On the Dignity of the Holy Communion

  “Holy Communion is not a reward for good behavior, but spiritual food for the starving!”

While on the surface this may sound like a noble and pastoral sentiment, it underlies a lack of knowledge of the depth of the great mystery of Holy Communion, and a lack of respect for the dignity of the mystery itself.  

While it is indeed true that Holy Communion is not a reward for good behavior, it must be understood quite clearly that the church has never held nor taught that only those who are on their best behavior are able to receive it.  Rather, the church advises and admonishes the faithful (as they are charged so to do, 1 Corinthians 11:27) to prepare themselves as best they may in order to receive the great mystery of our Lord’s true presence in the sacrament.  Why does the church do this?  Is it because they want to prevent sincere souls from seeking Christ?  Heaven forbid!  It is rather because the church truly loves those even outside of her own fold; that she continues this warning from the apostle.  For who but one who truly loves the soul, would teach it to avoid those things which might bring about its eternal death?  That’s right: inviting those who do not believe in God and those who do not believe in Christ’s true presence to receive the sacrament is inviting them to participate in their own damnation.  Anyone who encourages people to actively violate both the dignity of the sacrament as well as the command given by sacred scripture regarding the manner in which one is to approach it; actively participates in leading a soul to its own eternal suffering, rather than eternal life.  

In the Old Testament, the sons of Aaron the high priest presumed themselves and their own judgment to be superior to their father’s; and they brazenly entered the tabernacle to offer sacrifice to God on THEIR terms and not his.  The book of Leviticus chapter 10 details that they were consumed by fire for their pride and wickedness in so doing.  How much more fearful is the abuse of the Lord’s own body and blood in the New Covenant, than the mere offering of incense in the tabernacle of the Old?  The Body and Blood of Christ are not some simple meal or memorialized snack that we share to only remember him; they are the true, physical means by which Christ communicates his earthly presence to us on earth.  As Christ hath said: “this is my body, this is my blood, this do in remembrance of me”, how dare any mortal being question his word or his sacrament?  Christ speaks of 2 forms of bread in the Gospels- the daily bread by which man is given food and sustenance for daily life here on earth; and the bread which comes down from heaven, giving life to the world.  The daily bread which man partakes is truly just bread for his sustenance and health.  But that bread of Heaven is the true presence of Christ, which he alone can grant and give to those who seek him with a ready heart.  It is not a simple sharing in a supper; but a deep, spiritual, physical, and intimate participation in his physical and spiritual act of salvation for the world.  In much the same way that human relationships require a sacrifice of a part of ourselves (however large or small) in order to make the relationship work and maintain it; Christ gives of himself his own flesh and blood so that we may share a deeper, more intimate, more mystic relationship with him, than any mortal man may ever hope to achieve.  As Saint Augustine once stated: “God is close to us, he is more brother than any brother, More friend than any friend, More lover than any lover.”  The physical presence which Christ grants to his people by Holy Communion is the deepest, most mystical, most perfect form of relational union that human affection can only hope to mirror.   It is for this cause that encouraging people who do not care for Christ or have that same level of deep love and affection for him to receive communion: is a slap in the face of the one who gave his life that we might live through him.  For what man among you having a wife, with whom you share your most intimate affections; would encourage your friends or complete strangers to partake of her affections, which she has promised only to you?   Yes, Holy Communion is limited access.   However this is not to prevent people from coming to Christ; rather to lead them into that one, perfect, deeper unity with him where he can truly be present with them evermore.  To say “all are welcome to receive” deprives the soul of the chance to encounter Christ in this most intimate, personal, and beautiful relationship with him in the mystery of his Body and Blood.  Christ has given the sacrament of Communion not to those who simply want to do lip service to God or who want to simply be part of “the Christian community”; he has given it to those who seek that intimate relationship with him that can only be achieved by a daily, dedicated faith which seeks to love him more and more in faith and truth.  

You cannot save people by throwing Christ’s body into their mouths, anymore than you can by hurling a Bible at them and screaming “read”.  Neither can you further the kingdom of God by cheapening the love that he has shown for each soul in its own unique path to his truth through his church.  There is but one way to the eternal Father, and that is through Christ.   And there is but one way to Christ, and that is through the deepest most sincere form of love which we can share with him- that love which is willing to sacrifice all for the sake of the other.   If you are unwilling to sacrifice anything to share in Christ’s sacrament of greatest love, then you will find it the seal on your own judgment.  

It is because of the Church’s sincere desire to save souls from eternal suffering and punishment that she witholds Holy Communion from unbelievers and those who she believes may incur punishment from God for their presumption in demanding it.  What manner of Christian would we be, if knowing that partaking of the Sacrament while not confessing the faith would condemn a person to hell; we gleefully welcome unbelievers in to eat and drink their own condemnation?  To deny a person access to Holy Communion when they are not a member of the baptized Christian faithful is not an act of hubris or selfishness; but rather an act of extreme love and concern for the good and ultimate salvation of souls.  For those who demand communion without even the most basic commitment to the Christian faith by the act of Baptism, remember this- you are not demanding communion from just the church; you are demanding that the God and creator of all things give himself to you in the fullness of his spirit and physical flesh, while you deem yourself worthy and in need of no repentance for anything.   It is to this that the Apostle spoke when he spoke of those who eat of the flesh and drink of the blood unworthily.  As the Apostle James writes in his own epistle- “Let no man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.”   We have the right to seek after Christ and his sacraments in His holy Church; but we do not hold the right to demand anything of Christ.   For everything that is given to us is given for our instruction, our edification, our furtherance in the faith, and for our lives as Christian people.  Those who demand the most precious Body of Christ without being willing to adhere to the Christian faith are one in spirit with he who was cast down from the highest heaven, proclaiming in his vanity to be equal to God.

Here Endeth the Lesson.