Fruits of Holy Communion

By Fr Jesse Maingot OP

Last week we spoke of the principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist: our deeper transformation into Christ. Holy Communion increases Jesus’ divine life in our souls and deeply unites us to God. Hence, our prayer is particularly powerful in these moments of intense communion.

This week in our 33-day journey to Eucharistic Glory, we touch on other fruits of the Holy Eucharist. One such fruit is our growth in faith, hope and love. These three virtues are fundamental for our supernatural life in Christ. They are nourished the most by the power of the Eucharist in Holy Communion.

Have you ever considered that your faith can grow by eating this most precious gift of God?

The Eucharistic Lord also makes us abound in greater hope, a virtue we desperately need today. I am amazed at how many people tell me they go to Mass or Eucharistic Adoration feeling overburdened and they leave always refreshed and hopeful.

Our Eucharistic Lord scatters our darkness of spirit with His bright divine light. Our society not only needs hope, but it desperately needs love. When we plug into the Eucharistic heart of Jesus, we truly draw forth power from the power bank of divine love. This is not a metaphor but a true reality.

The Eucharist can increase our love to the point of a greater commitment to the poor. We saw this as a reality in St Mother Teresa’s life. St Teresa understood that the secret of their community’s intense missionary activity was Holy Mass and Eucharistic Adoration.

She had a profound insight about how adoration of Jesus under the appearance of bread can help one develop the spiritual habit of seeing Jesus under the distressing guide of the poor. St Teresa says: “All of us know that unless we believe and can see Jesus in the appearance of bread on the altar, we will not be able to see him in the distressing disguise of the poor. Therefore, these two loves are but one in Jesus.”

Adoration thus helps us develop contemplative eyes to see Jesus where our senses tell us otherwise.

Concerning the relationship between the Eucharist and the poor, the early Church Father St John Chrysostom (c 407 AD) has these challenging words for us: “You have tasted the Blood of the Lord, yet you do not recognise your brother… You dishonour this table when you do not judge worthy of sharing your food someone judged worthy to take part in this meal…. God freed you from all your sins and invited you here, but you have not become more merciful.”

Another great fruit of the Eucharist is a greater fortification of the soul to not sin. The Eucharist strengthens our will to pursue the Gospel and to live a life of virtue. In fact, all the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit are strengthened when we partake of Holy Communion.

If you have a Eucharistic testimony of the encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, please email us to build the faith of others—eucharist@catholictt.org