When we are unable to receive Holy Communion sacramentally,
we can receive great graces and blessings by expressing our desire to do so in
what is called a “spiritual Communion.” This practice goes back many centuries
and has a rich tradition.
There are different models for doing this, but they all have
these steps in common:
Make an act of faith: Jesus, I believe that You are really
present in the Holy Eucharist…
Make an act of love: Jesus, I love You because You are
all-good and deserving of my love…
Make an act of desire: I want to receive You in Holy
Communion, the Gift You have chosen above all others to share Yourself and Your
life with me…
Invite Jesus to come into your heart: Please come into my
heart, my life and everything I do…
Thank Him for being truly within your heart and soul.
You can simply use these words or expand on them in your own
way. Remember to pray for others too, just as you would if you were at Mass and
receiving Sacramentally / physically.
Here are a couple of classic versions of a Spiritual
Communion:
Spiritual Communion Prayer by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
My Jesus, I believe that You are in the Blessed Sacrament. I
love You above all things, and I long for You in my soul. Since I cannot now
receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though
You have already come, I embrace You and unite myself entirely to You; never
permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Saint Josemaria Escriva often taught this version, “I wish,
Lord, to receive you with the purity, humility and devotion with which your
most holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervour of the saints.”
St John Vianney said, “If we are deprived of Sacramental
Communion, let us replace it, as far as we can, by spiritual communion, which
we can make every moment; for we ought to have always a burning desire to
receive the good God. Communion is to the soul like blowing a fire that is
beginning to go out, but that has still plenty of hot embers; we blow, and the
fire burns again. After the reception of the Sacraments, when we feel ourselves
slacken in the love of God, let us have recourse at once to spiritual
communion. When we cannot go to the church, let us turn towards the tabernacle;
no wall can shut us out from the good God.”
