Act of Spiritual Communion while divorced

[SaltyDog1957]

I recently went through a civil divorce, have remarried and am working on my application of annulment. Since getting divorced I have not received Communion; however I do attend Mass weekly and on Holy Days of Obligation. I stay in my seat and say an Act of Spiritual Communion. In the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori, “since I cannot now receive Thee sacramentally,” I ask the Lord to come at least spiritually into my heart. My question is, am I abusing this Act by asking Him to come to me in the same way He would if I were able to receive the Sacrament? I have recently learned that this Act of Spiritual Communion is meant for those who cannot physically receive, whether by sickness, distance or other acceptable circumstances. My intent has never been to try and circumvent the restrictions I have called upon myself, but rather to try and be closer to Him in some way even though I cannot receive Communion at the present time.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing. The Spiritual Communion mat actually strengthen you on your path to getting your situation regularized in the Church. Spiritual Communion is not communion – it is, in fact, a prayer that God send His grace on you – and your situation certain is in need of grace!

Deacon Ed

 

[Orionthehunter]

To augment (and slightly clarify) what Deacon Ed said, an act of Spiritual Communion is exactly what it says:

You believe Jesus is present in the Eucharist, you love Jesus, and you desire to have Jesus fully (Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity) in you.

And, as an act of obedience and submission, you recognize that you are unable to participate fully in the Eucharist.

Finally, you pray that He will grant you the graces needed to sustain spiritually as you spiritually embrace your Savior.

To clarify what the Deacon said, a Spiritual Communion is communion as it unites you to Christ spiritually as it does everyone else recieving the Eucharist. However, your communion is not complete as you are not united physically through His Body and Blood.

On a side note, I’ve been where you are as my wife was married before. We fasted from the Eucharist for five years until we could be married in the Church. During those years, we did everything we could as Catholics except recieve the sacraments, including making spiritual confessions and communions.

While I know that Priests will often encourage a Spiritual Communion to people in your situation, I am very grateful to the advice of my Pastor that we make spiritual confessions as well. What I did at that time was to regularly examine my conscience, focus in contrition, resolve, and requesting graces to overcome those sins that were most serious.

While I knew that I had not recieved absolution when I made a spiritual confession, during that time, I believe it was a source of great Hope and Comfort as I trusted in the Mercy of Jesus as He peered into the depth of my soul.

Please don’t misunderstand me that I believed then or believe now that these were equal substitutes to the real and complete sacraments of Communion and Confession. But they were better than if I had done neither.

 

[SaltyDog1957]

Thank you both for your responses. Orionthehunter, am I to understand that as a divorced Catholic I am unable to receive the sacrament of reconciliation as well? I’ve never heard of spiritual confession, but it certainly is a worthy practice and one which I shall begin. Again, thank you, and please pray for me.

 

[Orionthehunter]

Thank you both for your responses. Orionthehunter, am I to understand that as a divorced Catholic I am unable to receive the sacrament of reconciliation as well? I’ve never heard of spiritual confession, but it certainly is a worthy practice and one which I shall begin. Again, thank you, and please pray for me.

Regularly during my time in the desert and fasting from the Eucharist, I would take time to examine my conscience as I would prior to Confession and prayerfully beg for God’s forgiveness and graces to overcome my sin. I always tried to acknowledge in my prayer that this was not equal to a sacramental confession but begged that God would see my contrition and grant me forgiveness.

I want to stress that Spiritual Communion and Spiritual Confession is a poor and inadequate substitute for the sacraments. In retrospect, I wish I had applied the same discipline to making a Spiritual Confession when I committed a serious sin prior to making a Spiritual Communion as sometimes I didn’t make this Spiritual Confession as often as I should have as I look back on it.

I am extremely grateful that my sojurn in the desert was brought to an end with my wife’s annulment and our subsequent marriage in the Church.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Thank you both for your responses. Orionthehunter, am I to understand that as a divorced Catholic I am unable to receive the sacrament of reconciliation as well? I’ve never heard of spiritual confession, but it certainly is a worthy practice and one which I shall begin. Again, thank you, and please pray for me.

If one is only divorced and not remarried then one still has access to the sacraments. Once an attempt at remarriage without an annulment takes place then access to the sacraments is no longer possible until the marriage situation is regularized. Of course, the sole exception would be in cases where death is imminent and then confession and viaticum would be possible.

Deacon Ed