we die to ourselves by self-renunciation, the quicker grace will be given, the more richly it will permeate, and the closer to God it will lift up the heart which will be free from the world.

Such people will be enriched with joy and wonder, and their hearts will be radiant with gladness.³ For the hand of the Lord is upon them, and they have entrusted themselves into His hands for ever. So a person will be blessed who seeks God wholeheartedly.⁴They will not have received their soul in vain. When they receive the Holy Eucharist they earn that grace which is union with God. For they do not think about their own devotion and solace, but beyond all such devotion and solace they seek the honour and glory of God.

SIXTEEN

How we should declare our needs to Christ and ask for His grace

DISCIPLE: Most dear and loving Lord, by whom I now desire to be accepted in total devotion, You know my weakness and my great needs, the many sins and vices that afflict me, and how I am often discouraged, tempted, troubled and corrupted. I come to You for healing. I plead with You to strengthen and relieve me. I pray to Him who knows all things,¹ to whom even my deepest thoughts are revealed, and who alone can fully support and help me. You know the good things I need above all else, and my great lack of virtue.

Look on me, Lord, as I stand before You, naked and poor, begging for grace and pleading for mercy. Satisfy the hunger of this, Your beggar. Warm my coldness with the fire of Your love and remove my blindness through the light of Your presence.² Make all worldly things unattractive to me; make me patient of all damaging and harmful things. Help me to be contemptuous of and remove from my mind all created things and all below You. Lift my heart up to You in heaven and let me no longer be a vagrant on earth.³ From now on, may my only joy be to be with You, now and for ever, my food and drink, my love and my joy, my delight and my total good.

O that Your presence would set me totally on fire, and transform me into Yourself, so that, through the grace of inner union and by dissolving into passionate love, I might be made one in spirit with You.⁴ Do not send me away hungry and thirsty, but treat me with Your mercy, as You have treated Your Saints so generously. How wonderful it would be if You inflamed me, dead to myself; for You, Lord, are the everlasting fire which burns for ever.⁵ You are the love which purifies the heart⁶ and illuminates the mind.

SEVENTEEN

On the burning love and eager desire to adore Christ

DISCIPLE: Dear Lord, I long to receive You with all my devotion and burning love, and with all the affection and zeal of my heart, just as many Saints and holy people have longed to receive You in Communion. They were especially pleasing to You by the holiness of their lives and were on fire with devotion. O my God, eternal love, my greatest good and everlasting delight, I desire to receive You with the most ardent devotion and greatest reverence that any of Your Saints have ever felt, or could feel.

Unlike them, I am not fit to enjoy such feelings of devotion. Yet I offer You all the love in my heart, as if I alone were moved by these appropriate and burning desires. So I offer You whatever a devout heart can conceive or desire with all reverence and love. I wish to hold back no part of myself and freely and most gladly to surrender to You all that I am or have. O Lord my God, my Creator and Redeemer, I want to accept You today with all that affection, reverence, praise and honour, with that gratitude, nobility and love, with that faith, hope and purity with which Your most holy Mother, the glorious Virgin Mary, desired and received You when she devoutly and humbly answered the Angel who brought the joyful message of the mystery of the Incarnation: ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’¹

And as did Your most holy forerunner, John the Baptist (that most excellent of Saints), who was glad and leapt for joy,² praising the Holy Spirit, while still in his mother’s womb, and who when he later saw Jesus walking among the people³ devoutly and lovingly humbled himself, saying: ‘The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice.’⁴ Just like him, I wish to be aflame with great and holy desires and to surrender myself to You with all my heart. So I offer and lay before You the praises, the worship, which You receive from all zealous hearts – their outbursts of happy praise, their ardent affection, their ecstatic experiences, their spiritual insights and their heavenly visions. I add to these all the goodness and praises that ever have been or will be offered to You in heaven or on earth. I plead them for myself and for all who have been commended to my prayers, so that You may be worthily praised and magnified for ever.⁵

Receive, O Lord my God, my vows, my desire to give You everlasting praise and endless blessing. They are properly due to You because of Your immeasurable greatness.⁶ I surrender all, and wish to do so every day and at every moment of time. I lovingly pray and plead with the entire heavenly host to join with all the faithful in giving You praise and thanksgiving.

May all races and tribes, nations and languages⁷ praise and magnify Your sweet and holy name with joy and zealous devotion. May all who reverently and devoutly celebrate Your wonderful Sacrament and receive it with total faith to gain Your grace and mercy, humbly intercede for me, a sinner. So when they who have won the devotion (which they desired) and the blessed union with Yourself (which will bring them joy) and, greatly consoled and refreshed, have left Your sacred and heavenly table, You may, in generosity, remember me and my poverty.

EIGHTEEN

How we should not curiously examine the Holy Sacrament but humbly imitate Christ, submitting our reason to the holy faith

CHRIST: Beware of curious and vain attempts to analyse the Sacrament, which goes much deeper than the human mind can grasp, for ‘The quest for glory is onerous.’¹ The actions of God are greater than we can understand. But we may lovingly and humbly seek for the truth as long as we are willing to learn from others, and try to walk in the paths of the wisdom and teachings of the Fathers.²

They are happy who can simply turn away from difficult questions and go ahead on the clear and open path of God’s commandments.³ Many people lose their sense of devotion by trying to understand the mysteries of God, which are beyond them. It is faith God requires of you and a holy life, not great understanding of deep mysteries. If you cannot understand things that are beneath you, how can you grasp these things, which are above you? Submit yourself to God, humbly submit yourself to the faith and you will be given in the light of knowledge all you find necessary and useful.

Many people have great temptations about the faith and the Sacrament. They should blame their enemy the Devil, not themselves. Do not be anxious; do not resist your thoughts, or attempt to answer any doubts which the Devil suggests. Trust in God’s Word; believe in His Saints and Prophets and the evil enemy will run away from you.⁴ It can be very beneficial for the servants of God to experience such doubts, as the Devil does not tempt unbelievers and sinners who already belong to him, but he tempts and tests the faithful and devout in every way he can.

Go forward then with simple, undoubting faith, and come to the Sacrament with humble reverence, confidently committing to Almighty God whatever you are not able to understand. God never deceives us, but we are deceived when we put too much trust in ourselves.

God walks with the simple,⁵

shows Himself to the humble,

gives understanding to the innocent,

reveals His secrets to the pure

and conceals His grace from the proud and curious.⁶

All reason and natural enquiry must follow from faith, not precede or encroach upon it.⁷ For in this sublime and Holy Sacrament, faith and love take priority over everything else. It works in ways we do not understand. The eternal God, transcendent and infinite in power, does great and unsearchable things,⁸ both in heaven and on earth,⁹ and His understanding cannot be fathomed.¹⁰ For, if the works of God could be easily understood, they would be neither inscrutable nor unutterable.