Our Morning Offering – 26 April – Third Sunday of Easter, Year A
Most of us are still deprived of Holy Mass and the Holy Eucharist but this practice of making an Spiritual Communion, has been especially used by Christians in times of persecution, such as during the era of state atheism in the Eastern Bloc, as well as in times of plagues, such as now, during the current 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic, when we are unable to receive the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day.
Act of Spiritual Communion
By Servant of God Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)
At Thy feet, O my Jesus,
I prostrate myself
and I offer Thee repentance of my contrite heart,
which is humbled in it’s nothingness
and in Thy holy presence.
I adore Thee in the Sacrament of Thy love,
the ineffable Eucharist.
I desire to receive Thee into the poor dwelling
that my heart offers Thee.
While waiting for the happiness of sacramental communion,
I wish to possess Thee in spirit.
Come to me, O my Jesus,
since I, for my part, am coming to Thee!
May Thy love embrace my whole being in life and in death.
I believe in Thee,
I hope in Thee,
I love Thee.
Amen
Let us remember the words of St Pope John Paul in his Encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia:
In the Eucharist, “unlike any other Sacrament, the mystery [of communion] is so perfect that it brings us to the heights of every good thing –
Here is the ultimate goal of every human desire, because here we attain God
and God joins Himself to us in the most perfect union.”
Precisely for this reason it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist.
This was the origin of the practice of “Spiritual Communion,” which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by Saints who were masters of the spiritual life. St Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) Doctor of Prayer, wrote:
“When you do not receive Communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a Spiritual Communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you” [The Way of Perfection, Ch. 35.].1.
AnaStpaul 