In Holy Communion, Catholics receive Jesus Christ truly present in the form of bread and wine as a sacred meal. This intimate experience with Jesus in the Eucharist must always be received after preparation and with devotion and reverence.
Reception of Holy Communion is reserved for Catholics who are in full communion with the Church and who accept its teaching, including belief in the Real Presense of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Catholics who wish to receive Holy Communion should be in a state of grace and free from mortal sin by going to Confession.
It is required to prepare for Holy Communion by fasting from any food and drink, except for water or medicine, for at least one hour.
The host is offered with the words, “The Body of Christ.” The cup may also be presented with, “The Blood of Christ.” The person receiving Communion declares their belief in the teaching of the Church and their faith in Jesus in the Eucharist by responding, “Amen.”
Throughout the history of the Church, Holy Communion has been received on either the tongue or in the hand. This is at the discretion of the person receiving Communion.
Implications and necessities of receiving Communion:
Saying “Amen” to the Body of Christ:
Therefore whoever eats the Bread or drinks the Cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the Body and Blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the Bread and drink the Cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
1 Corinthians 11: 27-29
Recieving with the proper disposition:
Discernment is necessary:
When the Church celebrates the memorial of the Lord it affirms by the very rite itself its faith in Christ and its adoration of him, Christ present in the sacrifice and given as food to those who share the eucharistic table. For this reason it is a matter of great concern to the Church that the Eucharist be celebrated and shared with the greatest dignity and fruitfulness. It preserves intact the already developed tradition which has come down to us, its riches having passed into the usage and the life of the Church. The pages of history show that the celebration and the receptions of the Eucharist have taken various forms.
Pope Paul VI, Memoriale Domini, 29 May 1969
Receiving the gift of grace from God:
Receive the Lord in the best way possible:
In union and instructed by the Church:
The Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the Cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s Body and Blood. But the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is wholly directed toward the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through Communion. To receive Communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1382
Jesus in the Eucharist must be received with reverence:
A simple gesture of reverence:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
Preaching to the birds:
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