03-31-2021, 11:49 AM
MEDITATION 16: UNWORTHY COMMUNION
UNWORTHY Communions are made very often. How many there are who have the temerity
to come to the Holy Table with sins unconfessed or disguised in Confession. How many have not
the contrition that the good God demands of them, and keep a secret will to commit sin again and
not to make every effort to correct themselves. How many do not avoid the occasions of sin when
they could do so, and bring to the Holy Table enmities in their heart! If ever you have been in these
dispositions when going to Holy Communion, you have been guilty of sacrilege. Horrible crime on
which we are going to meditate.
1. THE UNWORTHY COMMUNICANT IS A TRAITOR AND A HYPOCRITE.
Having lied to the Holy Spirit in Confession by hiding or disguising some sin, he dares, this
wretch, to take his place among the faithful about to eat this bread, with a hypocritical look of
respect! Ah! no, no, nothing prevents the monster; he goes forward to bring about his reprobation.
In vain this loving Saviour, seeing him come to Him, calls out from the tabernacle as to the
perfidious Judas: “My friend, whereto art thou come ?” Why my friend, do you betray your God
and Saviour with a sign of peace! Stop, stop, my son, ah! for mercy’s sake spare Me! But no, no,
neither the remorse of conscience nor the loving reproaches which his God makes to him can
prevent his criminal steps. Ah, he goes forward, he is going to pierce his God and Saviour! Oh,
heavens, how terrible! Can you support without trembling this miserable murder of your Creator?
Ah! is it not the crime of crimes and the abomination in the holy place.
2. THE UNWORTHY COMMUNICANT IS AN UNGRATEFUL PERSON.
“Why do you persecute Me?” Jesus Christ said to the Jews. “Is it because I have opened the
eyes of the blind, made the lame walk, cured the sick and raised the dead? Is it a crime to have
loved you so much?” Such is the language that Jesus Christ speaks to those who profane His
adorable Body and precious Blood. The greatness of their ingratitude is shown in that they outrage
their benefactor through the greatest of his benefits, even worse, they use Himself to insult Him.
Jesus Christ says to us by the mouth of one of the prophets: “If this affront had been offered to Me
by enemies, by infidels who had never had the happiness of knowing Me, or even by heretics born
in error, there might have been some reason for it. But you, He says to us, whom I have set in the
bosom of My Church, you whom I have enriched with My choicest gifts; you who by Baptism have
become My children and heirs to My kingdom! What! is it you who dare to outrage Me by this
horrible sacrilege? What! you can still break the heart of the best of fathers, who has loved you even
unto death. Well! ungrateful ones, are you not satisfied with all the tortures that have been
inflicted on My innocent Body during My sorrowful passion? Oh! for mercy’s sake, spare your God
who has loved you so much; why do you wish to give Me to death a second time, by receiving Me
into a heart stained with sin?”
3. THE UNWORTHY COMMUNICANT IS A PARRICIDE.
Would you know what he does? Listen well so that you may understand your cruelty towards
Jesus Christ. What would you say of a man whose father was about to be led to the place of
execution, if he found that the executioners had not the power to hang him, should say to them:
“You have not the strength. Here are my arms, let them serve you to hang my father”? Such an
action would make you shudder with horror. That would be as it should be. Ah, well, if I dare, I
would say to you that that is still nothing if we compare it with the appalling crime those commit
who communicate unworthily. What indeed is natural death, even violent death, if we compare it
to that which the sinner inflicts on Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic. The Jews persecuted Jesus
Christ during His mortal life, but the unworthy communicant is the dwelling place of His glory.
While Jesus Christ was on earth, there was only one Calvary where He could be crucified, but
here there are as many crosses as there are sacrilegious hearts. Jesus Christ died only once a natural
death, but this death that you inflict on Him by unworthy Communions, ah! when will they end!
O what a long agony!
On Calvary, even the most insensible creatures seemed to be afflicted by the death of the
Saviour, and seemed in some way to wish to share in His sufferings. But here, nothing of all that
appears. He is insulted, outraged, murdered and slaughtered by a vile nothing, and all is done in
silence. The sun is not darkened, and the earth does not tremble, the altar is not torn down. This
good God so unworthily outraged, can He not complain even more justly than from the tree of the
Cross, that He is abandoned? Ought He not to cry out: Ah I my Father, why have You abandoned
Me to the fury of My enemies? Must I then die every moment? My God, how can it be that a
Christian can have the audacity to go to the Holy Table with sin in his heart, and so put You to
death there? There is neither Cross nor Calvary, as formerly, he says to the demon, but I have
found something to take its place. How? replies the demon, very astonished. it is my heart. Be
prepared. I am going to seize Jesus. He has sent you to Hell, now take your revenge, slaughter Him
on this cross. O my God, can one think of this without trembling with horror? No, no, if there
were a thousand hells that would not be enough to avenge such a crime. Alas, says St. Paul, the
unworthy communicant eats and drinks his judgment (1 Cor. x. 29). O terrible misfortune! It is
not on paper that the decree of reprobation of these sacrilegious ones is written, but in their own
hearts. At the hour of death Jesus Christ will come down with a torch in His hand into the
sacrilegious hearts, and will find there His adorable Body, so often profaned, which will cry to
heaven for vengeance. O divine Saviour, will the anger and power of your Father be strong enough
to cast down these miserable Judases into the depths of the abyss.
MEDITATION 17: DISPOSITIONS FOR HOLY COMMUNION
Communion! Oh, what an honour God does to His creature. He rests on his tongue, passes by
his palate as by a little road, and stops in his heart as on a throne.
Let your modesty be known to all, in your dress, in your looks, in your attitude, in your walk,
because the Lord is near.
To the dispositions of soul necessary for a good Communion must be added certain
dispositions of the body which this sacrament demands.
1. ONE MUST BE SUITABLY CLOTHED.
One must be suitably c1othed, not richly clad, but respectably. It is not becoming in young
people to make a display of vanity in going to receive a God humiliated and despised. My God! My
God! what a contradiction:
they seem to make no difference between the Holy Table and a ball or dance.
It is also disrespectful to Jesus Christ to communicate with one’s clothes soiled or torn. See
that they are clean. Change your linen if you can. Have your hair, face and hands in good
condition. The majesty of the King of Glory who wishes to come into our hearts demands at least
this care. But labourers should not hesitate to come to the Holy Table in their working clothes if
they are in a hurry, and if they are obliged to be at work immediately after receiving Holy
Communion. According to the thought of a Father of the Church, what Christ desires is not
garments of silk, embroidered with gold, but souls of gold.
2. KEEP YOUR BODY PERFECTLY PURE.
Your body is not a profane thing, but something holy, august and sacred. It is the dwelling
place of Jesus Christ, and the temple of the Holy Ghost. Even though the material violation of the
body cannot wrest from the soul the flowers of its virginity, strive with all your might to preserve
your mind, your imagination, your senses, and even your flesh, from all stain, even involuntary. St.
John Chrysostom says that the mouth which receives Jesus Christ, and the body in which He rests
ought to be as pure as the rays of the sun. Your exterior ought to convey to all who see you, that
you are preparing for something great. Approach the Holy Table with great modesty. Kneel down
and try to enkindle your faith, so that you may be sensible of the greatness of your happiness. Take
care not to look about you. Keep your eyes lowered and your hands joined, and say the Confiteor.
While you are waiting for Communion, stir up in your heart a great love for Jesus Christ, and
humbly beg Him to deign to come to your poor and miserable heart.
UNWORTHY Communions are made very often. How many there are who have the temerity
to come to the Holy Table with sins unconfessed or disguised in Confession. How many have not
the contrition that the good God demands of them, and keep a secret will to commit sin again and
not to make every effort to correct themselves. How many do not avoid the occasions of sin when
they could do so, and bring to the Holy Table enmities in their heart! If ever you have been in these
dispositions when going to Holy Communion, you have been guilty of sacrilege. Horrible crime on
which we are going to meditate.
1. THE UNWORTHY COMMUNICANT IS A TRAITOR AND A HYPOCRITE.
Having lied to the Holy Spirit in Confession by hiding or disguising some sin, he dares, this
wretch, to take his place among the faithful about to eat this bread, with a hypocritical look of
respect! Ah! no, no, nothing prevents the monster; he goes forward to bring about his reprobation.
In vain this loving Saviour, seeing him come to Him, calls out from the tabernacle as to the
perfidious Judas: “My friend, whereto art thou come ?” Why my friend, do you betray your God
and Saviour with a sign of peace! Stop, stop, my son, ah! for mercy’s sake spare Me! But no, no,
neither the remorse of conscience nor the loving reproaches which his God makes to him can
prevent his criminal steps. Ah, he goes forward, he is going to pierce his God and Saviour! Oh,
heavens, how terrible! Can you support without trembling this miserable murder of your Creator?
Ah! is it not the crime of crimes and the abomination in the holy place.
2. THE UNWORTHY COMMUNICANT IS AN UNGRATEFUL PERSON.
“Why do you persecute Me?” Jesus Christ said to the Jews. “Is it because I have opened the
eyes of the blind, made the lame walk, cured the sick and raised the dead? Is it a crime to have
loved you so much?” Such is the language that Jesus Christ speaks to those who profane His
adorable Body and precious Blood. The greatness of their ingratitude is shown in that they outrage
their benefactor through the greatest of his benefits, even worse, they use Himself to insult Him.
Jesus Christ says to us by the mouth of one of the prophets: “If this affront had been offered to Me
by enemies, by infidels who had never had the happiness of knowing Me, or even by heretics born
in error, there might have been some reason for it. But you, He says to us, whom I have set in the
bosom of My Church, you whom I have enriched with My choicest gifts; you who by Baptism have
become My children and heirs to My kingdom! What! is it you who dare to outrage Me by this
horrible sacrilege? What! you can still break the heart of the best of fathers, who has loved you even
unto death. Well! ungrateful ones, are you not satisfied with all the tortures that have been
inflicted on My innocent Body during My sorrowful passion? Oh! for mercy’s sake, spare your God
who has loved you so much; why do you wish to give Me to death a second time, by receiving Me
into a heart stained with sin?”
3. THE UNWORTHY COMMUNICANT IS A PARRICIDE.
Would you know what he does? Listen well so that you may understand your cruelty towards
Jesus Christ. What would you say of a man whose father was about to be led to the place of
execution, if he found that the executioners had not the power to hang him, should say to them:
“You have not the strength. Here are my arms, let them serve you to hang my father”? Such an
action would make you shudder with horror. That would be as it should be. Ah, well, if I dare, I
would say to you that that is still nothing if we compare it with the appalling crime those commit
who communicate unworthily. What indeed is natural death, even violent death, if we compare it
to that which the sinner inflicts on Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic. The Jews persecuted Jesus
Christ during His mortal life, but the unworthy communicant is the dwelling place of His glory.
While Jesus Christ was on earth, there was only one Calvary where He could be crucified, but
here there are as many crosses as there are sacrilegious hearts. Jesus Christ died only once a natural
death, but this death that you inflict on Him by unworthy Communions, ah! when will they end!
O what a long agony!
On Calvary, even the most insensible creatures seemed to be afflicted by the death of the
Saviour, and seemed in some way to wish to share in His sufferings. But here, nothing of all that
appears. He is insulted, outraged, murdered and slaughtered by a vile nothing, and all is done in
silence. The sun is not darkened, and the earth does not tremble, the altar is not torn down. This
good God so unworthily outraged, can He not complain even more justly than from the tree of the
Cross, that He is abandoned? Ought He not to cry out: Ah I my Father, why have You abandoned
Me to the fury of My enemies? Must I then die every moment? My God, how can it be that a
Christian can have the audacity to go to the Holy Table with sin in his heart, and so put You to
death there? There is neither Cross nor Calvary, as formerly, he says to the demon, but I have
found something to take its place. How? replies the demon, very astonished. it is my heart. Be
prepared. I am going to seize Jesus. He has sent you to Hell, now take your revenge, slaughter Him
on this cross. O my God, can one think of this without trembling with horror? No, no, if there
were a thousand hells that would not be enough to avenge such a crime. Alas, says St. Paul, the
unworthy communicant eats and drinks his judgment (1 Cor. x. 29). O terrible misfortune! It is
not on paper that the decree of reprobation of these sacrilegious ones is written, but in their own
hearts. At the hour of death Jesus Christ will come down with a torch in His hand into the
sacrilegious hearts, and will find there His adorable Body, so often profaned, which will cry to
heaven for vengeance. O divine Saviour, will the anger and power of your Father be strong enough
to cast down these miserable Judases into the depths of the abyss.
MEDITATION 17: DISPOSITIONS FOR HOLY COMMUNION
Communion! Oh, what an honour God does to His creature. He rests on his tongue, passes by
his palate as by a little road, and stops in his heart as on a throne.
Let your modesty be known to all, in your dress, in your looks, in your attitude, in your walk,
because the Lord is near.
To the dispositions of soul necessary for a good Communion must be added certain
dispositions of the body which this sacrament demands.
1. ONE MUST BE SUITABLY CLOTHED.
One must be suitably c1othed, not richly clad, but respectably. It is not becoming in young
people to make a display of vanity in going to receive a God humiliated and despised. My God! My
God! what a contradiction:
they seem to make no difference between the Holy Table and a ball or dance.
It is also disrespectful to Jesus Christ to communicate with one’s clothes soiled or torn. See
that they are clean. Change your linen if you can. Have your hair, face and hands in good
condition. The majesty of the King of Glory who wishes to come into our hearts demands at least
this care. But labourers should not hesitate to come to the Holy Table in their working clothes if
they are in a hurry, and if they are obliged to be at work immediately after receiving Holy
Communion. According to the thought of a Father of the Church, what Christ desires is not
garments of silk, embroidered with gold, but souls of gold.
2. KEEP YOUR BODY PERFECTLY PURE.
Your body is not a profane thing, but something holy, august and sacred. It is the dwelling
place of Jesus Christ, and the temple of the Holy Ghost. Even though the material violation of the
body cannot wrest from the soul the flowers of its virginity, strive with all your might to preserve
your mind, your imagination, your senses, and even your flesh, from all stain, even involuntary. St.
John Chrysostom says that the mouth which receives Jesus Christ, and the body in which He rests
ought to be as pure as the rays of the sun. Your exterior ought to convey to all who see you, that
you are preparing for something great. Approach the Holy Table with great modesty. Kneel down
and try to enkindle your faith, so that you may be sensible of the greatness of your happiness. Take
care not to look about you. Keep your eyes lowered and your hands joined, and say the Confiteor.
While you are waiting for Communion, stir up in your heart a great love for Jesus Christ, and
humbly beg Him to deign to come to your poor and miserable heart.