Just as Jesus gave his whole self for us on the Cross, so in the Holy Communion he gives his whole Self to us in the Blessed Sacrament, and so we have to make our whole selves ready for him. That means our preparation must include our soul, our mind and our body.
Preparation of the soul
This consists in a new effort to keep our three baptismal promises – to repent, to believe and to obey.
Self-examination and turning away from our sins
First of all we must, as the Prayer Book Catechism puts it, examine ourselves, whether we repent us truly of our former sins, “…steadfastly purposing to lead a new life…”. (1) We should, therefore, on the Saturday go over in our mind all the sins we can remember having committed since our last Communion, tell God we are sorry, and make a resolution not to do this or that particular thing again. If we have committed a serious sin, then we should go to Confession. But in any case we should always go to Confession before our Easter Communion.
Turning to God
Secondly, we should “…have a lively faith in God’s mercy through Christ, with a thankful remembrance of his death…” (2) That is to say, having turned away from our sins, we should turn to God in trust and love and gratitude. In the Eucharist we offer Our Blessed Lord to God in thanksgiving for our salvation, and so in our preparation we should say the prayers in our devotional book with all the trust and love for him that we can.
Having good will to everyone
Thirdly, we should “be in charity with all men”. (3) That means, we must obey Our Lord’s command on Maundy Thursday, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (NRSV, John 15:12). That does not mean that we must like everyone, but we must have good will and be friendly-minded to everyone. This is very important. Jesus once told his hearers, “…when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (NRSV, Matthew 5:23,24). The altar was in the Temple at Jerusalem, but the people Jesus was talking to were Galileans, and that meant any of them might have to go 70 miles in order to get home and make up the quarrel. So you can see how important it is to him that we should not bear anyone a grudge when we make our Communion.
Preparation of the mind
Besides preparing our souls we must also prepare our minds. Our last thoughts the night before our Communion should be about Jesus and his gift of himself to us in the Blessed Sacrament. We should continue these thoughts when we are getting up the next morning and try and stay focused on our way to church and before the service. If we don’t do this, the service may be half over before we have got control of our thoughts again and our mind is on our Communion.
You should get to church about 10 minutes before the service begins, and kneel down and say the prayers in your devotional book, and keep your eyes, either on your book or on the altar. And when you go up to make your Communion and when you come back to your pew, you should keep your eyes on the floor. We usually think about what we are looking at, and if you look up your mind will be on something else instead of on Jesus. Of course, you should approach the altar with reverence – no slouching or hands in pockets, for example.
Preparation of the body
Lastly, we must prepare our bodies. The chief way we do this is by fasting, that is, going without food as a preparation for receiving the Food of the Blessed Sacrament. We should fast for one hour before making our Communion. We can drink water or take medicines but should avoid all other food and drink. People who are ill need not fast at all before receiving the Blessed Sacrament unless they wish to.
Besides fasting, you should also prepare your body by making yourself clean and tidy. You should clean your shoes and make sure your hands and fingernails are clean. You should also make sure your hair is brushed or combed, and that in general that you look your best for Our Blessed Lord.
By properly preparing our souls, our minds and our bodies, we make sure we receive the fullest good from our Communion, and we also do honour to Our Lord.
Thanksgiving
After you have made your Communion, spend your time in telling Jesus of your love for him and in thanking him for giving himself to you in the Blessed Sacrament. During the day recollect his Presence in your soul, and speak to him from time to time, and remember in your evening prayers to thank him once again. For in Holy Communion we receive our Maker, our Saviour and our God who comes in his Ascended Body into the very centre of our being. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven …and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh…Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them” (NRSV, John 6:51,56).
SUMMARY
1. We prepare our souls for Communion by repentance (that is, by sorrow for our sins, self-examination, confession and amendment); and by turning to God in prayer and trust and love; and by being friendly-minded to everyone.
2. We prepare our minds by thinking about Jesus and our Communion the night before and on the actual day.
3. We prepare our bodies by fasting, as well as by making ourselves clean and tidy.
4. After Communion, we should thank Jesus for giving himself to us in the Blessed Sacrament and tell him of our love for him.
References
1. Church of England (1662) Book of Common Prayer. A Catechism. Available from: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/bcp/texts/catechism.html (Accessed 25 August 2010) (Internet).
2. Church of England (1662) Book of Common Prayer. A Catechism. Available from:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/bcp/texts/catechism.html (Accessed 25 August 2010) (Internet).
3. Church of England (1662) Book of Common Prayer. A Catechism. Available from:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/bcp/texts/catechism.html (Accessed 25 August 2010) (Internet).