Partaking of the Divine Sacraments is the most important and deepest spiritual means for man due to their influence, benefits and results.
+The importance and benefit of the Communion:+
1- Abiding in the Lord:
For the Lord says, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (Jn 6: 56).
2- Partaking of the spiritual bread:
The Lord is the living bread coming down from heaven. Whoever eats of it shall not die, for it gives life to the world. Whoever eats of it will live forever (Jn 6: 33-58).
+He is the bread of life, because He is the cause of man’s spiritual life.+
3- Grafting in the Lord’s flesh and blood.
The Lord gave us as an example the grafting of the new church “the wild dive tree” in the original olive tree of the Old Testament, so it became a partaker of the root and the fatness of the olive tree (Rom 11: 17). So, when we partake we abide as branches in the vine and absorb of its juice. Then we feed on it and live and produce much fruit.
4- The blessings mentioned in the Final Confession in the Divine Liturgy: “It is given for us as a salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life to those who partake of it”. Who can dispense of these three blessings?! The forgiveness which we deserve by repentance and confession, this we receive trough the communion, because without shedding of blood there is no remission (Heb 9: 22). The Eucharist Sacrament is the continuation of the sacrifice of Christ whose precious blood we receive, which cleanses us from all sin (1Jn 1: 7).
+Having cleansed us from sin, He prepares us for eternal life.+
+5- Communion is a covenant with Good.+
I am very Mass we say: “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes”. (1Cor 11: 26). We remember this covenant on Maundy Thursday because on that day the Lord delivered this Sacrament to His holy disciples. In Arabic we call it “The Covenant Thursday”. So, each time we have communion we should remember this covenant.
+Getting prepared for communion:+
+How important are these words said by St Rewis:+
Whoever receives the Lord’s flesh and blood within him ought to have the same purity of the Virgin’s womb.
This may be impossible, but it is our ability to get spirituality prepared for communion, and as far as we are prepared we will benefit.
Hundreds of thousands have communion, but not all of them benefit spirituality. Take for instance the eleven disciples who received communion by the hand of the Lord Himself, but only one followed Christ to the cross.
+St John the Beloved alone followed Him and deserved to be entrusted with the Holy Virgin, for the Lord said to him, “Behold your mother” (Jn 19: 27). From that time he took her to his own home and she became a blessing to him.+
Another disciple followed Christ to the house of the high priest, struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his ear in defence of Christ (Jn 18: 25-27), but he afterwards denied the Lord thrice! The other nine disciples who also received communion fled when their Master was arrested!
+Communion reminds us of the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13).+
The saver is one and the same, and the seeds are the same, but the result differed according to the type of the soil. Even the seeds sowed in the good land gave different fruit: some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty (Mt 13: 3-9).
This applies to the Holy Communion: the spiritual benefit differs according to one’s spiritual preparedness. Many people receive communion often, perhaps everyday, but without benefit. It turns into a habit and its awe is removed from their he arts! Few only keep the awe of the Sacrament and get prepared each time.
+How should we get prepared for communion?+
1- Humbleness and heart contribution:
A beautiful Prayer of the Divine Mass is Prayer of Preparation said inaudibly by the priest while preparing the altar: “Lord, who knows the hearts of all, who is Holy, and who rests amid the saints, who alone is without sin, and who is mighty to forgive sins; You, O Lord, know my unworthiness, my unfitness, and my unmeetness, unto this, Your Holy service, and I have no boldness that I should draw near and open my mouth before Your holy glory; but according to the multitude of Your tender-mercies, pardon me a sinner, and grant unto me that I may find grace and mercy at this hour…”
+If the father priest has such contrition of heart, how much rather the congregation should be!+
2- Repentance and inner purity.
The priest and the deacons put on white clothes as a symbol of purity, and the baptized likewise is dressed in white as a symbol of the purity attained in baptism when he put on Christ (Gal 3: 27). And the Lord says, “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments” (Rev 3: 5). This is a symbol of the holy life in the eternal kingdom. The angels who appeared at the Lord’s resurrection were clothed in white (Jn 20: 12; Mk 12: 5; Mt 28: 3) as a symbol of their holiness and purity. The ministers of the altar put on white clothes as an example to the congregation. Moreover, the priest washes his hands before the Mass and says, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow”. It is a lesson to the congregation that they wash their souls with repentance before communion.
Repentance is very necessary before communion. We notice that the Lord Christ on Maundy Thursday washed the feet of His disciples before the Sacrament, and said, “You are clean, but not all of you” (Jn 13: 10). He meant Judas who betrayed Him, so He did not give him the flesh and blood.
+See the significant words said in the Mass: “The Holies for the holy”!+
The Mass is divided into liturgies: “The Liturgy for the catechumen” in which they listen to the lections and the sermon and leave; and “The Liturgy for the Believers” or the “Anaphora” in which they receive communion. A person needs this holiness to be worthy of partaking of the holy sacrament. This reminds us of the beautiful words of Samuel the Prophet to the house of Jesse of Bethlehem:
+“Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice” (1Sam 16: 5).+
Let us remember these words on the day of communion and if we cannot attain such positive spiritual holiness, let us at least come in repentance and confession and firm attention to abandon sin and all causes leading to it. And let our confession be true penitence not mere words so that we may worthily receive the holy sacraments with pure hearts and contrite souls.
3- Physical preparation:
We should prepare ourselves for communion by the purity, cleanness of the body and by fasting. That was the preparation made in the Old Testament on receiving the Ten Commandments (Ex 19: 10-15). Therefore sexual dreams, intercourses, bleeding and the like hinder communion. Body cleanliness is necessary.
+Fasting is necessary before communion+
The church rule requires that we fast for nine hours at least starting midnight. Fasting is not a bodily action, but spiritual as well – It is a requirement for every Sacrament except in case of serious diseases, and in the Marriage Sacrament (recently added as an exception). It is because the Lord said, “…As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast…” (Mk 2: 19). When the wedding ceremony was accomplished after the Morning Incense, it was accomplished with fasting…and communion.
4- Reconciliation
Before removing the altar cover “the Prospharine” and starting the Anaphora, the priest says the “Prayer of Reconciliation” in which he says: “Make us all worthy, Our Master, to greet one another with a holy kiss, that without falling into condemnation, we may partake of Your immortal and heavenly gift.” The opposite is true, that whoever partakes without conciliation shall fall into condemnation. Then the deacon says, “greet one another with a holy kiss”. It is a sign of perfect love among people, and it is holy, without hypocrisy like that of Judas, which we remember in the Passion Week by abstaining from greeting with kisses.
+Before communion we should be reconciled with God and people.+
With God we reconcile by repentance (2Cor 5: 20), and with people in compliance with the Lord’s command to leave our gift before the altar and go reconcile with our brother if any of them has something against us (Mt 5: 23, 24). This you ought to do if you are guilty, but if the others hate you without a reason (Ps 69: 4) you are not required to go and reconcile with them. The Lord Himself was hated without a reason (Jn 15, 18, 24, 25). There may be some who persecute you envy you, or treat you as an enemy. You are not under obligation to reconcile with them, nor with those who represent a stumbling block to you spiritually, morally, or with their views, for “evil company corrupts good habits” (1Cor 15: 33) We should rather keep away from them, not reconcile with them.
You are not required to reconcile with the heretics, for the apostle says, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him…nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” (1Jn 10, 11). And also, “Put away from yourselves the evil person” (1Cor 5: 13). But let not your conciliation with the others be at the expense of your conciliation with God.
+Consequences of partaking unworthily:+
The apostle warns us: “Whoever eats this bread and drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord…eats and drinks judgment to himself…For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judge” (1Cor 11: 27-31).
Before communion I used to say and advise the others to say:
+Not for my worthiness, O Lord, do I partake, but out of need; not for worthiness, but as a cure.+
I do not have that holiness which makes me worthy, but I partake to receive spiritual power to push me forward that I may lead a holy life.
Before partaking a person keeps away from sin to be ready for communion, and after communion will be ashamed to commit sin, at least for some days. So, a person will get used to keep away from sin.
+Due to the importance of partaking, the church uses many ways to make us feel that the day of communion is an unusual day.+
The Church calls us to get prepared by fasting, cleanness of the body, repentance and confession, reconciliation with the others, contrition, prayer, various absolutions, lections, rituals…etc. After communion we are taught not to utter a word nor to spit.
I remember, at the beginning of my monasticism, I wrote in my notebook on the day of communion these words:
“This mouth which is sanctified by partaking of the flesh and blood of the Lord, no excess word shall come out of it, nor any excess food enter it.”