UNION WITH JESUS IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST II (part 2 of 2) spiritual indigestion?

UNION WITH JESUS IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST II (part 2 of 2)
spiritual indigestion?  

It can however happen that we do not always experience the spiritual growth, growth in love of God and neighbor, which Holy Communion ought to produce in us. (and surely with much regret). And we also do not experience the lessening of our "inclination to sin" that is supposed to be one of the fruits of frequent reception of Holy Communion. This can happen when we do not make every Holy Communion count, through what we may call a failure in the "before and after".

BEFORE each Holy Communion we ought to make a good immediate preparation, arousing in ourselves sentiments of genuine repentance, faith, love, and gratitude. We try to push ourselves into a genuine act of self-giving, making our will one with God's. This we do by prayerfully and sincerely joining in the offering of the Mass. We ought also to speak with Jesus inaudibly expressing our desire to receive him in our hearts. Then we spend those precious moments AFTER Holy Communion, when we are in the most intimate embrace of Jesus, making our thanksgivings, renewed avowals of love and gratitude, speaking to him in our hearts with utmost affection as to a dear friend. Neglecting this "before and after" may easily result in a routine and even casual reception of the Eucharist leading to what we may call "SPIRITUAL INDIGESTION".

*[It is said that a single Holy Communion, well received, is enough to make a person a saint. That's because there is an infinite amount of grace available in a single Holy Communion. In the Holy Eucharist Jesus Christ is really and substantially present, body, blood, soul, and divinity. Jesus is God and God is infinite, with infinite graces at his disposal. "BUT the amount of grace which any particular individual receives in any single Holy Communion will depend upon that individual's capacity for grace."]

An analogy would explain it: *["There is a lot of water in the Pacific Ocean, but a pint bottle will hold only a pint of that water, no matter how deep in the ocean we may dip the bottle. Similarly is our soul limited in its capacity for grace. No human soul ever can absorb all the grace available in Holy Communion. It does not mean, however, that we cannot increase our capacity for grace. We increase our capacity for grace as we empty the sand out of the bottle, as we remove the obstacles to grace which clutter up our soul."

"The first of these obstacles is our attachment to venial sins (a worthy Holy Communion presupposes freedom from mortal sin), such as a continuing grudge against someone, alcoholic intemperance, addiction to entertainment, tea-cup gossip with a tinge of malice. Then there are our imperfections to deal with, such as stinginess and half heartedness in prayer, or selfish reluctance to inconvenience ourselves for the good of our neighbor. All these failings show that our love for God is still short of being wholehearted." All these imperfections probably add up to a good amount of sand in the bottle.

However, the "wonderful thing about the grace of Holy Communion is that it purifies and strengthens against the very things that block it." If we give our best efforts at overcoming these obstacles, each Holy Communion paves the way for more grace in the next Holy Communion. "One Holy Communion builds upon another." "It is true that Our Lord could, by the very miracle of grace, transform a sinner into a saint in one Holy Communion. Normally, however, God permits that growth in Sanctity be an organic growth, gradual and steady like the growth of a child, hardly perceptible from day to day. It is better for our HUMILITY that we do not see too clearly the progress that we make."]*[ ] Paraphrased with direct quotations from "The Faith Explained" by Leo Trese.

May we therefore MAKE EVERY HOLY COMMUNION COUNT. And despite our dissatisfaction with ourselves given our honest efforts, may we not merely exclaim, "how much better I should be, with so many Holy Communions!", but also ask, "How much worse I might be, were it not for my Holy Communions!”

“Thus our whole life should be but one continued preparation for Communion and unceasing converse with our Lord.” For “Communion may be called the BEATITUDE OF THIS LIFE.” (Fr. Louis Lallemant, SJ)