When we receive the Lord
in Holy Communion,
he also receives us.
in Holy Communion,
he also receives us.
--Pope St. John Paul II
The beauty of the Church is due to the admirable union of all its members, spread across the entire face of the world.
Now, the Blessed Sacrament is the center and principle of this union: it unites minds in one same belief, hearts in one same love, and wills in the same virtues. We are all nourished by the same bread, that heavenly bread of the Most Holy Sacrament, the partaking of which is called Communion; this signifies the common union that we ought all to share, a union without which we do not merit the name of children of God, since we do not obey Him. The very matter of the Sacrament—composed of grains of wheat united into a single loaf of bread, and of grapes blended into a single wine—expresses and symbolizes this union.
Let us pray: It matters little to me, O my God, how You come to me in this divine Sacrament; it suffices that I believe with absolute certainty that it is You Yourself—Your true Body, Your Blood, Your Soul, and Your Divinity; that it is the mystery of the most intimate union and communion that Your love could devise to unite Yourself to us and to impart to us the most precious gifts of Your divine love. Thus do I believe, O my dearest Savior. In this disposition, come, unite Yourself to me, and take possession of my heart.
--St. Francis de Sales,
Spiritual Conferences,
On the Eucharist, III, 5
Spiritual Conferences,
On the Eucharist, III, 5
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