OUR DAILY BREAD
By Rt. Rev. John A. O'Brien, Ph.D.
The
greatest gift which a loving and merciful God has ever bestowed upon
mankind is Jesus Christ. For Christ is God incarnate. His delight was to
be with the children of men. That He might be with them always as their
changeless Friend, their inspiring Counsellor, and their great High
Priest, He instituted the sacrament of the Real Presence.
In
myriad tabernacles scattered among all the countries of the world, the
Eucharistic Christ is dwelling among His people. Not only does He dwell
among them, but He gives Himself to them for the nourishment of their
souls. Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, consubstantial with
the Father, gives Himself, body and blood, soul and divinity to mortal
man in Holy Communion.
Through a miracle of divine power, Jesus Christ
gives Himself to us for Our Daily Bread.
Here
is divine omnipotence emptying itself in the frail bosom of humanity.
Here is divine love exhausting itself in the heart of man.
Stripping
Himself of the outward effulgence of the Godhead that He might not
overawe man with His dazzling splendor, Jesus Christ comes under the
lowly appearance of the Eucharistic Host to weak and mortal man.
He
is our daily bread. Truly, this is God's supreme gift to man. The mind
reels and staggers in trying to conceive how even an infinite God could
bestow upon mankind a greater gift.
The tremendous implications of this mighty truth are thus pointed out by Robert Browning:
I say the acknowledgment of God in Christ
Accepted by thy reason, solves for Thee
All questions in the world and out of it.
Christ
who cleansed the lepers, restored sight to the blind, healed the sick,
pardoned sinners and died on Calvary's Cross for the redemption of
mankind is present in the Eucharist. When Christ appeared to His
Apostles in the upper chamber after His resurrection, the doors and
windows were closed. Yet Christ stood suddenly in their midst and spoke
to them. In that same glorified body which transcends the properties of
matter, Christ is present in the sacrament of His love.
The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist stands, therefore, as an
antidote for the vagueness of contemporary thought and as an anchor
against the shifting currents of modern uncertainty and doubt. It takes
God out of the mists of speculation and brings Him into our very midst
to be our Counsellor, our Inspirer and our changeless Friend. In Holy
Communion He comes to us as our heavenly manna, the bread of angels and
the nutriment for our souls.
All who hold steadfast to this central
doctrine of historical Christianity will find in it an invincible armour
against the assaults of modern unbelief. It is the soldier's shield
against danger and temptation.
The Teaching of Christ
Let
us glance briefly at the teaching of Christ on this subject. , It is
stated with great clearness in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of St.
John in the following verses:
'Amen,
amen I say unto you : He that believeth in me, bath everlasting life. I
am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are
dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man
eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from
heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the
bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.
The Jews
therefore strove among themselves, saying : How can this man give us
his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you :
Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you
shall not have life in you. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, hath everlasting life and I will raise him up in the last day.
'For
my flesh is meat indeed : and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth
my flesh and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him. As the
living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth
me, the same also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down
from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that
eateth this bread, shall live for ever. These things he said, teaching
in the synagogue, in Capharnaum. Many therefore of his disciples,
hearing it, said:
This saying is hard, and who can hear it? . . .
'After
this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him. Then
Jesus said to the twelve : Will you also go away? And Simon Peter
answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we have believed and have known, that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God.'
Christ
fulfilled the promise to give them His flesh to eat and His blood to
drink at the Last Supper, the night before He died. St. Matthew thus
records the fulfillment:'And while they were at supper, Jesus took
bread, and blessed and broke and gave to His disciples and said: Take ye
and eat. This is my body. And taking the chalice, He gave thanks and
gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this; for this is my blood of the
new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.'
With
the words, 'Do ye this in commemoration of me,' Christ authorized and
commanded the Apostles and their successors to do the same as He had
just done.
St. Paul reflects this belief and practice of the Church in
the first century, which is the same as that of the Church in the
twentieth century, when he writes to the Corinthians: 'The chalice of
benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of
Christ? and the bread which we break, is it not the partaking of the
body of the Lord?'
Such then is the clear teaching of Christ concerning
the Holy Eucharist-the Sacrament bringing to us His body and blood as
our food and nourishment. Such is the belief of the Apostles and of all
the members of the Church founded by Christ for more than nineteen
hundred years.
'The Word of Christ is Sufficient . .:'
One
day a messenger, breathless with haste, burst in upon King Louis IX of
France with surprising news. 'Your Majesty,' he cried, 'hasten to the
Church ! A great miracle is occurring there. A priest is saying holy
Mass, and after the consecration instead of the host there is visible on
the altar Jesus Himself in His human figure. Every body is marvelling
at it. Hurry before It disappears.'
To
the astonishment of the messenger, the saintly monarch calmly replied:
'Let them go to see that miracle who have any doubt regarding the real
presence of our Lord in the holy Sacrament.
As for me, even if I saw
Jesus on the altar in His visible form, and touched Him with my hand,
and heard His voice, I should not be more convinced than I now am, that
He is present in the consecrated Host. The word of Christ is sufficient
for me. I need no miracle.' Such too should be the faith of every
believer in Christ. For what greater credential can there be for any
Christian than the word of Christ Himself?
We
come now to the question : What use are we making of the greatest gift
within the power of an Omnipotent God to bestow upon mankind-the real
presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist? We can avail ourselves of this
divine benefaction by attending holy Mass and offering in union with
the priest the Eucharistic Victim in atonement for our sins, by visiting
our Eucharistic King in the tabernacles on our altars, and particularly
by receiving our divine Lord in Holy Communion.
No devotion is dearer
to the Church than that of frequent, even daily Holy Communion. Our Holy
Father, Pius XI, encouraged all the faithful to receive frequently this
heavenly food. It offers the greatest assistance in living an upright
and holy life, and constitutes our sure defense against all the
temptations which assail us.
Fruits of Sacrament
The
fruits of this sacrament are manifold. It deepens our sense of the
reality of God, makes us conscious of His comradeship, enables us to
perceive Him as the witness of our every deed, the auditor of our every
word, the spectator of the thoughts and aspirations which stir
inarticulately in the silent kingdom of the soul.
Closer is He than breathing, Nearer than hands or feet.
It
thus frees us from the tyranny of the senses with their dependence upon
the visible, the tangible, the palpable. It helps us to realize that
the most profound realities of life are those which are spiritual and
lie beyond the reach of the senses. It enables us to understand what St.
Paul meant when he said:'The things which are seen are temporal, but
the things which are unseen are eternal.' It prompts us to exclaim with
the holy souls of every age: 'Ah! Christ, impalpable, I grasp Thee;
inapprehensible, I clutch Thee.'
It
delivers us from the narrow prison cell of time and place by making us
one in spirit with the choice souls of every generation to whom the
presence of God is the most abiding reality in life. It enables us to
break through the shell of external circumstance and grasp the kernel of
spiritual reality which alone gives meaning and significance to human
life. This sharpened perception of spiritual realities, this heightened
sense of the presence of God constitutes the essential difference
between the religious-minded person and the worldling.
While
making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1925, I chanced to pass through
Smyrna in Asia Minor. It was shortly after the Turks had pillaged and
burned the city, and put hundreds to the sword.
Still standing among the
ruins was a convent. Among the nuns was one from Ireland. 'Do you not
feel lost,' I asked, 'in this out-of-the-way corner of the world, so far
from your home in Ireland?' Pointing to the tabernacle she replied:
'Father, wherever the Blessed Sacrament is, there I am at home. For
there is my Lord and my God.'
How
true that is! They are the words which every religious, priest, nun, or
lay person can utter. How effectively does the Eucharistic Lord dispel
the touch of nostalgia from the heart of the missionary arriving in a
foreign land. For where our Lord and our God is, there can be no
homesickness. For He is the essential element in every home.
Hidden Source of Strength
I
have visited homes in Mexico where sisters, wearing the dress of
laywomen, were carrying on the work of Christian education in spite of
the government's prohibition. No religious picture, image or symbol
could be displayed. No tabernacle, no altar, no chapel was permitted.
Yet in every such home I would be led into a room where hidden away in a
bureau, bookcase or other furniture was the Blessed Sacrament. There
the sisters repaired to draw strength and courage to continue their
uphill fight against the systematic efforts of the revolutionary
government to stamp out religion from the land. Take away their garb,
their altar, their chapel, their crucifixes and all the external symbols
of their faith, but leave them their Eucharistic Lord and King, and you
will have left them all that matters.
To
that hidden place they go to give themselves Holy Communion, and thus
to keep alive in the twentieth century the glorious traditions of the
Church of the Catacombs. That which has kept the faith alive in Mexico,
in spite of the savage persecution it has suffered is the Holy Eucharist
which has been kept in thousands of homes, barns and caves beyond the
spying eyes of the minions of the government.
The gentle Christ who
said,'My delight is to be with the children of men,' is fulfilling His
promise and is providing the Catholics of Mexico in the hour of trial,
with their hidden source of strength and courage. With their backs to
the wall and their faces to the stars, the Eucharistic Christ will
hearten them for the combat until they have shown once again to the
world the futility of machine guns and firing squads to crush the naked
human soul when steeled with a deathless faith.
It
is not only to missionaries in distant lands, and to Christians under
the fire of persecution, however, that the Holy Eucharist brings
strength and intrepidity, but to all lonely and homesick souls. On the
day I write these lines a student said to me :'Father, when I came to
the University a few weeks ago, I was homesick and lonely. It is so
large an institution and it's my first time away from home for any
length of time.
But after receiving Holy Communion all feelings of
loneliness and homesickness vanished.' He little knew that he was but
voicing the experience of every student and of every person away from
the warmth of the family fireside and the loving atmosphere of home. It
is the experience of every soldier and sailor as well. When Christ comes
into our heart, there we are at home-in any city or in any land.
Every
one who has felt the warm intimacy of the love of Christ in frequent
Holy Communion is able to make his own the words of a contemporary poet
Whoso has felt the Spirit of the Highest
Cannot confound nor doubt Him nor deny:
Yea with one voice, o world, tho' thou deniest,
Stand thou on that side, for on this am I.
Another
fruit of Holy Communion is the strength which it gives to resist
temptation and to break any habit of sin previously acquired. There are
some who think that frequent Holy Communion should be the exclusive
privilege of holy souls far removed from the dangers of sin. Yet the
Sacred Congregation of the Council thought otherwise. For in its Decree
on Daily Holy Communion the Council expressly declares
'
The desire of Jesus Christ and of the Church that all the faithful
should daily approach the sacred banquet is directed chiefly to this
end, that the faithful, being united to God by means of the Sacrament,
may thence derive strength to resist their sensual passions, to cleanse
themselves from the stains of daily faults, and to avoid those graver
sins to which human frailty is liable; so that its primary purpose is
not that the honour and reverence due to our Lord may be safeguarded, or
that the Sacrament may serve as a reward of virtue bestowed on the
recipients.
Hence the holy Council of Trent calls the
Eucharist'the antidote whereby we are delivered from daily faults and
preserved from deadly sin.''
It is therefore needed most of all by those who are weak and are struggling to break the manacles of a sinful habit. It is the supreme
remedy against temptation and the most powerful influence in freeing
one from a vicious practice. There is no habit, no matter how strong the
links in the chain of its practice, which can long resist the
sledge-hammer blows of this sacrament. The manacles of sensuality,
intoxication, anger, jealousy, greed, all fall into smithereens before
the devastating blows of this divine power.
This
truth is illustrated by an incident related by St. Philip Neri. As a
result of a long life spent in ministering to the youth of Rome, this
holy priest was wont to declare that frequent Holy Communion was not
only the most efficacious means of safeguarding virtue, but was also the
only effective means of breaking the chains of certain habits of
sensuality.
One day a youth came to his confessional and said:
'
Father, I am bound hand and foot by the chain of a sensual habit which I
have tried in vain to break. In spite of all my efforts to reform, I
find myself falling again and again. I would do anything if I could but
free myself from its galling tyranny which is making my life a living
hell.'
' Do you really wish to break yourself of this habit?' asked St. Philip.
'Father,' replied the youth, 'give me any penance and see if I will not gladly do it.'
'All right, then,' said the priest, 'I will give you an infallible remedy. You go to daily Holy Communion for a month.
If
you should be so unfortunate as to experience a single relapse, which
may God avert, I ask you to rush immediately to confession, and then to
Holy Communion.'
This
the youth did. At the end of the month he was able to say: 'Father, for
the first time in years I am able to draw the breath of a free man. Not
only has daily Holy Communion freed me from this practice, but it has
filled me with such revulsion for that vice that I feel confident I will
never again stoop to that degradation.'
In
the experience of that young man there is mirrored the experience of
all mankind, young and old. So true is this that every confessor can say
to any penitent groveling in the mire of sensuality, manacled by the
chains of an oft-repeated act: 'My friend, do you really wish to break
this habit? Then if you do, you will go to daily Holy Communion until
you have broken this habit. If you are not willing to do this, then you
,are making a mockery of the purpose of amendment.
You are lacking in
determination and in sincerity.' It is high time for penitents to
realize that purpose of amendment means more than a mere moving of the
lips. It means the whole-hearted utilization of a remedy of demonstrated
effectiveness. In short, it means having recourse to daily Holy
Communion.
'But Now I am Strong . . .'
During
the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian many Christians paid
with their life for their faith in Christ. Among the number seized on
one occasion were a father and his young son. Brought before the pagan
tribunal, the Emperor commanded the father to offer incense to the gods
of imperial Rome or pay the penalty with his life.
'
Rather than betray the Faith,' replied the father, 'which has been
purchased for me at the cost of the precious blood of Jesus Christ, I
will die.'
Whereupon
he was cast into the arena and there before the howling savage mob he
suffered the gladiator's sword to sever his head from his body, thus
sealing with his life's blood his faith in the crucified Christ.
As
the son, a little boy of twelve, witnessed the cruel death inflicted
upon his father, he was overcome with horror. His face grew pale with
fear. Tears filled his eyes. The Emperor, seeing the terror-stricken
condition of the boy, said: . . .'You surely will not do such a foolish
thing as your father. Come, offer incense to the gods of Rome and I will
not only spare thy life but will give thee anything thy youthful heart
will ask.'
The
boy had taken a few steps toward the incense pyre when suddenly he
stopped spellbound in his tracks. What was that voice he heard echoing
in his inner ear? It was the voice of his martyred sire uttering his
dying words.
Turning
about, he walked quickly over to the spot in the arena where the sand
was still crimsoned with the warm lifeblood of his father. He stooped
and clenching it in his hand said
'But
a few moments ago I was weak and about to yield, but now I am strong
with the blood of my father. Rather than deny the faith purchased for me
by the blood of Jesus Christ and of my own martyred father, I too will
die.'
With a
smile lighting up his youthful countenance, and a prayer on his lips, he
placed his head upon the swordsman's block. As the head fell, severed
from the body, the blood trickling down in the sand mingled with the
warm life-blood of his father.
Devout Christians who stood near-by saw
in that union a reflection of that other union that took place beyond
the skies, where father and son were clasped in the arms of the Master
to receive from His hand the glorious crown of martyrdom.
Those
words of the martyred youth every communicant can truthfully utter:'A
little while ago,' he could say, in ancient Rome are the words which
'I
was weak and about to yield. But now I am strong with the blood of my
Father and my God. Rather than betray Him by the commission of a
deliberate mortal sin, I too would be willing to die.'
For in Holy
Communion we do not merely clench in our hands sand crimsoned with
blood, but we receive into our very hearts the body and blood, the soul
and divinity of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We become partakers
of a divine life and secure a foretaste of that union with Christ in the
beatific vision which constitutes the essential happiness of heaven.
Notre Dame Men Testify
While
Notre Dame is famous throughout the land for her prowess on the
gridiron, where her stalwart sons are adding year after year new lustre
to the glorious traditions of Rockne, Gipp, Pilney and the other immortals,
she has won still greater laurels' in Catholic eyes for her marvelous
success in drawing a vast army of her students to the daily Banquet
Table. More than 1,600 daily crowd the Altar railings in the chapels of
every hall on the campus.
It is the most inspiring sight at Notre Dame.
During
the past Fall the writer noticed among the hundreds of others a husky
young student hobbling to the altar rail, despite bruises and injuries
which made the 'going tough.' After football practice and scrimmaging,
and injuries to boot, it would have been so easy to sleep through till
his eight o'clock class. But every morning found him at the rail. When
the curtain fell upon another unbeaten team at Notre Dame, the name of
this young gladiator was upon the rosters of All Americans picked by the
experts of the land. Who but God will ever know how much of that courage
and strength he found at the Banquet Table of the Lord?
In response to the question, what does frequent Holy Communion mean to me? the students tell in their own words:
'
I go to Holy Communion every day because I need God's help in
temptations and because I can do so much good for the Poor Souls. My
communions make me feel much nearer God and I can not describe the
wonderful feeling that comes over me.'
'Frequent
communion gives, first, a peaceful conscience; second, strength against
temptation; third; greater power of concentration in studies and in
religion.'
'If
one starts frequent communion it seems to me that he acquires a grace
whereby he wishes to continue. If you miss, it seems one less chance to
gain grace and do right.'
'
Since I have begun the practice of daily communion I find myself more
careful in my speech. It makes me try to keep from mortal sin; it makes
me receive the Holy Eucharist with more fervor; it makes it easier to
approach the confessional.'
Still More Fruits
Among
the other fruits of Holy Communion are an increase of sanctifying
grace, the remission of venial sins, a strengthening of the will, an
increased horror of sin and the remission of the temporal punishment due
to sin. Even mortal sin is washed from the soul of the person who
unmindful of such an offense receives Holy Communion in good faith.
This
implies that the communicant have sorrow for all his sins and that if
the mortal sin should later come to his mind, he will mention it in his
next confession. The reason for this indirect remission of mortal sin
through Holy Communion is to be found in the fact that it infuses
sanctifying grace into the soul of the person who does not knowingly
place an obstacle in the way. But sanctifying grace not only beautifies
the soul, but removes any sin, mortal or venial, that may be there.
Hence, Holy Communion indirectly remits even mortal sin.
Treating
of the efficacy of the sacrament in strengthening the will to resist
temptation, the Catechism of the Council of Trent says:'In the holy
mysteries is, moreover, such efficacy as to preserve us pure and unhurt
from sin and from the assault of temptations, and prepare the soul, as
it were, by a heavenly medicine, against the easy approach and infection
of virulent and deadly disease . . . It also restrains and represses
the lust of the flesh; for whilst it inflames souls more with the fire
of charity, it of necessity extinguishes the ardour of concupiscence.'
(Part ii, chap. 4, quest. 51.)
St.
Thomas Aquinas, the prince of the Church's theologians, thus sums up
the far-reaching effects of Holy Communion 'The Sacrament of the Body of
the Lord puts the demons to flight, defends us against the incentives
to vice and to concupiscence, cleanses the soul from sin, assuages the
anger of God, enlightens the understanding to know God, inflames the
will and the affections with the love of God, fills the memory with
spiritual sweetness, confirms the entire man in good, frees us from
eternal death, multiplies the merits of a good life, leads us to our
everlasting home, and reanimates the body to eternal life.'
The
person who is strengthened to resist temptation is by that very fact
heartened to fight more courageously for virtue, honor, right,
manliness. One who knows he is free from sin and whose friendship with
his Lord and Maker has been deepened and made more intimate through Holy
Communion throws himself into his undertakings with greater courage and
abandon.
Knute Rockne's Story
Knute
Rockne, the famed coach at Notre Dame, tells of the deep impression
made upon him by witnessing his players arise on the morning of a game
and go off to receive Holy Communion. His observant eye could not fail
to notice the abandon with which such players threw themselves into the
game and fought with the courage of untamed tigers.
Here,
in brief, is the way Rockne tells the story:'I used to be deeply
impressed at the sight of my players receiving Communion every morning,
and finally I made it a point of going to Mass with them on the morning
of a game. I realized that it appeared more or less incongruous, when we
arrived in town for a game, for the general public to see my boys
rushing off to church as soon as they got off the train, while their
coach rode to the hotel and took his ease. So, for the sake of
appearances, if nothing else, I made it a point to go to church with the
boys on the morning of a game.
'One night before a big game in the East, I was nervous and worried about the
outcome of the game the next day and was unable to sleep. I tossed and
rolled about the bed, and finally decided that I'd get up and dress,
then go down to the lobby and sit in a chair alone with my thoughts. It
must have been two or three o'clock in the morning when I
arrived in the deserted lobby, so I took a chair and tried to get that
football game off my mind by engaging some bellboys in conversation.
'Along
about five or six o'clock in the morning I started pacing the lobby of
the hotel when suddenly I ran into two of my players hurrying out. I
asked them where they were going at such an hour, although I had a good
idea.
'Then I
retired to a chair in the corner of the lobby where I couldn't be seen,
but where I could see every one who went in or out of the door. Within
the next few minutes, my players kept hurrying out of the door in pairs
and groups, and finally when they were about all gone, I got over near
the door so I could question the next player who came along. In a minute
or two, the last members of the squad hurried out of an elevator and
made for the door. I stopped them and asked them if they, too, were
going to Mass, and they replied that they were. I decided to go along
with them.
'Although they probably didn't realize it these youngsters were
making a powerful impression on me with their piety and devotion, and
when I saw all of them walking up to the Communion rail to receive, and
realized the several hours' sleep they had sacrificed in order to do
this, I understood for the first time what a powerful ally
their religion was to those boys in their work on the football field.
This was when I really began to see the light; to know what was missing
in my life, and, later on, I had the great pleasure of being able to
join my boys at the Communion rail.'
Requirements for Daily Communion
What
are the requirements for daily Communion? In answer to this question,
the Sacred Congregation of the Council decreed on December 16, 1905 as
follows
'1.
Frequent and daily Communion, as a thing most earnestly desired by
Christ our Lord and by the Catholic Church, should be open to all the
faithful, of whatever rank and condition of life; so that no one who is
in the state of grace, and who approaches the holy table with a right
and devout disposition, can lawfully be hindered therefrom.
'2.
A right disposition consists in this: that he who approaches the holy
table should do so, not out of routine, or vainglory, or human respect,
but for the purpose of pleasing God, of being more closely united with
Him by charity, and of seeking this Divine remedy for his weaknesses and
defects.'
From
this it is evident that any person who is not certain that he is in the
state of mortal sin, and who approaches the holy table for the purpose
of nourishing his soul with this heavenly bread, is to be admitted to
the sacrament.
Mere scruples or doubts are not sufficient to prohibit
him. Nothing but the absolute certainty of mortal sin.
Furthermore,
it is not necessary for one to go to confession every time one wishes
to receive. This would impose some inconvenience on a person and would
doubtless deter a number. The Council is explicit in declaring that
nothing need keep a person from approaching as often as he wishes,
provided only that he is in the state of grace and has the proper
disposition. By making daily Holy Communion so easily available, the
Church shows her profound solicitude in having the faithful approach
with the greatest frequency.
'The Food of Life'
Speaking
at the National Eucharistic Congress at New Orleans, Archbishop
Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate to the United States, declared:'We call
ours a Christian civilization. Now Christian means followers of Christ,
and the substance of Christianity is the life of Christ within us, in
our thoughts and in our private and public actions. . If such a life is
lacking, there remains nothing of Christianity but the name; and this is
left to us not as a glory but as a reproach.
'
Our altars are the centre of this life-the centre for the priests who
there offer the Eucharistic sacrifice, and there make known the word of
God; the centre for the faithful who gathering in the churches before
the altar strengthen their souls at the tabernacle. We must not think of
the tabernacle simply as a shrine to be visited, nor must we regard the
Eucharist merely as a sacred symbol to be honored. It is a food to be
received, it is the food of life, of the Christian life- which therefore
ought to be a Eucharistic life, and a Eucharistic life cannot but be an
apostolate.'
After
pointing out evils which distress him, the Holy Father in his radio
address to the Congress said: 'May we not discern, however, a promise of
better things for the Universal Church in the reflowering among you and
among all peoples of Eucharistic love and the daily increase of ardent
devotion for the august Sacrament? . . .
While we exhort you from our
paternal heart to most holy zeal towards the Blessed Sacrament, we
fervently pray with you that, strong in youth, your people, who stand
forth in wealth and power, may also be a shining example of Catholic
faith and Christian virtue.'
Let us now consider some of the objections to frequent and daily Communion.
I do not consider myself worthy to receive Holy Communion often.
This objection is based upon a misconception of the primary purpose of Holy Communion. It is not so much a reward for
virtue as it is an antidote for sin. 'If you are not worthy to
communicate every day,' asks St. Ambrose, 'are you more worthy.after
abstaining a year from Communion?'
The very fact that you feel yourself
weak and easily drawn into sin is the very reason why you should receive
often. The Church bids you to repeat with the priest before Communion
the humble acknowledgment : 'Lord, I am not worthy.' The longer you
abstain from this heavenly food the less worthy do you become to
receive, since it is, as the Council of Trent points out, 'the antidote
whereby we are delivered from daily faults and preserved from deadly
sins.'
Paderewski
tells us that when he failed to practice on his piano for a single day,
he would notice the difference in his playing. When he remained away
two days, his wife could notice the difference, three days, his friends
could observe it, and when he remained away four days, the whole
audience could notice the difference. So too it is with those who are
accustomed to keep not their fingers but their hearts and consciences
sensitive to the music of divine grace and the warmth of divine love by
daily Holy Communion.
Each day's abstention leaves its perceptible
effect in dulling the sensitivity of the conscience to the music of
divine inspiration and in blunting the delicacy of the love for the
Eucharistic Lord.
I
am afraid of losing my respect and devotion for Holy Communion by too
great familiarity. The reception will become too much of a mechanical
routine.
Loss
of devotion will result from improper preparation. But if one prepares
devoutly for Holy Communion, frequent reception will deepen the
sentiments of reverence and love. Familiarity in the sense of intimacy
and union with Christ is not to be deprecated but is the object of all
prayer and spiritual exercise. In regard to routine, two kinds are to be
distinguished. There is the routine objected to in Rule 2 of the Decree
on Daily Holy Communion.
This is the purely mechanical reception of the
Sacrament with an attitude of irreverence or at least of indifference,
in short, with an absence of 'a right and devout disposition.' This
attitude is the very opposite of the one engendered by frequent
Communion when care is taken to prepare properly for this great act by
the arousal of sentiments of reverence and love. 'They that eat me,
shall yet hunger; and they that drink me, shall yet thirst.' This saying
of Ecclesiasticus reflects the experience of every devout recipient of
frequent Communion.
The
second kind of routine is that which is synonymous with habit. In this
sense routine indicates a facility of action which is most desirable in
regard to all virtuous deeds. Thus it is eminently desirable to make the
daily recitation of one's morning and evening prayers a matter of
routine or habit. Hence too it is most desirable to make the devout
reception of daily Holy Communion a matter of habitual practice instead
of being dependent upon whim or caprice. The whole aim of the spiritual
life is to .render the performance of virtuous actions a matter of
routine or habit.
I
don't like going to Communion without confession and I don't have
either the time or the opportunity to go to confession each day.
The
Church teaches that one may receive Holy Communion repeatedly without
going to confession, provided of course one is not conscious of any
mortal sin. Why then should you insert an action not required by the
Pope? The Decree on Daily Communion explicitly states that only two
conditions are requisite, namely, the 'state of grace' and 'a right and
devout intention.' It is not the mark of a good Catholic to be more
exacting than the Pope. Consequently, one may go to Communion for
several weeks if he desires on the one confession.
Frequent Holy Communion is all right for women and children, but is somewhat inappropriate for men.
With
God there is no double standard of morality or piety, one for women and
another for men. Prayer and the sacraments are the means of grace alike
for men, women and children. Because men are frequently more exposed to
temptation than women, there is a correspondingly greater need for this
divine antidote to sin. It is a complete misconception of the purpose
for which Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist to think that it was
meant chiefly for women and children. It is meant for all and especially
for those who are exposed to danger. It is their best fortification.
The
martyrs who walked out into the arena of the Roman amphitheatre to face
the gladiator's sword, or the savage lions found in the devout
reception of the Holy Eucharist the strength which sustained them for
their ordeal without faltering. 'The strongest among the pure and the
purest among the strong,' said Jean Paul Richter, 'Christ with His
wounded hands lifted empires from their hinges and changed the stream of
centuries.' He who bows his head in the frequent reception of this
divine manna becomes the strongest, the most manly and the most
courageous among men.
When
Frederick B. Snite, Jr., was stricken with infantile paralysis while
traveling in China, the doctors gave him about a week to live. Years
have now elapsed and he is still alive and apparently winning his battle
against the dread disease.
True, his parents with princely generosity
and a devotion that has never faltered have provided him with every help
known to medical science.
But
this does not explain the secret of his indomitable courage, his
buoyancy and his unfailing cheerfulness. If you ask him, he will tell
you that it is the Eucharistic food which comes to him each day.
After
the malady had paralyzed the muscles used in breathing, it then
rendered him unable to utter a single word. The walls of the iron lung
closed in upon him, leaving only his head free. Unable to move, unable
to breathe by himself, unable to speak. What a plight! Yet in this awful
crisis the priest brought to him each day a hidden source of strength
and courage. After months elapsed, his father disclosed to me when I
visited his son, he regained the power to utter a single word barely
audible to those standing near him. It was the single word 'God!'-the
first word he uttered upon emerging from that breathless and speechless
world in which he had been so long imprisoned.
Slowly
he regained a little more strength and became able to say a whole
phrase. When the priest one morning held aloft the Eucharistic host,
preparatory to giving him Holy Communion, there came from his lips as he
gazed devoutly at his Eucharistic Lord the scarcely audible
ejaculation, 'O God! How I thank Thee for this Gift!' Truly is the Holy
Eucharist the source of courage, of strength, of manliness. It is the
Bread of Angels and the food of heroes.
I
do not have sufficient time for proper preparation for Holy Communion
nor for the thanksgiving afterwards. Hence, I cannot receive often.
True,
there should be due preparation. But does this mean the recitation of
many prayers, the performance of many devotional exercises? Not at all.
The best preparation for Communion is a good life and the sanctifying of
one's ordinary daily actions. Moreover,'frequent Communion is the best
preparation for Communion,' says Lapide,'one Communion is
thanksgiving for another; and the Communion of today is the best
preparation for the Communion of tomorrow.' '
Therefore,' says St.
Alphonsus Liguori,'if you have not time to prepare yourself, in
consequence of some good work or some duty of your state, do not abstain
from Communion on that account. Only take care to avoid useless
conversations and occupations that are not urgent.'
If
one is hurried, it will still be possible to make the immediate
preparation while going to the Church, and to continue the thanksgiving
on the way home. There are two axioms which apply here, namely, 'Where
there is a will, there is a way,' and 'Love will find a way.' The
individual who has once experienced the warmth and intimacy of daily
union with Christ in Holy Communion will laugh at the trivial excuses
which deter the faint-hearted and the indifferent.
Why should I start the practice of daily Communion when I know that I shall not be able to keep it up?
Even
if the practice cannot be continued when one leaves school, or moves to
a different location, it will nevertheless be a matter of supreme
importance to have fortified one's character and deepened one's virtue
and piety by having received frequently for even a limited period.
The
fact is that young people during the plastic days of their youth stand
in need of greater spiritual reinforcements than they will after their
characters are formed. During adolescence new passions are awakening
with them. Their experience is very limited and offers but little help
in restraining the forces striving for the mastery. During this crucial
period when youth is sculpturing his character for weal or for woe, it
is an immense advantage to form the habit of frequent Communion so that
he will have the most powerful ally in the world on his side.
There
can be no doubt of the successful outcome if youth will employ the most
effective antidote for the temptations that press round about him on
every side. The habit of frequent Communion will tide him over the
critical years of adolescence and plant so deep in his young soul the
seeds of piety and virtue that the after-years will bring an abundant
harvest.
Daily Holy Communion for the youth of every school and college
in our land is the ideal placed before us by the Sovereign Pontiff. A
ministry of more than a quarter of a century among students at Illinois
and at Notre Dame has crystallized in me the unshakeable conviction that
the formation of such a habit is the best guarantee of their enduring
faith and character and the most valuable contribution we can render to
them.
'Christ Knocks, But You Must Open'
In the chapel of Keble College, Oxford, there hangs the famous masterpiece, The
Light of the World, by Holman Hunt. It depicts the Master standing and
knocking at a door upon which vines are growing.
The hinges are rusty
from long disuse. In His hand He holds a lantern. 'Behold'' He is
saying, 'I stand at the door, and knock.' When Hunt had
finished his painting, he invited his fellow artists to inspect it. They
viewed it carefully from his angle and from that. Loud were they in
their praise.
' It is a masterpiece of all time,' they said.
'But,' said one of them, 'you have forgotten one thing.'
'What is that?' asked Hunt.
'You have forgotten to place a knob on the door.'
'No,' said Hunt, 'I have not forgotten it. I have omitted it purposely. For that is the door of the human heart and it opens only from within.'
Christ
may knock. Christ may plead. But it is only we who can admit Him.
Christ is standing today before the door of every human heart, pleading
for admittance in the Sacrament of His Love. Will you not open it each
day and let Him in?
If
Catholics but understood how easy and simple it is to receive Holy
Communion frequently, even daily, and how fruitful is this practice, the
number of frequent communicants would grow by leaps and bounds.
Certainly, weekly reception is most easy.
We all are obliged to hear
Mass on Sunday. Why not arise at the Communion time and walk up to the
railing and receive the Source of all goodness and the Author of all
holiness? Why not thus receive the maximum fruit of the Eucharistic
Sacrifice?
Will
you not, dear reader, put aside all vacillation and hesitancy and do
your part through frequent Communion in bringing about that Eucharistic
renaissance which means so much for the happiness of the individual and
the peace and welfare of the world?
Let us show the world once and for
all by the eloquence of our actions that we believe with a profound and
deathless faith the words of our divine Master, Jesus Christ:'My flesh
is meat indeed; and my blood is drink indeed . . . He that eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting life: and I will raise him
up on the last day.
NihiI Obstat:
REV. T. E. DILLON Censor Librorum
IMPRIMATUR:
@ JOHN FRANCIS NOLL, D. D. Bishop of Fort Wayne
