An Act of Desire Before Communion
An act of desire for union with Christ in Holy Communion.
Historical edition. Historical claims and instructions are preserved as historical context.
Founded on these tender words, which our Saviour pronounced immediately before the Supper: "With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you."—Luke, xxii. 15. For why should we not feel the most ardent desire to be united to our Lord in this sacrament, when we see him so desirous to visit us, and take up his dwelling in our hearts? Endeavour to excite this desire, by considering how much you stand in need of this bread of life, and by the great esteem this heavenly nourishment deserves.
Since thou, O Lord, art so prodigal of miracles, and obligest me to receive thee under such severe penalties, nothing can be more certain than that thou desirest to make my heart thy dwelling-place. With what fervent desires should I not, therefore, endeavour to co-operate with such bountiful intentions! O my all-sufficient God, though thou standest in no need of me, yet thou hast compassion on my poverty. May then the efficacy of thy grace supply my indigence; may it awaken every faculty of my soul, and render my desires to receive thee worthily still more inflamed; for though they are arrived at a certain anxiety, I am nevertheless sensible of their being too tepid. Alas! my Redeemer, why do I not sigh after thee with the same holy fervour as did the patriarchs of the old law, who expected thy coming? "Come, O Lord, and do not delay." Remember, O heavenly physician, that thou canst not refuse thy all-healing balsam to the wounds of my soul, since thy motive for descending on earth was to heal the sins of men. Although I am needy and poor, yet thou canst enrich me; although I am enslaved under the tyranny of my predominant passions, yet thou canst break my chains and set me at liberty; a single word of thine would be altogether sufficient to work these miracles in favour of one so unworthy of thy corporal presence as I am. Speak it then, O Sovereign Good, for I can no longer live without thee. Let blind and infatuated worldlings intoxicate themselves with the false, transient, and fading happiness of this life; as for my part, nothing besides thyself can content me, either in heaven or on earth; for what have I in heaven, or what can I desire on earth besides thee? Come, then, O thou Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world! Come, thou beloved of my heart! adorable flesh and precious blood of my Saviour! Come, to nourish, comfort, and enliven my sickly soul. O God of my heart! let me neither love, seek, nor think on any other object but thyself alone: for thou alone art my consolation, my treasure, my joy, my life, my God, and my all! My heart as eagerly desires to receive thee, as the wearied stag longs to quench his thirst in the fountains of water. Psalm xli.