Their principal intention at Holy Communion should be the glory of God and their union with Him.
In order to prepare themselves better, it will be well for them to direct their thoughts a little to Our Lord in this Holy Sacrament in their prayer and recollection the evening before they communicate, exciting in their souls a holy reverence and spiritual joy that they are to be so happy as to receive our sweet Savior. Then they must make a resolution to serve Him fervently, which they may confirm after receiving Him, not by a vow but by a good and holy purpose.
Just before the moment of Communion, they may use some ejaculatory prayers, either mentally or vocally, such as this one of St. Francis of Assisi, "Who am I, Lord, and Who art Thou?" Or this one of St. Elizabeth, "From whence comes this happiness that my Lord should come to me?" (Lk. 1:43).Or that of St. John the Evangelist, "Yes, come. Lord Jesus." (Apoc. 22:20).
After Holy Communion, we should regard Our Lord seated in our hearts as upon His throne and should summon our faculties and senses before Him, one after another, to hear His orders and promise Him fidelity.
They may also excite their souls to many holy affections such as fear of grieving or losing Our Lord, saying with David, "Depart not from me," (Ps. 70:12) and with the disciples at Emmaus, "Stay with us for it is getting late." (Lk. 24:29).
To sentiments of confidence and strength of mind with David, "I shall fear no evil, because Thou, O Lord, art with me."(Ps. 22:4).
To love with the Spouse, "My beloved is mine, and I am His. He will dwell in my heart. I have found Him Whom my soul desires. I will keep Him carefully." (Cant. 2:16).
To acts of thanksgiving with Abraham, "O Lord, because Thou hast granted me this grace, I will bless Thee with eternal blessings and will multiply Thy praises as the stars of heaven." (Gen. 22:16-17).
To the resolving to serve Him in the words of Jacob, "God will be my God, and the stone of my heart heretofore hardened shall be His home." (Gen. 28:21-22).
We may think of the interior fervor of our Lady when the Angel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, her devotion, her humility, her confidence, her courage, and how at the same time that she heard that God, gave her His Heart, which is His Son, she in turn gave herself to God, and how this holy soul then melted in charity, so that she could say, "My soul dissolved and melted away when my Beloved spoke to me." (Cant. 5:6). Now, as to us, we receive a similar grace in Communion, for we are assured not by an angel but by Jesus Christ Himself that in this Sacrament the Holy Spirit comes to us, the Divine Power overshadows us, and the Son of God comes really into us and, so to say, is conceived and born in us.
O God, what sweetness and delight! Well, therefore, may the soul say with this holy Lady, upon this consideration, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to His word," since He has said with His own sacred mouth that whosoever eats Him abides in Him, that he shall live for Him and in Him, and shall not die eternally.
COMMENTARY
We shall now consider the preparation and thanksgiving for Holy Communion proposed by St. Francis de Sales in the Spiritual Directory.
I. Preparation for Holy Communion
A. Constant Preparation
The only preparation for Holy Communion which is truly worthy of Our Lord is a constant preparation. By this, St. Francis de Sales means the constant desire to please God in all our actions. When he was a young man preparing for the priesthood, he made the resolution to do everything as a preparation for Holy Mass and Holy Communion, so that if anyone were to ask him what he was doing in any of his actions, he would answer I am preparing for Holy Mass and Holy Communion. This is the truly great preparation for Holy Communion. That is why St. Francis de Sales says to us in the very first sentence of the Directory, "Let their whole life and all their actions tend to unite them with God."
B. Special Preparation
1. Remote preparation
Since we are always preparing for Holy Communion by uniting ourselves to God in all our actions, St. Francis de Sales is satisfied if we direct our thoughts and affections a little to Our Lord in this Holy Sacrament the evening before we communicate. This could be well done by making an aspiration of love by repeating those burning words of Our Lord before He instituted this Sacrament of Love, "With desire, I have desired to eat this Pasch with you." Or you may share the joy of Esther by crying out with her, "Tomorrow, I shall dine with the King."
2. Proximate Preparation
There is no better proximate preparation for Holy Communion than entering into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by uniting yourself to Jesus Christ, the Priest and Victim as explained in Article V. But, as we walk to the Holy Table to receive this Precious Food, we should make some aspiration of love, such as, "Yes, come, Lord Jesus."
II. Thanksgiving after Holy Communion
A. Consecration to Jesus Christ
"After Holy Communion," says St. Francis de Sales, "we should regard Our Lord seated in our hearts as upon His throne and should summon our faculties and senses before Him, one after another, to hear His orders and promise Him fidelity."
Every day is the Feast of Christ the King for those who are faithful to this great practice of the Directory. Every morning after Holy Communion, we should look at our King seated upon the throne of our heart and then bring before Him our intellect, our will, our memory, our imagination, our eyes, our ears, our tongue, our hands arid feet and consecrate them to Our Lord. We might say to Him, "My Jesus, You have just given Yourself completely to me. Now I give myself completely to You. You have just given me Your Body and Blood, Your Soul and Divinity. Now I give to You my body and blood, my soul and humanity." This is that O admirabile commercium, that blessed exchange, which thrills the Church at Christmas-tide, when the Church considers the coming of the Son of God on earth, and which we should consider every time that we go to Holy Communion, which makes every morning a Christmas morning.
B. Conversation with Jesus Christ
After this great act of consecration of our poor humanity to the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ, we should spend a little time in sweet conversation with Our Lord. St. Francis de Sales gives us topics of conversation. Very often we will find these helpful, but we must always speak to Our Lord from the depths of our own poor heart.
Prayer for Fidelity to the Article on Holy Communion
My Jesus, Your delight is to be with the children of men. This desire is best realized in Holy Communion when You come right into our bodies and souls. Give me the grace to prepare for Your coming and the grace properly to thank You for the greatest favor that You could do for me. Above all, may every one of my Holy Communions with You be a blessed exchange between You and me. You give Yourself completely. Please, give me the grace to do likewise.