The result of a good Communion is, within, a fear of a sin, without, a love for others.
Holy Communion is a great aid to sanctification.
Jesus visits the soul, working in it, and filling it with His Grace, which is shed on all around, as the sun sheds forth its light, the fire gives out its heat.
It is impossible but that Christ, [pg 177] thus visiting the soul, should not leave something Christ-like within, if only the soul be disposed to receive it. Fire, whose property is to give warmth, cannot produce that effect unless the body be placed near enough to be penetrated with the heat.
Does not this simple thought explain the reason that there is often so little result from our frequent Communions?
Do you long at each Communion to receive the grace bestowed by Christ that shall little by little fit you for heaven hereafter?
Will you, receiving thus the God of Peace within, have for those around you kind words that shall fill them with calmness, resignation, and peace?
Will you, receiving thus the God of Love, gradually increase in tenderness and love that will urge you to sacrifice yourself for others, loving them as Christ would have loved them?
Will you, receiving Him you rightly name the Gracious God, become yourself gracious, gracious to sympathize, gracious to forbear, gracious to pardon, and thus in a small way resemble the God Who gave Himself for thee?
This should be your resolve when about to communicate.