INFLAMED SOULS
It’s true that during Claret’s era (19th c.), frequent communion was not normal and it was rare to give communion daily or “more days than not.” Thanks to theological advancement and Vatican II, the practice has changed in our time. Today, Mass attendance is not usually large, a “pusillus grex”, small flock. But the advantage of the present over the past is that the practice of daily communion is possible and it is observed. The majority of those who attend Mass receive communion. In many places, there is a group of people who participate at the Lord’s Table daily or of course every Sunday. In some other places, the attendance is seldom; there may be a group that receives communion at very important feasts and solemnities: Christmas, Easter, patronal saint feasts or on some other significant date.
Unfortunately, there are Christians who receive communion once a year, during Easter they celebrate the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. Finally, there are those who never participate in this admirable banquet. They are those who for many years do not enter the church, nor pray, nor remember God; they are “undeclared atheists”. It is a pity to say it, but the coldness of a soul makes a people or a parish crumble because of the apathy of those, though baptized, live far away from God and do not even, or hardly ever, remember him.
We could ask ourselves two questions:
How often and with what level of devotion and fervour do I receive communion?
If I receive communion frequently or always, what am I doing to encourage those around me to receive Communion?
