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by Joseph of Jesus and Mary

How the Blessed Virgin Mary prepared herself for receiving Holy Communion

This is a preparation for Holy Communion made by our lady, according to revelations to Sor Maria of Agreda author of the Mystical City of God, the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady.

Light of revelations to Maria of Agreda

The Blessed Virgin Mary's preparation for Holy Communion was a model of profound humility, purity, and intense desire for God. Our Lady's interior disposition far surpassed any human understanding and offers a standard that we the faithful can imitate.
Key aspects of her preparation include:

Profound humility

Mary always approached receiving Holy Communion with the deepest humility, considering herself unworthy of such a great gift. She would "humiliate herself to the dust" and prostrate herself in reverence, acknowledging that even for the greatest of saints, a single communion is a superabundant reward.

Perfect purity

The Virgin Mary's soul was perfectly pure and sanctified, making her the most exquisite and adequate vessel for receiving her divine Son. Her preparation involved a complete lack of any stain of sin, an ideal that Christians are called to strive for through confession and repentance.

Ardent love and thanksgiving

Mary prepared for communion with an ardent love and longing for the Eucharist, viewing it as the highest blessing. She would offer intense prayers of thanksgiving and praise, magnifying God for his gift to humanity.

Mental prayer and recollection

Mary insisted on the necessity of mental prayer to raise the soul to God. Her preparation included raising her understanding and will above created things to focus on the knowledge and love of God.

Fervent desire for her Son

As seen in the account of her first Holy C ommunion and others after Christ's Ascension, Mary's preparation was defined by her burning desire to receive her Son. This deep, personal connection serves as a model for all believers.

Reconciliation and charity

Mary taught the apostles and early faithful to practice mental prayer and to give thanks for the Eucharist. This extended to the reconciliation of conflicts with their neighbors, echoing the need for charity in preparation for communion.

Reflection for us, the faithful who receive the Holy Eucharist

We are privileged to be able to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, even daily, if we desire. This holy gift from God the Father and Our Lady is the Most Precious offering, given to us without merit, for our sanctification.
But we must approach this Holy Sacrament with fear and trembling, because, as Saint Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:29:
“For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, eat and drink their own condemnation.”

Preparation Before Holy Communion

To receive Holy Communion, we must prepare ourselves in many ways.
First of all, we must be free from sin through the Sacrament of Penance and true contrition, understanding that we are nothing, and yet we are invited to receive the King of Creation into our hearts.
This is the only way to express our humility before God, who desires to save us from our sins by washing our souls with His Precious Blood. Even after confession, we must truly feel that we are in a state of grace before receiving Christ. We must ask forgiveness for all our past sins and feel deep sorrow for having offended God.

Ask the Blessed Virgin Mary to Prepare Our Hearts for Holy Communion

There is no better way to ensure our Holy Communion is perfect than by asking the Blessed Virgin Mary to prepare our hearts for this great event in our spiritual life.
We can ask Her to forgive us for all the offenses we have committed against Her Son. She is the Mother of Grace, ready to assist anyone who comes to Her with humility. We are about to receive Her Son, and She is most interested in helping us form a perfect relationship with Jesus.
She can make our hearts pure if we ask Her. In fact, She suffers greatly when souls approach the Lord with insufficient preparation. Many offend God and Her through their unworthiness, doing great harm to themselves through sin.
We must abase ourselves before God, who comes into our hearts. We must be like a pure crystal glass, ready to receive the Living Water of Life. We must suppress all thoughts that distract from the adoration due to God our Savior. We must be full of thanksgiving to Her and to Jesus for partaking in His Body and Blood - the virginal Body and Blood that also comes from Mary, Our Lady.
We must be grateful to God for the Church and for the priest, whose holy hands consecrate the Bread and Wine that become Jesus on the altar—the food of our souls.
We must burn with adoration at the opportunity to receive the Bread of Life come down from Heaven into our hearts.

Help from the Angels

Our guardian angels are always adoring in the Presence of God. They care for our souls and are pleased to help us prepare for Holy Communion.
The Seraphim burn with constant adoration before God. We can ask them, too, to inflame us with that fire of adoration, along with all the other holy angels and saints.

After Holy Communion

We must treasure the gift we have received. The Presence of God remained in the Sacred Species that Our Lady received from one Holy Communion to the next.
So, we must ask Jesus to remain with us. We must adore Him in our hearts so that He will stay. We must pray to Our Lady to keep us in a state of grace until the next Holy Communion.

Prayers for Holy Communion

Before Receiving:
Mother Mary, please prepare my heart to receive Jesus. Clean my temple of all impurities. Decorate its walls with the flowers of your most holy virtues. Perfume my heart with the fragrance of your holiness, to make it a worthy altar for the Lord.
After Receiving the Sacred Host:
Mother Mary, please receive Jesus in my name. Let us adore Him with all the angels and saints.
Lord Jesus, come. Enter me, rest in me, remain in me in Your Divine Will. You in me, I in You. The two of us One, in God the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Oh, Little Child Jesus and Little Child Mary,
Oh, Mother Mary—the Kingdom of Heaven in my heart, forever and ever. Amen.

How the Blessed Virgin Mary prepared herself for receiving Holy Communion

How the Blessed Virgin Mary prepared herself for receiving Holy Communion

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