The nun sanctified by the virtues of her state
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| 5. Among the spiritual writers of the present day some are favourable and others opposed to frequent communion. I agree with the former, because, as the learned Petavius has shown in his work against the rigid Arnald, their opinion appears to be that of the holy fathers and of the Church. St. Basil, in a letter to a friend, states that it was to him a source of the greatest consolation to know that all the faithful of his diocese received the holy Eucharist four times in the week. In one place St. Augustine says : " I neither praise nor censure the practice of daily communion" — De eccl. Dogm. The holy doctor probably used these words because the practice of daily communion did not then prevail in Africa, and because it was censured by many. But in one of his sermons he exhorts the faithful to daily communion. " This," he says, " is daily bread; receive it every day, that you may daily draw fruit from it" — Serm. 28. St. Antonine relates that a certain prelate once reproved St. Catherine of Sienna for going to communion every day, and added, that St. Augustine neither praised nor censured daily communion. Then, replied the holy virgin, why do you rebuke me for a practice which St. Augustine would not censure? The sentiment of the Church may be inferred from the Council of Trent (Session 22, chap. 6,) where the holy synod expressed a strong desire that all the faithful who assisted at mass should communicate. In a decree of the Sacred Congregation, dated February 22, 1679, and approved by Innocent XI., it is asserted that the practice of frequent, and even of daily communion, was always praised by the holy fathers. In that decree the bishops of those places in which the faithful communicate every day are exhorted to give God thanks for it, and to cherish by all means so useful a devotion.
362 THE TRUE Bishops and parish priests are also forbidden to fix, by a general law, the days of tha week on which the people are to communicate, and are commanded to leave their communions to the discretion of their confessors. 6. In the life of St. Margaret of Cortona, we read that our Lord told her that he wouid give a great reward to her confessor for having advised her to communicate often. It is related in the life of the venerable Anthony Torres, that after death he appeared in glory to a certain person, and said that his beatitude in heaven had been increased because he recommended frequent communion to his penitents. To the venerable Prudentiana Zagnoni, of the convent of St. Clare in Bologna, the Lord once said: "If you frequent the holy communion I will forget all your ingratitude." Lewis Blosius (Monil. Spir. cap. 6, sec. 1) writes, that of those who dissuaded others from the practice of frequent communion, Jesus Christ complained to St. Gertrude in these words: "My delights are to be with the children of men: to remain with them I have instituted the holy sacrament of the altar. Whosoever then prevents a soul from receiving me hinders my delights." Hence, John of Avila used to say that they who censured frequent communion perform the office of the devil, who detests the holy communion because souls derive from it great strength and fervour to advance in perfection. 1. According to St. Thomas (3. p. q. 80, a. 10) it is certain that frequent and even daily communion is in itself most useful, but only for those who have the proper dispositions, and not for all indiscriminately who are even in the state of grace. Hence, after having said, "receive daily that it may be every day profitable to you," St. Augustine adds: "live in such a manner that you may be worthy to receive every day" — Serm. 8. de verb. Dom. A person who commits deliberate venial sins, by telling wilful lies, by vanity of dress, by feelings of dislike, or by inordinate attachments, or who is guilty of any other similar faults, which she knows to be an obstacle to her advancement in perfection, and who does not endeavour to correct these defects, cannot be permitted to communicate more frequently than once a week. To receive strength to preserve her from falling into mortal sins she may be allowed communion every eight days. For my part, I should have great difficulty in allowing frequent communion to persons disposed to persevere in any defect, which, though not clearly a venial sin, would be certainly contrary to perfection, particularly if it were a defect against humility or obedience. But if a soul has no affection for any venial sin, if she ab- SPOJSE OF CHRIST. 363 stains from deliberate venial sins, and attends to prayer and the mortifications of her passions and senses, the confessor may permit her to communicate three, four, or even five times in the week. And when a soul has attained a considerable degree of perfection, when she spends several hours in the day in mental prayer, and has moreover con-, quered the greater part of her evil inclinations, she may, according to St. Francis de Sales (chap. 20 of the Intro, to a Devout Life,) be allowed to communion every day. For, as St. Prosper says, this is the perfection which a person subject to human frailty can attain in this life. St. Thomas teaches that: "If any one finds by experience that by daily communion the fervour of his love is increased, and his reverence not diminished, such a person ought to communicate every day" — In 4 sent. 2. Distin. 2. q. 3. art. 1. sol. 1. Hence, in permitting more or less frequent communion to his penitents, a confessor should be regulated by the fruits of their communions. The same rule is given in a decree approved by Innocent XI. In that decree it is ordained that " frequent communion should be left to the decision of confessors, who ought to prescribe what they judge to be most profitable to their penitents, from the purity of their conscience, and from the fruit which they receive from frequent communion." 8. To regulate the frequency of your communions belongs not to you but to your director: to you it only belongs to make such preparation for the holy sacrament that your spiritual father may find in you the dispositions necessary for frequent communion. The preparation for frequent communion is two-fold: remote and proximate. The remote preparation consists in detachment from creatures. In his commentary on Psalm cxxxi., St. Augustine says: If you expected a visit from a great personage, to whom certain objects in your house should be offensive, would you not remove them before his arrival ? When, then, you wish to receive Jesus Christ, you should remove from your heart all earthly affections which you know to be displeasing to him. He who wishes to communicate often must empty his heart of the things of the earth. This is precisely what our Lord once said to St. Gertrude: "I want nothing more from you than that you come to receive me with a heart divested of all self-love." As to the immediate preparation, you should begin it the evening before communion, by acts of love and of desire. As soon as you awake in the morning, consider that you are to receive Jesus Christ, and with a fervent aspiration invite your spouse to hasten into your soul. Immediately before com- 364 THE TRUE munion you should, even though you had made mental prayer, excite in your soul lively sentiments of faith, of humility, and of desire. 9. First, you ought to animate your faith by reflecting on the majesty of him whom you are to receive. If faith did not assure us of it who could ever imagine that a God wished to make himself the food of his own creatures ? But the Church has declared in several of her councils, and especially in the Council of Trent (Sess. 13, can. 1,) that our Redeemer Christ Jesus is realty and truly present in the consecrated host. How beautiful was the reply of St. Lewis, king of France, to a person inviting him to behold Jesus Christ, who appeared in the consecrated host under the form of an infant. " Let those," said the holy king, "who do not believe by faith go and see; I believe more firmly than if I saw Jesus Christ with my eyes." And he remained where he was. Secondly, you should excite sentiments of humility by considering that, in spite of your misery, you are to receive a God into your mouth and into your heart. The venerable Paul Segneri used to say that for a person going to communion the most appropriate sentiment is one of astonishment, which would make her exclaim : What ! a God to me ! a God to me ! What would be the sentiments of a shepherd if he saw his sovereign coming to dwell with him in his tent ? What are your sentiments when you behold the King of Heaven coming into your heart in the holy communion ? Will you not at least say to him with true humility: "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof." To humility unite an act of contrition and of hope, confidently expecting that Jesus Christ, when he comes into your soul, will enrich you with his graces. Thirdly, you must excite an ardent desire of receiving Jesus Christ in the holy sacrament. To nourish the soul, this celestial bread must be eaten with hunger. He who receives it with the strongest desire derives from it the greatest graces. St. Francis de Sales used to say that he who g?ves himself to us only through love should be received only through love Our Redeemer said once to St. Matilda: "When you communicate desire to have the greatest love which the saints have had for me, and in return for this desire I will accept your love in proportion to the fervour with which you wished for it." To remember these acts it will be sufficient to say to yourself before communion: Who comes? to whom does he come? why does he come? A God of infinite majesty comes: he comes to you a miserable sinner, and he comes to be loved by you. SPOUSE OF CHRIST. 365 13. After communion remain with Jesus Christ as long as you can. Father M. Avila said that we should set great value on the time after communion, because it is a precious time for acquiring treasures of grace. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was accustomed to say: " The time after communion is the most precious time in our life; it is the fittest time for negotiating with God, and for inflaming our souls with his divine love. At this time we have no need of masters or of books, for Jesus Christ himself teaches us how we are to love him." St. Teresa used to say: "After communion let us not lose so good an opportunity of negotiating. God does not repay with ingratitude the abode in which he is well received." In another place she says that after communion Jesus Christ remains in the soul as on a throne of grace, and appears to say to her what he said when on earth to the man that was born blind: "What wilt thou that I should do to thee ?" Beloved soul, tell me what you want from me: I am come for the purpose of bestowing on you the graces you ask of me. It is the opinion of Cajetan, Suarez, Conet, Valentia, Lugo, and others, that as long as the sacramental species remain, the fruit of the sacrament and divine love are increased in proportion to the efforts of the soul to unite herself with Jesus Christ, and to the good acts which she performs. For the operation of this celestial bread in the soul is similar to that of corporal food, which gives nourishment and strength in proportion to the time it remains in the body. Many religious communicate frequently, and draw but little fruit from their communions, because they remain but a short time with Jesus Christ. To St. Margaret of Cortona our Lord once said: I treat souls as they treat me. If you are not prevented by some duty of obedience or of charity, be careful to remain with Jesus Christ at least for half an hour after communion. I say at least for half an hour: for an hour is the proper time for thanksgiving. Endeavour to employ yourself after communion in acts of recollection, of thanksgiving, of love, of sorrow, of oblation of yourself and of all you possess; but, above all, in petitions to Jesus Christ for his graces, and particularly for the gift of final perseverance and of his holy love. In these acts consists that negotiation of which St. Teresa speaks; and when you feel Iryness and dissipation of mind, read a book which contains devout affections towards God. The entire day of communion should be spent in more than usual recollection. St. Lewis Gonzaga endeavoured to entertain himself for three days after communion in thanking Jesus Christ. Nor should your recollection be diminished because you com- 366 THE TRUE municate more frequently; on the contrary, the oftener you receive the Lord the more closely you should keep yourself united to him. 11. What shall we say of the nun, who through carelessness abstains from the holy Eucharist, though^she has the opportunity of frequent communion, and has before her eyes the example of the sisters who communicate often ? Let us see if her excuses be reasonable. She will say : " I do not communicate often, because I do not think myself worthy of frequent communion." My dear sister, if this excuse were satisfactory, you ought never to communicat ?. For St. Ambrose says: "He that is not worthy to receive daily, is not worthy to receive after a year" — Lib. 5. de Sacram. cap. 4. But who can be ever worthy of the holy communion ? Jesus Christ alone, who was God and man, communicated worthily; for God alone is worthy of receiving a God. You say you do not think yourself worthy of frequent communion. But do you not know, that the longer you defer communion, the more unworthy you become? For the longer you abstain from the blessed Eucharist, the more your defects are multiplied, because you are bereft of the assistance you should receive from the holy communion. A holy Dominican nun used to say : " For my part, because I am sensible of my unworthiness, I would wish to communicate three times a day, for by more frequent communion I should hope to render myself less unworthy." Which of the two, says Cassian, is the more humble: the man who communicates often, or he that communicates but seldom ? He answers, that the person who frequently receives Jesus Christ is the more humble, because he knows his infirmities, and therefore seeks more frequently the remedy of his disease. The angelic doctor says, that though to abstain from communion through humility and fear, is pleasing to God, still the love and confidence which induce a soul to receive him, are more acceptable in his sight. " However, love and hope, to which the Scripture constantly exhorts us, are preferable to fear" — 3 p. q. 8, a. 10, ad. 3. 12. She will add: I do know whether I am in the state of grace. But I ask, do you expect that an angel will come from heaven to assure you that you are so ? Is it not enough for you to have the assurance of your confessor? You ought to place more confidence in the testimony of the minister of God than in the revelations of all the angels; for in receiving a communication from angels, there might be an illusion, but in listening to the confessor, who, in your regard, holds the place of God, there is no danger of SrOtJSK OF CHRIST. 367 deception. Whenever? the^, your spiritual father allows you to communicate, take care i*ot to obey the suggestions of the devil, by abstaining 1 from communion through fears and scruples. Be assure*! that their is no species of disobedience more pernicious to a soul, than to omit a communion prescribed by her coislessor; for such disobedience proceeds from want of humility, or from a belief that she is a better judge than her director. 13. I cannot, yon will say, bring myself to communicate often, because I constantly commit faults and never amend. To this excuse an answer has been given in paragraph 7. If your fault* are fully deliberate-, and if you make no effort to correct them, neither I nor any other spiritual guide will advise you to communicate often. But if you have no affection for venial sins, and do not commit them with full deliberation, if, on the contrary, you love prayer, and desire to advance in perfection, then I say to you, obey your confessor, and have no more uneasiness about your communions. The greater you perceive your infirmities to be, the more frequently you ought to seek a remedy for them in the holy communion. " Because," says St. Ambrose, "I always sin, I should always use a remedy" — L. de sacram. c. 6. We buttress walls that are inclined, not to make them erect, but to prevent their falling. You say, that you perceive in yourself no amendment: will you improve without the aid of holy communion ? No: you will, on the contrary, grow worse every day. In his treatise on communion, Father Granada says, that, "he who desires to be cured of his infirmities should not abstain from this great remedy." The bare remembrance of having communicated in the morning, and the thought of having to communicate the next day, make a person more watchful and more attentive to the correction of her faults. Besides, the sacrament itself infuses an increase of light and strength into the soul. Theologians generally assert, that the holy Eucharist produces more graces than all the other sacraments, because it contains Jesus Christ himself, who is the author of grace. A present which a prince makes with his own hand, is more valuable than the gifts which he dispenses through the hands of others. 14. You will say, I feel myself distracted, cold, and without devotion. What, I ask, do you understand by devotion? It you mean sensible fervour, I say that is not necessary ; it is enough to have fervour in the will, or a determination to do what you know to be pleasing to God. This is the true devotion and fervour which God demanda you; and though you do not feel this fervour of the 368 THE TRUI will, you should, notwithstanding, communicate, in ordei to obtain it by means of the holy sacrament. For if yov abstain from communion because you have not sensible fervour, you will, as Gerson says, imitate the folly of those who, when cold, refuse to approach the fire because they do not feel warm. According to St. Laurence Justinian, this sacrament sometimes produces its effect, though we do not perceive it. St. Bonaventure says: " Although you feel tepid, approach with confidence, for the greater your infirmity, the more you stand in need of a physician" — S. Bon. on Relig. Perfec. chap. 22. ^o not be deterred from frequent communion because you -experience more devotion when you communicate seldom than when you communicate often. He that eats but seldom eats with greater eagerness, but with less profit; and if you communicate but seldom, you may, perhaps, feel a little more of sensible fervour, but you shall also receive less fruit; because your soul will want the food which gives strength to avoid sins and imperfections. Seek not, then, sensible devotion in communion. Communicate only for the purpose of uniting your soul more closely to God, and be assured, that as often as you communicate with that view, your communions will produce great fruit. 15. I abstain from communion to escape the censure of others, who see my imperfections and rebuke me for communicating so frequently. To this pretext I answer: if you communicate with the advice of your director, and through a motive of advancing in divine love, or of correcting your defects, be not disturbed by the complaints or censure of others. I have already said, that according to Father Avila, they who censure others for frequent communion perform the office of the devil. Will you, then, pay attention to their complaints ? Listen to the words of St. Francis de Sales: (Introd. chap. 21.) "If," he says, "they ask you why you communicate so often, tell them that two classes of persons should communicate frequently: the perfect, to preserve perfection; and the imperfect, to attain perfection: the strong, not to become weak; and the weak, to grow strong: the sick, to be cured; and the healthy, to prevent sickness. And as to yourself, tell them that because you are imperfect, weak, and infirm, you stand in need of frequent communion. Tell them, that all who are free from worldly occupations, because they have the opportunity, and all who are engaged in them, because they have need of communion, should communicate frequently." In conclusion, he says: "Philothea, communicate often, and as often as possible, with the advice of your spiritual father; SPOUSE OF CHRIST. 369 and believe me, that as the hares on our mountains become white, because they feed only on snow, so, by eating purity itself in the sacrament, you shall become all pure." To St. Frances of Rome, as she was going to communion, the devil said: "How can you, who are so full of venial sins, dare to receive the Immaculate Lamb ?" Perceiving that the enemy wished to deprive her of communion, she banished him by spitting in his face. The blessed Virgin immediately appeared to her, and after having praised her conduct, said that our defects, instead of being an obstacle, should be an incentive to communion, since in communion we find the remedy of all our miseries. The Roman catechism teaches (De Euch. p. 2, num. 52,) that venial sins are remitted by the holy communion; and the generality of divines agree with St. Thomas (3 p. q. 79, a. 4,) that the holy Eucharist excites in the soul acts of divine love, by which venial sins are pardoned. 16. You will perhaps say: "I have not time to prepare as I ought for the holy communion." I answer: if your time is spent in useless occupations or in idle discourses, then your discourse is frivolous. But if it be employed in performing the duties of your office, or of obedience, then you may rest assured that the discharge of these duties, with a view to please God, will be an excellent preparation for communion. St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi was once engaged in making bread when the bell rang for communion, she instantly obeyed the call, and in an ecstasy received the holy sacrament. Hence she was accustomed to say to her sisters: "Offer to God all your actions as a preparation for communion; perform them with the intention of pleasing him, and communicate." Whenever the want of time arises from your being employed in the service of the community, in the care of the sick, or in the performance of any work of charity, which cannot be deferred, you should never abstain from communion in consequence of not having sufficient time for preparation. But be careful to avoid as much as possible all unnecessary conversations and amusements, and when you foresee that in the morning you shall not have time to prepare for communion, endeavour in the preceding evening to make some preparation by reading a book of piety, and by making the acts which ought to be made in the morning; or rise a little before the usual hour, and spend whatever time may be at your disposal in preparation for the holy sacrament. 17. My confessor, you will perhaps say, is not inclined to allow me frequent communion. If the confessor does not permit you to communicate often you must obey. But 370 THE TRUE supply the want of the holy sacrament by redoubling your spiritual communions. Say to Jesus Christ: Lord, I would receive you more frequently were I not prevented by obedience. And he will be pleased with your desire of communion and with your obedience. But why do you not ask the permission of your confessor to communicate more frequently ? To ask leave for more frequent communion is useful, and is by no means opposed to the perfection of obedience For in allowing more or less frequent communion confessors are regulated by the desire of communion which they perceive in their penitents. To produce great fruit, this divine food must be eaten with hunger; it fructifies but little in the souls that have not an appetite for it. You do not ask leave for communion, and therefore you show but little eagerness for the holy sacrament ; hence, the confessor does not permit you to communicate often. Why do you not imitate St. Catherine of Sienna, who, when deprived of communion by her confessor, exclaimed: "Father, give my soul its food, give my soul its food." Had you, like her, manifested, with humility and resignation, this holy hunger, your confessor would have treated you in a different manner. But because he* sees you cold, and not unwilling to be refused communion, he prudently abstains from advising you to communicate more frequently. |