What do you do after receiving Holy Communion? Do you go back to your pew in a distracted way, with your mind wandering, paying attention to others around you, and failing to encounter our Lord on an authentic spiritual level? Or do you allow that moment to be a moment of true prayer and communion with God? If the truth is the former, just be honest with yourself and with God and use this realization for an opportunity to reexamine your approach to this most sacred Gift! The moment after Holy Communion is a treasured moment in which each soul is invited to be consumed by Him who was just consumed. In other words, the act of receiving Holy Communion is not just the physical act we do, it must also become something God does to us. We must choose to not only consume our Lord, we must also allow Him to consume us with His Mercy. There is no better time to do this than the moments after receiving this priceless Gift. This is accomplished by making your life an oblation to God. An “oblation” is an offering, and the reception of Holy Communion must become a moment in which we completely offer ourselves to our Divine Lord (See Diary #1264).

Reflect upon the last time you received Holy Communion. What was that experience like? Did you have a complete focus on what you were doing? Did you offer yourself to our Lord as an oblation of love? Did you place yourself into the hands of our Lord in a sacrificial way? Did you allow our Lord to consume you with His merciful love? Ponder these questions and commit yourself to this depth of offering. If you do, Holy Communion will become the greatest act of Mercy in your life.

My Lord and my God, I give myself to You with total abandon and surrender. My life is Yours, dear Lord. I give myself to You without reserve as an oblation of love. Jesus, I trust in You.

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Daily Gospel Reflections

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Image: Charles Borromeo gives the holy communion to Aloysius Gonzaga by G.dallorto