Just as it is necessary to nourish our bodies with material food, so also it is necessary to nourish our souls with spiritual food. Our Divine Savior gave his own body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine to be the food of our souls. To receive Holy Communion worthily it is necessary to be free from mortal sin, to have a right intention, and to observe the Eucharistic fast (1hour before Holy Communion). Venial sin does not make us unworthy to receive Holy Communion, but it does prevent us from receiving the more abundant graces and blessings which we would otherwise receive. If we are conscious that we have committed mortal sin, and if there is some special reason why we would be expected to receive Holy Communion e.g. a funeral, we may receive Holy Communion after making an act of perfect contrition with the intention of getting to the Sacrament of Penance as soon as possible.
Preparation for Communion
Before Holy Communion, we should think of our Beloved friend Jesus, whom we are about to receive into our hearts. We are encouraged to make acts of faith, hope, love.
Thanksgiving after Communion
After Communion it is good to spend some time adoring our Lord and thanking Him for His goodness to us. We can renew our promises of obedience and love and ask him for blessings for ourselves and others.Prayers from the heart please our Lord. Additional prayers for worship and praisecan be found in the missal.
Commandments
Everyday Prayers
Doctrine
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Mary
Prayer
Sacraments
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The Mass
- a closer union with our Lord and a more fervent love of God and of our neighbor;
- an increase of sanctifying grace, the new life of the soul;
- the remission of venial sin;
- the lessening of our inclination to sin and the help needed to practice good works.
Daily Communion
We ought to desire to receive Holy Communion as often as possible. This is the voice of the Church "Frequent and daily Communion, as a thing most ardently desired by Christ our Lord and by the Catholic Church, should be open to all the faithful." because this intimate union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is the greatest aid to a holy Life. Christ also said, that the one who feeds on Holy Eucharist will have life because of Him. (Jn. 6:55-58)
The Sacrifice of the Mass
We, the laity, are empowered through our Baptism, as Christ's priestly people, to be co-offerers of the Sacrifice of the Mass. We come to Church to do something. We come to Mass to join with Jesus our Great High Priest in offering to the Father his death on Calvary. The ministerial priest acts in union with Christ in offering this gift to the Father. The whole community of the Baptised share in the priesthood of Christ and join with Christ in his offering. The ministerial priest alone is empowered to bring about the change in the bread and wine.
It is a primary work of Catholics to participate in the worship of God, especially through the sacrifice of the Mass.
The New Covenant
There is only one sacrifice of The New Covenant, the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. That same sacrifice of Calvary is made present again at every Mass. In the Mass Christ is still our Great High Priest offering up his unique sacrifice. He does this through the ministry of the ordained priest. The Mass is the same Sacrifice as that of the Cross because in both the victim is the same, Jesus Christ, and the principal priest is the same, Jesus Christ. Only the manner of the offering the sacrifice is different. The sacrifice was offered in a bloody manner on the Cross on Calvary and it is now offered in an unbloody manner on the altar at Mass. Through the merits of His sufferings and death and resurrection, which Christ gained for us on the Cross, He made up for all the sins of all mankind.
Active Participation
Active participation in the Mass means joining with Christ, our Great High Priest in His sacrifice. Active participation in the Mass internally means joining with Christ in His sacrifice through the ministry of the priest at the altar. In this we exercise our share in the priesthood of Christ as the result of our Baptism. This internal participation is fostered by external participation in which we all sing, pray, stand, kneel and act as ministers such as Acolytles, Lectors or Extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist.
As we participate in the Eucharist it might help us to remember four purposes for which we offer the Mass:
Adoration, to adore God as our Creator and Lord; Contrition, to ask pardon for our sins;Thanksgiving, to thank him for his many favors; Supplication (Petition), to ask him to give us his blessings. (ACTS)
The Eucharistic Presence
The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the Consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species remain. Christ is present whole and entire under each of the species, and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.
The Tabernacle
There are always some hosts kept in the tabernacle. There is always a lighted candle nearby to signal the Eucharistic Presence. We are encouraged to visit our friend Jesus in the tabernacle. God is pleased with all our efforts to honor him and pray to him.
"O God, who under this Great Sacrament has left us a memorial of your Passion, grant us, we beseech you, the grace to venerate the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood and to feel within ourselves the fruit of your Redemption: Who livest and reignest for ever and ever. Amen"