Day 190: Receiving Holy Communion

The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." CCC 1384

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses the proper way to receive Holy Communion. We must receive this sacrament at least once a year, but every Sunday and holy days are preferred, daily if possible. In the Eucharist, one receives the "Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity" of our Lord Jesus Christ so one should receive Him as much as possible! It is "the source and summit of the Christian life, and all graces flow from it" (Catechism Companion, p. 144). 

The Catechism Compendium summarizes what Christians need to keep in mind before receiving Holy Communion:

To receive Holy Communion one must be fully incorporated into the Catholic Church and be in the state of grace, that is, not conscious of being in mortal sin. Anyone who is conscious of having committed a grave sin must first receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before going to Communion. Also important for those receiving Holy Communion are a spirit of recollection and prayer, observance of the fast prescribed by the Church, and an appropriate disposition of the body (gestures and dress) as a sign of respect for Christ. (#291)

The Eucharist is a gift from Christ to us, one that we shouldn't dishonor by receiving it weighed down by unrepented sin. St. Paul warns us not to do so in an "unworthy manner [or you] will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor 11:27-29). In the liturgy we say before receiving the Eucharist the words of the Centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word and my [soul] will be healed" (Matt 8:8). May we always have such humility and faith!

Finally, in CCC 1390 the Catechism tells how "Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species" and we therefore have "all the fruit of Eucharistic grace" by the consecrated Host alone. I do believe that this is true, but it also recognizes "the usual form of receiving communion in the Eastern rites" is by both kinds and even says that "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly." I do not understand why in the Roman Rite there is so much resistance to bringing back receiving both!