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Spiritual Communion
Issue: What is a spiritual communion? How does one make a spiritual communion?
Response: A spiritual communion is made when we fervently desire to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and then lovingly embrace Him as if we had received Him.
Discussion: A spiritual communion is made when we fervently desire to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and then lovingly embrace Him as if we had actually done so. This can be done at Mass when for some reason we are not able to receive the Sacrament or at any time during the day. It is especially recommended when we visit Jesus in the tabernacle or at Eucharistic adoration.
In his encyclical letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II wrote:
In the Eucharist, "unlike any other sacrament, the mystery [of communion] is so perfect that it brings us to the heights of every good thing: Here is the ultimate goal of every human desire, because here we attain God and God joins himself to us in the most perfect union." Precisely for this reason it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist. This was the origin of the practice of "spiritual communion," which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life. St. Teresa of Jesus wrote: "When you do not receive communion and you do not attend Mass, you can make a spiritual communion, which is a most beneficial practice; by it the love of God will be greatly impressed on you" [The Way of Perfection, Ch. 35.].1
Regarding prayers for spiritual communion, this "Act of Spiritual Communion" is found in the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary’s Enchiridion of Indulgences:
My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you above all things, and I long for you in my soul. Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though you have already come, I embrace you and unite myself entirely to you; never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
According to the Enchiridion of Indulgences, one gains a partial indulgence by making an act of spiritual communion.
1 Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia Eucharistia (April 17, 2003), no. 34, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents
Recommended Reading
Holy Bible
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Vatican II Documents
John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia
Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, Enchiridion of Indulgences
Sacred Congregation of Rites, Eucharisticum Mysterium
To order, call Benedictus Books toll-free: (888) 316-2640. CUF members receive a 10% discount.
Hahn and Suprenant, eds., Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God
Leon Suprenant and Philip Gray, Faith Facts: Answers to Catholic Questions
Ted Sri, Mystery of the Kingdom: On the Gospel of Matthew
Leon Suprenant, ed., Servants of the Gospel
Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Without a Doubt: Bringing Faith to Life
To order these and other titles, call Emmaus Road toll-free: (800) 398-5470.
Available Faith Facts
St. Augustine’s Real Faith in the Real Presence
Come, Worship the Lord!: Promoting Adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist
Norms for Eucharistic Adoration with Exposition
Reception of Holy Communion
This is My Body: Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist
Year of the Eucharist, The
Smells, Bells, and Other Liturgical Odds and Ends
© 2004 Catholics United for the Faith
Last edited: 6/9/2004
Date created: 7/15/2005
Date edited: 5/13/2009
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