holocausts which I will offer thee upon the altar of my heart. Then, excited by the continual remembrance of thy mercies and thy love, I will generously immolate to thee all my inclinations, all my passions. Amen.
Holy Communion
INSTRUCTION.
(Taken from the writings of St. Alphonsns Liguori.)
“ O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.”— The Church.
OF all the holy sacraments, the Sacrament of the Altar is the holiest, the most excellent, and the greatest. The other sacraments contain the graces and gifts of God, but the Sacrament of the Altar contains God himself. Hence the Angelic Doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, says: 44 The other sacraments are established by Jesus Christ, in order to render men fit either for receiving or administering this most holy Sacrament, which is the complement of spiritual life, since the whole perfection of our soul proceeds from this same Sacrament. For, indeed, the whole perfection of man consists in his union with God; but there is no more powerful means of uniting us with God, than Holy Communion, through which the soul becomes one, as it were, with Jesus, as he himself declared when he said, 4 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.’ ” (John vi. 57.)
The principal effect of this most holy Sacrament is, to preserve in man the life of grace. For this
