Book 4, Chapter 12: Whoever Is About To Communicate With Christ Ought To Prepare to Receive Him With Great Diligence.
Chapter Focus:
It is important to nourish ourselves with the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as you would clean your house before guests arrive, so you should prepare yourself before receiving Christ. Of course, as with the guest preparation, it’s never enough. So be sure to take out the trash, wipe down the counters, sweep the floor. Your guests won’t comment; they’re polite and ignore the pile of papers, the streaked windows. Jesus does likewise. In His mercy, He asks us to open the door of our hearts and receive Him. It’s OK.
Likewise, we should receive the Blessed Sacrament with faith, hope, and charity (1 Cor 13). We open ourselves to His grace and abundant life (Jn 10:10) by receiving this Sacrament. As with guests in our home, we grow closer to Christ Himself by sharing His meal – the meal of Himself. When Jesus invites Himself into our house, like Zacchaeus, we receive salvation and joy and are inspired to repair the effects of our injustices four times over – even after He leaves (Lk 19:1-10).
One thing to remember: we do not sanctify Him, it’s the other way around. He shows us His abundant mercy in visiting us. As it is said – we are beggars seeking bread, the Bread of Life, and then showing others the Way to that Bread.
Receive Him today!
Chapter 12, In Short.
1. Christ seeks pure hearts as a place to rest and to sanctify.
2. You cannot prepare enough to receive Christ based upon your merits, but only by His tenderness and grace.
3. When Christ bestows the grace of devotion upon you, give thanks to God, because He has shown you mercy.
4. You ought to prepare yourself for devotion not only before Holy Communion but afterward as well.
Scripture Memory Verse: “I came that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Questions: Will you follow our Lord’s command to come and receive? Will you answer His request (His plea!) to enter into your house?
Key Quote: Come and receive Me.
The text of Chapter 12: Whoever is about to Communicate with Christ Ought to Prepare to Receive Him with Great Diligence.
The Voice of the Beloved:
“I am the Lover of purity and Giver of sanctity. I seek a pure heart, and there is the place of My rest. Prepare for Me a large furnished upper room, and I will eat the Passover at your house, together with My Disciples (Mk 14:14-15).
“If it is your will that I come to you and abide with you, purge out the old leaven, and cleanse the living space of your heart (1 Cor 5:7). Shut out the whole world and the throng of your vices. Sit as a sparrow alone upon the house-top, and think of your own excesses with the bitterness of your soul (Ps 102:7).
“For every lover prepares the best and fairest place for their beloved, since thereby is known the affection of those which entertain the Beloved.
2. “Yet know that that you cannot make sufficient preparation out of the merit of any of your actions even if you prepared yourself for a whole year and even if you thought of nothing else. But only out of My tenderness and grace are you permitted to draw close to My table; as though a beggar was called to a rich man’s dinner, and had no other payment to offer for the benefits done to him, but to humble himself and to give him thanks. Therefore, do as much as what lies within you, and do it diligently, not from custom or of necessity, but with fear, reverence, and affection, receive the Body of Your Beloved Lord God, Who promises to come to You. I Am He Who has called You. I commanded it to be done. I will supply to you what is lacking. Come and receive Me.
3. “When I bestow the grace of devotion, give thanks to God; not because you are worthy, but because I have had mercy on you.
“If you have no devotion, but rather feel dry, persist in prayer, sigh and knock (Mt 7:7). Do not stop praying until you prevail in obtaining some crumb or drop of saving grace. You have need of Me, but I have no need of you. Nor do you come to sanctify Me, but I come to sanctify you and make you better. You come that you may be sanctified by Me, and be united to Me – that you may receive fresh grace, and be freshly enkindled to amend your life. See that you do not neglect this grace, but prepare your heart with all diligence, and receive Your Beloved.
4. “You ought to prepare yourself for devotion not only before Communion, but you must also keep yourself with all diligence in such a state after receiving the Sacrament. Nor is less watchfulness needed afterward, than devout preparation beforehand: for strict watchfulness afterward becomes, in turn, the best preparation for gaining more grace. For by this you are made entirely indisposed to good if you immediately return from Communion to give yourself up to exterior consolations. Beware of speaking too much; remain in secret, and enjoy communion with your God; for You have Him Whom the whole world cannot take away from you.
“I Am He to Whom you ought to give your whole self; so that from now on you may live not in yourself, but in Me, free from all anxiety.”