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I am struck by how even to this day, people express a great woundedness from the Eucharistic famine during the COVID years. For that I am sorry. As a pastor, I worried that after years of teaching that watching Mass on TV is not the same as attending in person and does not fulfill an able-bodied Catholic’s obligation, potentially exaggerated rhetoric out of presumption for safety during the pandemic might undermine my credibility regarding what I truly believe about the Eucharist and its necessity for Christian life.

Was the stress on the value of a spiritual Communion part of this exaggerated rhetoric? I don’t think so. Over the course of this reflection, I would like to explore the history, theology, and practice of spiritual Communion, while also being attentive to the differences between the value of a spiritual Communion and the value of actual reception of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

To receive Communion fruitfully, I must be in a state of communion. Just as one ought not receive Communion when communion has been broken, the reverse means that receiving Communion implies that there is a communion present, which I then express and ratify bodily.

Coherent Communion

In anticipation of thoughts on the value of a spiritual Communion, I would like to begin—perhaps counterintuitively—with the value of actual reception of the Holy Eucharist. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), Holy Communion: 1) increases our union with Christ; 2) nourishes and preserves our spiritual life; 3) helps us become less attached to sin; 4) wipes away our venial sins; 5) preserves us against future mortal sins; 6) makes the Church, insofar as we are what we consume; 7) commits us to the poor; 8) builds up our unity; and 9) gives us eternal life (CCC, 1391-1401). Much could be said about each of these. However, a timely insight from a document issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the inauguration of this country’s Eucharistic Revival is worth pointing out. These fruits happen only through something the document alludes to as a coherent reception of Holy Communion. While the direct application of this “Eucharistic coherence” is formulated in the negative—who ought not receive, or the “incoherence” that occurs when they do—I want to draw attention to the principle behind that negative formulation.

To receive Communion fruitfully, I must be in a state of communion. Just as one ought not receive Communion when communion has been broken, the reverse means that receiving Communion implies that there is a communion present, which I then express and ratify bodily. The document insists, “We also need to keep in mind that ‘the celebration of the Eucharist presupposes that communion already exists, a communion which it seeks to consolidate and bring to perfection.’”¹ It is not that we must be perfect to receive Communion, but it does mean that Communion cannot bring about something that is not to some degree already present. It is not a means toward union that does not in some way already exist. “To receive the Body and Blood of Christ while in a state of mortal sin [or any state not reconcilable with communion, for example, irregular marriages where there may not be a question of mortal sin on account of lack of knowledge or freedom] represents a contradiction.”² This statement, based on an incarnational anthropology (i.e., bodies matter and are signs of invisible realities), means that the act of receiving Communion is perfecting, even a consummation, of one’s union with the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.

Daily Dose of Divinity

Before we say something about those who cannot, at the moment, receive Holy Communion, I would like to point out that it is this perfecting of love that originally explains the impetus for spiritual Communion. One cannot receive Communion constantly, nor should one. The Church allows the faithful to receive Communion only twice a day, provided that the second time occurs in the context of Mass (can. 917). Even those blessed enough to go to Mass daily must follow the Church’s directives on reception of Communion.

From this conundrum of what to do between communions—or in anticipation of Communion—arises the proper place of spiritual Communion. In the history of the life of the Church, there is an ebb and flow in the frequency of Communion. Recent magisterial encouragements of frequent Communion do not change the essence of the common problem. To state it here simply: what can I do when I cannot receive Holy Communion?

This statement, based on an incarnational anthropology (i.e., bodies matter and are signs of invisible realities), means that the act of receiving Communion is perfecting, even a consummation, of one’s union with the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ.

We should all want to draw nearer to Christ, which is, in effect, a desire for Holy Communion. Whether the time until my next Communion is less than 24 hours or whether I have many steps to undergo to get there, the desire for Communion can—and should—still be present. This interval between sacramental Communions is, as Bernard Blankenhorn notes, the context in which the theology of spiritual Communion takes shape in the work of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.³

Blankenhorn draws on St. Augustine’s distinction between sign and reality and its implications for a spiritual Communion. St. Augustine says: “For he [Christ] wills that by this food and drink be understood the society of his body and his members, that is to say, the holy Church in his saints and faithful…. The sacrament of this reality [res], which is the unity of the body and blood of Christ, is found prepared on the altar of the Lord and is taken at the Lord’s table, in some places each day, in others, at a certain interval of time.”⁴ The occasion for this distinction occurs in the difference Augustine notes between the manna in the Old Testament and the Eucharist. The manna occasioned the reception of the reality (res) of the sacrament of the Eucharist as an anticipation of the latter gift. Thus, the desire for union—the reality of the sacrament—can obtain that which it desires.

If one wants to warm the soul, desire for Communion has the effect of warming and keeping warm. A desire for Communion, a spiritual Communion, is like warming our hands at a fire or getting closer to it for a greater experience of its warmth.

St. Thomas Aquinas follows St. Augustine’s application of this distinction. First, in his commentary on John, Thomas reflects on Augustine’s own commentary on John 6: “for both [the manna and the Eucharist] signify Christ. Thus they are called the same food: all ate the same food (1 Cor10:3). He calls them the same because each is a symbol of the spiritual food. But they are different because one was only a symbol; while this bread contains that of which it is the symbol, that is, Christ himself.”⁵ Another context in which Thomas appeals to this distinction occurs when he addresses those children who are too young to receive Communion. Again following St. Augustine, St. Thomas notes that “before receiving a sacrament, the reality [res] of the sacrament can be had through the very desire of receiving the sacrament.”⁶ St. Thomas concludes this article with a reference to a kind of “ecclesial desire for communion” for all the baptized, which highlights the way he answers the question at hand: Whether the Eucharist is Necessary for Salvation? He notes, “from the fact of children being baptized, they are destined by the Church to the Eucharist; and just as they believe through the Church’s faith, so they desire the Eucharist through the Church’s intention, and, as a result, receive its reality.”⁷ It is not too far a stretch to suggest that the Church plays a role vis-à-vis the world, and even for separated brethren, by desiring this union for all those who go without the Eucharist.

Just as this desire profits the whole Church, so does the notion of a spiritual Communion profit the individual soul. This spirit of desire for Communion gets taken up by the magisterium of the Church and the masters of the spiritual life. For evidence in the magisterium, we can cite the Council of Trent on the Eucharist. The Council notes three ways of receiving: sacramentally, spiritually, and both sacramentally and spiritually. In describing Communion spiritually, the Council observes, “they are the ones who, receiving in desire the heavenly bread put before them, with a living faith ‘working through love’ [Gal 5:6], experience its fruit and benefit from it.”⁸

Spirituality of Communion

Regarding the masters of the spiritual life, we first note St. Teresa of Avila. Her reflections are prompted by reflection on the manna and on the “Daily” or “Today” of eternal life asked for in the words of the Our Father. St. Teresa does not see a more fitting meaning for “Give us this day our daily bread” than the Eucharist. She professes: “His Majesty gave us, as I have said, the manna and nourishment of His humanity that we might find Him at will and not die of hunger, save through our own fault. In no matter how many ways the soul may desire to eat, it will find delight and consolation in the most Blessed Sacrament.”⁹ She encourages her sisters to “ask the Eternal Father that we might merit to receive our heavenly bread in such a way that the Lord may reveal Himself to the eyes of our soul and make Himself thereby known.”¹⁰

After beautiful remarks concerning the importance of a good act of thanksgiving, St. Teresa turns in the next chapter to spiritual Communion specifically. She encourages the practice in precisely the contexts we noted above: “When you do not receive Communion, daughters, but hear Mass, you can make a spiritual communion. Spiritual communion is highly beneficial; through it you can recollect yourselves in the same way after Mass, for the love of this Lord is thereby deeply impressed on the soul. If we prepare ourselves to receive Him, He never fails to give in many ways which we do not understand.”¹¹ She compares the relationship to the Lord in Communion to standing next to and moving closer to a large fire. “It is like approaching a fire; even though the fire may be a large one, it will not be able to warm you if you turn away and hide your hands, though you will still get more heat than you would if you were in a place without one. But it is something else if we desire to approach Him. If the soul is disposed (I mean, if it wants to get warm), and if it remains there for a while, it will stay warm for many hours.”¹² If one wants to warm the soul, this desire for Communion has the effect of warming and keeping warm. A desire for Communion, a spiritual Communion, is like warming our hands at a fire or getting closer to it for a greater experience of its warmth.

St. Francis de Sales also recommends spiritual Communion for those times between sacramental Communion. Though ambiguous as to how frequently Communion should be received, he does have the delightful notion that two kinds of people should receive frequently: the perfect and the imperfect. But for both, the recommendation for what to do in the meantime is to receive spiritually. St. Francis notes, “When you cannot enjoy the benefit of communicating in reality at Holy Mass, go to Communion at least in heart and spirit by uniting yourself in ardent desire to the life-giving Body of the Savior.”¹³ St. Francis enumerates the gifts we receive in cultivating an intention to receive Communion. Our intention should be “to advance, strengthen, and comfort [ourselves] in the love of God.”¹⁴ St. Francis even suggests that we make such a spiritual Communion should we wake up in the middle of the night. “If you awake during the night, immediately fill your heart and mouth with words redolent of love by which your soul will be perfumed to receive its Spouse.”¹⁵

There will be innumerable actual graces for anyone, and in whatever state, who desires union with Christ.

St. Alphonsus Liguori is perhaps the most famous for recommending spiritual Communion. He cites the authority of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Council of Trent. He also draws attention to the witness of two mystics: Sister Paula Maresca and Blessed Jane of the Cross. According to St. Alphonsus, the former was granted a vision in which the Lord showed her the collection of her sacramental Communions in a golden vessel and the collection of her spiritual Communions in a silver one. Blessed Jane of the Cross, again according to St. Alphonsus, was told by the Lord that “each time she communicated spiritually she received a grace of the same kind as the one that she received when she really communicated.”¹⁶ He cites the fact that Blessed Agatha of the Cross received spiritual Communion 200 times daily, and the witness of Blessed Peter Favre, a first companion of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who suggested that it was very useful to make a spiritual Communion in order to receive sacramental Communion well. Finally, St. Alphonsus himself notes that we should never visit the Blessed Sacrament without making a spiritual Communion.

St. Therese of Lisieux also witnesses to the value of a spiritual Communion as a lived experience. Her account of the graces she received during her sister Celine’s first Communion, before Therese herself was old enough to receive, highlights these gifts. “It seemed as if I were going to make my first Communion, and I believe that I received so many graces that I think of it as one of the most beautiful days of my life.”¹⁷ This statement is worth emphasizing: one of the most beautiful days of Therese’s life was a day on which she received Communion spiritually.

Papal Blessings

Recent papal magisterium also confirms the benefit of making a spiritual Communion. Pius XII names the occasion of spiritual Communion as precisely those moments when someone cannot receive Communion. “[The Church] wishes in the first place that Christians—especially when they cannot easily receive holy communion—should do so at least by desire, so that with renewed faith, reverence, humility, and complete trust in the goodness of the divine Redeemer, they may be united to Him in the spirit of the most ardent charity.”¹⁸

St. John Paul II echoes this emphasis and relates the importance of a spiritual Communion to the heights of goodness one reaches in union with the Lord in actual Holy Communion. “Precisely for this reason it is good to cultivate in our hearts a constant desire for the sacrament of the Eucharist. This was the origin of the practice of ‘spiritual communion,’ which has happily been established in the Church for centuries and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life.”¹⁹

Theology of Spiritual Communion

Regarding the theological reflection on the benefits of spiritual Communion, we can note the insistence that it is a way to prolong the influence of a sacramental Communion. It has a “sanctifying efficacy.”²⁰ “It consists in a fervent desire to receive the Eucharist and in giving God a loving embrace as if He had truly entered our hearts.”²¹

Lawrence Feingold, in response to the question “Is spiritual Communion possible for a person in a state of mortal sin?” distinguishes two kinds of desire for Communion. The first is that of a person in the state of grace who is disposed to receive the effects of sacramental Communion. This is a spiritual Communion in the most proper sense. The second is a desire for Communion “that is not yet efficacious because it is lacking proper contrition.”²² We can make sense of this based on what has been said above. Sacramental Communion expresses the perfecting of something that is already there. For spiritual Communion to be equivalent, it must do the same. It makes sense that a spiritual Communion cannot perfect something that is not in some way begun. This is especially noticeable in the effects regarding sanctifying grace. A spiritual Communion will not increase sanctifying grace for those who lack sanctifying grace—it cannot make something be that is not. Nor will sanctifying grace be deepened or nourished—the proper effect of the sacramental grace of the Eucharist—and for the same reasons. Only what exists can be nourished. However, there will be innumerable actual graces for anyone, and in whatever state, who desires union with Christ. Many of the other fruits of Holy Communion will likely be present in someone—in anyone—who makes a spiritual Communion, even in a less-than-perfectly-efficacious way. There is also the added consolation for those who are unable to receive sacramentally that the Church desires grace for them and obtains it on their behalf. Likewise, this intercession can be a consolation for those who desire this grace for others. For that spiritual desire for others is not ineffectual. A vast number of actual graces can result anytime someone desires union with Christ for another.

In this we see that a spiritual Communion is most proper, not necessarily for those who are not in a state of communion, but for those who are. Nevertheless, the act of spiritual Communion can be very fruitful for those who, for whatever reason, find themselves not able to receive Communion, and they should seize any opportunity to desire union with Christ.

1. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church, 48.
2. USCCB, The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church, 47.
3. Bernard Blankenhorn, “A Short History and Theology of Spiritual Communion,” Church Life Journal, April 8, 2020. https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/the-theology-and-history-of-spiritual-communion/#_ftnref2
4. St. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John, tractate 26, no.15 (Blankenhorn’s translation).
5. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of John, chapter 6, lectio 6, no.954.
6. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, q.73, a.3. Thomas quotes St. Augustine in the sed contra: “Nor are you to suppose that children cannot possess life, who are deprived of the body and blood of Christ” (in Ad Bonifac. Contra Pelag. I).
7. Thomas Aquinas, ST III, q.73, a.3.
8. Council of Trent, Session XIII, cap. 8 (October 1551).
9. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, chapter 34, par.2, p. 169, in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, vol.2, trans. By Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. (Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1980).
10. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, chapter 34, par.5, p. 174.
11. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, chapter 35, par.1, p. 174.
12. Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, chapter 35, par.1, p. 174–75.
13. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, part 2, chapter 21, trans. John K.Ryan (Image Books, 2003).
14. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, part 2, chapter 21.
15. F. de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, part 2, chapter 21.
16. Alphonsus Liguori, Visits to the Blessed Sacrament (Tan Publications, 2000), xviii.
17. Therese of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, trans. John Bevers (Image Books, 1989), 41.
18. Pius XII, Mediator Dei, 117.
19. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 34.
20. See Antonio Royo Marin, O.P. and Jordan Aumann, O.P., The Theology of Christian Perfection, Part IV, chapter 1.
21. Royo Marin and Aumann, The Theology of Christian Perfection, Part IV, chapter 1.
22. Lawrence Feingold, The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion (Emmaus Academic Press, 2020), 531.