“May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.”
We must prepare our minds and hearts to receive Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
How should we prepare to receive Jesus? At Mass we say, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” (Lk 7:1-10). The more we truly prepare ourselves for Our Lord, the more we realize how truly unworthy we are to receive Him, but we come to Him in the Eucharist because we know by his Body and Blood we will be healed of our sins and gain everlasting life. The last word we say before receiving our Lord is “healed”. Jesus Christ the Divine Physician is “the medicine of immortality” [1] who heals us. The Eucharist, “is not there as a reward for the strong, but as a remedy for the weak. And we are all weak and in some degree ailing.” [2]
God humbles Himself to take on human flesh and be like a human in all things except for sin. Jesus then takes it a step further and humbles Himself for us in the simple forms of bread and wine. We are to take on that same humility when preparing to receive Him.
What is humility?
The moral virtue that keeps a person from reaching beyond himself. It is the virtue that restrains the unruly desire for personal greatness and leads people to an orderly love of themselves based on a true appreciation of their position with respect to God and their neighbors. Religious humility recognizes one’s total dependence on God; moral humility recognizes one’s creaturely equality with others. Yet humility is not only opposed to pride; it is also opposed to immoderate self-abjection, which would fail to recognize God’s gifts and use them according to his will. [3]
Search: 12 Steps of Humility
For the centurion who shows great humility in saying he is not worthy of Jesus, we too must be the same because Jesus is humble. “Humility was the door by which Our Lord entered to take possession of what was already his own.” [4] Jesus comes to feed us. If we are humble of heart, He will claim once more what was already his own, our hearts.
How should we prepare to receive Communion at Mass? Before receiving Jesus in the Eucharist we should prepare ourselves even before coming to the Church. We do this by fasting (except for medical reasons) one hour before coming to Mass. This reminds us that we are hungry for the Bread of Life. We should also arrive well before Mass is to begin, in order to prepare our hearts and minds to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. During the Mass we should be attentively participating in every aspect of the Mass.
What should we do just before receiving Communion at Mass? As we go up to receive Jesus we must be placing ourselves in the frame of mind of what we are about to undertake. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to come to us and into our body to bring us everlasting life. Jesus is coming to strengthen us by His very Body and Blood. We should act accordingly by being reverent upon exiting the pew and going up to receive Jesus. Before receiving the Eucharist:
the communicant bows his or her head before the Sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the Body of the Lord from the minister. The consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or in the hand, at the discretion of each communicant. When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of reverence is also made before receiving the Precious Blood. [5]
It is important to note that the universal preference of the Church is to receive the Eucharist on the tongue.
Is it okay to genuflect before receiving Communion? The United States Catholic Council of Bishops has said the norm is to bow before receiving. However, it does not say you can or cannot genuflect before receiving. In Inaestimabile Donum, the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship noted that:
When they receive Communion standing, it is strongly recommended that, coming up in procession, they should make a sign of reverence before receiving the Sacrament. This should be done at the right time and place, so that the order of people going to and from Communion is not disrupted.
The main principle is, if someone were to genuflect it should be reverent and not be disruptive.
How should we receive Jesus in the Eucharist?
The norm for reception of Holy Communion in the dioceses of the United States is standing. Communicants should not be denied Holy Communion because they kneel. Rather, such instances should be addressed pastorally, by providing the faithful with proper catechesis on the reasons for this norm. [6]
The norm of which The Church is speaking here is in regards to the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo) of the Mass in the United States of America. Universally the norm in the Ordinary Form is to receive on the tongue while either standing or kneeling. In the Extraordinary Form (Latin or Tridentine) of the Mass, the norm is to receive on the tongue while kneeling. In the Byzantine Rite, the communicant stands to receive, and the Body is in the chalice and the priest literally feeds the communicant the Body and Blood using a spoon and gently dropping the Body and Blood in the communicant’s month.
Does it matter how we receive? Yes, our postures and attitudes signify a great deal. If we are quickly walking up the communion aisle and hurrying along, we will be rushed when we approach our King. One of the reasons for kneeling to receive the Eucharist is that we have to stop, wait, and then receive. It is as if the men are kneeling to be knighted by Christ our King. For the ladies, it is as if they are kneeling to be crowned by their King. When we receive on the tongue, we are vulnerable, humble, like a little child being fed by “Our Father” and “Holy Mother Church.” In the Byzantine Rite, as previously stated, the communicant is literally fed by the priest, and very often the congregation will kiss the hand of the priest from which their spiritual food came. We are like little birds being fed by the mother bird; we need only open our mouths and receive.
Is it better to take something or to receive something? We teach children and have been taught not to grab, but to wait until we are given something. A priest once said that receiving on the tongue is total reception, while receiving in the hand is not a total reception because the communicant still has to take the host to his mouth.
What do we do after we receive? We have just received our Lord. We are asked to take some time in joyful silence in thanksgiving for this awesome gift.
Silence should be observed at the designated times as part of the celebration...at the penitential rite and again after the invitation to pray, all recollect themselves; at the conclusion of a reading or the homily, all meditate briefly on what has been heard; after communion, all praise God in silent prayer. [7]