Do you believe......?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ontheway1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
O

ontheway1

Guest
Do you believe that God Almighty, creator of heaven and earth is present in the communion wafer you consume each Sunday at Mass? If so, what is it that makes you worthy to receive Him?
 
Last edited:
Worthy? As Saint John the Baptist said…I am not worthy to even untie his sandals…We are repentant sinners who rely on God’s mercy. It says in the psalms …the just man sins seven times a day! Jesus even gave himself to Judas at the last supper. I think that is a great question and I pray no one thinks they are worthy of such a wonderful God. The mother of God who was/ is sinless always and forever has true humility before the Eternal blessed Trinity.
 
Last edited:
  1. Yes.
  2. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, BUT only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
 
Last edited:
That’s actually really beautiful, before you withdrew it. One of the greatest reasons for my respect for the Orthodox; y’all’s liturgy is so codified, like the Roman Rite used to be, it’s very difficult for the demons always attacking liturgies to remove the beauty.
 
Yes. Of course I know what the scriptures say and the “I am not worthy” statement. But, that is really not the question. To re-phrase a bit: what are your thoughts and feelings when you are approaching the altar, believing that you are approaching GOD. No “fear and trembling”? No angelic choirs in you ears? Nothing extra-ordinary, not so say miraculous? Your knees don’t buckle under you?
 
I do because Jesus unequivocally said so. Also there are various cases documented of the Holy Host literally transforming into flesh and human blood.

Nothing makes me worthy to receive Him, however He decided to come despite my imperfections because of His great and unending love for human beings. We do not deserve anything from God, however He also grant us things we do not deserve out of His great love.
 
  1. Nothing makes me worthy to receive Him - certainly there is nothing I can do that merits this, but trusting in His mercy and goodness I approach Him, the fount of mercy for it is unbounded mercy, that I may be healed, to the physician of life.
  2. He is a most indulgent and merciful God.
  3. I receive Him because it is His desire that I do so and He ordained it thus at the Last Supper.
  4. That He may abide in me and I in Him.
  5. I see in this Blessed Sacrament the pledge of our redemption because He is truly risen, and as His crucifixion and death (the ranson He paid for us to be redeemed), in receiving Him I am proclaiming all this - I truly believe in Him and His promises of Eternal Life.
  6. Because He said “Come to me all ye that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you.”
In a prayer in my EF Missal it says in part: “O God of sanctity! Who am I, that Thou shouldst come to me? The Heavens are not pure in Thy sight. … The consciousness of my unworthiness would prompt me to exclaim: Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner. But oh, the wonderful condescension of Thy love! Thy pressing invitation encourages, and dispels my fears. Here I am, for Thou didst call me.”

The extraordinary and miraculous is in that fact that He does desire to come to me, to heal me, to unite me to Himself, wretched sinner that I am. The miracle that it is truly Him which the eyes of Faith see but which the eyes of the flesh only perceive the host.

Another prayer in this Missal for after Communion says:" Thou art glorious in Heaven, all-powerful on earth, and terrible in hell; but in the Blessed Eucharist Thou art mild, consoling, sweet, and generous."

He humbles himself to come to us in this Blessed Sacrament, so we should be humble in our receiving Him.
 
Sorry, which prayer?

Edited to clarify - the first is quoted from a prayer for Before Communion, and the second quote is taken from a prayer for after Communion.
 
Last edited:
“O God of sanctity! Who am I, that Thou shouldst come to me? The Heavens are not pure in Thy sight. … The consciousness of my unworthiness would prompt me to exclaim: Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner. But oh, the wonderful condescension of Thy love! Thy pressing invitation encourages, and dispels my fears. Here I am, for Thou didst call me.”
This one. Why would they remove such a beautiful prayer from the missal?
 
Well, it is in the peoples Extraordinary Form Missal. Why is it not in the Ordinary Form peoples Missal? Good question. My guess is for the same reason a lot of other things got the chop when the Ordinary Form was introduced.
 
I think there’s the Litany for Humility in the small OF missal from MTF.
 
What makes a baby worthy of being fed by its mother? What makes a bratty child worthy of being fed, clothed and housed by its parents? If we were worthy, I suppose we wouldn’t need the Eucharist in the first place. But Jesus feeds our unworthy selves with himself in the lifelong act of preparing us to be worthy to be united with God in heaven.
 
To re-phrase a bit: what are your thoughts and feelings when you are approaching the altar, believing that you are approaching GOD. No “fear and trembling”? No angelic choirs in you ears? Nothing extra-ordinary, not so say miraculous? Your knees don’t buckle under you?
Just utter gratitude.
 
If you believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist,
and there are no choirs of angels
and there is no lightning and thunder
and he is coming to us in the form of bread and wine…
that itself is cause for wonder.

That God would make himself so approachable as to be consumed and become one with our substance. That is awesome.
 
I get your analogy, but I don’t really like it. A baby is worthy of being fed due to his/her human dignity. Not for sure our human dignity alone makes us worthy to receive Christ.
 
present in the communion wafer
Absolutely.
If so, what is it that makes you worthy to receive Him?
I don’t think there is any way to comprehend why anyone is worthy.

Gratitude for all that I have.
He calls me to receive. I experience the presence of God all the time but receiving communion is different and better in some way. I feel like I am part of God’s family.
 
Last edited:
I think it helps me feel comfortable knowing that

a. God loves me

b. We are supposed to be approaching

c. I went to confession as required

Otherwise I might be inclined to remember that guy who touched the ark (of the covenant). Or maybe that guy Dathan who got swallowed whole by the earth.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top