What is Receiving Holy Communion Like?

[Jim_Dandy]

It’s been years since I became a Catholic, and I still cry – Holy Communion is such an incredible gift, especially for a former Southern Baptist, agnostic, atheist like me. The tears are flowing as I write this. I attend daily Mass as often as I can. Can’t live without the Eucharist.

 

[theidler]

It’s been years since I became a Catholic, and I still cry – Holy Communion is such an incredible gift, especially for a former Southern Baptist, agnostic, atheist like me. The tears are flowing as I write this. I attend daily Mass as often as I can.

I think it will be very fresh and new for me as a former Seventh-Day Adventist, and very humbling for me as someone involved in satanism and vicious anti-Christianity. I can’t wait, but I will never feel worthy of it. I cannot still wrap my head around it all, but I believe, and the eyes of faith show wonders not seen by the eyes of the flesh.

 

[A_G]

Standing, in the hand.

ONLY because it’s what everyone does. I miss altar rails. Yes I do.

I agree 100%

 

[MissBorgia]

I think it will be very fresh and new for me as a former Seventh-Day Adventist, and very humbling for me as someone involved in satanism and vicious anti-Christianity. I can’t wait, but I will never feel worthy of it. I cannot still wrap my head around it all, but I believe, and the eyes of faith show wonders not seen by the eyes of the flesh.

Welcome Home ! Happy Are Those Called to the Supper of The Lamb

 

[Snugglebugmom]

I am always filled with awe as I approach the priest, awe at what is about to happen to me. As we wait for our turn, I remain kneeling in the pew and pray over and over:“Lord, help me be worthy.”
When I get back to the pew (I receive standing, but on the tongue) I feel this profound joy that manifests itself physically as a type of “humming” throughout my body. I have of course never been able to check, but I bet my eyes are shining at that time. I feel like I am lit up.
I didn’t always feel like this either. As a child, communion meant nothing to me other than a tasteless wafer and a chance to get up and walk a bit during Mass. I was not very well catechized. Or at all, actually. It was only after I returned to the Church after a 25 year absence that I fully understood what miracle took place, and how incredibly fortunate I am to be able to partake of it. Faith is a gift, and an incredible blessing. To be able to hear the call to the Lamb’s Supper and answer it, is the highlight of my week, every week.

 

[nickybr38]

Wow. I can honestly say I never had any experiences like you people mention in all the years I took Communion.

Some of us just aren’t as blessed as these people. I guess one can just look at their experiences and be happy for them.

 

[Snugglebugmom]

Some of us just aren’t as blessed as these people. I guess one can just look at their experiences and be happy for them.

I sincerely apologize if I came across as bragging or gloating. That was really not my intention.

 

[nickybr38]

I sincerely apologize if I came across as bragging or gloating. That was really not my intention.

Oh no! You didn’t!!! It’s just weird for some of us who haven’t had such experiences. But it’s a nice thing to hear!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Have no expectations on what it will be like when you receive your first Holy Communion.

In fact, paylittle attention to what other’s are telling you about their experiences.

The reason why I say this, is because your experience will be YOUR experience and I fear that if you don’t have the experience you expect, based on what you read about other experiences, you’ll feel let down.

Your experience of God’s presence within you, must be pure and not created from your own imagination or expectation.

Whatever anyone receives must come from God alone, not from their own emotional image that they’ve created.

Often, when we feel nothing is when we’ve received the most.

In Christ Jesus
Jim

 

[anodos]

Have no expectations on what it will be like when you receive your first Holy Communion.

In fact, paylittle attention to what other’s are telling you about their experiences.

The reason why I say this, is because your experience will be YOUR experience and I fear that if you don’t have the experience you expect, based on what you read about other experiences, you’ll feel let down.

Your experience of God’s presence within you, must be pure and not created from your own imagination or expectation.

Whatever anyone receives must come from God alone, not from their own emotional image that they’ve created.

Often, when we feel nothing is when we’ve received the most.

In Christ Jesus
Jim

Good reminder, Jim.

I hope its okay if I post something that’s a little silly. Please don’t think that I’m discounting anyone’s opinions or feelings, or making light of the Eucharist; I mean nothing of the kind.
Here is what emotional expectations can do to me when I’m not careful, especially in regard to spiritual experiences (like prayer, holy communion, etc.):

Joyful Person: “On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least excited, 10 being the most excited), you’re going to feel 20!!!”

Me: “I know that I tend to feel about 1/4 of what Joyful Person feels, so I look forward to feeling at least 5 on the scale of excitement.”

Then it happens, and I feel 1 instead of 5. But since I was expecting a 5, I now feel disappointment and confusion, which turns my 1 into a -5. I wonder what’s wrong with me.
Joyful Person does not understand why I’m not feeling 20, so the only person left to talk to is Rational Person.

Rational Person: “It was selfish, irrational, and ungrateful of you to expect feelings. You should be altruistically performing your duty. Stop whining, get out there and be a good Christian soldier.”

Now I feel disappointed and unfairly criticized, which can be very discouraging.

 

[chepner3]

Humbled, prayerful, excited, blessed, awed, burdened, even blah or distracted (i.e.: is my kid taking communion correctly?) As a lifelong Catholic, I confess to feeling a mix of emotions although lately I’ve been overcome with the blessings that I am given.

As to people who write that they’ve never been overcome by these emotions, I can offer empathy. I spent years questioning my faith mostly because I wasn’t blessed with “a testimony” (as it is called in other religions.) Being Catholic was and is my background, my heritage. Intellectually I know it to be right. No other religion would suffice for me. However, I was lacking that deep, spiritual understanding. I tried. I prayed. I hoped. I tried to act with faith even when I never felt it. I was disappointed. I lacked what every other religious person seemed to have - unconditional faith. It didn’t happen for me until I was in my 50’s. That’s a long time to wait! But I’m also acutely aware that I’m blessed that it happened at all.

 

[Flimmy]

Becoming baptized (with the exorcism before) was like my body was nearing weightlessness, and as I got further and further into “renouncing Satan and his works,” I nearly wrought ‘holy havoc’ upon my interior state–nearly wept! out of joy… but I had a few sins still nagging me, so holy communion wasn’t as stunning as it may have been.

Dispose yourself properly!

 

[nickybr38]

Good reminder, Jim.

I hope its okay if I post something that’s a little silly. Please don’t think that I’m discounting anyone’s opinions or feelings, or making light of the Eucharist; I mean nothing of the kind.
Here is what emotional expectations can do to me when I’m not careful, especially in regard to spiritual experiences (like prayer, holy communion, etc.):

Joyful Person: “On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being the least excited, 10 being the most excited), you’re going to feel 20!!!”

Me: “I know that I tend to feel about 1/4 of what Joyful Person feels, so I look forward to feeling at least 5 on the scale of excitement.”

Then it happens, and I feel 1 instead of 5. But since I was expecting a 5, I now feel disappointment and confusion, which turns my 1 into a -5. I wonder what’s wrong with me.
Joyful Person does not understand why I’m not feeling 20, so the only person left to talk to is Rational Person.

Rational Person: “It was selfish, irrational, and ungrateful of you to expect feelings. You should be altruistically performing your duty. Stop whining, get out there and be a good Christian soldier.”

Now I feel disappointed and unfairly criticized, which can be very discouraging.

You just described what happened at my first Communion last year!!! Haha.

Confirmation was AMAZING. No one warned me about that but receiving the Eucharist, after all the stories I had read online, just didn’t meet what I was expecting at all…

I felt disappointed, discouraged, like there was something WRONG with me…

I think it’s nice for people to share their experiences but I also think people being brought into the Church shouldn’t be led to expect such fantastic experiences. You just never know how someone is going to respond the first time they receive…

 

[anodos]

You just described what happened at my first Communion last year!!! Haha.

Confirmation was AMAZING. No one warned me about that but receiving the Eucharist, after all the stories I had read online, just didn’t meet what I was expecting at all…

I felt disappointed, discouraged, like there was something WRONG with me…

I think it’s nice for people to share their experiences but I also think people being brought into the Church shouldn’t be led to expect such fantastic experiences. You just never know how someone is going to respond the first time they receive…

Sorry to hear about your discouragement. If someone tells me that I’ll have a wonderful time at an amusement park, I don’t get upset when I don’t have any fun; I know that amusement parks are not amusing to me. But when someone tells me I’ll have a wonderful, enriching spiritual experience that doesn’t happen, it can feel like God does not care for me.

Wonderful experiences might be normal, but they are not necessary. There’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t feel what you expected to feel. Its possible to have the gift of faith without having the gift of feeling.

 

[nickybr38]

Sorry to hear about your discouragement. If someone tells me that I’ll have a wonderful time at an amusement park, I don’t get upset when I don’t have any fun; I know that amusement parks are not amusing to me. But when someone tells me I’ll have a wonderful, enriching spiritual experience that doesn’t happen, it can feel like God does not care for me.

Wonderful experiences might be normal, but they are not necessary. There’s nothing wrong with you if you don’t feel what you expected to feel. Its possible to have the gift of faith without having the gift of feeling.

I know this now! And I’ve never been an overly emotional person so I don’t know why I was expecting any different but I guess I fed into the propoganda. Haha.

Anyway, nothing wrong with everyone sharing their lovely experiences but OP just don’t get your expectations up and know that your experience will be your own…

 

[anodos]

I know this now! And I’ve never been an overly emotional person so I don’t know why I was expecting any different but I guess I fed into the propoganda. Haha.

I’m sure you know it! I wasn’t trying to tell you something you already know; I was just commenting on the subject in general at that point, sorry 'bout that.

 

[nickybr38]

I’m sure you know it! I wasn’t trying to tell you something you already know; I was just commenting on the subject in general at that point, sorry 'bout that.

Oh! Now it’s my turn to say sorry. HEE. You’re not Canadian are you? if you are we could be apologizing for a couple of years.

 

[anodos]

Oh! Now it’s my turn to say sorry. HEE. You’re not Canadian are you? if you are we could be apologizing for a couple of years.

Michigander. Awfully close to Canadian, eh?

 

[theidler]

Oh! Now it’s my turn to say sorry. HEE. You’re not Canadian are you? if you are we could be apologizing for a couple of years.

Ah yes, we Canadians do like to apologize don’t we?
I will try not to get my hopes up everyone - but I am not basing it on physical senses…if the Eucharist really is what the Church says it is, then I cannot see how it could not be a profound experience for a person who really understands and believes this.

 

[nickybr38]

Ah yes, we Canadians do like to apologize don’t we?
I will try not to get my hopes up everyone - but I am not basing it on physical senses…if the Eucharist really is what the Church says it is, then I cannot see how it could not be a profound experience for a person who really understands and believes this.

Careful there friend. I understand what the Eucharist is… and it wasn’t a profound experience for me. It just wasn’t. ):

Honestly Confession touches me more deeply and profoundly then the Eucharist but this is something I’m working through.