The Desire for Jesus

By Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

In pursuit of the holiness that we are all called to by God through our Baptism, a key element to achieving that goal, as with any goal, is desire, wanting what we seek. The more we want it, the more we will seek it and the better we will achieve it. Holiness is ultimately about union with the Lord. He is Holy and the closer we are united with Him the more holy we become. It is, in fact, our desire for the Lord that begins our journey, that will carry us forward through thick and thin, and will be the ultimate criteria of our salvation: “Do you want to come with Me?”, the Lord will ask us at our particular judgement.

With this principle in mind, we can understand better the great value of Spiritual Communion. Alas, the norms for prevention of Covid 19 virus have closed our churches and made reception of Holy Communion impossible for most for a long time. The faithful are encouraged to participate in Mass by means of media and to make a Spiritual Communion in place of actual reception of the Holy Sacrament. A Spiritual Communion is essentially an act of desire. It is the explicit petitioning of the Lord to come to us and dwell in us – as if we had received Him sacramentally! As with any sacramental, the grace we receive depends entirely upon the fervor and devotion with which we make the act, as in a Spiritual Communion, whereas the Sacraments give grace of themselves. But with a more fervent reception of a Spiritual Communion we can, in fact, receive more grace than if we receive sacramentally with less attention and less desire of being united with the Lord in the act. “Do you wish Me to be with You?” 

 Let’s consider a scene from Easter Week last month that can help us appreciate the value of a Spiritual Communion. Mary Magdalene is named in all four Gospels as going to the tomb of the Lord early on the first day of the week and, not finding the Lord’s body, races back to tell the disciples. Following Peter and John back to the tomb, she stays behind after they leave weeping inconsolably for still not finding the Lord. Even the appearance of two angels does nothing to distract her from her unrequited desire. In that moment, the Resurrected Lord appears to her and even calls her by name. He fulfills her great desire of finding Him way better than she expected since He is alive and glorious. She clings to His feet until He tells her to stop since He has not yet ascended to the Father. Her desire to find the Lord was great and is overwhelmingly fulfilled by the Lord! So too in a Spiritual Communion – the greater our desire to be united with the Lord, the more He comes to us!