Instructions For Communion.
As there is no religious duty of greater consequence, or more conducive to our happiness both here and hereafter, than to receive worthily the blessed Eucharist; so there can be no greater favour conferred on a Christian, than to communicate early in life, and afterwards frequently. Hence it becomes the indispensable duty of such as have the education of children committed to their care, not only to impress on their tender minds a lively and active sense of the excellency of this sacrament, but also to enforce the necessity of frequently receiving it. "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever."—John, vi. The obligation of communicating at Easter is binding on every member of the church who has arrived at the age of discretion; i.e. when reason and reflection, guided by the gift of divine faith, arrive at such a state of maturity, as may enable them to distinguish the flesh of Jesus Christ, under the exterior appearance of bread and wine, from the ordinary food of the body. It is further to be observed, that as purity of heart is the most proper disposition to receive worthily; so, of consequence, the less advanced the age of a Christian, the more untainted, in general, is his baptismal innocence. But, on the other hand, it is to be remarked, that the longer a Christian defers his first communion, the greater is the danger that either domestic affairs, or the violence of those passions to which young persons in general are more or less subject, should cause him to put it off to a more advanced age, or perhaps to the very hour of death!—a fatal delusion, which has betrayed numbers of Christians into the abyss of eternal perdition. Let parents, therefore, and others concerned in the education of children, attend to the advice of the great St. Charles Borromeus on this subject: "When children," says he, "of both sexes, arrive at the age of ten years, provided they are capable of being easily prepared for communion, suffer them not, under pretence of ignorance, (as it is often the case,) to defer it any longer; but rather let them be prepared in good time, to participate of a sacrament which abounds with such precious and inestimable advantages."
With respect to frequent communion, the best advice is to follow the counsel of a wise and prudent director. But remember, that according to the spirit of Jesus Christ and his church, you should communicate frequently. Our divine Redeemer gives himself to us in the blessed Eucharist under the forms of bread and wine, hereby intimating, that as our corporal life cannot be supported without the ordinary food of the body, so our spiritual life cannot be maintained but by the blessed Eucharist, which is the food and nourishment of our souls. Hence it is that he assumes the most tender and affectionate titles of spouse, brother, friend, &c. in order to incite us to approach him frequently in this divine sacrament.
The spirit of the church is further made known by the advice of the holy Council of Trent, which exhorts all the faithful to communicate often, and particularly whilst they assist at the celebration of the divine mysteries. To those testimonies may be added the exhortations of the holy fathers, the example of the saints, the practice of the primitive Christians, and the experience of all pious and devout persons in every age, as so many corroborating proofs of the happiness and advantage of frequent communion.
But if it be a happiness to communicate early in life, and frequently during the course thereof, it may be also said that there cannot be a greater misfortune than to communicate unworthily; it being a most flagrant abuse of what is most sacred in religion. To avoid then so great an evil, reflect seriously on these words of St. Paul: "Let a man prove himself, and so eat of that bread, and drink of that chalice; for he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." Now this proving consists in putting yourself into such a state, that your conscience may not reproach you with any essential obstacle to the receiving of this sacrament, that is, with the conscious guilt of any mortal sin whatever. This you can answer for, provided you have endeavoured to make as exact, as fervent, and as perfect a confession as you would wish to make at the hour of death; and you should certainly be equally careful and fervent in so doing, there being not less purity required to receive Jesus Christ in this life, than to appear before the judgment-seat of God in the next.
Above all things it must be remembered, that the essential point in this proving of yourself, is, "to quit the occasions of sin, and to repair the scandal it hath caused:" without a fixed determination of so doing, the accusation and detestation of it are absolutely insufficient.
But this purity of conscience, which exempts from mortal sin, and every criminal attachment, though it may prevent the communion from being sacrilegious, yet it is not sufficient to render it so fruitful and advantageous as it should be. Wherefore, the more you prepare yourself for this sacrament, the greater abundance of grace you will require. In order, then, to prevent the mistake of such as do not think it necessary to prepare for receiving this holy sacrament before the very day of communion, the following pious practices are earnestly recommended:
I. Some days before communion perform all your actions and prayers, in order to obtain the graces necessary for so important a duty. Offer them up in the morning with this intention, and do some good work, such as an alms, an act of mortification, or a fast, with the same design.
II. Visit our Lord in the blessed sacrament morning and evening, to beg that he would himself by his grace dispose your heart to receive him worthily.
III. Read every day a chapter out of the 4th Book of the Imitation of Christ, or some other approved book that treats of the Eucharist.