Jesus mit Brot und Wein von Wilhelm List

Spiritual communion is a Christian practice of desiring union with

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

in the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

. It is used as a preparation for

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and by individuals who cannot receive

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. This practice is well established in

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

churches, as well as in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, where it has been highly recommended by many saints, according to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He explained that practicing this constant desire for Jesus in the Eucharist is rooted in the ultimate perfection of eucharistic communion, which is the ultimate goal of every human desire. The practice of spiritual communion has been especially used by Christians in times of

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

, such as during the era of state atheism in the Eastern Bloc, as well as in times of plague, such as during the recent

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, when many Christians were unable to attend Mass, and could not receive the Eucharist on the

Lord's Day In Christianity, the Lord's Day refers to Sunday, the traditional day of communal worship. It is the first day of the week in the Hebrew calendar and traditional Christian calendars. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the ...

Doctrine

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

defined spiritual communion as "an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him." The basis of this practice was explained by

in his

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally fr ...

, ''

Ecclesia de Eucharistia ''Ecclesia de Eucharistia'' (''The Church from the Eucharist'') is an encyclical by Pope John Paul II published on April 17, 2003. Its title, as is customary, is taken from the opening words of the Latin version of the text, which is rendered i ...

'': Thus, the passionate

desire Desires are states of mind that are expressed by terms like "wanting", "wishing", "longing" or "craving". A great variety of features is commonly associated with desires. They are seen as propositional attitudes towards conceivable states of affa ...

for

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, whom the saints have seen as the Sole Satisfier, and who in the Eucharist is the "summit and source of the Christian life", is at the root of this practice. The experience of

Padre Pio Pio of Pietrelcina (born Francesco Forgione; 25 May 1887 – 23 September 1968), widely known as , , was an Italian Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, celebrated on 23 Septembe ...

illustrates the compelling desire felt by the saints in the face of the drawing and attracting power of God's love:

Jean-Marie Vianney John Vianney (born Jean-Marie Vianney and later Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney; 8 May 1786 – 4 August 1859) was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic priest often referred to as the ''Curé d'Ars'' ("the parish priest of Ars"). He is known ...

compared spiritual communion to blowing on fire and embers that are starting to go out in order to make them burn again:

Josemaría Escrivá Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás (born Jose María Mariano Escribá Albás; 9 January 1902 – 26 June 1975) was a Catholic Church in Spain, Spanish Catholic priest who founded Opus Dei, an organization of Catholic Laity, laypeop ...

taught spiritual communions improve

presence of God Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology that deals with the ability of a deity to be "present" with human beings, sometimes associated with omnipresence. Conceptualizat ...

: "What a source of grace there is in spiritual Communion! Practise it frequently and you'll have more presence of God and closer union with him in your life." He also taught: "Do not neglect to say, 'Jesus, I love you', and make one spiritual communion, at least, each day, in atonement for all the profanations and sacrileges he suffers because he wants to be with us." According to Catholic theologians, the value of a spiritual communion can be as great as Holy Communion itself. Stefano Manelli wrote: The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, mother church of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

, teaches with regard to spiritual communion that "Believers who cannot physically receive the sacrament are to be assured that they are partakers by faith of the Body and Blood of Christ and of the benefits he conveys to us by them." The Methodist Church in Great Britain teaches that "Spiritual Communion is a practice where we entrust ourselves to God in prayer, pledging ourselves to God once more as disciples and praying that God might give us spiritually the same grace we share when we physically receive Holy Communion." The practice is consistent with

Methodist theology Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles ...

, which holds that God can impart grace "with or without physical means: God can work through anything or indeed nothing."

Examples

According to the official Catholic handbook ( enchiridion) for

indulgences In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...

, "an Act of Spiritual Communion, according to any pious formula, is enriched with a partial indulgence." It also specifically mentions this ''Act of Spiritual Communion'', which was recommended by

Alphonsus Liguori Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (27 September 1696 – 1 August 1787) was an Italian Catholic bishop and saint, as well as a spiritual writer, composer, musician, artist, poet, lawyer, scholastic philosopher, and theologian. He founded the Congre ...

: Cardinal

Rafael Merry del Val Rafael Merry del Val y Zulueta, (10 October 1865 – 26 February 1930) was a Spanish Catholic bishop, Vatican official, and cardinal. Before becoming a cardinal, he served as the secretary of the papal conclave of 1903 that elected Pope Pius ...

composed this spiritual communion: Another example is: Piarist fathers have taught this short act of spiritual communion, popularized by Josemaría Escrivá: Prayers taken from the ''A Form of Spiritual Communion'' of the Diocese of Malaita of the

are as follows: Mitchell Lewis, a Methodist elder, authored an act of spiritual communion for use in the

tradition: St. Stephen Evangelical Lutheran Church, a congregation of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of December 31, 2023, it ...

in Pompano Beach, published the following act of spiritual communion:

Usage

The practice of spiritual communion is used by Christians, especially Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists, when they have been unable to receive the Holy Communion, especially in times of sickness and during

by states hostile towards religion. Anglican priest Jonathan Warren Pagán cited the joy

Walter Ciszek Walter Joseph Ciszek, Jesuits, S.J. (November 4, 1904 – December 8, 1984) was a Polish-American Jesuits, Jesuit priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church who Clandestine operation, clandestinely conducted Christian mission, missionary wo ...

experienced by making spiritual communion during the era of

state atheism State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into Forms of government, political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments ...

in the Soviet Union that resulted in the persecution of Christians in the Eastern Bloc. Referencing theology related to the

Body of Christ In Christian theology, the term Body of Christ () has two main but separate meanings: it may refer to Jesus Christ's words over the bread at the celebration of the Jewish feast of Passover that "This is my body" in (see Last Supper), or it ...

and the

real presence of Christ in the Eucharist The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, sometimes shortened Real Presence'','' is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. T ...

, Anglican priest Jonathan Warren Pagán wrote that "Gathered worship in word and sacrament is therefore not an optional add-on for Christians" though the

rendered it necessary to move to online formats for the common good. He encouraged the practice of spiritual communion amidst the pandemic, especially during the Anglican service of morning prayer.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

also suggested that the faithful say spiritual communion prayers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which renewed interest in the practice; Methodist clergy have also encouraged spiritual communion.

References

External links

EWTN on spiritual communionCatholic United for the Faith

Spiritual Communion - Methodist Church in Great Britain
{{Catholic Prayers Catholic spirituality Christian prayer Roman Catholic prayers Lutheran liturgy and worship Methodism Anglicanism it:Eucaristia#Comunione spirituale

Doctrine

Examples

Usage

See also

References

External links